SONOS speakers are known for their reliability and ease of use, but they can malfunction occasionally, just like any other electronic device.
While the flashing white light on your SONOS speaker is a normal LED behavior in certain situations, if the light won’t go away, it’s an indication of a problem. But what kind of problem? And, more importantly, how to fix it and make it go away.
In this guide, I will explain what a white flashing light on your SONOS means under normal circumstances, and what it could mean when the light won’t go away. Finally, I will offer you a few solutions that could fix the issue.
Key Takeaways
- When your SONOS speaker boots up after you plug it in, you will see the flashing white light. Also, when the speaker is trying to connect to your Wi-Fi, the LED will flash white. It’s perfectly normal to see the white light flashing on these two occasions.
- However, if the light doesn’t go away after 10 seconds or so, it could be an indication of a problem.
- Give your speaker a minute or two before you do anything. The problem may have been caused by some minor glitch in your Wi-Fi network or your speaker’s firmware.
- If the light doesn’t go away, do some basic troubleshooting first – restart your speaker, and if restarting doesn’t work, try resetting it.
- If the basic troubleshooting steps don’t help, it’s time for more advanced fixes. You could try reinstalling the SONOS app, using a different phone to set up the speaker, restoring network settings on your phone, or resetting your phone altogether.
- Since white flashing light could indicate that your SONOS is trying to connect to Wi-Fi, if it won’t go away, the problem might be with your Wi-Fi network. So, it’s not a bad idea to troubleshoot your internet connection and Wi-Fi as well. You could at least try rebooting or resetting the router.
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What Does the Flashing White Line on My SONOS Mean?
As discussed, SONOS speakers will flash white on certain occasions, which is perfectly normal. Here’s what a white flashing light could mean:
SONOS Is Booting Up After Being Plugged In
When you plug in your SONOS speaker and turn it on, one of the lights you should see is the flashing white light. It should last shortly and be replaced by a green flashing light, which means that your speaker is ready to be configured.
SONOS Speaker Flashing White – Meaning (Source – SONOS)
SONOS Is Connecting to the Wi-Fi Network
When you enter your network’s Wi-Fi password into the app, the speaker will try to connect to Wi-Fi. While connecting, the light will flash white for a few seconds and ]should turn solid white, which means the speaker is connected and ready for use.
You can also see the white flashing light in combination with orange or red.
Flashing Orange and White
When the LED on your SONOS speaker flashes orange and white, it means that your SONOS is updating. You will also see this LED combo when resetting the speaker.
Flashing Red and White
When you see the red and white LED combo, it means that your SONOS speaker failed to update.
SONOS Speaker flashing white and orange or white and red (Source – SONOS)
Should You Do Something About the White Flashing Light On Your SONOS?
If you see it during the boot-up process or when trying to connect the speaker to a Wi-Fi network, wait and the light should quickly go away. Usually, the light will turn to blinking green or solid white in a few seconds. If it doesn’t, give it a minute or two.
If the light keeps blinking white and won’t go away, it’s time to do something about it.
Ways to Make the White Flashing Light Go Away
Restart Your SONOS
What a surprise! If you have already tried the oldest trick in the book, just move on to the next fix. If you haven’t, try it. I know it sounds silly, but it can be surprisingly helpful.
Note that some SONOS speakers go to standby mode when you press the power button shortly. You have to press it longer to turn it off. So, make sure your speaker is turned off – putting it to standby mode and waking it up won’t do anything.
Reset Your SONOS
Restarting the speaker fixes only minor glitches, so there’s a chance it might not work. A more aggressive fix is resetting the speaker. The reset can fix all kinds of bugs by restoring the speaker to the factory default settings.
Resetting your SONOS speaker will eliminate all the firmware bugs and glitches.
Unfortunately, resetting your SONOS will erase all custom settings you’ve made over time, so be aware that the speaker has to be configured from scratch after you reset it.
For the exact reset instructions for your speaker, check out the user manual. Most speakers can be reset by pressing a certain button or button combo for 5-10 seconds.
Resetting a SONOS Speaker
Restart Your Phone
As you already know, SONOS speakers use Wi-Fi to communicate with each other. Wi-Fi is also used to stream music, control playback, and enable/disable various features.
To set up a SONOS speaker, you have to use your phone, the SONOS app, and an active Wi-Fi connection. If any of these links is broken, you won’t be able to set up or use the speaker, and you may see that white flashing light.
So, it’s natural to troubleshoot every link in this chain, not just the speaker.
If restarting or resetting the speaker doesn’t fix the problem, you should also troubleshoot your phone, the SONOS app, and your Wi-Fi connection. If any of these links is broken, the speaker won’t work.
Start with the simplest thing – restart your phone and see if that helps. If not, try the next solution.
Try Using a Different Phone
If you’re setting up your SONOS speaker for the first time, and can’t get rid of the flashing white light, it might be a good idea to try using a different phone or some other device.
Just install the SONOS app on that other device and try setting up the speaker from scratch. Since you didn’t finish the initial setup, it doesn’t hurt to reset the speaker before setting it up afresh.
Reinstall the SONOS App
This can be a painful solution if you have a SONOS ecosystem with numerous speakers all over your home. If you don’t have problems with other speakers and the app communicates with them without issues, there’s no point in deleting the app and reinstalling it. The problem is probably with the speaker.
However, if this is your first SONOS speaker or you have problems controlling other speakers as well, reinstalling the app could help.
