S1 app for Windows and 'legacy' Sonos Dock

Are there not adapter patch cables that can still achieve the connection with later iDevices, even though these would not be docked in the strict sense of the word?

For someone that wants to have internet supplied music played on Sonos without opening the Sonos set up itself to the net, the dock seems to still have some use, if the Sonos kit is not Airplay compatible.

@controlav , @Kumar Exactly right about the ancient connector, so I use a 30pin-to-lightning adapter that lets me dock my iPhone.  Any audio playing on the docked iPhone can then stream to whatever Sonos device I choose.  And there’s no need for the Sonos controller app to be loaded on this phone (in fact, even better for me, because it’s one less place I need to worry about Sonos inadvertently updating itself and/or device firmware).

Separately, I run the 8.1 controller on an iPad mini, which I had considered upgrading to the S1 controller (thus my original question), but thanks to the helpful responses here, I realize I’d lose Dock functionality.

I use my Sonos devices almost exclusively to locally stream my own collection of lossless files (I’m one of those guys who still prefers to buy CDs and then rip the audio), so for the few times that I actually want to stream internet content (local radio, podcast, etc), it’s just more convenient for me to just dock my iPhone and use apps I’m already familiar with.

I realize this is not a solution for everybody, but it still works for me :-)

Since Airplay uses WiFi and needs to be on the same WiFi network as your Sonos devices, I don’t see you could use airplay with Sonos and not open up Sonos to the net.  Perhaps you could get clever with router settings, but certainly not something the typical user could pull off.

Besides, airplay 2 support was introduced after the dock lost support, so it would not be possible to have both options on the same system.  However, you could use the aux input ports that many Sonos device shave to bring in other devices through a wired connection, or a bluetooth receiver for bluetooth (or this Belikins airplay receiver device)

You could even play Spotify/Apple Music etc while still keeping Sonos isolated from the net. As I said, I had not thought of this use for what is now a useless Dock sitting in storage at home. I let it go in my move to S1 because the accompanying 160GB IPod classic that was used with it had crashed with a terminal HDD failure.

The dock and the Play 1 are - in my view - the neatest/best Sonos products made after the first ones that launched Sonos - all the rest are just variations on a theme, and some clumsy variations at that.

Another thing that the dock does very well is allow Sonos speakers to play where there is no WiFi presence at all - mains power is all that is needed. Once set up to do this at home, the dock will autoplay via a designated Sonos speaker wherever you take both, wirelessly, once mains power is supplied to both. No other WiFi is needed. Obviously, the net isn't needed as well and if the source device can play music via mobile data services, there is no limit to the music available even beyond what is stored on the device.

I would therefore suggest to the OP to not let Dock go out of use - there is nothing in S1 that justifies doing that.

My disenchantment with Sonos started when dock was targeted to be bypassed and came to a head with the S1/S2 decision, in terms of how it was implemented. Which is why I decided to stay on S1, and use Sonos hardware till it died on its own, and then replace it with other solutions as and when needed. Nothing I have seen in S2 so far has caused me to rethink that decision.  

Pretty much the same path of disenchantment for me, too, @Kumar.  And my disenchantment turned to ire  when Sonos began requiring me to log into my online account (starting with the 8.1 controller maybe?), just to add / re-add already purchased Sonos devices on my LAN.

Like you (and many other users, I suspect), I’ll continue enjoying my existing hardware purchases until eventual failure, and then seek other solutions.

Ire about such a minor issue? Sonos has always required that the system be registered against a user account.

These days just about every app of note is back-ended by cloud services which require a sign-in. My Sonos controllers remain permanently signed in anyway.

@ratty, I will say that the ‘ire’ came about when I had recently moved to a new apartment (with Sonos gear in tow), and was setting up my Sonos hardware so that I could listen to my music while unpacking the rest of my belongings.  Somehow during the move, I think a couple of key devices ‘lost’ their saved configuration info, so I started the process of reconfiguring.  I had done it many times before, and the Sonos controller app NEVER before required that i log into a registered account to continue.

Unfortunately for me, internet service at the new place had yet to be turned on, and apparently a Controller upgrade had snuck in on my laptop that now required me to log in.  So there I was, with my Sonos system & my hard drive of music (no internet streaming needed) raring to go, and I couldn’t listen to a thing except through my crappy lap top speakers.

So yes, ire was the appropriate emotion at the time.   I thank God that Sunbeam didn’t require me to log in to use my toaster when I unpacked it the following morning