The Essential Guide to Move 2

Image of a woman in a yellow dress carrying a white Sonos Move 2 through a party with a motion-blurred background

Ed Gillett

Guest Writer

We know you’re always moving — through early morning workouts, your latest project on the house, and backyard barbecues. You’re heading to the mountains before the sun is awake or hosting a cocktail party late into the evening. To match your pace, we wanted to create a product that reflects your lifestyle. Move 2 is as portable as its predecessor, now with double the battery life, a refreshed acoustic architecture for spacious stereo sound, colors that blend with your indoor and outdoor space, and a durable design that can stand up to the day ahead. Meet Move 2.

Start Here

Whether you’re brand new to Sonos or a long-time owner, the ‘Essential Guide’ series is for you. If Move 2 is your first Sonos speaker, start from the beginning. We’ll take you through the entire Sonos journey step by step, from setting up your speaker to some of the more advanced features possible when you group Move 2 with the rest of your system. If you’re a long-time Sonos owner, feel free to look around. Hopefully you’ll learn a little something about how Move 2 works and how it differs from other speakers in the Sonos system. Ready? Let’s get into it.

Choose Your Color

Move 2 belongs to all the places you do, whether that’s in your kitchen as you bob your head to a beat while preparing the night’s dinner or at a park where you and your friends are kicking back to the vocals of SZA. That’s why this speaker comes in three shades —an earthy olive, minimalist white, and classic black — that look just as good on your nightstand or hall table as they do on your picnic blanket or garage worktop. Choose the one that speaks to you. Or, you know, the one that complements your couch or lawn chairs.

Image of three Sonos Move 2 speakers, one Olive, one black, one white, side-by-side on a grey background

Set up

Choosing your favorite playlist may be hard but setting up your speaker shouldn’t be.

To start, you’ll need to connect Move 2 to WiFi using the Sonos app. You’ll know your speaker is ready to be set up when you hear a chime and see the status light flash green. From here, the app-guided instructions will help with the rest. Once up and running, your speaker will tune itself using Automatic Trueplay™ (more on that later).

The Sonos App

Choose a song, adjust the volume, and group speakers all from the Sonos app. All the content and Sonos features you love live here.

Did we mention there’s free music, too? Access expertly-curated stations, original shows, and thousands of live broadcast stations from around the world on Sonos Radio. Throw on Backyard Barbecue when you’re grilling with friends. Get lost in the classic ballads of Rock Road Trip as you chip away at home chores. Or settle into some much needed solo time with Chill Beats. Whatever the day brings, Sonos Radio has music to suit your mood.

You can preview stations and original shows here.

Image from above of an Olive Sonos Move 2 on a kitchen table with arts and crafts supplies

Touch controls

You can control Move 2 using the updated touch controls on the top of the speaker. Use them to adjust volume; play, pause or skip songs; and power your speaker on and off. All it takes is a tap or a swipe of your finger.

To get started, here’s a quick breakdown of what you need to know:

Play, pause, or skip tracks

Tap play/pause to start and stop the music. Tap the right arrow to skip forward, or tap the left arrow to replay the previous song.

Adjust the volume

Swipe your finger right or left across the volume slider to turn up or down the music. It’s located above the play/pause button at the top of your speaker.

Turn on and off voice control

Tap the speech bubble on the top of Move 2 to turn on or off your voice assistant. For added security, you can completely disconnect all power to the microphones by toggling the switch (the one with the microphone icon above it) on the back of the speaker. Just remember that you’ll need to toggle this back on to use voice control or Automatic Trueplay tuning.

A closeup image of the back controls on an Olive Sonos Move 2

Bluetooth

Bluetooth capability is especially useful if you plan on moving your speaker outdoors or letting a friend DJ. To connect to Bluetooth, locate the button on the back of the speaker and press it once. You’ll hear a chime and the status light will flash blue when it’s ready before turning solid blue when paired.

Now with Bluetooth 5.0, Move 2 allows you to sync your Bluetooth stream with other speakers in your system using the Sonos app.

You can learn more about how to sync your Bluetooth stream here.

Image of a white Sonos Move 2 on a kitchen countertop while someone controls it with their phone on the Sonos app

Direct Control and Airplay 2

Have a playlist (or 10) on your phone? Great. You can stream tunes directly from your favorite music services — like Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or TIDAL — with ease. Here are a couple ways to do it:

Apple AirPlay2: If you have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, use Apple AirPlay2 to stream audio to your speaker from your iOS device. Go to your device’s control center, tap the AirPlay icon, and select Move 2 to connect to your speaker.

