Contributor I

So I cannot add new S2 device without wrecking my old devices. 6 Oct 2021

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
October 6, 2021
13 replies
345 views

I have a mix of new and old devices currently all running on single S1 system.
Now I find that if I want to add a new device such as the FIVE I can’t.

I have a Play:5 (Gen 1) that lowers the volume without me doing it. Randomly does this and I can not solve the issue.
So I thought just buy a new FIVE to replace it but if I stay on S1 I will be prevented from adding the new FIVE to my system.
But if I change to S2 so I can add the FIVE then 9 of my original devices will stop working on the same system which basically kills my entire system. (I first got SONOS with the CR100 controller, that is how old it is. They killed those off ages ago.)

So it seems this policy PROHIBITS me adding or replacing devices to my system and effectively STOPS me buying anymore of their products.
What a great business model, piss off your early adopters.

Compatibility

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.

Show previous replies

jgatie

I don’t see why the new products could not have been made backward compatible.
I DO NOT NEED whatever the extra features/functions are of S2.
My S1 does what I need and does it well.

As has been explained here thousands of times, in order for a device to run on S1, it needs to be defined in S1. So all devices, even some S2 devices, can run on S1 if they existed before S1 was frozen. After the split, the devices are not defined in the now frozen S1 software, so they cannot run on S1.

A

amun

Although I understand your frustration, Sonos aren’t going to change anything to ameliorate your problem.

Consequently, your options are to buy another Play 5 or to get someone to attempt to fix your faulty one.

In the UK, there is at least one place that will attempt to fix Play 5 devices. Used devices are available as are brand new but ‘old’ stock from at least one retailer - despite them being discontinued a while ago.

Don’t know what it’s like where you are….

melvimbe

I don’t see why the new products could not have been made backward compatible.
I DO NOT NEED whatever the extra features/functions are of S2.
My S1 does what I need and does it well.

This has already been answered. Sonos could have done the required development and testing to make their new speakers less functional and work on an S1 system for those who don’t want to upgrade and don’t want new features. But S1 is a smaller and shrinking market, and it’s unlikely to be profitable or even break even from the investment in doing so. I don’t know the actual numbers involved, none of us do, but it’s not hard to see why it could very well be a poor business decision.

As customers, we don’t need to care about what’s good for Sonos, but if we are going to ask questions about why Sonos or any other business does or doesn’t do something, we need to attempt to view things from their perspective.

What is to stop SONOS doing this again with an S3 version forcing yet another cycle of upgrading costing us yet again.

S3 likely will happen someday, in my opinion, assuming technology moves on to the point where the current speakers and network can’t compete with what other competing companies want, and what customers are asking for. But Sonos does guarantee that you will get 5 years minimum after they stop producing a speaker. History shows that it’s likely to be more than that. As well, it’s clearly not something Sonos wants to do, since it’s not popular with a lot of customers and makes support a lot more difficult.

But every piece of tech will eventually be outdated and no longer supported, not just Sonos. If that doesn’t work for you than it’s better to use only analog speakers and amp, or a strategy where your speakers/amps are wired to cheap modern audio sources that you don’t mind replacing more often.

Danny

Sign up

Login to the community