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I have traded up my "legacy" Sonos 5 believeing that it would soon be inoperable. What now?

  • 4 February 2020
  • 37 replies
  • 946 views
N
Userlevel 1

I have just received a new Sonos 5 which I ordered after I was led to believe that my existing “legacy” Sonos 5 woud no longer operate as from May this year. Will the legacy product continue to work following the Sonos change in policy or I have I been suckered into buying a new product unnecessarily?

My system is telling me that my device will “deactivate in 8 days”. What does that mean for ongoing use of the device??

Like many others, I have spent a lot of money on Sonos products over the years and I am extremely frustrated and disappointed by what has gone on here.

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Best answer by Smilja 4 February 2020, 09:56

@Nyssa, the Play:5 1st Gen has been put into recycling mode, in 8 days it will be deactivated, meaning it will no longer work.

 

What to expect

When you recycle an eligible Sonos product, you are choosing to permanently deactivate it. Once you confirm you’d like to recycle your product, the decision cannot be reversed. The deactivation happens 21 days after you choose to recycle the Sonos product. The 21-day countdown cannot be cancelled. You can also choose to deactivate the product immediately in the System section of the Settings tab.

Once the Sonos product deactivates, it will securely erase itself of all of your personal information before going into Recycle Mode.

To see how many days remain until your product deactivates, check the product’s name under the Rooms tab in the Sonos app.

During the countdown and once the product has been deactivated, the product cannot be re-added to any system or used to set up a new Sonos system, even if the product has been reset to its factory settings.
 

Recycling your Sonos product

Once your Sonos product has been deactivated, you can safely recycle it by bringing it to your local e-waste recycling center.

You can also send your deactivated Sonos product back to us and we’ll handle the recycling. You can find more information on this page.

 

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3573?language=en

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37 replies

K

 I was led to believe that my existing “legacy” Sonos 5 woud no longer operate as from May this year.

Just curious: how were you led to believe this? Any Sonos pronouncement you can point to?

J

Wherever your mistaken belief came from it wasn't from anything Sonos said. 

N
Userlevel 1

Here is what Sonos said when promoting the trade up:

“Please note that because Sonos is a system, all products operate on the same software. If modern products remain connected to legacy products after May, they also will not receive software updates and new features.”

So  you could continue to use a legacy product as part of your system but neither it nor any of the other components (even if recently purchased) would receive updates. In other words, your whole sytem would be rendered obsolete if you continue to use the legacy product.

In other words, you better get rid of your legacy products if you want your system to work as it should!

So, yes, I guess it doesn’t say that in terms that the legacy product won’t work -- what it says is that your system won’t receive updates for so longer as the legacy device continues to be used in your system.

My take-away -- if you don’t replace the legacy component none of the components in the system (new or old) will be updated and they will not work as they should.

All that said, can anyone answer my question??

 

Smilja

@Nyssa, the Play:5 1st Gen has been put into recycling mode, in 8 days it will be deactivated, meaning it will no longer work.

 

What to expect

When you recycle an eligible Sonos product, you are choosing to permanently deactivate it. Once you confirm you’d like to recycle your product, the decision cannot be reversed. The deactivation happens 21 days after you choose to recycle the Sonos product. The 21-day countdown cannot be cancelled. You can also choose to deactivate the product immediately in the System section of the Settings tab.

Once the Sonos product deactivates, it will securely erase itself of all of your personal information before going into Recycle Mode.

To see how many days remain until your product deactivates, check the product’s name under the Rooms tab in the Sonos app.

During the countdown and once the product has been deactivated, the product cannot be re-added to any system or used to set up a new Sonos system, even if the product has been reset to its factory settings.
 

Recycling your Sonos product

Once your Sonos product has been deactivated, you can safely recycle it by bringing it to your local e-waste recycling center.

You can also send your deactivated Sonos product back to us and we’ll handle the recycling. You can find more information on this page.

 

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3573?language=en

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
K

Here is what Sonos said when promoting the trade up:

“Please note that because Sonos is a system, all products operate on the same software. If modern products remain connected to legacy products after May, they also will not receive software updates and new features.”

 

 

Very interesting and this shows how Sonos has resorted to sophistry to wriggle out the corner it painted itself into. How? As under:

In contrast to the quoted above, the CEO, on Jan 23 2020 said this in writing:

“First, rest assured that come May, when we end new software updates for our legacy products, they will continue to work as they do today.”

The bolded is by him.

The sophistry is in Sonos saying that Sonos is a system on the one hand( in the trade up promo meant to persuade you to buy new Sonos products) and that Sonos is a collection of products on the other( in the Jan 23 CEO letter, in an attempt to extract Sonos from the mess it found itself in on Jan 21).

