The one-minute version
1. Siri phrases: 10 of them, such as "Pause 〈room〉 in ZoneFoundry".
2. Shortcuts actions: search for ZoneFoundry in the Shortcuts app and drag actions into your own shortcuts or automations.
3. Control Center buttons: six, three of which work without opening the app.
4. Widgets: a Now Playing card and a Voice Orb for the Home Screen and Lock Screen.
5. Live Activities: the card that appears on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while music plays.
All of them need you to sign in and open the app once first. Most of them need no home bridge, and your phone doesn't have to be on the same Wi-Fi as your speakers.
Before you start
- An iPhone on iOS 18.0 or later.
- Siri and Shortcuts: be signed in to the app. Otherwise Siri replies "Sign in to ZoneFoundry first, then use Siri."
- Phrases and actions that take a room: open the app once so it can read your rooms. While the room list is empty, iOS hides every shortcut that takes a room.
- Control Center buttons and widgets: after signing in, open the app in the foreground once so it can hand the buttons and widgets what they need.
- Live Activities: allow Live Activities for ZoneFoundry in iOS Settings.
1. Siri phrases (10)
Once you have signed in and opened the app at least once, you can say these to Siri with no further setup. Ten is the most Apple allows per app.
How to phrase it so Siri understands
- Use the phrase for your Siri language. With Siri set to Mandarin, use the Mandarin column; with Cantonese (Hong Kong), the Cantonese column; with English, the English column.
- The Chinese phrases almost all begin with 用 ZoneFoundry ("with ZoneFoundry"). Mandarin and Cantonese Siri don't currently understand them without it. Setting the volume is the only exception.
- For 〈room〉, say the room name shown in the app; for 〈playlist〉, a Sonos playlist name; for 〈scene〉, the name of a scene you saved.
- The Cantonese phrases are colloquial on purpose. Say them as written in the table; phrasings that aren't listed may not be recognised.
| Shortcut | Mandarin | Cantonese (Hong Kong) | English | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Play in Room | 「用 ZoneFoundry 在 〈房间〉 播歌」 「用 ZoneFoundry 在 〈房间〉 开始播歌」 |
「用 ZoneFoundry 喺 〈房間〉 播歌」 「用 ZoneFoundry 喺 〈房間〉 開始播歌」 |
Play music in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry Start music in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry |
Siri then asks "What should I play?" and you name a song or artist. The song can't go in the first sentence. |
| Pause Room | 「用 ZoneFoundry 暂停 〈房间〉」 「用 ZoneFoundry 停止 〈房间〉」 「用 ZoneFoundry 暂停 〈房间〉 的播放」 |
「用 ZoneFoundry 停低 〈房間〉」 「用 ZoneFoundry 停咗 〈房間〉」 「用 ZoneFoundry 停低 〈房間〉 嘅播放」 |
Pause 〈room〉 in ZoneFoundry Stop 〈room〉 in ZoneFoundry Pause playback in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry |
Pauses that room. |
| Set Room Volume | Mandarin and Cantonese share one set of phrases, for example: 「用 ZoneFoundry 调 〈房间〉 音量」 「ZoneFoundry 设 〈房间〉 音量」 「用 ZoneFoundry 將 〈房间〉 音量調校」 「用 ZoneFoundry 设音量」 |
Same as Mandarin | Set 〈room〉 volume with ZoneFoundry | Siri asks for the volume; answer with a number from 0 to 100. You can't put the number in the phrase. |
| Pause All Rooms | 「用 ZoneFoundry 全屋暂停」 「用 ZoneFoundry 全部暂停」 |
