BlueSound Stinks(!), anyone?

I realize this is an old thread but....I own three Nodes, have used them for about 5 years, in two different locations. Controlled mainly via IOS app and Windows app. All three get extensive use (pretty much constantly during the work day for my wife.) Have absolutely never had any issues at all with the app not connecting; I fully believe the OP of course but there’s gotta be something going on with his network or setup. I am not a fanboy of Bluesound and would make three criticisms: 1. No DSD. 2. it is needlessly picky about cover art and even when the cover art meets its requirements, sometimes it will not show, and 3. They use cheap caps in the power supply and 4 years service life is IME about all you’re gonna get, at least for versions pre-Node 2i. The latter of course being the most serious issue. but we have had zero problems getting them to work reliably.

I have 9 Bluesound products in my home, including a soundbar, 2 Pulse Mini’s, 2 Pulse Flexes, 2 Pulse 2’s, a Power Node and a BlueOS module for an NAD receiver. Have had continuous issues with wifi, none with wired.

Wireless requires a robust router to include multicasting support. If you’re not an expert on wireless routing you are out of luck - Bluesound support is among the most dreadful I’ve experienced anywhere. It’s exceptionally poor in my experiences, of which I’ve had multiple now.

Beyond that, though, my conclusion is they have used poor wifi antennas, and the hardware itself is not quite up to the task in this area. Case in point: I have a Flex sitting right in front of my mesh router and it STILL gets dropped from the home theater group nearly daily. It gets dropped no matter where I place the router. So does the other satellite that’s just 12 feet from the same router. After a few emails back and forth with someone who barely read the messages, and FINALLY getting a rep on the phone on Day 5, their solution was to remote in, and simply reconnect the group, which promptly disconnected about 5 minutes after the call ended. Trying to get them back on the phone again was another three day process of back and forth emails that got answered about every 30 hours or so. And to this day I still get regular drop outs. Despite selling their hardware as wireless, it’s so buggy as to be worthless in my opinion. Wired is the ONLY way to go in my opinion, unless you’re a networking pro, have a robust router and an inclination to play with such things.

I’m not a pro and don’t want to be. I just want to enjoy streaming music. My sense that they allocate as few resources as possible for support and have no intention of admitting/rectifying flaws. I’ve read reviews here where some feel like sending an email, waiting a few days to get a response, and avoiding all human contact is a good thing. That’s exceptionally poor to me. I want to spend as little time as I can get away with interfacing with the hardware and their minimum effort/your maximum effort seems backwards to what it’s supposed to be. It’s quite the juxtaposition to say, SVS, who shows everyone how support should be done - they are the finest anywhere, bar none.

Once working, sound quality is excellent, amplification is excellent, and streaming is fine too with an excellent DAC, provided it’s wired. But don’t purchase Bluesound’s products expecting wireless to be flawless, or to get anything resembling customer-focused support. That’s all a bill of goods and I’m left feeling like I’m in some kind of ‘fight’ with them to get support after the sale for clearly unreliable products. You’ll be essentially on your own to troubleshoot what are nearly certain ongoing wifi and hardware bugs. I’m obviously in for the duration but if I could do it over I would have not spent the money.

I only have one Bluesound product, Node 2i. I was having problems with audio drop outs even with an extender wired to the Node. Now I have a Google Nest with one of the points across the room from the Node. That seems to have solved the problem for now. I may later get an extender and direct wire that to the Node. I have DSL, not very fast. 

I tried wireless extenders but with mixed results (drops still occurring) but the solution for me was installing Powerline adaptors which use your homes AC wiring. One unit is plugged into your router via ethernet and that unit is plugged into a nearby AC outlet. Plug the other adaptor same way but into the Node 2i, in this case my upstairs office and make sure to use quality shielded ethernet cables. I plan to use LPS's for the 2i and router next. Shielded power cables too. The Powerline adaptors are like $75 for a set on Amazon. Easier and cheaper than Mesh units.

I hope the Powerline adapters work better for you than they did for me.  I had several that gave up the ghost because in order to reach all the rooms my house, they had to pass over more than 2 zones on the circuit breaker.  Eventually I Ethernet wired the house; best investment ever