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Nyssa
Contributor I
February 4, 2020
Answered

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

  • February 4, 2020
  • 37 replies
  • 1261 views

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

    @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

    37 replies

    Kumar
    February 4, 2020

     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?

      John B
      February 4, 2020

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

        NyssaAuthor
        Contributor I
        February 4, 2020

        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
          SmiljaAnswer
          February 4, 2020

          @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)
            Kumar
            February 4, 2020

            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. 

            John B
            February 4, 2020

            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.

            John B
            February 4, 2020

            @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. 

            Kumar
            February 4, 2020

            @John B : Consumer boycotts are always voluntary.

            John B
            February 4, 2020

            @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.

              Kumar
              February 4, 2020

              @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

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