The lights on your Sonos Move or other Sonos products can indicate the status of your speaker and if it’s working correctly, needs to be charged, or is attempting to pair to another speaker or device. The lights indicate many more things than just this.
My name is Donovan, and I spend most of my days playing, writing, mixing, and producing music. I also have a lot of experience setting up speaker systems and have worked with many Sonos models over the years.
This post will explain what the lights on a Sonos Move speaker mean. I’ll provide you with a list of all the different LED indicators, tell you what those mean, and offer some other related information. I aim to help you get the most out of your speakers.
Let’s dig in.
Contents
Key Takeaways
- The LED lights on your Sonos Move indicate many different things, and knowing these will help you get the most from your speaker.
- A solid white light indicates that your speaker is working correctly and is what you should see most of the time.
- If you don’t see the light at all, it means that the speaker is not powered on. It might need to be charged or turned on. This light can also be turned off through the Sonos app if you don’t want to see it.
- Many Sonos speakers have the same LED light code, so you can use the information in this post for models other than the Move.
The Lights on Sonos Move
If you are new to owning a Sonos speaker, you probably don’t know what the lights mean. To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to these lights at first either, but then I realized how useful it can be to figure this out.
If you have the Sonos Move, all the light indicators highlighted here will apply to that speaker. But they also apply to just about every other Sonos speaker you can currently buy, so consider it a reference list for all your Sonos products.
You don’t necessarily need to memorize all of this information, but keeping this page for reference is a good idea in case you need it. You should at least learn the major light indicators, as this will give you a good insight into how your speaker is working.
The list below shows you what all of the various LED lights mean on your Sonos Move or other Sonos speaker:
- No Light – If you don’t see any light at all, it means that your Sonos Move is not powered on or connected to a power source. This light can also be turned off in the Sonos app, which I’ll explain in more detail in the next section.
- Solid White – This means that your Move is powered on and functioning as it should. This is the light color you’ll see most often during everyday use.
- Flashing White – A flashing white light will appear when your Sonos Move is turning on/booting up after being plugged into a power source. This will also happen when the speaker is connecting to a nearby network.
- Flashing Green – The Move will flash green when you turn it on for the first time after buying it. This indicates it needs to be configured and connected to a network. It will also flash green after a factory reset and need to be set up again.
- Solid Green – Indicates that the speaker is muted. You won’t hear sound until you unmute it or turn up the volume in the Sonos app or directly on the speaker.
- Slow Flashing Green – Slowly flashing green indicates that home theater surround sound speakers have been disabled in the Sonos app. You aren’t likely to see this on your Move unless you set it up with a home theater.
- Flashing Orange – Move will flash orange during initial setup to indicate that it is establishing a connection. This also may happen if you press play/pause repeatedly, and it means nothing was recently played.
- Solid Orange – This light indicates that the Move could not successfully complete its setup. You can reset the speaker to try again. This can also mean the speaker is overheated and needs to cool down.
- Flashing Orange and White – This indicates that the Move is updating. It can also happen when you reset the speaker. The light will stop flashing after the update or reset is complete.
- Flashing Red and White – This means that the Move did not successfully update. You should restart the speaker to attempt another update.
- Flashing Red – Your Move will flash red if it is not set up within 30 minutes after turning it on. This applies to brand-new speakers and those that have just been factory reset.
- Solid Blue – Indicates that your Move is connected to a Bluetooth device, and the light will stay blue even if disconnected from that device.
- Flashing Blue – Indicates that the speaker is attempting to connect to a Bluetooth device and is in pairing mode. It will stop flashing once it connects with the Bluetooth device.
- Alternate Flashing Red, White, Orange, Green – Indicates that the speaker is in diagnostic mode. Press the Join, Play/Pause, or Mute button to stop this hardware diagnostic.
- Solid Orange – Indicates that the Move is charging. The light will only stay on for about ten seconds after the speaker starts to charge and will then turn off.
- Flashing Orange – Indicates that the Move has a low battery of less than 15%.
- Flashing Red – Indicates that the speaker has a fault. This is the worst light to see, and you’ll need to reach out to customer service access the problem.
How to Turn Off Light on Sonos Move
Turning the LED light off on your Sonos Move or other Sonos speaker is possible. You might want to do this if you use the speaker to listen to movies and don’t want the distraction or pollution the light puts out.
I like to turn the LED off on my speaker when I listen to music when I fall asleep. The light keeps me up, and I find that I sleep much better when it’s off. I like having a blacked-out room, which is sometimes tricky if you have electronics.
I stumbled on this feature after taping over the light on my Move one night while trying to sleep. I woke up and thought the light should turn off, so I contacted Sonos support to tell them about my issue.
I thought I would only receive a “we are looking into your situation” type of message from the support team. But you can imagine how surprised and happy I was when they told me I could turn the light off entirely through the Sonos app!
Follow these steps to turn off the LED light on your Sonos Move:
- 1. Open the Sonos app.
- 2. Select the Settings tab.
- 3. Tap System.
- 4. Choose Move or another Sonos speaker.
- 5. Tap Hardware.
- 6. Slide the toggle for the Status Light to off.
You can reverse the process whenever you want to turn the light back on. There are many useful features within the Sonos app that are worth getting familiar with, and they can enhance your listening experience quite a bit.
FAQs
Here are a few quick answers to some of the most commonly asked questions related to what the lights on a Sonos Move mean.
What does a green light on my Sonos Move mean?
A solid green light on your Sonos Move or other Sonos speaker means it is muted, and you won’t hear sound. You can unmute the speaker with the Sonos app or by turning up the volume on the speaker itself.
Why is my Sonos Move flashing blue?
A flashing blue light on your Sonos Move speaker indicates it’s in pairing mode and trying to connect to another speaker or device. The LED light will flash blue until it connects with whatever other device it is attempting to pair with.
Why is Sonos Move flashing white?
A flashing white light on your Sonos Move speaker means two things. The most common is that your speaker is powering on and booting up after being plugged in. But the light can also flash white when the speaker trying to connect to a network.
What is the light on top of Sonos?
The LED light on top of every Sonos speaker is an indicator light that can tell you the status of the speaker. The light will turn various colors to indicate things such as the speaker needing to be charged or when it’s attempting to pair to another device.
How do I know if Sonos Move is on?
You can tell if the Sonos Move is powered on by looking at the LED indicator light on the top of the speaker. This light should be a solid white color when the speaker is turned on and functioning as normal. If you see lights at all, the speaker should be on.
Final Thoughts
The LED light on your Sonos Move might seem like a feature you don’t need to pay attention to, but knowing what all the light combinations mean can really help you out. There are many colors and flashes that give you insight into the status of your speaker.
Remember that the light key in this post can help you with just about every Sonos speaker and not just the Move. If you have a home Sonos system, the lights will indicate the same things as on your Move. Keep this post around for reference when you need it.
How do you use the Sonos app to help control your speakers? Have you found any hacks or tips to share with others? Let me know in the comments below.
