Roon server won't play music after power failure

Core Machine (Operating system/System info/Roon build number)

Core running on 2018 mac mini running Roon Server, 1.7 build 511. Music is stored on wd mycloud ext - he uses tidal as well.

Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)

Unifi Ap / Unifi USG Router / Netgear switch. Everything wired.

Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.)

3 x Sonos ZP120 (connect:amp) zones - 2 x wired, 1 wireless

Description Of Issue

My father lives in South Africa and last time I was out I helped him set Roon up and he subscribed for a lifetime subscription. He is loving the service, but we have run into a weird bug I can’t work out. In SA there are currently power shortages, so the power goes out or a few hours, often a few times in a week.

When the power comes back on the core restarts and roon server is restarted on login. No problem. You can browse the library from any remote (ipad or wired PC), BUT when you click play, the osciliating 3 bar icon begins moving but the seek bar does not move, and no audio plays. It doesn’t matter if it is local / tidal music.

If i restart the core, everything is fine. I even created an automator script to restart the core 5 mins after power on, but this doesn’t work. Weird, right? I’m totally confused as to what to try, as at the moment i’m having to remote in (teamviewer) and restart the core for him every time, which is driving us both mad!

Many thanks in advance for any help. Phil

When you say “restart the core” do you mean you are rebooting or just stopping and starting the RoonServer?

Hi @Philip_Dall,

As Daniel suggested above, can you elaborate on what you’re doing when you manually restart the Core? Is the entire machine rebooting?

Does the same playback issue occur for all zones? What if you play to System Output of the Core machine or of a remote?

Sorry for the confusion. Rebooting the machine does nothing as that is the same as simulating a power failure. What I mean is quiting RoonServer (from the menu bar dropdown) and then manually reopening it again.

The same behaviour occurs every time, on all sonos zones.

EDIT - I just re read your post. It does play through system output. I am remoting in so can’t check any other remotes.

Hi @Philip_Dall,

A power surge can sometimes negativity impact Roon since it is improperly shutting down and might cause issues with data being written/read from the database, have you considered adding a UPS to this system? Is the behavior the same if you only reboot the Sonos devices or network when this behavior occurs?

Yes, I have thought about it and it is probably something we should do. In fact you have spurred me on to make this happen. To your next point, the sonos devices are installed in a such a way they aren’t really accessible, so this is not something I’ve tried.

You have got me thinking though, that maybe the mac mini & roon server is coming back online before all of the sonos units, and this is causing some form of recognition problem. So have created a small automator script to launch the roonserver app 6 minutes after login.

The only real way to test is to wait for the next power failure, but fortunately this is Africa, so that won’t be long! I will keep you posted on the outcome.

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