「用 ZoneFoundry 全屋暫停」 「用 ZoneFoundry 全部停晒」 |
Pause all rooms in ZoneFoundry Pause everywhere in ZoneFoundry |
Pauses each room in turn. If some rooms can't be reached, Siri names them. |
| Play Sonos Playlist | 「用 ZoneFoundry 播放歌单 〈歌单〉」 | 「用 ZoneFoundry 播歌單 〈歌單〉」 | Play playlist 〈playlist〉 in ZoneFoundry | Plays a Sonos playlist. No room needed: it uses the app's current room, then a room that's playing, then the first room. |
| Run Scene | 「用 ZoneFoundry 执行场景 〈场景〉」 | 「用 ZoneFoundry 執行場景 〈場景〉」 | Run scene 〈scene〉 in ZoneFoundry | Runs a scene you saved, in the background, without opening the app. Built-in templates aren't offered. |
| Play All Favorites | 「用 ZoneFoundry 播放 〈房间〉 的全部收藏」 「把全部收藏加入 〈房间〉 的队列（ZoneFoundry）」 「在 〈房间〉 播放我收藏的全部歌曲（ZoneFoundry）」 |
「用 ZoneFoundry 喺 〈房間〉 播晒所有收藏」 「將全部收藏加入 〈房間〉 隊列（ZoneFoundry）」 「喺 〈房間〉 播我收藏嘅全部歌（ZoneFoundry）」 |
Play all favorites in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry Queue all my favorites in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry Play my saved tracks in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry |
With a home bridge, queues and plays all your Sonos favorites. Without one, it plays a single favorite at random. |
| Resume Room | 「用 ZoneFoundry 继续 〈房间〉」 「用 ZoneFoundry 继续播放 〈房间〉」 |
「用 ZoneFoundry 繼續 〈房間〉」 「用 ZoneFoundry 繼續播 〈房間〉」 |
Resume 〈room〉 in ZoneFoundry Continue 〈room〉 in ZoneFoundry |
Resumes a paused room. |
| Next Track | 「用 ZoneFoundry 切 〈房间〉 下一首」 「用 ZoneFoundry 给 〈房间〉 跳歌」 |
「用 ZoneFoundry 切 〈房間〉 下一首」 「用 ZoneFoundry 幫 〈房間〉 跳歌」 |
Next track in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry Skip in 〈room〉 with ZoneFoundry |
Skips to the next track. |
| Open Voice Assistant | 「打开 ZoneFoundry 语音助手」 「和 ZoneFoundry 说话」 「让 ZoneFoundry 开始聆听」 |
「打開 ZoneFoundry 語音助手」 「同 ZoneFoundry 講嘢」 「叫 ZoneFoundry 開始聽」 |
Open voice assistant in ZoneFoundry Talk to ZoneFoundry Start listening with ZoneFoundry |
Opens the app, goes to Assistant and starts listening. A good fit for the iPhone Action button. |
What happens after you speak
Apart from Open Voice Assistant, all nine run in the background without opening the app.
- Phone and speakers on the same Wi-Fi: pause, resume, next track and volume go straight from your phone to the speaker, not through a server. Play Sonos Playlist also tries your home network first.
- Not on the same Wi-Fi: the ZoneFoundry server handles it. Without a bridge, pause, resume, next track and volume go through the Sonos cloud, so no bridge is needed and it works when you're away from home.
- Run Scene is carried out by the server and needs a connection to your Sonos: either a signed-in Sonos account or a home bridge.
- Play in Room finds music the same way as voice requests inside the app; see Control Sonos by voice.
2. Actions in the Shortcuts app
Open the Shortcuts app, create a new shortcut and search for ZoneFoundry to see its actions. All 10 Siri phrases are there, plus more actions that have no Siri phrase and can only be used inside your own shortcuts or automations.
They run the same way as Siri: anything that can talk to the speaker directly on the same Wi-Fi does so, and the rest goes to the server. The table lists the most useful actions; the Conditions column only covers what has been confirmed.
