Sound system 20 turns itself on

[Masen]

My Soundtouch system 20 has turned itself on twice during the last two days (recently installed) at the highest volume. Once in the middle of the night.... How can I fix it? 

[Bose_-_George_P]

Hi Masen,
There are only a limited number of ways that the SoundTouch system can be activated. Let's talk about each way and how each might be involved in this problem.

1. Using the physical buttons on top - These buttons are recessed and unlikely to be triggered accidentally except by pets or children.
2. Via the IR sensor by the remote. - This can sometimes be triggered by errant sunlight, but it seems unlikely this was the cause in the middle of the night. This could also be an accidental response to another IR remote being used in the same room. (for other AV components, air conditioners, etc.)
3. Via the SoundTouch app - If someone else on the home Wi-Fi is using the app to play or adjust speakers in other rooms, they could be mistakenly activating your speaker.
4. via Bluetooth. - When a paired bluetooth device (phone tablet or computer) attempts to connect with the SoundTouch system this will wake it automatically and turn it on the Bluetooth source. 

One of these four things is happening in your case. The first question to answer is: When this happens, what source is displayed on the front of the ST20 and what kind of audio content is playing? 

• If the system comes on to Bluetooth you can generally look at the app to determine which bluetooth device has connected, try unpairing from the device in question to prevent further unexpected activation. If need be you can also manually unpair all devices by holding the Bluetooth button for 10 seconds.
• If the system turns on to the last source you listened to, try placing the IR remote into a drawer to isolate it. Also discontinue using other IR remotes in the same room if any are present.
• If the speakers turn on to an online streaming source that is different from what you last used, see if anyone else may be using the SoundTouch systems  in the home and accidentally switching yours on.

Hope this helps you hunt down the trouble!

[Flopski]

My Soundtouch 30 did that at 2:00am on Tuesday morning, just started playing - quite scary. I am assuming it was due to Airplay link with phone app (at the weekend I had experiemented with this - the Airplay link works well once but then you need to "reboot" machine or it takes several minutes to connect). This event could have been a very delayed attempt to connect with Airplay (about 36 hours!).

[pet11@gmx.us]

I have have had the same problem with a Wave IV system. It turned itself on in the middle of the night at high volume. Bose European Tech support eventuality agreed for me to send it back for repair. They returned it saying nothing was wrong! Needless to say, the system continued to turn itself on at random times and at high volume. It was always Spotify that was playing at these times which is curious since I hardly use the service. In fact it was my daughter's account that she had set up on the Wave unit during one of her visits to see the "folks". A short time ago the Wave turned itself on again at 7.30am, Spotify as usual and at full volume. I switched it off and a few seconds later it switched itself back on. Off, On, Off, On...it was like the evil software deamon was playing a game with me. Then I recognised the music that was playing and the penny dropped- My Daughter....She was actually trying to listen to Spotify on her iphone in another country and her actions were causing our Wave system to turn on and play her music hundreds of miles away!!!!! I guess this is the downside of interconnected technology. Anyway I have deleted her Spotify account from the Wave and hope that our interrupted nights are finally over.
Bose, you need to let people know that this kind of thing can happen since your tech support guy didn't think of it and it could really cause serious problem of annoyance with the nightbours - imagine your Wave turns on in your appartment whilst you are away and plays music at full blast for hours in the middle of the night...Serious liability issues here.

[Martin____x]

See also this thread. 

https://community.bose.com/t5/SoundTouch-Speakers/Soundtouch-10-turns-itself-on/m-p/3361

Am having trouble explaining this to bose tech support by email. They are just not getting it.

[Brent_B]

Hi pet11@gmx.us,

Our apologies that you had this experience. We have heard of this with Spotify connect. Spotify finds and remembers Connect-compatible speakers (like SoundTouch speakers) on a network. So, if a user connects their device to your network and opens Spotify on that device, Connect-compatible speakers on your network are found and retained by that device. From here on, users of that device can stream music to those speakers, even when connected to another network. To stop unwanted access:

1. Log out of Spotify on all devices that have your Spotify credentials
2. Go to Spotify.com and change your Spotify password
3. Log back into Spotify on the device(s) you want to use

To prevent future access to your system, change the name and/or password of the network used by your system. Otherwise, devices with your network credentials can reconnect to your network and regain control of your system. Additionally, a guest network can be used to prevent users from connecting to your home network 

[Brent_B]

Hi Flopski, 

Is your system still turning on at 2am or has this ceased? What is the make and model of the router you are using? Do you shut off your internet access at night?

