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Physical remotes for Sonos: every option compared
Sonos doesn’t sell a physical remote for its speakers. There are alternatives, and nearly all of them need another brand’s hub or are no longer made. Here’s the full list, with what each option needs, as of November 2026.
Comparison
| Option | What it needs | Screen | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The speaker’s own buttons | Nothing | No | None on the Port, and the Amp is usually hidden away |
| Voice control | A speaker with a microphone | No | Struggles to hear you over loud music |
| IKEA SYMFONISK sound remote | IKEA DIRIGERA hub | No | IKEA and Sonos ended their partnership in 2025 |
| Flic Twist | A Flic hub for Sonos | No (light ring) | On sale, about $80 plus the hub |
| Lutron Pico for Sonos | Lutron Caséta bridge | No | Made for Lutron installations |
| Senic Nuimo | Senic hub | No | Discontinued in 2020 |
| knobeast | Just your home Wi-Fi | Yes | On sale, €149, and open source |
The hub-based options
The IKEA SYMFONISK remote was the cheap option for years, but it needs the DIRIGERA hub (IKEA sells it as a kit with one) and the IKEA–Sonos partnership ended in 2025. The Flic Twist is a well-made dial with a light ring; for full use with Sonos it needs a Flic hub (review). The Lutron Pico makes sense if you already have Lutron Caséta lighting.
The ones that are gone
Senic Nuimo was a dial much loved by Sonos owners, but it stopped being sold at the end of 2020 and no longer gets fixes.
knobeast: no hub, and a screen
knobeast talks straight to your speakers over your home Wi-Fi: no hub, no cloud, no accounts. It’s the only one on the list with a screen, so you can see which room you’re controlling, the volume and what’s playing. And because it’s open source, it doesn’t depend on a company to keep supporting it.
- Any Sonos speaker: Port, Amp, Era, Five, soundbars…
- One room, a group or several at once.
- Configurable maximum volume.
Details of the other products are public and may change; if you spot something out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it.
FAQ
Does Sonos sell a physical remote?
No. Sonos is controlled with the app, voice and each speaker’s buttons. Physical remotes come from other brands.
Which remote works without a hub?
knobeast connects to your speakers directly over Wi-Fi, with no hub. The other options on this list need their own hub or bridge.
Is knobeast affiliated with Sonos?
No. It’s an independent project that uses Sonos’s local network features.
knobeast: the physical volume knob for Sonos
Ready-to-use kit for €149, or build your own: it’s open source.