Direct control: Open your preferred streaming app, pick something to play, then look for the speaker icon to connect to Move 2.

A closeup image of the top controls on a black Sonos Move 2

Voice Control

For the moments you’re not within arm’s reach of your speaker — or your hands are covered in grease from your routine oil change — you can control your speaker using your voice with Sonos Voice Control. Simply say “Hey Sonos” to adjust the volume, pause the music, set timers, and more. Need to check the weather or control your other smart home devices? Try Amazon Alexa. You can add Alexa or your other preferred voice assistant in the Sonos app by visiting Settings and tapping Services & Voice.

A looping video of an animated Move 2 using Trueplay to tune itself

Automatic Trueplay™

Not all rooms are created equal. This is where Trueplay can help. Trueplay is an easy tuning technology that adjusts your speaker’s EQ to the unique acoustics of your surround space. So whether you’re in a small bedroom with thick carpeting or a spacious kitchen with tile floors, your content will sound clean, crisp, and just the way it should.

Image of two white Sonos Move 2 speakers sitting on either end of a narrow table against the wall

Stereo Pairing

The redesigned acoustic architecture on Move 2 offers pronounced stereo separation from a single standalone speaker, delivering greater detail and a more spacious soundstage. Should you desire even more oomph, consider pairing a second Move 2 for even greater stereo sound. Pairing two speakers is especially great for backyard movie nights when you want a little more drama from your sound system. Just make sure you’re connected to WiFi to create a stereo pair. You can learn how to create a stereo pair here.

Image of a user placing their black Sonos Move 2 down on its charging base

Charging Move 2

Picture this: You’re hosting an al fresco dinner with friends, so you spend the morning cleaning the patio and the afternoon prepping food. All the while, you bring Move 2 from room to room, devouring podcast after podcast. Later, while setting out the appetizers, you switch to your freshly curated playlist. Once bellies are full and stars dot the sky, you switch to something more chill to round out the evening. It’s perfect.

Overall, the evening was a success, and Move 2 kept up with you and your friends all day on only a single charge thanks to its 24 hours of battery life.

When it’s time to recharge your speaker after a long day of listening, easily nest Move 2 on the newly-designed Wireless Charging Base included in the box.

Image of an Olive Sonos Move 2 on its charging base sitting in front of its packaging

Built to Last

A speaker that can withstand years of use matters. First, you get more life from your speaker. Second, it stays out of landfills and reduces your carbon footprint.

About 98% of the plastics and circuit boards on Move 2 are halogen-free — helping reduce harmful air quality while increasing your speaker’s durability. It’s a win-win. Move 2 also has a replaceable battery, so you can give your speaker a new life even when it outlives your existing one.

Not sure how to replace your battery? Check out the Sonos Move 2 Replacement Battery Kit—it includes a new battery, plus the tools you need to install it.

Another feature we love: Move 2 uses a third of the energy consumption required from its predecessor. That’s music to our ears.

A Note on Packaging

To lessen our environmental footprint, Move 2 is packaged in 100% recycled materials and uses as little plastic as possible. Minimize waste even further by recycling the packaging — the box is curbside recyclable and Forest Stewardship Council Mix certified to support responsible forestry.

Image of a man gardening knelt beside an Olive Sonos Move 2

Image of a man packing his truck with camping gear and a white Sonos Move 2

Move 2 Outside the Home

Move 2 is your new outdoor companion. And, speaking of dirt, the speaker’s muted colors are meant to withstand a little grime. Move 2’s subtle hues show less dirt and dust and will stay truer to their original color even after days in the sun.

If you’re someone who’s typically on the go, you’ll appreciate that Move 2 has a handle for easy transportation. And enjoying time in the sun is no problem thanks to the speaker’s adaptive light sensors that are just bright enough for days outdoors (and will dim should you take Move 2 into a dark room). Lastly, let’s not forget, you can count on a powerful stereo experience that fills your space.

Line In

Vinyl lovers, rejoice. Using the line in port on the back of Move 2, you can now connect a turntable, CD player, or other external audio source to your portable speaker using an auxiliary cable and the Sonos Line In Adapter.

Now that you have a better handle on how to use Move 2, it’s time to decide where to take your listening. A few ideas: play calming music during a savasana on your patio, crank some tunes during a backyard happy hour with friends, DJ your kid’s neighborhood birthday party, or listen to something soothing while prepping dinner in your kitchen—before enjoying both the music and meal outside on the deck. Much like your playlists, the ways you can enjoy Move 2 are endless.