'What is Sonos Boost?': A guide to Sonos' Wi-Fi add-on, which creates an exclusive wireless network for your speakers

• The Sonos Boost is a device that creates a separate Wi-Fi network for connecting your Sonos speakers.
• You can plug a Sonos Boost into your Wi-Fi router, and it'll make a new network without traffic from any other devices.
• If your Sonos devices often skip or play out-of-sync with each other, you might want to consider setting up a Sonos Boost network.

The Sonos Boost is an optional accessory that creates a separate, dedicated wireless network for your Sonos speakers.

It's a relatively inexpensive network device you can purchase if your Wi-Fi network is too slow or crowded to reliably stream music to your Sonos system.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Sonos Boost (From $99.99 at Amazon)

How Sonos Boost works

The Sonos Boost is a very simple device. It is not an amplifier or a speaker — it simply plugs into your Wi-Fi router with an ethernet cable and automatically sets up a separate network for your Sonos speakers.

When you install a Sonos Boost, follow the instructions in the Sonos mobile app to switch your speakers onto the new network.

Installing a Sonos Boost won't affect your existing Wi-Fi network in any way — if anything, it might make your existing network faster by taking some of the strain off of it. The Sonos Boost just adds a second network that's accessible only to your Sonos products.

How to tell if you need a Sonos Boost

When Sonos debuted in 2005, the system was designed to use its own proprietary mesh network — this ensured all the Sonos speakers in a home could stay synchronized, and there would never be any lag or stutters in music playback.

Ten years later, in 2015, Sonos removed the separate mesh network requirement, and now Sonos uses your ordinary Wi-Fi network by default.

These days, most people have good results with Sonos over their Wi-Fi network, and there's no reason to use the separate Sonos network. It's a good idea to start your Sonos system without a Boost.

However, if your Wi-Fi is slow, congested, or crowded with too many devices, you might find that it can't keep up with your Sonos devices. If so, the easiest way to solve that problem is by adding a Sonos Boost to your home network.

In short: You can add a Sonos Boost to your home network at any time, but as a general rule, most people don't need one. Only consider adding one if it becomes clear that your Wi-Fi network isn't able to keep up with streaming music to your Sonos speakers.

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