2.5 year old playbar high-pitched noise - Sonos asking for £199 replacement fee

  • 20 February 2017
  • 8 replies
  • 608 views

Hi all,

My Playbar has developed a high-pitched noise that is extremely annoying and basically means that we can't use it anymore. The Playbar is 2.5 years old and has not been used for a few months. When I plugged it back in again, the noise started. I have heard others on the Forum have also suffered from the same issue.

I contacted Sonos who asked me to do a factory reset (didn't resolve the issue). They have now sent me a link to replace the unit. The problem is I have to pay £199 as it is out of warranty.

Whilst I accept it is out of warranty, I would just like to say how disappointed I am with Sonos. Having paid £600 for this unit - it is one of the most expensive in the range, and I am very surprised that such a high-end device has gone wrong so soon. It is obviously a common fault judging by the number of faults reported on this forum.

If anyone from Sonos is listening, perhaps you could take this feedback into consideration....

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

8 replies

Saying there are lots of faults because of a few other posts on here is like judging the health of the nation by the people in its hospitals.

I wonder what you would get out of Microsoft or Apple if one of their products became faulty out of warranty?
Hi Rgs1974, the exact same thing has just happened to me - ours is 1.5 years old, and was unplugged for about 6 weeks.. now it emits a high-pitched noise that is very annoying.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
It is frustrating, of course, that your Playbar has failed after 2,5 years. However, as John says, the offer from Sonos to replace it for £200 is remarkable within this industry. I am not aware of any there manufacturer who would do the same.
Userlevel 5
Badge +11
The £199 to replace the unit is not unreasonable but does seem to be a tad unrealistic.

Manufacturers can discount a "new" replacement because you have had years use from the speaker. You are being indemnified.

Warranty is irrelevant in the UK other than initial period - UK consumer law allows for a claim agaimst a product up to six years from date of purchase. After six months you must prove the product was faulty. This is tempered by what the product is and its lifespan e.g. Don't expect a cabbage to last six years but a washing machine should. Given the longevity of Sonos products then six years is not unreasonable.

Refer Sonos to UK consumer law, be very nice and polite about it, and suggest they may like to reconsider their offer or your only course will be to get an engineers report to confirm, or not, that the defect existed at the time of purchase. If the report confirms a fault then Sonos will have to reimburse the cost of the report to you and provide you with a replacement product.
Thanks @BoredofBalham, I agree that's a fair expectation. I don't live in the UK, but I will look into Australian consumer law.

@Stuart_W, I feel you're missing the point. It's fair to expect the response to correspond the the nature of the problem and the frequency it occurs. There are indeed other manufacturers who offer a replacement at cost (e.g. Apple), which is a great policy to have, but it depends on the context.
I am now suffering the same problem! Having spent a significant amount of money having everything wired up and installed in my new house I am left with a high pitched noise coming from my playbar. Is there a known solution? Very embarrassing and extremely annoying!
I believe some folks have mitigated the issue by rebooting the device.
@Craig19781
I was able to resolve this issue by getting in touch with Sonos support (https://www.sonos.com/en-au/contact) and raising a ticket. They helped me run a diagnostic against my playbar, the end result was they were able to repair it after I took it to my regional repair centre. They did so without charging me... which was excellent... and I think they were able to do this because local consumer law (here in Australia) classifies problems relating to product design flaws differently to other non-warranty claims. Hope that helps.