Beyond the permissions — what the Sonos® side needs
The two iOS permissions below are only half of it. Somos also needs, in the Sonos® app and on your network: UPnP on (Sonos app › Account › Privacy & Security › UPnP), a VPN that allows your home network (if the Sonos app works with your VPN on, Somos will too), the phone on the same Wi-Fi as the speakers, and not a guest or IoT network. Somos shows these on its No speakers found screen if it can’t find your speakers; see If Somos can’t find your speakers.Local Network permission
What it does
iOS requires any app that discovers or communicates with devices on your Wi-Fi to request Local Network permission. Somos InControl uses it for:- Bonjour (mDNS) discovery — the app listens for Sonos® speakers advertising the
_sonos._tcpservice on your network, the same discovery method used by AirPlay and the official Sonos® app. - Subnet scan — at the same time, the app sends a short request to each address on your local subnet asking “are you a Sonos® speaker?”. Any Sonos® device that responds is added to your room list.
What it does NOT do
Local Network permission only covers devices on the Wi-Fi network your phone is currently connected to. It does not give the app access to the internet, to your router’s admin interface, or to any device on a different network.Local Network permission is required. If you decline it, the app cannot find any Sonos® speakers and will have nothing to control. Bluetooth is optional — the app works fully without it for speakers already on your Wi-Fi.
What happens if you decline
The app shows a screen explaining that Local Network is off, with the path to fix it and a Try Again button. No speakers will appear until you allow it.How to re-enable Local Network permission
1
Open iOS Settings
Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. From inside the app, Open Settings on the No speakers found screen, or the menu’s App → Somos settings → Open iOS Settings for Somos row, takes you straight there.
2
Find Somos InControl
Scroll down the Settings list until you see Somos InControl and tap it. (On some iOS versions the switch lives under Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network instead.)
3
Enable Local Network
Tap the toggle next to Local Network to turn it on.
4
Return to the app
Switch back to Somos InControl and tap Try Again, or open the menu and choose Your Sonos → Rescan My Network.
Bluetooth permission
What it does
The app uses Bluetooth for one specific purpose: detecting Sonos® speakers that are nearby but not yet connected to your Wi-Fi network — a brand-new speaker you’re setting up, or one that has dropped off the network. They appear in a Nearby via Bluetooth list so you know the speaker exists even though it can’t be controlled yet. When the permission is granted, the app only reads the advertising name broadcast by nearby Bluetooth devices and filters for names that match Sonos® hardware. It does not:- Pair with any device
- Send any data over Bluetooth
- Identify you, your device, or your location
- Track movement or proximity over time
What happens if you decline
The app continues to work normally for every speaker that is already on your Wi-Fi. You simply won’t see the nearby-speakers list.Bluetooth permission is optional. All core features — volume, EQ, presets, home theater controls, music, Live Activity — work without it.
How to re-enable Bluetooth permission
1
Open iOS Settings
Open the Settings app, or use Open iOS Settings for Somos under App → Somos settings in the app’s menu.
2
Find Somos InControl
Scroll down to Somos InControl and tap it.
3
Enable Bluetooth
Tap the toggle next to Bluetooth to turn it on.
Apple Music
What it does
Apple lets only the Sonos® app sign in to Apple Music, so Somos browses Apple Music from your iPhone instead, through Apple’s own music framework, and asks for that access the first time it needs it — when you tap the Apple Music button on the music page, tap Allow on the Music Services page, or when a playing song needs its quality badge (Lossless, Hi-Res Lossless, Dolby Atmos). With it allowed, Somos can search the Apple Music catalogue, read your own library, show artwork, and send what you pick to the speaker, which plays on the Apple Music account your Sonos® system already holds.What happens if you decline
Every other music service still works, and Apple Music still plays from anything already set up on your Sonos® system — you just can’t browse it in Somos. The Apple Music row on the Music Services page offers Allow in Settings; if Screen Time or a profile restricts it, the row says Restricted on this iPhone.How to re-enable Apple Music access
Open Settings → Somos InControl (or Open iOS Settings for Somos under App → Somos settings in the app’s menu) and turn on Media & Apple Music.Live Activities
Live Activity is off by default and is switched on under App → Somos settings in the app’s menu. iOS separately controls whether an app may show Live Activities at all; if that’s off, the menu shows an orange Live Activities are turned off in iOS Settings link that opens Settings → Apps → Somos InControl → Live Activities.Permission summary
Somos InControl contains zero third-party libraries and makes no analytics or telemetry requests. Its internet traffic is speaker photos from Sonos®‘s public photo library (
media.sonos.com) and, once you use them, the music services themselves — browsing, searching and signing in go to the service you tapped, and artwork comes from wherever the service keeps it. See Data & Network for details.