Reset Network Settings
If using a different phone or reinstalling the app doesn’t help, the problem could be with your phone’s network settings – your phone might have an issue connecting to your Wi-Fi. Resetting the network settings will give your phone a fresh start. However, this will also erase all saved Wi-Fi passwords, which can be inconvenient.
How to Reset Network Setting on an Android Phone?
How to Reset Network Setting on an iPhone?
Restart Your Router
If troubleshooting your phone didn’t fix the issue, it’s time to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi. Even if your router is working fine and you can access the internet without issues, the router might have developed some bugs that prevent it from communicating with one specific device (your speaker) or a group of devices. After all, restarting it will not erase any Wi-Fi-related settings.
Unplug the router from the power source, give it a minute, plug it back in, and wait for it to boot up. Check if the SONOS speaker is still flashing white.
Reset Your Router
I don’t recommend doing this unless you are absolutely sure there’s something wrong with your Wi-Fi. If none of your devices can connect to Wi-Fi, resetting the router is a viable solution.
Resetting a router is a simple procedure but with far-reaching consequences. It will erase all custom-made settings, including your Wi-Fi password and network name, parental control settings, DHCP settings, etc. After you reset it, you will have to configure all those things from scratch.
To reset the router, find the reset button/pinhole on the back and press it. If it’s a pinhole, use some thin object to reach the button. Press and hold the button until the lights on the front start flashing. Release and wait for the router to reboot. After it reboots, connect to Wi-Fi using the router’s default Wi-Fi password, configure the router, and try connecting the speaker to your Wi-Fi.
How to Reset a Wi-Fi Router?
If Nothing Helps…
If none of the tips listed in this post helped you fix the problem, the chances are there’s something wrong with the speaker. Some internal components may have been damaged, or there might be a problem with the speaker’s firmware.
Contact SONOS support and ask for their help. If the speaker is still under warranty, you may get a replacement if they can’t fix it.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Question: Why won’t my SONOS stop flashing white?
- Answer: A SONOS speaker will flash white during the initial boot-up after you plug it in, or when trying to connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- If your SONOS speaker won’t stop flashing white, it could mean there’s something wrong with the firmware, or the speaker can’t connect to Wi-Fi.
- Minor firmware glitches can be fixed by restarting your SONOS speaker. More persistent bugs can be removed by resetting the speaker.
- Question: What does the white flashing light mean on SONOS Roam?
- Answer: White flashing light on a SONOS Roam either means your speaker is booting up after being plugged in or trying to connect to Wi-Fi.
- If it’s booting up, give it some time. The light should turn flashing green (during the initial setup) or solid white (if the speaker was configured previously).
- If it’s trying to connect to Wi-Fi, wait for the light to turn solid white (connected to Wi-Fi). If it keeps flashing white, you will have to troubleshoot every link between the speaker and your Wi-Fi network. Besides the speaker and your Wi-Fi router, you will have to troubleshoot your phone and your SONOS app.
- Question: How do I turn off the white light on my SONOS?
- Answer: You can use the SONOS app to turn off the status indicator light on your SONOS.
- While the speaker is connected to Wi-Fi and fully operational, go to your app, open Settings, select the speaker/room, scroll down, and, under the Hardware, disable Status Light.
- Question: How to do a factory reset on SONOS?
- Answer: It depends on the speaker. They don’t all reset the same way. To reset a SONOS speaker, you usually have to use some kind of button combo. You have to press two buttons simultaneously and hold them for 10-15 seconds (until the speaker starts flashing amber/orange and white). The speaker has to be turned off, and you have to press the button while turning the speaker on.
- On older SONOS speakers, you have to press and hold the PLAY/PAUSE and VOL UP buttons or MUTE and VOL UP buttons, while connecting the speaker to the outlet.
- On newer models, you just have to press and hold the INFINITY/JOIN button, while connecting the speaker to the outlet.
- For battery-operated SONOS speakers (Move and Roam), the reset procedure is slightly different.
- To reset SONOS Move, the speaker has to be moved off the base and completely turned off. While the speaker is OFF, press and hold the JOIN button and put the speaker back on the charging base (the base has to be connected to the outlet) without releasing the button. The speaker will soon start flashing amber/orange and white.
- To reset SONOS Roam, first, turn off the speaker. Then, while the speaker is turned off, press the PLAY/PAUSE button. Turn the speaker on by pressing the POWER button, but don’t release the PLAY/PAUSE button. When it starts flashing amber/orange and white, release the button.
- Question: Why is SONOS not connecting?
- Answer: It could be because the speaker’s firmware is experiencing some kind of issue, which can be solved by restarting or resetting. However, it could also be because your Wi-Fi is acting up or because of your phone or the SONOS app.
- Question: Does SONOS need Wi-Fi for Bluetooth?
- Answer: Every SONOS speaker requires Wi-Fi for the initial setup. Most of them require Wi-Fi for normal operation. Battery-operated speakers (SONOS Move and Roam) only require Wi-Fi for the initial configuration. After that, you can use them without Wi-Fi.
In Conclusion
When a SONOS speaker gets stuck on a blinking light, it can be frustrating, especially if you don’t know what the specific color means and how to deal with the problem.
I hope this guide helped you find the reason why your SONOS is flashing white light and why it won’t stop. More importantly, I hope my tips helped make it go away.
Stay tuned for more troubleshooting guides.