| Action | What it does | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Previous Track | Goes back a track. | Direct on the same Wi-Fi; away from home it uses the Sonos cloud, no bridge needed. |
| Volume Up, Volume Down | Raises or lowers a room's volume, by 5 by default. | Direct on the same Wi-Fi. |
| Mute Room | Mutes the room; run it again to unmute. | Same Wi-Fi only. |
| Set All Rooms Volume | Sets every room to the same volume (0–100). | — |
| Group Rooms, Ungroup Room | Joins rooms to a main room, or takes a room out of its group. Enter member rooms separated by commas. | Direct on the same Wi-Fi. |
| Set Sleep Timer | Stops playback after a number of minutes. | Set directly on the same Wi-Fi; away from home via the Sonos cloud. |
| Play Next, Add to Queue, Remove From Queue | Puts a search result next in line or adds it to the queue; removes the track at a given queue position. | — |
| Play Favorite | Plays a Sonos favorite you pick from a list. | Plays directly on the same Wi-Fi first; otherwise through the server, and works without a bridge. |
| Play News Briefing | Plays news in a room, 3 stories by default. | Needs the home bridge or a signed-in Sonos account (without a bridge it goes through the Sonos cloud). |
| Speak Text | Announces a line of text in a room. | Uses the server first; if that fails and you're on the same Wi-Fi, the phone speaks it locally. |
| Set Reminder, Set Sonos Alarm | Reminder: announces a message in a room after some minutes. Alarm: creates an alarm at a 24-hour time such as 07:30. | Reminders need no bridge. See alarms, reminders and sleep timers. |
| Play Audio Clip (Cloud) | Plays an online audio file (an https MP3 or AAC link) in a room, then returns to what was playing. | Uses the Sonos cloud. |
| Follow Me Presence | Adds a room to, or removes it from, the group that's playing. | Runs over your home network. |
| Set Night Sound, Set Speech Enhancement | Turns a soundbar's Night Sound or Speech Enhancement on, off, or toggles it. | Same Wi-Fi only, and only for rooms with a home theater speaker. |
There is also a ZoneFoundry Focus Filter: add it to an iOS Focus, and when that Focus turns on it can mute every room or apply the target volume you set in the app.
3. Control Center buttons (6)
Edit Control Center the usual iOS way, add a control, and look for ZoneFoundry in the list. The buttons have orange icons. Their labels follow your iPhone's system language, not the language chosen inside the app.
| Button label | What it does | Opens the app? | Needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| News | Plays 5 news stories in the app's current room, in the language set under News & broadcast language in Settings. | No | Signed in and app opened once; no bridge |
| Pause All | Pauses every room in your home at once through the Sonos cloud. | No | Sonos account sign-in; no bridge, works away from home |
| Stop Announcement | Stops a news briefing, broadcast or spoken announcement that's playing. Music isn't affected, unlike Pause All. | No | Sonos account sign-in |
| Scene | Runs the scene you picked on the Control Center scene page (see section 5). | Briefly, about 1 second | Pick a scene on the Control Center scene page first |
| Stop in 30 min | Sets a 30-minute sleep timer on the app's current room. It doesn't start any new music. | Yes, to Home | Same as the in-app sleep timer |
| Voice Orb | Opens Assistant and starts listening, so you can just speak. | Yes | Same as the app |
- The three buttons that don't open the app show no result. News, Pause All and Stop Announcement just give a light tap of feedback, with no success or failure message; check what the speakers actually do.
- They rely on sign-in details the app hands over. If you've never signed in, or haven't opened the app in the foreground since, pressing them does nothing.
- If a button shows as unavailable, remove it from Control Center and add it again.
4. Widgets, the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island
The Now Playing widget
- Adding it: as the app puts it, "long-press your Home Screen, tap Edit → Add Widget, and pick ZoneFoundry." It's listed as Now Playing.
- Choosing a room: pick a room, or leave it to follow the app, in which case it shows the default room set in the app. Long-press the widget and choose Edit to change it later.
| Size | Shows | Buttons |
|---|---|---|
| Home Screen · small | Room, song, artist, with the cover as background | Refresh and next track at the top right; volume −, play/pause, volume + along the bottom |
| Home Screen · medium | Room, cover, song, artist | Refresh; volume −, previous, play/pause, next, volume + along the bottom |
| Home Screen · large | Room, song, artist, volume bar | Refresh; previous, play/pause, next; volume − / +; plus four tiles below: News, Scenes, Sleep and Alarms |
| Lock Screen · rectangular / circular | Cover or icon, song, artist, room | No buttons; tap to open the app |
- Each volume press changes the volume by 5. Tapping an empty part of the card opens the app's Home; a card set to a specific room switches to that room.
- The four large-widget tiles: News plays the news without opening the app; Scenes runs the scene picked on the Control Center scene page and opens the app; Sleep opens the app's sleep timer; Alarms opens the alarms page.
- It isn't live. iOS refreshes it roughly every 15 minutes, or about every 5 minutes for a card set to a specific room. Tap the refresh button at the top right to update it now.
- How the buttons run: if your phone is on the same Wi-Fi and the card controls the app's current room, the phone talks to the speaker directly; otherwise it goes through the server and the Sonos cloud. If one route fails, it tries the other.
