Can the Beosound Essence Remote control Sonos?

Not on its own. Bang & Olufsen never designed the Essence Remote to talk to Sonos. With a bridge in between, such as a DIY setup or Lydbro Zero, the remote's turn, press, and flick can control Sonos volume, playback, and favourites.

Is there an official Bang & Olufsen to Sonos integration for the Essence Remote?

No. The Essence Remote has no built-in path to Sonos or to a hub like Home Assistant. Every method pairs something with the remote over Bluetooth and relays its gestures to Sonos on the local network.

Do I need Home Assistant to control Sonos with the Essence Remote?

No. Home Assistant is one route if you already run it. A dedicated bridge like Lydbro Zero controls Sonos directly on the local network, with no Home Assistant or extra computer required.

Beosound Essence Remote + Sonos

Use the most elegant dial Bang & Olufsen ever made to control your Sonos system.

The Beosound Essence Remote is a beautiful object: turn the dial for volume, press to play or pause, flick to skip. But Bang & Olufsen only ever made it talk to B&O systems, and there is no official way to control Sonos with it. With a bridge in the middle, though, that elegant dial can run your Sonos setup. This guide covers the realistic ways to do it.

First, the honest part: there is no official Essence to Sonos link

The Essence Remote has no built-in path to Sonos, or to a hub like Home Assistant. So every method below works the same way: something pairs with the remote over Bluetooth, listens for its turn, press, and flick, and relays the matching command to your Sonos speakers on the local network. The options differ in how much you build yourself.

Option 1: Via Home Assistant

Home Assistant has a mature, local official Sonos integration covering playback, volume, grouping, and favourites. The catch is that Home Assistant cannot see the Essence Remote on its own, so you first need to get the remote's gestures into Home Assistant, either with a DIY bridge or with Lydbro Zero (see our Beosound Essence Remote + Home Assistant guide). Once its gestures are Home Assistant events, you map them to Sonos actions.

Option 2: Roll your own over Bluetooth

Sonos speakers accept control on your local network, so a small always-on computer such as a Raspberry Pi can pair with the Essence Remote and talk to Sonos directly, no Home Assistant required. This is the most flexible route. The trade-off is that you handle the Bluetooth pairing, write the Sonos control logic, and keep the service running.

Option 3: A plug-and-play bridge (Lydbro Zero)

If you would rather not build anything, Lydbro Zero controls Sonos directly, with no Home Assistant or extra computer involved. It pairs with the Essence Remote over Bluetooth and speaks to your Sonos system on the local network, so turn adjusts volume, press plays and pauses, and flick skips tracks. It is configured from a built-in web UI, runs locally, and updates over the air.

What you can control

Volume, by turning the dial
Play and pause, by pressing
Skip tracks, by flicking
Rooms, favourites, and playlists via custom mappings or Home Assistant

Which option is right for you?

You already run Home Assistant with Sonos: bring the remote into HA, then map it to Sonos.
You enjoy building with a Raspberry Pi: roll your own bridge.
You want it to just work, with no server to maintain: Lydbro Zero.

About Lydbro Zero

References & further reading

Sonos integration (Home Assistant docs)
Beosound Essence Remote (Lydbro Zero)

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