Sonos App controls no longer appear on your lock screen

As already said by the Sonos Community this « downgrade » 9.0 (let’s name it so) is a huge step back in term of ergonomy ! Happy owner of 3 sonos products till now i hope also a 9.1 update asap to correct this problem. How can we use out favorite speaker without a décent UI.

The Sonos implementation of lock screen controls was built in a way that's no longer viable and with the launch of AirPlay 2 on Sonos, we made the decision to remove the functionality in households that use AirPlay.

And nobody on the team expected this reaction? You should be aware you have tons of customers with older hardware.

...and if turning off AirPlay on the non-Sonos devices in your home isn't an option...

I appreciate your feedback, but I can hardly believe this was a serious suggestion.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I'll get it to the team. You may have heard this already, but iOS does not natively provide a way to control devices on your home network from the lock screen in iOS, the controls are only available for audio being played on the device itself. Because of this, the Sonos implementation of lock screen controls was built in a way that's no longer viable and with the launch of AirPlay 2 on Sonos.

You can bring back the lock screen on Sonos by turning off AirPlay on any devices in your home that aren't Sonos devices, which does work for many households. But if AirPlay is used in your home, this might not be an option.

I do not have any AirPlay devices. Despite this fact, I cannot get the controls back on the lock screen. Restart Controller not working. Turning off Bluetooth not working. Voiceover is disabled. What am I doing wrong? I used lock screen Sonos controls MULTIPLE TIMES EVERY DAY. It was arguably the MOST USED FEATURE of the Sonos app. Idiots.

Sonos, are you kidding with this 9.0 downgrade? Further Sonos buys cancelled and looking into Apple Homepod. Bring back Lock-screen functionality and for Apple watch!

I was literally in the final stage of convincing my parents to kit out their retirement home with a Sonos whole home system (think £££) and after a few months playing with some of my spare speakers and getting them used to it - you go and do this.... I’m sorry to say you just lost some potential customers there with a really dumb move.

I hope you listen to the forums and don’t end up destroying your own reputation further.

Unbelievable.

I do not have any AirPlay devices. Despite this fact, I cannot get the controls back on the lock screen.
An Airport Express or similar device would also count as an AirPlay device. If you open up AirPlay from one of your apps, does anything on the network show up?

You may have heard this already, but iOS does not natively provide a way to control devices on your home network from the lock screen in iOS, the controls are only available for audio being played on the device itself. Because of this, the Sonos implementation of lock screen controls was built in a way that's no longer viable and with the launch of AirPlay 2 on Sonos.

Well, how do Spotify do it? Using Spotify connect, Spotify plays through Sonos Speakers. And you get the lockscreen controls after the Sonos 9.0 upgrade and with airplay 2 devices, like apple TV gen 4, running. Spotify is NOT playing on the device itself. You can remove spotify from memory, take the iPod to another location, even destroy it if you want, and Spotify continues playing through the Sonos Speakers. So your statement "the controls are only available for audio being played on the device itself" is incorrect. If we can have the lockscreen control when using Spotify connect with airplay enabled devices on the network, then why we have it when using the Sonos app? Perhaps the Sonos developers should ask Spotify how they do it.

You may have heard this already, but iOS does not natively provide a way to control devices on your home network from the lock screen in iOS, the controls are only available for audio being played on the device itself. Because of this, the Sonos implementation of lock screen controls was built in a way that's no longer viable and with the launch of AirPlay 2 on Sonos.

Well, how do Spotify do it? Using Spotify connect, Spotify plays through Sonos Speakers. And you get the lockscreen controls after the Sonos 9.0 upgrade and with airplay 2 devices, like apple TV gen 4, running. Spotify is NOT playing on the device itself. You can remove spotify from memory, take the iPod to another location, even destroy it if you want, and Spotify continues playing through the Sonos Speakers. So your statement "the controls are only available for audio being played on the device itself" is incorrect. If we can have the lockscreen control when using Spotify connect with airplay enabled devices on the network, then why we have it when using the Sonos app? Perhaps the Sonos developers should ask Spotify how they do it.Well said! My thoughts exactly. BS cop out by SONOS who charge like wounded bulls for their hardware albeit great quality, then expect us to deal with sub standard software and a bucket load of excuses.

This is unfortunate. I have 2 Apple TVs (4th gen), and I use AirPlay on them from time to time. So disabling this is not an option (and it’s silly and insulting to offer this as a workaround just to get the lock screen back). I have no interest or desire in acquiring any AirPlay 2 devices. But I want the lock screen feature to continue working. It astonishes me that vital functionality would be tossed out like this. I was considering getting a Beam (I guess that is an AirPlay 2 device), but all future Sonos purchases are now on indefinite hold. It’s too bad Sonos feels the need to be everything to everybody. I get why Sonos might feel this way. But I fear that integrating with everything might actually be detrimental and ultimately lead to Sonos’ demise. Getting too cozy with Apple technology never seems to end well. My Sonos experience is being dumbed down for functionality I don’t even want.