Multiroom Audio Notification Setup with SONOS

Hi everyone, I’m reaching out to share my experience and seek some advice regarding my multiroom audio setup with SONOS. I’ve been using SONOS for quite some time now, and it’s been a fantastic addition to my smart home ecosystem. However, I’ve recently encountered a challenge that I’m eager to overcome.

I currently have five SONOS devices spread across different rooms in my house. My goal is to implement a functionality where a notification sound, such as a doorbell, can be played simultaneously on all the SONOS devices. This would be incredibly useful for ensuring that I never miss an alert, regardless of which room I’m in.

I’ve thought of two potential ways to achieve this:

  1. Play the notification on multiple audio sinks at the same time.
  2. Group all SONOS players together, play the notification, and then ungroup them to restore their previous settings.

However, I’ve run into some technical hurdles. It seems that sending a play command to multiple sinks simultaneously isn’t straightforward, as it appears to block the functionality. Additionally, the save/restore functionality in the current binding doesn’t seem to affect groups, which I believe is due to limitations in the SONOS API regarding track information restoration.

I’ve looked into the SONOS1 binding documentation, and it seems like the save/restore feature should handle what I need. However, in my OpenHAB2 setup, it only remembers the volume settings, not the group membership or track information. This is a bit frustrating, as it limits the flexibility of my setup.

I’m curious if anyone else has faced similar challenges or has found a workaround. Perhaps there’s a configuration tweak or a different approach that I haven’t considered yet. Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated!

On a positive note, I’ve been impressed with how SONOS integrates with OpenHAB, and I’m excited to continue exploring its capabilities. It’s a joy to have such high-quality audio in every room, and adding this notification feature would take it to the next level.

Thank you all for your time and for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to hearing from you!