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How to control Sonos without your phone
Sonos is designed to be run from a phone. That works well… for whoever has the app. Kids, grandparents, your cleaner or your guests can’t even turn the music down. Here are the options so anyone can control it.
The problem: the app belongs to one person
Changing the volume in the app means having your phone at hand, unlocking it, opening Sonos and finding the room. If you don’t have the app, or don’t have a phone, the volume depends on someone else. And in homes with several Sonos speakers, the kitchen ends up louder than anyone wants.
The options you already have
- The speaker’s own buttons: Era, One, Five and the soundbars have touch controls on top. Fine if the speaker is within reach; a Sonos Port or Sonos Amp hidden in a cabinet has nothing useful in sight.
- Voice control: works on speakers with a microphone, but with loud music it struggles to hear you, and not everyone likes talking to a speaker.
- A tablet on the wall: it works as a remote, but it needs charging and updating, and for a child or an older person it’s still an app.
The simplest thing: a dial
Anyone understands turning a dial, no instructions needed. knobeast is exactly that: a volume dial for Sonos with a small screen that tells you which room you’re in and what’s playing.
- Turn for volume; press to pause or resume.
- Configurable maximum volume: nobody blasts the music by accident.
- No accounts or app to use it: set it up once, then just turn.
- On a shelf or on the wall, next to the light switch.
An idea that works: one knobeast in the kids’ room with a low maximum volume, and another in the kitchen for whoever is cooking with their hands full.
FAQ
Do I need a phone to use knobeast?
Only to set it up the first time (Wi-Fi and speakers). After that it works without a phone: turn and press.
Can I limit the volume?
Yes. You set a maximum volume and the dial won’t go past it.
Does it work with several speakers?
Yes. On the knob itself you choose which speaker, group or rooms it controls.
knobeast: the physical volume knob for Sonos
Ready-to-use kit for €149, or build your own: it’s open source.