Is sophistry legal? That usual depends on lawyer capability.

Is sophistry unethical? I do not need to answer this one, it seems quite clear to me.

Sonos has ended up shooting itself in the foot in trying to be too clever. The resultant user firestorm is evidence of that.

Unfortunately it hard to see what recourse individual users have except to vote with their wallets and boycott Sonos. 

J

I don’t think your conclusion was justified by what was said, but anyway….

I am afraid the process can’t be stopped now.

FWIW the sound quality of the gen 2 Play:5 is far better than the gen 1 IMO (and pretty much all the reviewers’ opinions, I recall).  So maybe the best thing now is to move on and enjoy the better experience.  Easy for me to say, I know.

J

@Kumar.  I am sorry that you have come to the view you have, which I cannot share.  I am affected much less than some users and I cannot be sure how I would have responded if I had more legacy units.  But I shall continue to buy Sonos if they continue to meet my music needs and I believe a ‘boycott’ to be unjustified.  Individuals can and must, of course, decide whether Sonos is still right for them. 

K

@John B : Consumer boycotts are always voluntary.

J

@John B : Consumer boycotts are always voluntary.

Indeed.  But ‘boycott’ to me suggests a concerted campaign.  But whatever, I have no wish to debate the semantics.  Let’s agree to differ.

K

@Nyssa : If you want to see what you can retrieve from this situation a visit to the link may be of interest. The thread has now become long and therefore is now unwieldy, and will need a time investment by you. But that may give you ideas in terms of actions you can take, and discuss these there with like minded users. It will probably leave you in a better state then just angry and frustrated, a state that I passed through.

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-pragmatic-ways-past-it-6836056

Smilja

@Kumar, Nyssa received the replacement (a Play:5 2nd Gen) today. No need for taking actions.

 

And yes, legacy units will continue to work as they do today. They just won’t get new features.

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
K

Erm….isn’t that for @Nyssa to decide?!

N
Userlevel 1

Yes I have received the Play 5 Gen 2, but have not unpacked it yet. Will do so once I settle down. 

Looking back, I should have questioned the ethics of what Sonos was doing as others did before rushing into the trade up. I am sure I will be happy with the performance of the new product (I have two other Play 5 Gen 2s) but I am not happy with the way in which Sonos procured the sale. It’s no way to treat longstanding & loyal customers who have provided Sonos with fantastic word of mouth advertising. The brand has been badly damaged.

BTW, in two houses I have 3 x Play 5, 1 x Playbase, 1 x Beam, 2 x Subs, and 3 x Ones. That’s about $6,000 worth of Sonos equipment, and a significant investment in the technology, which I have always admired.

Enough said by me. Thanks to those who replied to my question. Happy listening  on whatever system you may choose to use!

Nyssa

Smilja

Was the move to legacy mode eventually unavoidable? It was.

Have Sonos promoted this move in an awkward way? They did. I think no one is going to deny that.

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
melvimbe

@Nyssa if you seriously want to try and reverse your trade up decision, I think your best move is to contact Sonos directly and plead your case.  It really doesn’t matter what the opinion of the community is on the subject.

Danny
N
Userlevel 1

Hello @Smilja,

A couple of things you said call for comment:

“When you recycle an eligible Sonos product, you are choosing to permanently deactivate it. Once you confirm you’d like to recycle your product, the decision cannot be reversed.”

How convenient!  However, I doubt that it is correct if the truth be known. I expect that Sonos (but not the user) can halt the deactivation process if it wanted. Nor do I expect this is information Sonos  wants to share with us.

“Was the move to legacy mode eventually unavoidable? It was. Have Sonos promoted this move in an awkward way? They did. I think no one is going to deny that.”

Awkward? Not the word most people would use to describe the company’s behaviour.

“And yes, legacy units will continue to work as they do today. They just won’t get new features.”

That may be what Sonos now says but when I placed my “trade up” order the advice was that there would be no updates (which would include security patches) for either the legacy product or any other product in the same system.”

As for pleading my case @melvimbe, thanks for your advice, but I’m minded to stick with the new Gen 2 which I’m sure is a better product. But I’ll be far more cautious in my dealing with Sonos in future and will at least consider purchasing another brand when I am ready for a major system upgrade. Until now I would not have given other products a moment’s thought.

Best Regards

Nyssa

 

K

 

“And yes, legacy units will continue to work as they do today.

