B2/Sonos

[PAUL SAVAGE]

Hi

I am having problems connecting B2 to Sonos. I have a BT Smart Hub and new external SD card (Thanbk you paul)

The B2 shows up on the BT Smart Hub website but when I try to add it to Sonos, Sonos comes up with the message "Access to shared folder \\BRENNANB2\music" is denied"

 Based on previous comments I have - disabled the "Smart" setting onthe hub via the hub website

        - gone to maintenance on the B" and enabled NAS

But can't think what to do next.

-paul

[RaymondO]

You still need to enter the Brennan login and Password in order for the Sonos to access your stored music.

[Leslie Brownlee]

Check out this post thread. It might help.    https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/brennanb2/sx7rmAjk6Ko

[PMB]

Hi Paul,

If you are using a PC - 

Open Windows Explorer

Type   \\the IP Address shown on the B2\music   > enter

Enter   root  for the user name

Enter  brennan  for the password

When this has opened the B2 music file click on Computer (left hand column on Explorer)

Click on Map Network Drive

Z: is set by default > browse for your B2 connection > Finish

The B2 is now shown as   music (\\the IP Address shown on the B2) (Z:)   in the left hand column of Explorer.

The B2 should reconnect when computer and B2 are both powered on.

Paul

Brennan Support.

[David Tedman]

I am already regretting getting a Sonos one, gone to networks on my PC & the B2 is there with the music files, great, but no Sonos, instead its recorded as "media device" not in the network. Any advice, I can see it but cant use it.

Thanks in hope

[David Tedman]

Replying to myself!! I don't know exactly what I did, but got the sonos speaker connected & the music files are being copied/downloaded/access obtained or whatever happens to allow me to listen to my albums away from the B2. Important as the WiFi goes to my shed. Happy "man cave"

[Barryco...@icloud.com]

I too am regretting a Sonos Move, as the Sonos app or the recommended FE/iOS app won’t recognise B2.

I have never added a password/user name to B2, so whether root/Brennan are the definitive wordings are a ????

I took a screen shot of the ‘diagnostic' from the Sonos app, but don’t know how to add it from this iPad

Any SIMPLE help would be appreciated please

[Daniel Taylor]

I'm fairly certain that the username/password for the B2 are all lower case:  root/brennan.  That capital B would be enough to prevent a connection.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Barry,

The B2 has a username 'root' and password 'brennan' built into it automatically and that is needed to enable the Sonos to 'talk to' the B2.

During the running of the Sonos Setup app, you will be asked for a User and Password.  This is where you will use 'root' for the username and 'brennan' for the password (all lower case and without the quotes)

You can see an example of the setuo app on the link below.

https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/Sonos

Let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Peter.

[Barryco...@icloud.com]

Thanks for your time folks...

I have used 'root' and brennan' plus\BRENNANB2\music, via my iPad Pro, and "Brennan not recognised " comes up on Sonos app.

Have mailed Sonos for help, but so far no go...

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Barry,

The network share name should be \\BRENNANB2\music  (that is two backslash characters leading).  Try hat as let us know how you get on.

Regards,

Peter.

[Barryco...@icloud.com]

"

Depressingly Peter, this again comes up on the Sonos app screen

"Computer \\BRENNAN B2\music cannot be found"...together with 'root' & brennan 

.....and I used to think that root canal therapy was difficult to get success with!

[David Richards]

Hi Barry,

Did you have that space between BRENNAN and B2 or was that just in your post?

DR.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Barry,

The username and password are correct so it is the NAS connection that is the problem.

Try the following options using the same username and password.

//192.168.1.33/music.  (but you substitute your B2's IP address).

or

smb://192.168.1.33/music   (but you substitute your B2's IP address)

Regards,

Peter.

[Barryco...@icloud.com]

Just substituted IP address, and and now Sonos is blaming Brennan for refusing to connect to Sonos product.

So no gaps anywhere, and still zilch

The arguments between Sonos and Brennan are starting to sound a bit a bit Brexity...looks like No Deal 

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Barry,

Unfortunately, the Sonos Support seems to be fairly poor and lacking in depth technical knowledge, if other forum reports are anything to go by.  I think that solution lies within the iPad, and is a connection related issue.   

First,  the B2 NAS function is very straight forward; it is either 'NAS On' or 'NAS Off'

From the B2 front panel, 'Main menu' --> 'Settings' --> 'Maintenance' --> 'NAS On' and click on this.  This ensures that B2's NAS is switched on.

I have located a 'How to connect SMB shares to an iPad' article from the web and have attached it here as a PDF document.  I have followed the attached instructions using my wife's iPad Air 2 and I now have the NAS (or SMB) connection to the iPad.  I can see all of my B2's music collection on the iPad, so the NAS connection ibetween the iPad and the B2 is working perfectly.  The iPad is running on version 13.6.1

When you get to the 'Connect to Server' window, in the 'Server' field type in 'brennanb2/music' (with no quotes). 

A new window will open up asking for 'Connect As' details.

Use 'Registered User'

Name: root

Password: brennan

You should then see the 'music' folder show in the iPad's window.  Click on this and you will see your music collection.  The NAS connection is now working between the B2 and the iPad.

  

I think that if you establish the NAS (SMB) connection by using these instructions the Sonos app will then work. 

Regards,

Peter.

[Barryco...@icloud.com]

Gosh, thanks Peter.

That is really very kind of you to spend all this time on my problem, and to do this justice, I will have a solid 8 hours sleep, then a strong coffee, and set to work.

