I have been using the iPhone controller a lot but the Mac app is kind of awful. It's slow and buggy with a very dated UI. I installed the Sonos Menu Bar Controller. Now your Sonos Controller app is connected to your existing Sonos system and you're good to go! How to set up music streaming services using the Sonos Controller app for Mac. Sonos supports a TON of music services, including Apple Music (though, you have to set up Apple Music through the iPhone or iPad app). If you've got a subscription, then.
Everything's seemingly going wireless, so why wouldn't you jump on the wireless music bandwagon? With Sonos, you can stream all of your music to every room in your house, provided you have enough Sonos speakers to fill it.
Sonos is a wireless smart speaker system that connects to your home Wi-Fi network and then creates a network of its own, so that it's not eating up your bandwidth.
There's a Sonos app for iPhone and iPad, but you can also have total control from your Mac, so if you have a massive music library, you can put it all to good use!
How to set up your Sonos speakers using the Sonos Controller app for Mac
Download the free Sonos Controller from the iTunes store and away you go!
- Launch the Sonos Controller app from your dock or from the Finder.
- Click Next on the welcome screen.
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Click Set up New System.
- Check Standard Setup. You can check BOOST Setup, which is a hardwired setup, but if you've just bought your Sonos speaker, you likely don't have a BOOST or Bridge, since they've been discontinued.
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Click Next.
- Click the lock.
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Enter the administrator's name and password and click OK. This will allow your Sonos player to connect to your Mac.
- Click Next on the Connect to Power screen, once you've plugged in your player.
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Click Next once you've seen the green flashing light. It's usually the mute/play/pause button that flashes and it can be quite faint, so put your hand over it and check if you're in a bright room.
- Click the dropdown menu on the Player Setup screen.
- Click your Sonos model in the list.
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Click Set Up This Player.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Click Next.
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Click Next on the Wireless Setup screen, once your speaker is connected.
- Enter your Wi-Fi network name and password.
- Click Next.
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Click Next on the screen that says your player has been added.
- Click the dropdown menu on the Choose Room screen.
- Click the room in which you'll have your Sonos speaker.
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Click Next.
- Click Add Another Player and follow the same steps, if you wish. Otherwise, click Not Now.
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Click Next on the Sonos Registration screen.
- Enter your email address.
- Uncheck the boxes if you do not wish to receive company product information or software update information.
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Click Next.
- Click the dropdown menu.
- Select your country from the list.
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Click Next.
- Enter your zip/postal code.
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Click Next.
- Check or uncheck the box, depending on whether or not you would like to share usage data with Sonos.
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Click Next.
- Click Next on the 'Registration Complete' screen.
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Choose whether or not you'd like to set up your music library.
- Click Set up my music now and Sonos will take you through the process of adding your personal music library to the controller app.
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Click I'll set up my music later if you just want to get right into things and use music services instead of your music library.
- Click Next.
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Click Done.
There it is. It took a little while, but your Sonos system is now up and running and waiting to blast your sweet tunes.
How to connect to an existing Sonos system
If you've got a Sonos system set up already, but maybe brought home a brand new Mac, connecting to the existing system is a snap!
- Launch the Sonos Controller app from your dock or from the Finder.
- Click Next on the welcome screen.
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Click Connect to Existing System.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Click Next on the 'Connected' screen.
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Choose whether or not you'd like to set up your music library.
- Click Set up my music now and Sonos will take you through the process of adding your personal music library to the controller app.
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Click I'll set up my music later if you just want to get right into things and use music services instead of your music library.
- Click Next
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Click Done.
Now your Sonos Controller app is connected to your existing Sonos system and you're good to go!
How to set up music streaming services using the Sonos Controller app for Mac
Sonos supports a TON of music services, including Apple Music (though, you have to set up Apple Music through the iPhone or iPad app). If you've got a subscription, then you have access through Sonos!
Here's how to set 'em up!
- Launch the Sonos Controller app from your dock or from the Finder.
- Click Add Music Services in the menu on the right.
- Click the music service you'd like to set up.
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Sign in to your account or sign up for a new one. Some services require a paid subscription.
That's really all there is to it. Each music service will have a different way of signing you in. You'll usually have to click a link, which will take you to that service's website, where you will have to sign in or create a new account and agree to connect to Sonos.
Once you're connected, you can return to your Sonos Controller app and the service will be available in your music sources.
How to control your music services using the Sonos Controller app for Mac
Now that you have your music service(s) set up, you'll want to start jamming!