 

Erm, there-in lies the rub. Legacy units will, but your system won’t, unless you choose to hobble the legs of your modern units by tying them to the legs of the legacy units.

Did you buy a collection of units or did you buy a system of such units - an important distinction.

melvimbe

As for pleading my case @melvimbe, thanks for your advice, but I’m minded to stick with the new Gen 2 which I’m sure is a better product. But I’ll be far more cautious in my dealing with Sonos in future and will at least consider purchasing another brand when I am ready for a major system upgrade. Until now I would not have given other products a moment’s thought.

 

Just my personal opinion, but if  a company makes a announcement that isn’t going to be well received by a significant set of customers...wait a few days before taking action.  It’s not that uncommon for the message to be modified or clarified in the days following.  In this case, absolutely nothing was to be gained by rushing to a decision, as nothing was going to change till May.  If you had waited till the news sunk in and died down a bit, then you would have been able to make your decision with better information, and no, or at least less, regrets.

Danny
melvimbe

 

“And yes, legacy units will continue to work as they do today.

 

Erm, there-in lies the rub. Legacy units will, but your system won’t, unless you choose to hobble the legs of your modern units by tying them to the legs of the legacy units.

Did you buy a collection of units or did you buy a system of such units - an important distinction.

 

If you keep Legacy units in your system, then your entire system will continue to work as it does today.  You will not receive regular updates, no functionality changes.  Sonos has promised to provide bug fixes and security patches when needed and when possible given the hardware constraints of legacy products.

Danny
K

But then you are losing what you paid for when you bought the modern units by giving up on software updates and new features for them in future, which, per Spence, are included in the price you paid for them. Sonos isn't offering any refund of that money collected, are they? Of course, one could again say that Spence did not mean what he said.

Before this legacy event occurred, Sonos said this to promote the trade up:

“Please note that because Sonos is a system, all products operate on the same software. If modern products remain connected to legacy products after May, they also will not receive software updates and new features.”

Implicit in the above is the message that you will then not be able to receive full value for what you paid for when you bought the modern products you have today. Or, if you want to receive that value paid for, better trade up. Or live with a split system.

 

Smilja

Hello @Smilja,

A couple of things you said call for comment:

“When you recycle an eligible Sonos product, you are choosing to permanently deactivate it. Once you confirm you’d like to recycle your product, the decision cannot be reversed.”

How convenient!  However, I doubt that it is correct if the truth be known. I expect that Sonos (but not the user) can halt the deactivation process if it wanted. Nor do I expect this is information Sonos  wants to share with us.

 

@Nyssa, I’ve quoted from the offical FAQ. You had to comply with the terms and conditions prior to launching the recycling process. Reading agreements carefully before signing them is vital.

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)
K

I just realise that I have erred here in reporting what Sonos said in promoting the trade up by relying on what the OP reported. The reference to May in that report cannot be from the launch of the Trade up, because this May thing is just two weeks old.

So I stand corrected in what I have said above via the quoted, copy/pasted from an OP post. Therefore the conclusion about the Trade up promotion I wrote also isn't correct - Sonos may not have told all the truth back in October, but there does not seem to have been any active misleading that happened then.

But the rest of my post stands - by saying now that you will get what you bought, a system, will need modern products to remain part of a legacy system, leaves Sonos with undelivered value on modern products for the price collected for these, that logically merits a refund to such users that will leave modern products in a legacy system.

jgatie

 

“And yes, legacy units will continue to work as they do today.

 

Erm, there-in lies the rub. Legacy units will, but your system won’t, unless you choose to hobble the legs of your modern units by tying them to the legs of the legacy units.

Did you buy a collection of units or did you buy a system of such units - an important distinction.

 

So you own a system that works like they do in the future?  Because unless you do, your entire system will work exactly like it does today after May 20.  Nothing hobbled, it will work on May 21 just like it did on May 19.  And it will continue working like that, it just won’t work like a modern system that gets new features.  

K

This undelivered value is not my invention, by the way; it is the logical conclusion from the Spence statement that when a customer buys a Sonos product today, he also pays in advance for what Sonos will deliver to him tomorrow in terms of more/better features. 

Can I now expect some refund on my four play 1 units and a Sub that will remain in a legacy system after May?

jgatie

This undelivered value is not my invention, by the way; it is the logical conclusion from the Spence statement that when a customer buys a Sonos product today, he also pays in advance for what Sonos will deliver to him tomorrow in terms of more/better features. 

Can I now expect some refund on my four play 1 units and a Sub that will remain in a legacy system after May?

 

Moving the goalposts.  You said your system will not continue to operate as it does today.  That is untrue.

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