How to control Sonos with the Spotify app

Spotify and Sonos just made it possible to control Sonos speakers directly from the Spotify mobile app. This new integration was released today, and this blog post clearly explains how to get it all running.

The only way to get Spotify to play through Sonos speakers in the past was to use the dedicated Sonos app, but that app doesn’t have access to all of Spotify’s features. Plus, if you got good at navigating your way around the Spotify app, it was jarring and unpleasant to be forced to use the Sonos app at home.

How to get the integration working

When I tried to get this running with my iPhone 6S and my Sonos Play:5 speaker, I mistakenly first opened the App Store on my phone and looked in the “Updates” section, assuming there would be new versions of Spotify and Sonos to download. To my surprise, there were no updates to be found.

I figured perhaps my phone had already downloaded the new apps and updated them, so I launched Spotify to see if I could send music to my Sonos speaker. I played a song on my phone and looked around for a way to send it to my Sonos, but I found nothing.

Then I realized that I likely needed to update the software on the Sonos speaker itself. So, I launched the Sonos app and immediately got a notification in the app that there was new software to download and install. This was the crucial first step I had missed.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Launch the Sonos app on your mobile device.
2. Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner.
3. Scroll to the bottom of the menu that pops out from the left, and tap Settings.
4. Then tap Online Updates from the Settings menu.
5. At this point you should see that the new Sonos 7.0 update is available. Tap the red CONTINUE button to begin downloading the update.
6. The next screen informs you that the update takes a few minutes to complete. It did indeed take a few minutes.
7. The next screen (seen above on the far right) tells you that you can control Sonos from Spotify if you “Set up a Sonos account.” I found this odd, since I already had an active Sonos account, but, I came here to for this feature, so I tapped the red SET UP SONOS ACCOUNT button anyway.
8. The next screen said “WHY DO I NEED A SONOS ACCOUNT? A Sonos Account lets your Sonos and Spotify apps work together securely and reliably. You’ll use it to manage and expand your Sonos system – both in the app and on www.sonos.com.” Okay, I guess. Just tap NEXT in the bottom right corner.
9. The next screen will have you confirm your email address. Do it.
10. Not surprisingly, the next screen tells you to check your inbox for an email. I did this, and an email showed up shortly afterward with a button to create a password. Press the Create a new password button in this email.
11. Pressing that button brings you to a page where you can create a password. Create a password and move on.

You now have the ability to pull up songs using the Spotify app on your mobile device, and then send them to your Sonos speakers. How is this done, exactly?

Follow these steps:

1. Launch the Spotify app.
2. Find a song to play. If you don’t know what song to play, I recommend “Stick Figures In Love” by Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks.
3. Tap on the song to start playing it.
4. Once it’s playing, tap on the name of the song and artist in small type near the bottom of the screen. This area is circled in the image below on the far left:
5. Tapping this tiny type brings you to another screen with tiny type at the bottom that you need to tap. So, do it. Tap the tiny words “Devices Available” at the bottom of the screen. This area is circled in the center image above.
6. Lastly, tap on the name of the Sonos speaker you want to play it on. I only have one Sonos speaker and it’s named Living Room. You can see it circled in the image above on the left. Note that it does not say Sonos. Lovely. This last screen is also where you need to be to control the volume of your Sonos speaker.

If you tap the three dots to the right if your Sonos speaker on that last screen, you access the controls to send the music you’re playing to other rooms you may have Sonos speakers in. You can also group speakers on this screen.

Welp, there you have it. I wish the volume control was in more places than a screen that’s buried several taps away, and it wish you didn’t need to tap on words that are so tiny even millennials need bifocals to read them, but, I’m still happy this integration exists. :)

I hope this was post was helpful! You know, you can easily help me out, too. Just use the following links to shop at Amazon USA, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, or Amazon France. Or, if you’re a camera person, use this link to shop at B&H Photo. I get a tiny commission if you buy something.

Thanks!