Want Sonos controls on your iPhone lock screen? They've finally returned to iOS —here's how to get them

An iPhone on a green and blue background showing Sonos Live Activities on iOS 26.

• The Sonos app on iOS now works with Live Activities and Dynamic Island
• Controls remain on screen for 15 minutes after playback stops
• Album art and full Watch/CarPlay support will arrive soon

Sonos has updated its iPhone app to support Live Activities and the Dynamic Island. Posting on the r/sonos subreddit, Liz from Sonos says that "We’re excited to finally bring back Sonos control from the iOS lock screen, but in an all-new way with iOS Live Activities. We know this is a much requested, anticipated, and needed feature, and we can’t wait for you to try it out."

The feature is off by default but you can enable it in the latest version of the app by going into Account > App Preferences > Live Activity.

Once you've enabled the feature, simply start playback and close the app. The Live Activity will show the current speaker group or room you last played audio on, and it gives you volume and transport controls. Those controls will be visible when your phone is locked, but you'll need to use Face ID, Touch ID or a passcode to unlock the device to change playback.

To make the Live Activity go away, just swipe it off the screen.

What's missing from the Sonos Live Activities support

This is what you'll see when you tap on the Sonos interface in your phone's Dynamic Island (Image credit: Sonos)

Some features haven't been implemented yet. Sonos' app doesn't yet support album art in the Live Activity, although Liz says that "alternative ways to enhance the lock screen experience are being explored."

Live Activities are also used by the Apple Watch and with CarPlay, but Sonos hasn't implemented the feature for those platforms yet. That means the Live Activity will appear on your Apple Watch or on your Car's displays, but the on-screen controls won't do anything.

If you'd rather not use the Sonos app to control your audio, for example because you use Direct Control from a compatible service, AirPlay or Bluetooth) Sonos says that "you can still use the local playback controls that appear on screen or the Live Activity. You can choose which you prefer to use."

Live Activities were introduced in iOS 16.2, and Sonos's version is rolling out just weeks before the next version of iOS, iOS 27, drops. The feature will work just as well in the next iOS, and Sonos says that while there's no news to share right now "the teams have been exploring the new capabilities [iOS 27] has in Beta."

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