The business practices of Sonos are completely unethical


Hi. I purchased (5) Play:1, (1) Play:3, and (1) Boost about 2 years ago and have been using them around my house ever since. All of the speakers still work perfectly and sound really great. But I just learned that the ability to play the songs that I own on my iPhone and iPodTouch on Sonos will no longer be available shortly. The only way I can continue to use these products in this way is to purchase a new device for example the Sonos One. I have spent roughly $1550.00 on Sonos products and the functionality that I bought these products for is simply going to be removed because your company will not continue to support it. So what will the Sonos app be used for? Streaming radio? I have no interest in listening to the radio. I purchased your products to listen to the music I want to listen to. I listen to thousands of songs I have purchased over the years in multiple playlists. I will not purchase a new Sonos product at this point to continue to get part of the functionality that I currently have moving forward. I would have to buy one of the new products listed on your website capable of working with Airplay2 for each grouped room around the house. That would be (1) for the living room, (1) for the office, (1) for the master bedroom, and (1) for my daughters room, all of which are used regularly to play different music. In order for me to continue to do this, I would have to buy (4) new Sonos products at a price tag of roughly $800.00.

You just created an evangelist who will tell anyone who will listen from now on that Sonos is garbage because you have removed core functionality without offering a solution to recover that functionality without spending more money on products that are already working just fine. Your company disgusts me.

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11 replies

So, you haven’t read the main thread about this where there are several alternatives offered, ranging from free to at a modest expense, then.

May I urge you to do so? It’s under the Announcements heading.
Yeah I have. I will probably set up a Plex server although that will apparently run me $4.99 a month. It seems like a small amount of money but I already paid $1550.00 + tax to get to this point. But I want to make sure that Sonos knows that they have lost a customer forever. I want to be absolutely certain that they understand how frustrating it is to spend this kind of money and then have the core functionality of that product be removed. I am aware that only around 10% of their users access their music from an iOS device this way and so it's not that big a deal to them. I have no interest in paying for streaming services each month when I already own all the music I want to listen to. I have no interest in keeping my pc running at all times when I am home so I can access a dedicated CPU library. I already figured out how to work around the issue with keeping my iPodTouch screen from locking so music could play continually. That was very irritating. This is a bridge to far. I am allowed to be frustrated and want to make sure my voice is also heard. Helpful forum persons like yourself are the unsung heroes in this modern technological age and I respect that and you. But sometimes a company does something that is unacceptable and this is one of those times.
Please direct your rage toward Apple, where it rightly belongs.
It looks like I have to keep my pc running to access the Plex server as well. So back to the drawing board.
My money went to Sonos though.
My money went to Sonos though.

Your money obviously went to Apple, as well. This feature will remain using Android devices, which are almost always a superior choice vs Apple, IME.
Your right chicks. I should have known that this would happen. I should have bought something other than an iPhone. I apologize for being frustrated. I hope I haven't offended you. Please forgive me. Oh and of course the superior choice is always something other than Apple. Is there anything else you would like to hear from a complete stranger on the internet who wasn't talking to you in the first place because you weren't/aren't a representative of the Sonos company nor a moderator of this community forum? Should I call Sonos directly for all future communications so you are not "forced" to read my posts? Would that make you feel better tonight? Also is there anything else I might do to make your stay better?
Userlevel 7
Badge +18
One other suggestion on the main thread was a free solution, and doesn’t need your PC running to use.

A Google Play Music account will let you upload up to 50,000 tracks. You can control it from your iPhone and iPad.
Userlevel 5
Badge +6
@Tahlyan
I totally get your frustration, however, the free Google Play Music option works well for me.
  1. GPM allows you to upload up to 50,000 songs free of charge.
  2. My entire family has access to our personal library without relying on the person who has the music stored on the device being at home.
  3. I can start my music, and go out of range (backyard, back of the house, and even the grocery store across town) with no interruption of the stream because it is being pulled from the cloud as opposed to my personal device.
  4. GPM will actually synchronize with iTunes, even retaining all playlists.
  5. No interruptions to music due to phone calls.
I hope this helps.
Yes it does thank you wds0001 and nik9669a. It looks like the Google Play Music is the best option. Hopefully some time tomorrow the upload will finish as I have a lot of music.
Userlevel 7
Badge +18
Cheers, and keep on enjoying the music (and the speakers!).