Sonos Roam Flashing Green Light (What Does It Mean?)

Your SONOS Roam will flash green during the initial setup. This light indicates that your speaker has booted up and is ready to be set up. You only need to go through the standard setup steps, and your speaker should be ready for use in minutes.

However, on rare occasions, you may encounter a flashing green light that won’t go away. This can be caused by speaker firmware bugs. It could also happen because the SONOS S2 app can’t recognize the speaker, or because of Wi-Fi connection issues. If you’re facing this issue, you’ve come to the right place.

In this post, I will explain all the potential reasons why your SONOS Roam is flashing green and list the most effective troubleshooting tips.

Sonos Roam Flashing Green Light


Key Takeaways

  • You will see a flashing green light on your SONOS Roam during the initial setup. That’s perfectly normal. When you power on the speaker for the first time, after it boots up, it will start flashing green, indicating that it’s ready for setup.
  • Once you set up the speaker using the SONOS S2 app and your home Wi-Fi connection, the green flashing light will go away. 
  • If you experience the green flashing light after the initial setup or if you can’t even start the setup process, the problem is either with your speaker, your phone (or app), or your Wi-Fi connection. Most often, it’s some kind of speaker issue. 
  • To get rid of the green flashing light on your Roam, try restarting it. If restarting doesn’t help, try resetting the speaker
  • If you are positive that your speaker is working fine, you have to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi connection and your phone. Try connecting another phone to your Wi-Fi and using that phone to set up the speaker. If that fixes your problem, the problem was with your phone or with your SONOS app. 
  • If using some other phone or tablet to set up the speaker doesn’t help, you could also try troubleshooting your Wi-Fi. The two easiest options would be to restart or reset your router.

What Does the Flashing Green Light on Your SONOS Roam Mean?

If the green flashing light appears the first time you turn on your SONOS Roam, that’s perfectly normal. The green flashing light when your turn on the SONOS speaker for the first time indicates the speaker is ready for setup

You only have to set it up, configure it, and connect it to the existing SONOS system. The light will turn solid white after the initial setup. 

If you see the flashing green light after the first setup, it could mean various things. For starters, it could happen if the speaker was reset by accident. This is not very likely, but it’s possible. In this case, you just have to set it up afresh.

If you see this green flashing light during the initial setup but can’t find the speaker in the app, it means that you have to perform some basic troubleshooting steps that include troubleshooting your speaker, your phone, and your Wi-Fi. 

If the light is solid green (not flashing green), you don’t have a problem. It simply means that your SONOS Roam is muted. Press the volume up button, and the green light will go away. 

SONOS Speakers – Meanings of Different Green Lights (source: SONOS)

SONOS Speakers – Meanings of Different Green Lights (source: SONOS)

SONOS Speakers – LED Lights and Their Meanings

What means every Sonos LED Light Pattern

How to Get Rid of the Flashing Green Light on Your SONOS Roam?

Set Up Your SONOS Roam

Most commonly, the green flashing light on a SONOS Roam speaker happens when your first turn on the speaker or after you reset it. To make the green light go away, just set up and configure your SONOS speaker afresh.

When you see the green flashing light on your SONOS Roam, it’s time to set it up and configure it. Install the SONOS S2 app, open it, create a new SONOS or log into the existing account, and press the gear icon.

When you see the green flashing light on your SONOS Roam, it’s time to set it up and configure it. Install the SONOS S2 app, open it, create a new SONOS or log into the existing account, and press the gear icon.

After pressing the gear icon, the app will find your product automatically, and you will just have to click on Add SONOS Roam. 

SONOS S2 App - Add SONOS Roam

SONOS S2 App – Add SONOS Roam

If the app doesn’t find it, you can go to System > Add Product. In the process, you will probably be asked to give the app permission to access your location.

System - Add Product - Allow Location Access - Add SONOS Roam

System – Add Product – Allow Location Access – Add SONOS Roam

Once the app finds your speaker, you will just have to follow the on-screen instructions. In the process, the speaker will be connected to your Wi-Fi and you will be asked to select the room for it and connect it to your existing SONOS multiroom system. Finally, your SONOS Roam is ready for use.

Note: Even though SONOS Roam is also a Bluetooth speaker, you can’t connect it to your phone via Bluetooth the moment you turn it on. You will have to go through the initial setup first. After that, you can start using it as a Bluetooth speaker.

Setting Up SONOS Roam

How to Setup Sonos Roam

Restart Your SONOS Roam

If the flashing green light won’t go away or you can’t even start setting up the speaker, you could try to fix the problem by restarting/rebooting the speaker.

First, press the power button until the light goes away and you hear a chime (approx. 5 seconds). If the speaker is plugged in or placed on a wireless charger, unplug it and take it off the charger. 

Press the POWER button for approx. 5 seconds to power off the speaker

Press the POWER button for approx. 5 seconds to power off the speaker

Wait for about a minute, and then turn it back on. 

If this doesn’t fix your issue, move on to the next step. 

Reset Your SONOS Roam and Set It Up from Scratch

Your speaker’s firmware might have developed some bugs that cannot be solved by a simple restart. In this case, try resetting the speaker. The reset will remove all the bugs and revert your speaker’s firmware to its factory default settings. 