Other things the card may show:
- "Nothing playing": the room isn't playing anything.
- "Open app" with no buttons: the widget doesn't know which room to control yet. Open the app once.
- "TV audio": the room is playing TV or line-in, so only volume − / + remain.
- "· Nm ago" after the room name: the info is more than 20 minutes old. Tap refresh.
The Voice Orb widget
- Small and medium sizes for the Home Screen; circular, rectangular and inline for the Lock Screen. The small Home Screen one reads "Tap to talk".
- Tapping it opens the app to Assistant and starts listening.
Live Activities on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island
Nothing to add here. Once you start playback in the app, a Now Playing card appears on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. There's one card per playing group, so several rooms playing separately stack up; a card stays while paused and goes away once playback stops.
| Where | Shows | Buttons |
|---|---|---|
| Lock Screen card | Cover, song, artist, room (or group name), progress bar | Play/pause and next (no previous track or volume) |
| Dynamic Island, expanded | Cover, room or group, song, artist, progress bar; "+N" at the top right for a group | Previous, play/pause, next |
| Dynamic Island, compact | A music note on the left (a TV icon for TV), playback status on the right | None |
| Apple Watch Smart Stack | Cover, song, room, progress bar | None; view only |
- For TV or line-in, the card shows "TV audio" and no playback controls.
- You can play, pause and skip right from the Lock Screen — iPhone asks for Face ID or Touch ID first, but you don't need to open the app.
- The card's buttons talk to the speaker directly when you're on the same Wi-Fi, and fall back to the server otherwise.
- If no card appears, check that Live Activities are turned on for ZoneFoundry in iOS Settings.
- For more, see Control Now Playing from lock screen, Dynamic Island & widgets.
5. Put a scene in Control Center
Which scene the Control Center Scene button runs is set on the Control Center scene page in the app. Pick the scene there first, then add the button to Control Center. This page doesn't need a home bridge.
Open the Control Center scene page
Tap Automations at the bottom, then Control Center scene in the Apple Home & advanced section (subtitle: "Put a scene in Control Center — reachable from the Lock Screen."). The page is titled "Quick Scene" binding.
Pick a scene
Your own saved scenes come first (with a pin icon), then the built-in templates, matching the scenes on Home. Unlike Siri's Run Scene, you can pick a built-in template here. Once selected, a preview shows the scene's room, volume, sleep timer and so on. Your choice saves automatically; there's no Save button.
Add the Scene button to Control Center
Add the Scene button as described in section 3. When you press it, the app opens briefly on Home, shows "Triggering bound scene…" and runs your scene. There's only one Scene button, and it runs whichever scene is currently selected on this page. If the button runs a different scene from the one you picked, come back and pick again (in 1.0.11 and earlier, running another scene in the app changes the selection here; newer versions fix this).
To create or edit scenes, see Scenes: save rooms, volume and music as one tap.
FAQ
Siri doesn't respond when I say a ZoneFoundry command in Mandarin or Cantonese. Why?
Mandarin and Cantonese Siri only recognise the phrases in the table in section 1, and almost all of them start with 用 ZoneFoundry ("with ZoneFoundry"). Setting the volume is the exception. In English, use the English phrases in the table.
Siri says: "Sign in to ZoneFoundry first, then use Siri."
The app has no sign-in session on this iPhone. Open ZoneFoundry, sign in, then try Siri again.
Can I say the volume number in the same sentence?
No. Say the room, and Siri asks what volume to set. Answer with a number from 0 to 100.
I press a Control Center button and nothing happens.
Sign in and open ZoneFoundry once in the foreground. News, Pause All and Stop Announcement give no success or failure message. For Scene, choose a scene on the Control Center scene page first. If a button shows as unavailable, remove it and add it again.
The widget says "Open app", or shows an old song.
Open ZoneFoundry once. Widgets are not live: iOS refreshes them about every 15 minutes. Tap the refresh button at the top right of the widget to update it now.
There is no Now Playing card on my Lock Screen.
Start playback while ZoneFoundry is open, since new cards are created while the app is in the foreground. Also check that Live Activities are allowed for ZoneFoundry in iOS Settings.
Pause or skip without finding the app first
ZoneFoundry is an iOS app that works with your existing Sonos. Use it from Siri, Control Center, widgets and the Lock Screen, mostly without a home bridge.