- Launch the Sonos Controller app from your dock or from the Finder.
- Click a music source in the menu on the righthand side.
- Choose how you like to explore that service. Each music service will have different categories to choose from. You can also search that particular service for anything specific you may want to hear.
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Click the dropdown arrow to choose when to play your selection.
- Click Play Now to play the track or album immediately.
- Click Play Next to play it after the current selection.
- Click Add to Queue to add the selection to the end of your queue.
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Click Replace Queue to completely replace your current queue. This will stop the song that's playing right now.
Once you've made your selection, you can use the standard music controls, like play, pause, skip, etc.
How to control your music library using the Sonos Controller app for Mac
During the setup process, you can choose to add your music library to the Sonos Controller app.
- Launch the Sonos Controller app from your dock or from the Finder.
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Click Music Library in the menu on the righthand side.
- Look through each category to find what you'd like to play. You can also search, using the search bar.
- Artists
- Albums
- Composers
- Genres
- Songs
- Imported Playlists
- Folders
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Click the dropdown arrow to choose when to play your selection.
- Click Play Now to play the track or album immediately.
- Click Play Next to play it after the current selection.
- Click Add to Queue to add the selection to the end of your queue.
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Click Replace Queue to completely replace your current queue. This will stop the song that's playing right now.
Once your selection is playing, you can use the standard music controls, like play, pause, and skip.
How to factory reset your Sonos speaker
- Turn it off.
- Unplug it.
- Plug your speaker back in, while simultaneously holding the play/pause button (on older models, it's the mute button).
- Hold the button until the light starts flashing orange.
Questions?
Let us know in the comments below!
Updated July 2017: All the information is up to date and accurate!
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Updated July 17, 2019: Sadly, Sonos no longer supports setting up a system on Windows or on Mac with the Sonos Controller app. The application used below still exists and can be downloaded from Sonos support, but sadly only to listen to music. To set up a system you must now use the Sonos mobile app on either Android or iOS. Our pals at Android Central have a comprehensive guide on how to get going you should check out.
Here, we walk you through every step to getting your new Sonos system up and running using your Windows 10 PC or tablet.
The first thing you need to do is download the installer for Windows. You'll find that at the link below.
Then follow these steps:
1. Install Sonos Controller
A process as straight forward as it sounds. Once you've downloaded the file linked above, open it up and follow the onscreen prompts as shown in these images. You'll be asked to dictate where you want Sonos to install on your machine, but once you've clicked 'Install' leave it a minute to do its thing.
2. Set up a new Sonos network
If you're reading this chances are you're setting up for the first time. However, if you're just new to using Windows to control your system, you'll see this box when you open up the app for the first time, too. The difference is you'll just click 'Connect to Existing System' and the app will find your setup on its own.
The option above, 'Set up New System' is what we want here.
It's also important to note at this point that no matter how many units you're planning to install on your network, you can only add them one at a time. Once the system is set up it'll be a shorter process to add new players to it later on.
3. Choose your network type
This determines whether you're just going to be using your local Wifi network to connect the speakers together, or if you're using additional Sonos hardware to create a proprietary one. If you have a Sonos Boost or Bridge, for example, select 'Boost Setup.' But since we're looking at Wifi we're going to go ahead and select 'Standard Setup.'
4. Plug it in, but only the power
No, really. OK, you plugged it in straight away, but there's an additional reminder here. Power is good (of course) but Ethernet is less so. So if you went ahead and connected your first bit of Sonos kit up to your router with a cable, pull it out.
If you need to connect via Ethernet at any time, setup will prompt you to to so.
5. Wait for the green light
When you turn on your Sonos for the first time, in our case, a Play:1, you'll first see a white light. Then it'll go green. When you get the green light, hit 'Next' and you'll be greeted with something that resembles the image above prompting a specific button press. Do it right and you'll hear a 'bong' indicating success.
Then you just have to wait a little while for the app to connect to the player.
6. Set up your Wifi network
Sonos requires a 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g network to operate. Providing you're good on this front, simply enter your local Wifi network details and hit 'Next.'
7. Designate a room
Since Sonos is a multi-room system, to help you distinguish where things are you can assign a room to each speaker. The dropdown box has a whole bunch of selections to cover pretty much every eventuality.
And that's it! You should now see something like the image above telling you that you've successfully added your first Sonos player. The system is now set up and from here you go forward and personalize as well as adding as many extra players as you want.
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