Sonos assembly
Four screws and two cables. Almost nothing that goes wrong is either of those.
The bracket is genuinely simple. What determines whether the soundbar works, and sounds like it should, is which HDMI port you use, how much air you leave around it, and a room calibration that has historically needed an iPhone.
A network product that happens to hang on a wall
Physically, mounting a Sonos soundbar is one of the easier jobs in this category. You mark through the supplied guide, fix the bracket with the arrows pointing up, screw two knobs into the back of the soundbar, and slide it down so the knobs seat in the bracket slots. Two cables, power and HDMI, and it is on the wall.
That simplicity is why the problems live elsewhere. The soundbar has to talk to the television over a specific HDMI connection, it has to be positioned within specific clearances to sound right, it joins your network and depends on it, and it has a room calibration step that is the difference between a soundbar that sounds good and one that sounds like a soundbar. None of that involves a drill.
The most common failure is also the simplest. Sonos is explicit that the HDMI cable goes into the television’s HDMI ARC or eARC port, not into whichever HDMI socket is convenient. Modern televisions have several and typically only one carries audio back out to a soundbar. Plug into the wrong one and everything is correctly installed and nothing comes out of the speaker.
What it actually takes
The mounting is quick. Setup, tuning and cable routing are where the time goes.
| Model | Time | People |
|---|---|---|
| Mounting the bracket and soundbarMark, drill, fix, seat the knobs. | 30 to 45 minutes | 1 |
| Confirming the correct HDMI portARC or eARC only. Check the TV labels. | 5 minutes | 1 |
| Setting the position and clearancesMinimum 4 in below the TV, 1 ft from side walls. | 10 minutes | 1 |
| App setup and joining the networkLonger on a crowded or weak WiFi. | 15 to 30 minutes | 1 |
| Trueplay room tuningHistorically needs an iOS device and mic on. | 10 to 15 minutes | 1 |
| Cable routing or in-wall concealmentIn-wall runs have their own code rules. | 30 minutes to a separate job | 1 |
Budget as much time after the soundbar is on the wall as before it. That is where the result is actually decided.
What to get right, specifically
HDMI ARC or eARC, not just any HDMI port
Sonos states it directly in their setup steps and it is worth repeating because it accounts for so many apparent faults. The HDMI cable must connect to the port on your television marked HDMI ARC or eARC. Those letters stand for audio return channel, and on most televisions only one port has it. Every other HDMI port will happily accept the cable and send nothing back to the soundbar. If a newly installed Sonos produces no sound from the TV, check this before checking anything else.
Four inches below the TV, and a foot from the side walls
The bracket height is a specification rather than a matter of taste. Sonos calls for a minimum four inch, or one hundred and two millimeter, gap between the top of the soundbar and the bottom of the television when the soundbar sits below it. Separately, for best sound quality they ask that both ends of the soundbar sit at least a foot from a wall or other obstruction. That second one catches people fitting a soundbar into an alcove or a tight media niche, where it will fit physically and be compromised acoustically.
The room tuning has historically required an iPhone or iPad
Trueplay measures how sound reflects off your walls and furnishings and tunes the speaker to the room, and it makes a real difference. Sonos’s Arc guide states that Trueplay works on iOS mobile devices running iOS 8 or later, which for a long time meant an all-Android household could not run it at all, and people would borrow an iPad to tune a system. Sonos has since introduced other tuning options on newer products, so check the current requirements in the app for your specific model, but do not assume the tuning step is available on any phone. It also needs the microphone switched on, since with the mic off Trueplay and other microphone-dependent features are unavailable.
Do not use the supplied anchors in wood
A small instruction that is easy to skim past. Sonos says to drill with a five sixteenths bit and insert the included wall anchors, and then specifically not to use the anchors if you are drilling into wood or plastic. Their mounting information also gives different requirements for wood stud, drywall, plaster, concrete and brick. Anchors are for hollow walls; driving one into a stud gives you a weaker hold than the screw alone would, and the same principle applies across most of the wall-mounted products on this site.
Arrows up, controls up, and slide down onto the knobs
Three orientation details that all point the same way. The bracket has arrows in the center that must point up. The two knobs screw into the back of the soundbar and the soundbar then slides down so those knobs seat into the bracket slots. And the touch controls must end up facing upward, with the unit horizontal on a level plane, never vertical or on its side. Getting one of these wrong is not subtle, but it is the sort of thing that happens when the bracket goes up before the instructions come out of the box.
