Voice on a portable speaker works only on WiFi. Sonos says you can add a voice assistant to a Roam to control your Sonos system, and that voice assistants are unavailable while a Move is in Bluetooth mode. Sonos's Voice Control checks apply: confirm Sonos Voice Control is set up on the speaker you are using (Settings, General Settings, Voice Assistants), check the microphone is on and the light is lit, reboot the speaker, and move it closer or away from walls and noise. Sonos Voice Control supports US English and French, and a request in another region may not work as expected.
To reset it, remove Sonos Voice Control from the room and add it again. For Alexa, re-enable the Sonos skill in the Alexa app, use one Amazon account per Sonos system and link music services; the advanced route deregisters the speaker, removes Alexa in the Sonos app, logs out of Amazon apps and sets it up again. Google Assistant has its own article with microphone and placement checks. Because a portable moves, check it is on the WiFi network where the assistant was set up.
Differential
Likely causes of “Sonos portable speakers voice assistant or controls are not working”, and how to tell them apart
- 1
A Move is in Bluetooth mode
What separates it There is no voice at all because a Move is in Bluetooth mode
How to confirm Switch the Move to wifi mode, since voice needs wifi
- 2
The microphone is off
What separates it The commands are ignored because the microphone is off
How to confirm Turn the microphone on, and check that the light shows
- 3
The speaker is on a different WiFi network
What separates it The assistant cannot respond because the speaker is on a different wifi network
How to confirm Connect it to the network it was set up on
- 4
Unsupported language or region
What separates it You hear Sorry I don't understand because the language or the region is not supported
How to confirm Sonos Voice Control supports US English and French
- 5
A stale Alexa link
What separates it Alexa cannot process requests because of a stale Alexa link
How to confirm Re-enable the skill or set it up again
Before you touch a setting
Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence
- The microphone state and the exact response
- The voice service and account used
- The WiFi network the speaker is on
Try in this order
0 of 6 completedUse WiFi mode
ReversibleUse wifi mode, by switching a Move back from Bluetooth, and try again, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Check the microphone
ReversibleCheck the microphone, and make sure that it is switched on, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Check the service
ReversibleCheck the service, in Settings, General Settings and Voice Assistants, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Relocate
ReversibleRelocate the speaker, moving it away from noise, so that it can hear you, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Remove and re-add
ReversibleRemove and re add the assistant, and set it up again in the app, and then test again to see whether it helped.
Contact Sonos
ReversibleContact Sonos Support if it 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
- Voice on portables
- Sonos says a voice assistant can be added to a Roam; on a Move voice assistants are unavailable in Bluetooth mode.
- Auto Trueplay and voice
- Sonos says if you have added the Google Assistant to a Move, auto Trueplay is disabled in Bluetooth mode.
- Alexa and Google on a portable speaker
- The Sonos Move 2 supports voice assistants through its microphones, and the microphone switch on the back must be on, with the LED showing that the mic is active. If you move the speaker away from home, voice control needs a Wi-Fi network and does not work over Bluetooth alone. Check the Sonos app for which assistant is added to the speaker.
- Why commands may fail
- A speaker near a loud TV can miss the wake word. Set the microphone sensitivity in the app, and move the speaker away from the soundbar. If one assistant stops working, remove it in the app and add it again, then restart the speaker.
- Wake word and room acoustics
- The Move 2 listens for its wake word with an array of microphones, and a speaker that is carried from room to room may hear differently in each. In a kitchen with a running extractor fan, or a patio with traffic, speak closer and a little louder, or lower the volume of the music while you ask. If you add a second Sonos speaker in the same room, only the one that hears you best should answer; the app's voice settings show which one is active.
- Switching the voice service
- The Sonos app lets you add and remove a voice service for each speaker. If the assistant you chose stops responding, remove it, restart the speaker by unplugging and reconnecting it, and add the service again by signing in to your account. Check that your phone and the speaker are on the same network while you do this, and that the service shows as linked in the assistant's own app.
- Setting up a voice assistant on the Move 2
- Add Alexa or Google Assistant in the Sonos app under Services and Voice, then sign in. The Move 2 has built-in microphones, and the microphone switch must be on. If the assistant does not respond, check the Wi-Fi, move the speaker nearer the router and re-add the service.
- Privacy and the microphone switch
- The physical switch disables the microphones. When the speaker is on battery away from Wi-Fi, voice control is not available, since the assistants need the internet. Keep the Sonos app and speaker updated.
- Other models this page answers
- These steps also fit the Roam 2 speaker.
Stop boundary
When this stops being a self-service repair
- !If voice never answers on WiFi with the microphone on, contact Sonos Support
- !If Alexa still fails after deregistering, contact Amazon
- !If a Google Assistant fault persists, contact Google
Evidence ledger
Sources behind this answer
Setup, microphone, reboot, language and re-add.
Skill re-enable and the advanced fix.
Microphone and placement checks.
Voice assistants are unavailable in Bluetooth mode.
The company and its products.
Exact questions
Common questions
Can I use voice on a Move in Bluetooth mode?+
No, voice assistants are unavailable in Bluetooth mode.
Can a Roam use a voice assistant?+
Yes, Sonos has an article on adding one.
Which languages does Sonos Voice Control support?+
Sonos Voice Control supports US English and French, so check your language.
What if the light is off?+
Tap the button to re-enable it.
Does moving the speaker matter?+
Yes, away from walls and noise.
Does it need WiFi?+
Yes, voice services need the speaker on WiFi.
Does the Google Assistant work the same as Alexa on a Move 2?+
Not quite: Sonos says adding the Google Assistant to a Move also disables auto Trueplay while the speaker is in Bluetooth mode, an interaction that Alexa does not carry, so a Google Assistant Move that sounds worse away from home may be losing its room-tuning for that reason rather than a fault.
Can the Move 2 use Alexa and Google at the same time?+
Sonos lets you choose a voice service per speaker, so check the app for what the Move 2 supports.
Does voice control work on Bluetooth?+
No, it needs Wi-Fi.
How do I mute the microphones?+
Use the microphone switch.