End of Software Updates for Legacy Products

Does this mean that the older devices, while not receiving updates or features, will be ‘frozen’ but will continue to work fine and do their core job of playing music?

So, a year or so from now they could be on software 10.7 but the rest of the components are on 12 for example? (a departure from the current way of working)

Well I’d love to check the system page to see if I’m impacted….

https://www.sonos.com/myaccount/system/households/devices/

SONOS

We apologise, but an error has occurred. The web team at Sonos has been notified.

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edit:   Looks like it got fixed after about an hour

Hey Ryan, thanks for the update...even if it’s not happy news.

A few questions.  If I chose option 1, will I need to do anything to my system to prevent updates, or will the presence of these legacy products prevent updates from occurring

Will legacy versions of the the Sonos controller apps be made available?  And if so, will it possible to revert a system back to this legacy version if their devices are already on a higher version?

Related to above, will it be possible to operate two Sonos systems, one current and one legacy, under the same network?  (Understanding that you won’t be able to use some accounts, like voice services, on both systems)

What level of support will be available for those who chose to stay on a legacy system?   Understanding that software updates will not be an issue, but if there are setup questions or network interference issues, will Sonos provide assistance?

Uh oh; that’s half of my 6 zone system. I am very interested in all the clarifications that Ryan will no doubt be providing here.

And a very interesting cut/paste from Verge:

Sonos tells me that beginning in May, it will introduce a software feature that allows customers who want to keep using their legacy hardware to separate those old products from their main Sonos system. You’ll want to do this splitting off step because once a device stops receiving updates, so does your entire Sonos system. Every speaker and other Sonos component in a system is meant to run the same software version to ensure they all work nicely together. But this is the first time that software support is ending, so some Sonos systems will get stuck on whatever software they’re running in May — unless customers quarantine the older gadgets into a secondary network. This software flow is still being developed, and Sonos doesn’t even mention that the option is coming on its FAQ page.

The last sentence quoted may mean that Ryan may not comment on this development at this time.

Systems containing older devices after the update in May will stop receiving updates, and will essentially be frozen as you said. Your Sonos products operate together as a system. As such, all products in the system need to be running the same software. If legacy products are part of a system with modern products, the modern products will not be able to receive the latest software updates as well.

Thanks, I’ll have the team look into that.

The presence of the legacy products will prevent updates from occurring, and we don’t expect any app related issues with legacy or modern systems. As Kumar mentioned from that article, there will be more to come in May.

While it is possible to run two Sonos systems on the same network, it usually is a better experience to split the LAN so that you know which of the two systems you are connecting with, the same will apply to legacy vs modern.

And people with legacy products will absolutely still get the same support they receive today with regards to troubleshooting and setup related issues. The support team will happily assist where possible, keeping in mind that over time, access to services and overall functionality of the system will eventually be disrupted as partners evolve their technology.

Also wanted to share how that it will negatively effect me personally. 

I currently use a Connect:Amp sitting in my master closet to run ceiling speakers in the garage.  Once that goes away, I’ll have a couple options.

1 - Lose the speakers entirely.  Would have been ok before I put in the speakers, but now I use them fairly often.  Not a good option.

2 - Setup a second legacy system just for the garage if possible.  Problem with that is I usually use an echo dot and alexa voice to control, like I do the rest of my house.  I’d lose that, or have to setup a 2nd alexa account, and not sure how that would work with my smart device controls.  And obviously, I would lose the ability to play with other rooms.

3 - Replace the connect:amp with a normal amp, and run it directly from an echo dot or echo input.  I have a spare amp for that (oversized, but still) or could get a cheap amp.  it would not be in the Sonos system, but I think I can live with that.  Amp would need to be move to the garage and rewiring would need to occur.

4 - Replace the Connect:amp with a Sonos Amp.  With the 30% discount, that’s $455 to basically restore what I currently have.   Don’t think I could take advantage of the new features.

5 - Replace the Connect:amp with an Echo Amp ($300).  This would give me pretty much what I have today, except I wouldn’t be able to sync with my Sonos system.  The only real advantage over a normal amp is that I don’t have to relocate the amp to the garage.

6 - Replace the Connect:amp with a normal amp and an Echo Link ($200).  Cheaper than the echo amp option and would not have to relocate my amp.

7 - Replace the Connect:amp with a Sonos Move.  I have a Move already but not crazy about leaving it in the garage and don’t want to move it around that often.  I also don’t have an ideal shelf for the Move.  Wouldn’t be using my existing speakers.  Not a horrible option though.

8 - Replace the speakers with a pair of Sonos Ones ($266) or Sonos One SLs ($252).  Actually, I have a spare set that I might use this for.  No good shelf, but mounting wouldn’t be too big of an issue ($60).  Power would need to be worked out, but I think I can do that.

Leaning towards option 8 since I have the spare already.

I also have 2 Connects that are not currently used, and was thinking of using my spare normal amp to add more speakers in the  backyard.  That’s not going to happen now.

A couple months to decide.

Ryan, how will you identify such systems that contain legacy products? Based on registration information about any legacy registered products linked to a user account? So if I have a Bridge registered in my account, regardless of whether it is powered on or not, my system will neither prompt me nor apply any update automatically, or otherwise, after the May date kicks in?

Disappointing then. I was hoping that the current mantra of ‘all devices run the same code version’ could have been revisited by a more major code update made possible by being able to use the extra space available on newer devices that isn't on the old ones. Just treat the older ones as speakers that are part of the system with a much more basic firmware and limited functionality.

This is a big deal now meaning anyone perfectly happy with their functioning system won't be able to get newer features on their newer devices if they happen to have an older one too. :(

Good question, Kumar. That’ll be answered in May when we have more details to share, but powered off devices that are still registered to a system shouldn’t cause you any trouble.