Best practices for portable surrounds

You can use two matching, supported portable Sonos speakers as portable surrounds with a compatible soundbar. This article covers common problems and fixes when you set up portable surrounds for the first time, or when you move your speakers between rooms and switch them between standalone speakers and portable surrounds.

First time setup best practices

If you're having trouble setting up portable surrounds for the first time, check the following.

Update your software

Make sure your soundbar, your portable speakers, and your Sonos app are powered on and all have the latest firmware and app updates installed.

Separate any existing stereo pair

If your two portable speakers are already paired together as a stereo pair, separate them in the Sonos app before setting them up as portable surrounds.

Remove existing surrounds

If your soundbar already has stationary surround speakers set up, remove them in the Sonos app before adding portable surrounds.

Automatic surround switching best practices

If your portable speakers don't automatically switch to surrounds when placed near your soundbar, or keep switching back to standalone speakers, check for some common issues outlined below.

Turn on the soundbar's microphone

The soundbar needs its microphone to automatically assign left or right surround placement. If the microphone is off, turn it on in the Sonos app, then try again.

If your speakers still don't switch to surrounds automatically, you can add them as surrounds manually and choose their position from the settings menu.

Play content

Your speakers switch to surrounds when your soundbar starts playing content. Start music or TV playback on your soundbar, then try again. Line-in and Bluetooth are turned off on portable speakers while you use them as surrounds. Portable speakers that are already playing content won't automatically switch to surrounds, even if you put them back in their surround position.

Check speaker placement

If your portable speakers are too far from your soundbar, they may stop working as surrounds and act as standalone speakers. Move them closer to your soundbar and try again.

Automatic switching can fail if something blocks the path between your portable speakers and your soundbar. Move any large objects that could block line-of-sight out of the way.

Wake sleeping portables

Your portable speakers may be asleep or turned off, especially if not placed on the charging ring or dock. Press the power button or place them back on their charging ring or dock to wake them up.

Check your WiFi network

Ensure your soundbar and both portable speakers are turned on and connected to the same WiFi network.

Confirm that portables are not connected over Bluetooth

Portables can't switch back to surrounds while they're connected to Bluetooth or playing content over Bluetooth.