diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b6be7af..27e612b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -55,14 +55,14 @@ Bonob will now auto-register itself with sonos on startup, updating the registra
 item | default value | description
 ---- | ------------- | -----------
 BONOB_PORT | 4534 | Default http port for bonob to listen on
-BONOB_WEB_ADDRESS | http://localhost:4534 | URL for bonob so that sonos devices can communicate
+BONOB_WEB_ADDRESS | http://$(hostname):4534 | URL for bonob so that sonos devices can communicate. **This must be either the public IP or DNS entry of the bonob instance so that the sonos devices can communicate with it.**
 BONOB_SECRET | bonob | secret used for encrypting credentials
 BONOB_SONOS_AUTO_REGISTER | false | Whether or not to try and auto-register on startup
 BONOB_SONOS_DEVICE_DISCOVERY | true | whether or not sonos device discovery should be enabled
 BONOB_SONOS_SEED_HOST | undefined | sonos device seed host for discovery, or ommitted for for auto-discovery
 BONOB_SONOS_SERVICE_NAME | bonob | service name for sonos
 BONOB_SONOS_SERVICE_ID | 246 | service id for sonos
-BONOB_NAVIDROME_URL | http://localhost:4533 | URL for navidrome
+BONOB_NAVIDROME_URL | http://$(hostname):4533 | URL for navidrome
 BONOB_NAVIDROME_CUSTOM_CLIENTS | undefined | Comma delimeted mime types for custom navidrome clients when streaming. ie. "audio/flac,audio/ogg" would use client = 'bonob+audio/flac' for flacs, and 'bonob+audio/ogg' for oggs.
 
 ## Initialising service within sonos app
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index c11f69d..ce9f54a 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@
   },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "tsc",
-    "dev": "BONOB_PORT=4000 BONOB_WEB_ADDRESS=http://$(hostname):4000 nodemon ./src/app.ts",
+    "dev": "BONOB_PORT=4000 nodemon ./src/app.ts",
     "test": "jest",
     "client-test": "ts-node tests/bonob_client.ts"
   }
diff --git a/src/app.ts b/src/app.ts
index 07a1490..07c01b4 100644
--- a/src/app.ts
+++ b/src/app.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+import { hostname } from "os";
 import sonos, { bonobService } from "./sonos";
 import server from "./server";
 import logger from "./logger";
@@ -8,7 +9,12 @@ import { InMemoryLinkCodes } from "./link_codes";
 
 const PORT = +(process.env["BONOB_PORT"] || 4534);
 const WEB_ADDRESS =
-  process.env["BONOB_WEB_ADDRESS"] || `http://localhost:${PORT}`;
+  process.env["BONOB_WEB_ADDRESS"] || `http://${hostname()}:${PORT}`;
+
+if (WEB_ADDRESS.match("localhost")) {
+  logger.error("BONOB_WEB_ADDRESS containing localhost is almost certainly incorrect, sonos devices will not be able to communicate with bonob using localhost, please specify either public IP or DNS entry");
+  process.exit(1);
+} 
 
 const SONOS_DEVICE_DISCOVERY =
   (process.env["BONOB_SONOS_DEVICE_DISCOVERY"] || "true") == "true";
@@ -42,7 +48,7 @@ const app = server(
   bonob,
   WEB_ADDRESS,
   new Navidrome(
-    process.env["BONOB_NAVIDROME_URL"] || "http://localhost:4533",
+    process.env["BONOB_NAVIDROME_URL"] || `http://${hostname()}:4533`,
     encryption(secret),
     streamUserAgent
   ),