To reset SONOS Roam, you need to turn it off first (follow the instructions above). Now, while holding the play/pause button, press the power button shortly to turn on the speaker. Don’t release the play/pause button until the light at the top of the front panel turns orange. Orange flashing light indicates the reset has begun. You can release the play/pause button and wait for the reset process to finish. 

During the reset process, you will see different LED lights. When the LED light starts flashing green, it’s time to set up and configure your SONOS Roam. 

Resetting SONOS Roam

How to Factory Reset Sonos Roam & Roam SL

Troubleshoot Your Phone and SONOS S2 App

If resetting your speaker doesn’t fix the problem, it’s time to consider other culprits. 

Note that it’s highly unlikely the green flashing light was caused by the malfunctioning phone, app, or Wi-Fi connection. Still, it doesn’t hurt to try a few more things before contacting SONOS customer support.

After resetting your SONOS Roam, try using a different phone. Install the SONOS app, log into your SONOS account, and try setting up the speaker. That way, you will test whether the problem is with your phone or app.

If you manage to set up the speaker and get rid of the flashing green light, there’s something wrong with your phone or with the SONOS app. 

Try uninstalling and reinstalling the app to check whether the app is causing problems. 

If that doesn’t help, try resetting network settings on your phone or resetting your phone to factory default settings. 

Could This Green Flashing Light Be Caused by the Malfunctioning Router or a Poor Internet Connection?

If troubleshooting your speaker, your phone, and your SONOS app doesn’t help, the last thing left to try is to troubleshoot your Wi-Fi connection. 

Note: If you can connect your phone and other devices to Wi-Fi and access the internet, the Wi-Fi connection is not the source of your problem.

The first thing you could try is restarting the router. You can use the power button (if your router has one), or you can unplug it from the wall outlet, wait for a minute or two, and plug it back in. Wait for the router to boot up, and try connecting to Wi-Fi and setting up the speaker. 

The other thing to try is resetting your router. This procedure fixes all kinds of Wi-Fi-related issues. It is a relatively simple but effective technique.

However, if you have a complicated Wi-Fi network with static IP addresses assigned to different devices, parental settings, blocked websites/devices, and other security settings, you should be aware that reset erases all those settings.

The reset procedure takes 1 minute and doesn’t require advanced knowledge. You just have to find the reset button or pinhole (usually at the back) and press it until the lights start blinking. Then, release the button and let the router reboot. If the button is hidden inside a pinhole, use something thin (needle, paper clip) to press it. 

Reset the router by pressing the reset button until the lights on the front flash

Reset the router by pressing the reset button until the lights on the front flash

If Nothing Helps, Contact SONOS Customer Support

If you’ve tried all the suggested fixes, but the green flashing light still won’t go away, your only option is to contact SONOS customer support and ask them for help. 

They will either suggest some additional troubleshooting steps or ask you to send the speaker for repair. If the speaker is still under warranty, you may get a brand-new unit. 


Frequently Asked Questions

  • Question: How do I turn off the green light on my SONOS?
  • Answer: Green flashing light on your SONOS Roam indicates that your speaker is ready for setup. You just need to set it up, and the green flashing light should go away. If it doesn’t, or if you can’t set up the speaker, try restarting it. If that doesn’t help, reset the speaker. 
  • On rare occasions, especially when you can’t set up the speaker or the app can’t find your speaker, the problem could be with your phone, your SONOS S2 app (your SONOS account), or your Wi-Fi connection. When this happens, you could try using a different phone, restarting your Wi-Fi router, or resetting the router. 
  • Question: How do I reboot my SONOS Roam?
  • Answer: Locate the power button on the back and press it for approx. 5 seconds. Pressing the power button for 1 second while the speaker is turned on will put the speaker to sleep, which is not the same thing as turning it off. 
  • After you turn it off, press the power button shortly, and the speaker will turn on. Your speaker has been rebooted.
  • Question: How do I reset my SONOS Roam?
  • Answer: Turn your SONOS Roam off by pressing the power button for 5 sec (you will hear a chime when it turns off). Then, press and hold the play/pause button. Keep the button pressed and press the power button shortly to turn the speaker back on. Keep holding the play/pause button until the LED flashes orange. Then, release the button and wait for the green flashing light to appear. Set up and configure your SONOS Roam. 
  • Question: Why won’t my SONOS Roam stop flashing green?
  • Answer: Most commonly, your SONOS Roam won’t stop flashing green because it needs to be set up or because it wasn’t set up properly. 
  • The easiest solution – set your speaker up from scratch. 
  • Other effective solutions – try restarting or resetting the speaker. Then, set it up.
  • Hail Mary – try using a different phone with a freshly installed SONOS app, create a new SONOS account, and restart or reset your router.

Take Away

SONOS speakers are known for their ease of use and reliable connection, but even the best smart speakers aren’t exempt from issues. 

When your SONOS Roam is flashing green, it usually means that you need to set it up, and the green flashing light will disappear. However, if the light won’t go away or you can’t set it up, you need to do something about it.

I hope this guide helped you perform some basic troubleshooting and fix your SONOS Roam.

Was this article helpful?
YesNo

Leave a Reply