But there was no instructions anywhere that said Turn On .....NAS

It just has seemed so complicated, as I thought that the whole thing would be like typing an address into Googlemaps, and 

ba-boom, job done.

Just for the record, the Sonos Move would not connect to my router, and that was a couple of sleepless nights, before I actually managed to get through to Sonos, and the chap spent a good hour taking over my PC, and asking all his chums...before we got success.

Now the B2 and the Move are throwing their toys out of the pram....and maybe it’s the iPad all along.

I sold some very nice Lowther Acousta speakers that I bought new in (gasp!!) 1967, to go wireless, when a couple of Brennan leads would have done the Connecting trick .

Fingers X'd

Cheers. Barry C

[Daniel Taylor]

On Sunday, October 4, 2020 at 1:25:14 PM UTC-4, Barryco...@icloud.com wrote:

But there was no instructions anywhere that said Turn On .....NAS

Go to the Brennan website: www.brennan.co.uk

At the top, click on the blue dot for Questions.

On the left side of the screen, click on the line that says "NAS and Sonos".

Then on the right side, under the top section for NAS and Sonos, it says this:

To Enable NAS

Settings->Maintenance->Start NAS

You only have to do it once.

There is a lot of valuable information on the Brennan website.

 

[Barryco...@icloud.com]

SUCCESS!

Well, that strong coffee plus the 8 hours, NOT TO MENTION Peter's full bodied instructions, and Daniels advice to just open my eyes,

has done the trick!!!!!!!!

Although....in my defence, I did see the Sonos+NAS advice, but it did not click that this reset was actually on the B2 unit, as it appeared to be instructions on the windows screen....as I viewed it from my IPad.

For IT clutzes like myself, every dot, or dash, has to be pointed out in sequence, as even with Peter's pdf, I do not know what SMB stands for......that reminds me to mention that a ‘concatenation of reticulated interstices' is really........ "a net"

(UI, could be a Control Screen rather than a user interface) 

But thanks folks, for getting me over the line.....even though most of the spectators had long since gone home

Cheers and all the best.  Barry C.

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Barry,

Great news and thanks for the feedback which is valuable for me and also for other forum users.  I'll keep in mind the use of technical language and terminology!

Regards and good luck,

Peter.

[Daniel Taylor]

Hi Barry,

I admire your attitude.  I could do with more of that myself.

[bennyb]

OK, trying to set up by B2 as NAS, using Windows. The instructions on Brennan site say:

Start Windows Explorer. Click on Network tab.

Does this mean File Explorer? Tried that and then Network and it doesn't show Brennan. And when I try Add A Device, I run into warnings from Kaspersky Security. Am I in the right place and should just carry on and enter the url for my machine?

[bennyb]

PS to my inquiry a few mins ago. I realise I missed a step, which was Settings-Maintenance-StartNAS

But when I do that, I get a message saying Upgrade SD Card.

I guess I've had my B2 about six years. Is it out of date? If so, what do I do?

And btw yes I have updated software.

[bennyb]

Have now answered my own question by Googling - yes I need a new SD card, £10, or I can make one using a spare card above 4GB capacity. I've got one of just 4GB. Is that gonna do?

[Graham Smout]

Hello all

If you are Network Mapping your B2 as a NAS drive to access on other devices and wish to see it in either Windows machines or other devices on your network then you MUST use the backslash character,  \  before root - like this:

 

\root

You may also need to add the IP address of the B2 on the network which will mean the whole string will become something like:

\\192.168.x.xxx\root      (where the x's are the actual figures from the B2's IP address)

The password is set at brennan (no capitals)

 Once connected in Windows you should see the B2 as a Network drive and the address in Windows will magically change to:

Network\\BRENNANB2\music

All your music files will be in the folder music - as shown below .

ic.

TBH,  setting up access for any network drive in Windows is not something that you can expect to do without some background knowledge in network management, nevertheless this understanding isn't at a high level and can be  picked up qucickly if you are willing to check out Google.

GOOD LUCK!

G

On Monday, October 5, 2020 at 2:40:13 PM UTC+1 bennyb wrote:

[Graham Smout]

Benny

You will need an 8Gb SD card for the most recent OS

You will need to download a new image file and Etcher to make a new image .

I followed these instructions to create a new card from the Brennan B2 web site, here https://www.brennan.co.uk/itemcontent.php/content/Techy

New SD Card

You can create our own SD card if you have a PC or Mac.
Install a copy of Etcher
Then download the image file from here
Plug your target SD card into your PC (you can use a USB SD card adaptor)
Then fire up Etcher and point it at the image file you downloaded. Select the SD card and click on Flash.
Once installed in the B2 you will probably want to do a Web Upgrade to get the latest code.
Any SD above 8G will be OK. Class 10 will boot faster but otherwise not important.

[bennyb]

Thanks for the advice friends.  If it's all too much for me, I suppose I can switch back to using the old Web UI at any time? The NAS option is just for when I want to use it?

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Benny,

Yes, the NAS option and the WebUI are separate functions which achieve the same end result.  You don't switch from one to the other, rather you have the option to use one or other or both.

Regards,

Peter.

[bennyb]

Thankyou Peter. Just one more question - if I buy a new card from Brennan, does that come ready to plug and go or will I need to reformat it anyway?

[Peter Lowham]

Hi Benny,

The new Brennan supplied card will arrive with updated software already loaded, so it is a 'plug and go'.

Regards,

Peter.

[PMB]

Hi Benny,

Remember to state external (standard size) or internal (micro size) SD Card when you order.

Paul

Brennan Support.