Thank you 

[ArrVee]

I'd like to throw in my 2cents on this.

My ST20 behaves in a similar way, but Spotify can't be the cause. I never had a spotify account, dindn't set up one on the ST and there was never another device connected to the ST which had a Spotify account on it. I have the speaker for some months now and it woŕḱéd fine with internet radio and playback via bluetooh from Android devices. The problem began when I set up a "music library on NAS" with the SoundTouch App (for Android in my case). BTW: speaker firmware and APP are both on the latest version available here in Germany. My NAS is a USB key connected to my router (AVM Fritz!Box 7360, quite common in Germany) which has a "media server" function. Setting up the music library worked without problems an I was able to play my MP3s from the USB key via the ST App. Then I turnend the speaker off (via app or hardware key). Some time later, it began to play again (not at full volume) and it played always the same  song. I'm not sure if it was the last song that was played before I turned it off or the next in the playlist.

I noticed the following:

• While playing, the display on the ST20 was off, only the clock was showing and the WLAN-symbol (which is not part of the display, though) was glowing.
• Then I started the app on my tablet or phone (both Android) to turn it off, but the app was also showing that the speaker was off. When I tapped the on/off button in the app, it turned to "on" - still playing the song. Tapping it again sent the speaker back to sleep stopping the song.
• Sadly, it started again (same song) some time later, again not showing some title info on the display, only the clock. This time, I shut it down by pressing the hardware button twice (once to wake it up - song still playing, the second time to send it to sleep stopping the song, too).
• Didn't help, deep at night, I woke up from the ST20 playing the same song again. At that time, my tablet was turned off and the smartphone was in flight mode. So nothing from these devices can be the reason for the strange behaviour. At that time, I just pulled the plug to get some  more sleep... 
•  The next day, I started the deivice again but the problem came back. So I removed the NAS music library via app and since then, it only plays music when I want it to do so.

That did only cure the symptoms, though. So I hope with this detailed description, you (BOSE) can find the bug and hopefully fix it soon. I'd like to use the NAS function again soon.

[James_S]

---

@Bose_-_George_P wrote:

There are only a limited number of ways that the SoundTouch system can be activated. Let's talk about each way and how each might be involved in this problem.

1. Using the physical buttons on top - These buttons are recessed and unlikely to be triggered accidentally except by pets or children.
2. Via the IR sensor by the remote. - This can sometimes be triggered by errant sunlight, but it seems unlikely this was the cause in the middle of the night. This could also be an accidental response to another IR remote being used in the same room. (for other AV components, air conditioners, etc.)
3. Via the SoundTouch app - If someone else on the home Wi-Fi is using the app to play or adjust speakers in other rooms, they could be mistakenly activating your speaker.
4. via Bluetooth. - When a paired bluetooth device (phone tablet or computer) attempts to connect with the SoundTouch system this will wake it automatically and turn it on the Bluetooth source. 

Add Spotify and NAS Drives to this list. What about the other internet services, devices and other networking technologies used?

---

[DavidS]

I have the same problem with my Soundtouch 20. The units turns itself on which can be most disturbing particularly when in happens at any time of the day or night.

I mainly use the Soundtouch to listen to the internet radio and from time to time music from my iTunes music library on my main PC. The Soundtouch only turns itself on when I have been previously listening to the radio. 

This problem never happened until I updated by iPad to the new Soundtouch App which in my opinion is not as user friendly as the old version.

i have had numerous telephone conversations with Bose Tech Support but they have been no help what so ever in sorting out this problem. They have even implied that the unit simply cannot turn itself on and it must be due to another device in my home.

I personally think it has something to do with new new Soundtouch App. 

I also have problems with the internet radio dropping out. I have the same problem when connected to my route via WiFi or via a direct Ethernet cable. If I carry out a broadband speed check I get more than adequate upload and download speeds.

Once again despite a number of telephone calls to Bose Tech Support on this issue they fail to give me a simple explanation as to why the problem exists and how to solve it.

These problems are extremely disappointing consider the cost of the Bose Soundtouch 20. 

I would be intrested to learn if anyone has had the same problems.