Sonos speakers have no built-in intercom function — but they can be used as an announcement system over your local network via UPnP. The free Android app HausFunk records a voice message and plays it on any Sonos rooms over Wi-Fi — no cloud, no account, no extra hardware. Whatever music was playing resumes automatically right where it left off.
Why the Sonos app can't do announcements — and how to do it anyway
To this day the official Sonos app offers no intercom or announcement feature. If you want to call "Dinner's ready!" into every room, your only options are workarounds: Alexa announcements run through Amazon's cloud and need an Amazon account, while Home Assistant solutions require your own server and configuration effort.
Yet every Sonos speaker has spoken an open, local protocol since the very first generation (2005): UPnP on port 1400. That's exactly what HausFunk uses — the app sends the recording straight from your smartphone to the speakers, without any audio leaving your home network. It works across all generations: from the Play:1 (2013) to the Arc Ultra (2024), and supports S1 and S2 systems in parallel in the same household.
How an announcement works with HausFunk
- Install and open the app — HausFunk finds every Sonos speaker on your Wi-Fi automatically (SSDP discovery, a few seconds). No sign-in, no setup.
- Select rooms — tap the room cards to select one or more rooms. The announcement volume can be set per room.
- Record — tap the microphone button, speak, tap again.
- Done — the announcement plays in the selected rooms. If music was playing, it resumes automatically at the remembered position — including track and playback position.
What the app can do — as of June 2026
HausFunk has been available on the Google Play Store since May 2026 and was installed more than 215 times within its first few weeks (as of June 2026). The app is completely free, with no ads and no in-app purchases. The interface is available in 5 languages (German, English, French, Spanish, Italian).
Voice announcements to any room
Record, pick rooms, send — with individual volume per room. Stereo pairs and home-theatre setups (e.g. Arc + Sub + surrounds) are correctly treated as a single room.
Play music from your phone on Sonos — something the Sonos app no longer can
Since version 3.2, HausFunk also plays local audio files straight from your phone on Sonos — MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC and OGG. Either via the Android share menu ("Share → HausFunk" from any app) or via the built-in file picker. The official Sonos app removed its "On this device" feature on Android back in May 2023 and has not brought it back — Sonos itself points users to workarounds like Bluetooth, NAS shares or cloud uploads. HausFunk closes that gap without a detour, the same local way as announcements: your phone serves the file over Wi-Fi and the speaker plays it.
Music resumes after the announcement
Before every announcement, HausFunk remembers what was playing — including track number and playback position — and resumes it exactly there afterwards. This works with the Sonos library, Sonos playlists, radio stations and Spotify started from within the Sonos app.
Coming soon: saved announcements
The next version adds saveable quick announcements: frequent messages ("Dinner's ready!", "Leaving in 5 minutes!") can be recorded once, named, and then sent again to the chosen rooms with a single tap.
HausFunk, the Sonos app, Alexa or Home Assistant — which fits when?
| Feature | HausFunk | Sonos app | Alexa Drop In / Announce | Home Assistant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announcements on Sonos | Yes | No | Only on Echo devices | Yes (with configuration) |
| Runs fully locally | Yes, Wi-Fi only | Partly (cloud account required) | No, Amazon cloud | Yes |
| Account required | No | Yes (Sonos account) | Yes (Amazon account) | No |
| Play local phone files | Yes (MP3/WAV/M4A/FLAC/OGG) | No (removed May 2023) | No | Limited |
| Extra hardware / server | None | None | Echo devices | Your own server |
| Setup effort | None (auto-discovery) | Low | Medium | High |
| Cost | €0, no ads | €0 | Device cost | €0 + server hardware |
Privacy: what happens to the recording?
Nothing that leaves your home. The voice recording is cached on your smartphone, transferred straight to the speakers over Wi-Fi, and deleted immediately after the announcement. HausFunk uses no cloud, no analytics, no tracking, and stores no data in Google backups. The only permission the app requests is microphone access. Details are in the privacy policy.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. HausFunk uses the UPnP protocol, which every Sonos generation supports identically — from the Play:1 (2013) through Play:5, Beam, Era 100/300 to the Arc Ultra (2024). S1 and S2 systems also work in parallel in the same household.
No. Announcements run exclusively over your local Wi-Fi. HausFunk needs neither an internet connection nor a user account — the app's internet permission is used only to communicate with the speakers on your home network.
Yes. Before the announcement, HausFunk saves the playback state including track and position, and restores it afterwards. This applies to the Sonos library, playlists, radio and Spotify when started from the Sonos app.
This is a Sonos platform limitation, not the app's: streams sent directly to the speaker via Spotify Connect, AirPlay, Apple Music or Amazon Music use a cloud session that cannot be restored via UPnP after an interruption. HausFunk detects such streams and warns you before the announcement — afterwards you simply restart playback once in the source app.
Yes, since version 3.2. The app plays MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC and OGG files from your phone on any Sonos rooms — via the Android share menu or the built-in file picker. The official Sonos app removed this feature ("On this device") on Android in May 2023 and no longer offers it.
Almost: there is a technical offset of typically 100 to 300 milliseconds between rooms, because each room is addressed individually. For everyday announcements this is practically unnoticeable.
Nothing. HausFunk is free, contains no ads and no in-app purchases. The app is a private project — if you like it, you can support it with a voluntary donation.
No, HausFunk is an Android-only app (Android 8.0 and up). An iOS version is not currently planned, as it would require a complete rewrite.
No. No analytics, no tracking, no accounts. Voice recordings are deleted after the announcement and are excluded from Android backup. The only permission requested is microphone access.
Yes. Stereo pairs and bonded home-theatre configurations (soundbar + sub + surround speakers) appear correctly as a single room. Temporary playback groups created in the Sonos app also remain selectable as individual rooms.
Try HausFunk
HausFunk is free on the Google Play Store. All features, screenshots and legal information are on the HausFunk product page.
About the author: Dr. Philipp Wagner has developed HausFunk as a private project since 2026 and runs his own mixed Sonos system of S1 and S2 devices (Play:1, Play:5, Era 100, Arc, Arc Ultra, Sub). Contact:
Trademark notice: HausFunk is an independent product and is not manufactured, endorsed or authorised by Sonos, Inc. Sonos® and all related product names are registered trademarks of Sonos, Inc.