Fix: Sonos Subwoofer No Audio or Not Playing Issue

You just bought a Sonos system complete with the play bar, sub, and surround sound. Turns out after hooking it up together, the subwoofer has no audio. It is unable to play any sound. Even if you have been using the system for a while and the sub worked perfectly, it could stop working suddenly.

Also Read: Fix: Sonos Arc Not Working with Samsung, LG, Sony Smart TV

How to Fix Sonos Subwoofer No Audio Issue

The question is, what’s wrong? I ended up noting down hundreds of posts and complaints from users facing the same issues. Here’s what I have recollected after trying to fix the issue myself as well as based on how some users were able to fix the issue.

Try rebooting the system

If the Sonos subwoofer stopped out of the blue, you can try rebooting the device. There’s a probability that a minor glitch might have occurred when the Sonos systems including the subs were trying to fire audio. Simply turn off the system and the power source, wait for a few minutes, and turn it back ON. Check if it helps or not.

Reconnect all the players

It is annoying when a subwoofer doesn’t play audio but all other players are firing audio (or maybe not). In order to eliminate obvious issues, disconnect all the cords and power down the device. Connect the playbar with the TV using HDMI ARC ports on both ends, use the Sonos S1/S2 app to pair the app to the playbar and the TV. Now, attach each player one by one on the same WiFi channel while ensuring you are running a test tone after connecting each player. This reduces the chances of getting a connection wrong since you can run a test tone to ensure the said player (say a subwoofer) has connected or not.

Run Diagnosis

The best way to find out what is likely wrong if any of the Sonos players are not working is to run the Diagnostics tool on the Sonos app. It should be able to point out all the points of errors such as high interference from other WiFi devices or if your sub is not connected to the playbar properly and so on. Once you obtain the report, you can try and fix the issues that appear in the report or reach out to Sonos support staff to find a fix.

There’s a lot of WiFi interference

Your Sonos system works on WiFi and since it is already communicating with other players in the setup, WiFi interference from other devices can be a problem. If you are playing with no audio issue, try disconnecting all other devices off the WiFi or turn them off for a bit and check if this resolves the issue with the Subs or not.

Update the Sonos app

The Sonos S1 and S2 apps are responsible for connecting the Sonos systems with each other and the TV set. All players use software and the thing about software is, it can end up in bugs and glitches. If it’s something that happened with your players, the app is to be blamed. You can try updating the Sonos app via Settings >> Software Updates from within the Sonos app. Check if this works.

Reach out to a Sonos support staff

You have encountered a Sonos subwoofer with no audio or no playing issue and don’t know exactly why it happened. If that’s the case, check out Sonos support for help as the staff members are pretty on-point with replies to angered or confused Sonos users. You can send in your query and wait for the response with a resolution. You may be able to produce the confirmation number of a diagnostics report so it is handy to keep one prepared and tag it along with the query you will be posting to speed up the procedure.

Get help from a technician

Assuming that you contacted a Sonos support staff and still couldn’t fix the Sonos subwoofer no audio or not playing issue, you can check it out with a technician. They will be able to hook up all the players to your TV properly ensuring there’s no issue with the setup procedure. Since a technician has the experience of hooking up home theatre systems like this, they will be able to fix the issue right away.