Prominent Collaborator II

Answered

pin no

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
July 28, 2021
21 replies
1821 views

Whos bright idea was it to introduce pin no’s to set up the amps

What good does it do

why is it printed in micro sized print on the underneath of the amp where you cannot see it, after it's been plugged in and placed on your rack shelf.

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Best answer by Corry P

Hi @James Truelove

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

While I don’t know exactly who thought of it, the reasoning behind it is to significantly increase security. While our newest products include NFC tags with the PIN number on them and products without the tags but with their own speakers will “chirp” the code to your controller device, so no reading of the PIN is required, products with neither the NFC tag nor their own speakers must instead be read by the user. This is only the Amp and Port devices.

I believe that during the manufacturing process, the PIN is etched on by laser under control of a computer to minimise the possibility of the wrong code being applied to a unit’s housing (which could easily happen with an easier-to-read sticker going through a mechanical application process). The etching also prevents the code being rubbed off after a time, as could happen with a sticker.

In the majority of cases, the PIN code need only be used once for each of these products so the impact is seen as momentary, though I appreciate your feedback about the PIN code’s legibility - unfortunately, a laser can only burn, and the casings of these products are quite dark in colour.

Corry PAnswer

Sonos Staff

Hi @James Truelove

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

While I don’t know exactly who thought of it, the reasoning behind it is to significantly increase security. While our newest products include NFC tags with the PIN number on them and products without the tags but with their own speakers will “chirp” the code to your controller device, so no reading of the PIN is required, products with neither the NFC tag nor their own speakers must instead be read by the user. This is only the Amp and Port devices.

I believe that during the manufacturing process, the PIN is etched on by laser under control of a computer to minimise the possibility of the wrong code being applied to a unit’s housing (which could easily happen with an easier-to-read sticker going through a mechanical application process). The etching also prevents the code being rubbed off after a time, as could happen with a sticker.

In the majority of cases, the PIN code need only be used once for each of these products so the impact is seen as momentary, though I appreciate your feedback about the PIN code’s legibility - unfortunately, a laser can only burn, and the casings of these products are quite dark in colour.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

J

James TrueloveAuthor

Prominent Collaborator II

Thank you

unfortunately, you miss the point being made.

yesterday i had 7 amps all installed in a rack, tied down and therefore impossible to read the underside. Needed to be factory reset to reassign to a new owner of a home

Spent all afternoon figuring out what was needed and only after my 3 rd call to support did someone know how to get this done. The pin is somehow tied to the mac address and so you have to do one at a time, then update and so on. Takes forever!

If more than one is powered On there is a chance you press the wrong button and the process fails, the message just says error, no reason and no indication that the pin no doesnt match, which would guide you.

support lady was awesome but i believe she didnt spot the pin no mac address mismatch and had me looking at network issues instead

completely false move

after 5 hours im only half done. A label on the front As well would at least be useful. If the label got removed the etching would still be there

how about a magnifying glass too?

motoroa finally figured it out with their cable boxes. And this had made activation so simple.

some of these amps get installed behind tvs, what a mess that is now!
i just think the designers only live in a lab environment and dont get what is like in the real world

every time we do an install something has changed.

consistency is the hallmark of great designers

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @James Truelove

Ah - as you’re an installer, I appreciate that this change in the setup process will be much more significant to you than to the average user.

Thank you again for your feedback - I’ll pass this along to the relevant team for consideration.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

controlav

Lead Maestro

I believe there is a special/secret Sonos forum for installers, you should definitely check that out, if you can figure out how to get access.

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.

Corry P

Sonos Staff

I believe there is a special/secret Sonos forum for installers, you should definitely check that out, if you can figure out how to get access.

I am afraid not.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

J

James TrueloveAuthor

Prominent Collaborator II

Thank you

im afraid sonos became a little mickey mouse after they climbed into bed with amazon and alexa. Passwords and updates all the time etc

they are no longer the great product they were and i no longer recommend it

melvimbe

Thank you

im afraid sonos became a little mickey mouse after they climbed into bed with amazon and alexa. Passwords and updates all the time etc

they are no longer the great product they were and i no longer recommend it

In bed with Amazon? LOL.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/technology/sonos-sues-google.html

Danny

J

James TrueloveAuthor

Prominent Collaborator II

They may be suing google thats a patent issue

but the whole voice control thing is awful and led to all users having to have all sorts of passwords and continuously do updates to their hardware and their app

for the first 10 years most of my customers taught themselves how to use it, now some one somewhere is always off line or unable to update without logging in to their “ sonos account”

you cant even adjust the eq without logging in, or add a new device without a password or verification e mail.

It is not better!

jgatie

They may be suing google thats a patent issue

but the whole voice control thing is awful and led to all users having to have all sorts of passwords and continuously do updates to their hardware and their app

for the first 10 years most of my customers taught themselves how to use it, now some one somewhere is always off line or unable to update without logging in to their “ sonos account”

you cant even adjust the eq without logging in, or add a new device without a password or verification e mail.

It is not better!

You can most certainly change the EQ without logging in, and adding a new product does not require any verification email. Way to know the product you are installing.

melvimbe

They may be suing google thats a patent issue

If you read the article, it mentions that they have the same issues with Amazon, but simply don’t have the ability to sue both at the same time. I find it hard to believe that Sonos would be ‘in bed’ with a company that it would like to sue.

but the whole voice control thing is awful and led to all users having to have all sorts of passwords and continuously do updates to their hardware and their app

for the first 10 years most of my customers taught themselves how to use it, now some one somewhere is always off line or unable to update without logging in to their “ sonos account”

you cant even adjust the eq without logging in, or add a new device without a password or verification e mail.

It is not better!

The link below are the release notes for S2, with a subsequent link to the S1 release notes. It doesn’t look like a lot has been done for Alexa functionality.

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/3521?language=en_US

I get that there are more frequent updates now, but I see that reason as greater need for security and a more competitive marketplace where new features need to be release more frequently. And sure, that’s not always a good thing for customers and installers. From what I’ve seen on the boards, there are just as many people who want more features and more passwords as there are those who want fewer updates and passwords.

Danny

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