Sonos mounts are not interchangeable between models
Worth knowing before an upgrade rather than during one. Sonos soundbar mounts are model specific: a bracket fitted for a Playbar or a Beam will not take an Arc, and moving up means removing the old bracket and fitting the new one, which means new holes in the wall. The Arc Ultra is compatible with the Sonos Arc Wall Mount, which is a useful exception. If you expect to upgrade, that is worth factoring into where the first bracket goes and how the wall behind it is finished.
There is an Ethernet port, and it is the answer to a flaky network
Most owners never notice it. The soundbar has a ten by one hundred megabit Ethernet port, and Sonos suggests wiring directly to your router if your WiFi is unstable. On a system that depends on the network for everything, that is a genuinely useful escape hatch, and it is far easier to run a cable while you are already routing power and HDMI than to retrofit one later. If the media wall has a network point anywhere near it, use it.
Before you drill
Find the HDMI ARC or eARC port on your television and confirm it is free.
Work out the bracket height for a minimum four inch gap below the TV, and check both ends will clear side walls by about a foot.
Establish the wall type, since anchors are for hollow walls and should not be used in wood.
Check whether anyone in the household has an iOS device if you want to run Trueplay, and confirm current requirements in the app.
Plan power, HDMI and, if possible, an Ethernet run at the same time.
If you are replacing an older Sonos soundbar, expect a different bracket and new mounting holes.
Who this is really for
Anybody who has mounted a television and discovered that thin panels sound thin. A soundbar is the single biggest improvement most people can make to a TV setup, and Sonos has made the physical part about as easy as it can be.
It suits households that want the system to grow. Surrounds and a subwoofer can be added later over the network, and the same app handles multi-room audio, so the first soundbar is usually the start of something rather than the end.
The reason to have it installed alongside a TV mount is coordination rather than difficulty. The clearances, the correct HDMI port, the cable routing and any in-wall concealment all interact with where the television sits, and doing both at once means one set of holes and one set of decisions rather than discovering afterward that the soundbar has nowhere sensible to go.
What an installer does
- Positions the soundbar to the specified minimum clearance below the TV and away from side walls.
- Fixes the bracket level with the correct anchor for the wall type, using anchors only in hollow walls.
- Connects to the television’s HDMI ARC or eARC port and confirms audio actually passes.
- Routes power, HDMI and Ethernet where possible, and conceals cabling to code where that is wanted.
- Completes app setup, joins the system to the network and confirms stability.
- Runs room tuning where a compatible device is available, with the microphone enabled.
- Coordinates the soundbar position with the TV mount so both work together rather than competing.
Get it built by someone who has built one before.
Tell us your ZIP and what you bought. Installers near you will quote you directly, and you deal with them, not with us.
Questions people ask
My Sonos is installed but there is no sound from the TV. What is wrong?
Check which HDMI port you used. Sonos requires the cable to go into the television’s HDMI ARC or eARC port, and most TVs have only one. Every other HDMI port will accept the cable and send no audio back to the soundbar, so the system looks correctly installed and produces nothing.
How far below the TV should the soundbar go?
At least four inches, or a hundred and two millimeters, between the top of the soundbar and the bottom of the television. Sonos also ask that both ends of the soundbar sit at least a foot from a wall or other obstruction for best sound quality, which matters if you are fitting it into an alcove or a tight media niche.
Do I need an iPhone to set it up?
Not for setup, but historically for the room tuning. Sonos’s Arc guide states Trueplay works on iOS devices running iOS 8 or later, and for years that meant Android-only households could not run it. Newer products have introduced other tuning options, so check the current requirements in the app for your model, and note the microphone has to be switched on either way.
Can I reuse my old Sonos wall mount?
Usually not. Sonos soundbar mounts are model specific, so a Playbar or Beam bracket will not take an Arc, and upgrading means fitting the new bracket and making new holes. The Arc Ultra is an exception in that it is compatible with the Sonos Arc Wall Mount.
Should I use the included wall anchors?
Only in a hollow wall. Sonos says to drill with a five sixteenths bit and fit the supplied anchors, and specifically not to use the anchors if you are drilling into wood or plastic. They publish different requirements for wood stud, drywall, plaster, concrete and brick, so identify the wall first.
My WiFi keeps dropping the soundbar. Any options?
Yes, and most owners never spot it. There is an Ethernet port on the soundbar, and Sonos suggests wiring directly to your router if your WiFi is unstable. Running that cable at the same time as power and HDMI is far easier than retrofitting it later.
Installers.org is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Sonos. Sonos, Arc and Trueplay are trademarks of their owner, referred to here only to describe the installation services that independent installers on this directory provide. App and tuning requirements change; check the current guidance for your model.