Portable speakers group like any Sonos product when they are on your system's WiFi. Press and hold Play/Pause on a Roam or a Move until you hear the second chime to group with the nearest Sonos product playing, or hold until the third chime to swap the audio to the closest speaker, or use the Grouping menu in the Sonos app. Ungroup by holding the button again or unticking the room. Portable-specific limits: a Move in Bluetooth mode cannot group or stereo pair and does not show in the app;
a Roam or Move that has joined a different Sonos system shows in the app but will not group with your rooms until it is factory reset and added as a new product, and reset again to return; two Roams in a stereo pair cannot pair away from WiFi. Group volume can be changed for the whole group or each room. If TV audio is playing to a soundbar and a portable is grouped, use the group audio delay. Single-stream music services can only play to one system at once.
Differential
Likely causes of “Sonos portable speakers will not group, sync or play in multiple rooms”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
The portable is in Bluetooth mode
What separates it The portable is missing from the Grouping menu because it is in Bluetooth mode
How to confirm Switch the portable back to wifi mode, and check the Grouping menu
- 2
The portable is on another system
What separates it The portable shows but will not group because it is on another system
How to confirm Reset it and add it to this system
- 3
It is out of WiFi range
What separates it The portable drops from the group because it is out of wifi range
How to confirm Move the portable closer to the router, and try to group it again
- 4
A single-stream service limit
What separates it Only one system plays because of a single stream service limit
How to confirm Use separate accounts for the two systems, so both can stream at once
- 5
TV audio in a group
What separates it The soundbar stops or skips because TV audio is in a group
How to confirm Adjust the group audio delay, in the Sonos app, and test the TV sound
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The portable and the rooms you are grouping
- Whether the portable is on WiFi, in Bluetooth mode or on a different system
- What the Grouping menu shows in the Sonos app
- Any error or chime pattern that the portable makes
Try in this order
0 of 7 completedCheck the mode
ReversibleCheck the mode, and make sure that the portable is on wifi and not on Bluetooth.
Group with the button
ReversibleGroup with the button, by holding Play or Pause until the second chime, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Use the app
ReversibleUse the app, by opening the Grouping menu and ticking the rooms, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Check the system
ReversibleCheck the system, and confirm that the portable belongs to this system, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Reboot
ReversibleReboot the portable and the router, and then try to group again, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Reset if it is on another system
ReversibleReset if it is on another system, by factory resetting it and adding it as new.
Contact Sonos
ReversibleContact Sonos Support if grouping still fails after these steps, giving them the model, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Model-specific
What is true of this model and not of its siblings
- Grouping by model
- Sonos's Roam article describes the Play/Pause chimes; the Move 2 has touch controls where holding the play/pause button groups with a playing room.
- Different systems
- A portable that connects to another system shows in the app but cannot group with your rooms until reset and re-added.
- Other models this page answers
- These steps also fit the Roam 2 speaker.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If a portable on your system will not group after rebooting it and the router, contact Sonos Support
- !If it is on another system, reset and re-add it
- !If only TV audio skips, use the group audio delay
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Group and swap by holding Play/Pause.
The Grouping menu, Everywhere and volume.
A portable on another system needs a reset.
Grouping is unavailable in Bluetooth mode.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
How do I group a Roam?+
Hold Play/Pause until the second chime, or use the Grouping menu.
How do I swap audio?+
Hold Play/Pause until the third chime to swap with the closest speaker.
Can I group in Bluetooth mode?+
No, you cannot group in Bluetooth mode, since grouping needs wifi.
Can I use it in two homes?+
Only by resetting and re-adding it each time.
Can two Roams pair away from WiFi?+
No, two Roams cannot pair away from wifi, since stereo pairing needs wifi.