In various games that I’ve worked in, we had the ability to set in software a certain percentage of people, at random, that would be included in an A/B (and C/D/E….) test, in order to see what features were most appealing to people. Occasionally, we would do this based on geographic region (i.e. all users of the game in the Phillipines), but in the software we used, we didn’t have the ability to define hardware requirements.

Software may have changed, and now allows that, but I’d be a tad surprised. I’m working under the assumption that they’re doing A/B/X testing right now, and it’s totally random as to which group you’re part of.

Interesting to know, Bruce. However, I’d still prefer to get an answer from Sonos. 

Bruce is just about right on this one. It’s a percentage of all users, chosen at random. To be “eligible”, you’d just need to be on the latest build and may get it, there may be a need to have the data sharing option enabled, but I’m uncertain if that’s correct. They run tests like this pretty regularly to see how certain UI configurations are used. For example, when we moved to a newer design of the app, the “Group” button from the rooms menu was tested in 3 locations at the same time, across a wide group of users. The team reviewed data of various locations over a period of time to see which spots/designs were used the most. This is a very standard practice in software development, also not generally part of a beta cycle. This sort of thing isn’t the button being “tested” to make sure it works, it’s being tested to see if people use it, or understand how to use it.

Thanks for confirming that, Ryan. 

The earlier suggestion that It somehow makes sense to put the Alarms within the system/settings menu is ridiculous.  Someone clearly wasn’t thinking clearly that day, makes you wonder what we will suffer next.

i change my Alarms during the week, I setup speakers once (ideally).  How could anyone with a modicum of UX knowledge think this was appropriate?  If I was teaching a class on UI design, that person would have failed the class.

Now fix this and stop wasting more time trying to rationalize how this happened or nothing to find another fix to something that wasn’t a problem.

I hope Sonos has not forgotten about this problem! I’m posting again to keep the flame burning on this thread. 

Please fix this bad design asap. 

Might be worth lighting the flame in the 10.5 thread too?

Not the first time that Sonos has taken a retrograde step with a UI upgrade. Usual test - if an infrequent user has to give up and shout “can you do this for me?” Then the change has failed. I’m now the one having to set up the family alarms because no one else wants the hassle it now involves. Wasn’t that way previously...

Keep shouting. It’s been raised by numerous people. 

Thanks for sharing the feedback everyone! The team is still aware of this request, and I make sure to check in with them for you pretty regularly. I don’t have any news to share right now, but as soon as I do I’ll let you know.

While top-level access to Alarms would be ideal, I would content if it were a selection in my Sonos Favorites.

One more update of the App and still nothing for the alarm... Sonos is kidding us !! 

@Ryan S : Should we start a bad buzz campain on social networks just before Christmas? 

Should I write an app for Sonos Alarms? I could tear the alarms code out of my Windows app and bring it up on iOS reasonably easily, and if Sonos are really not going to fix this it might be worth it.

Ryan S has already stated they are currently usage testing a new Alarms interface by rolling it out to select users.  Be patient, folks.  

I have the same problem and its not a false ‘alarm’! (pun) Sometimes closing the app brings them back sometimes it doesn’t.

 Sonos, please address.

Its as if Sonos hired someone with a sandwich making skillset to head the UI/UX design department.

So I gave in and got myself an Alexa Show 5 two weeks ago, it makes a great smart alarm clock. I can now set and change alarms by voice. And I can confirm at any time that the alarm is set correctly with a quick glance at the display. I can also set or cancel alarms from anywhere in the world using the Alexa app. None of those things were possible with the Sonos Alarm.

I changed the Echo’s wake word to “Echo” so that alarm commands are done with Echo and music commands are done with “Alexa”.

The only (minor) drawback is that my alarm sounded better on Sonos obviously. But, once I’m awake, I can simply stop the alarm and then ask Alexa to play music if I want. And that uses Alexa grouping (another thing the Sonos alarm can’t do) 

Sonos’ decision to bury the alarm settings really pissed me off and forced me to look at alarm alternatives, but now I’m glad it happened. This works so much better for me than Sonos alarm ever did. 

While you are “reinventing” the UI, could you please consider adding a grouping feature in the alarms, so a single alarm can play on multiple speakers?

Having to manually group speakers before bed is aggravating to say the least.

I’ll pass along that request for you @FlyveHest. The team does appreciate getting feedback, and they are still working on this alarm shortcut as well. I’ve made sure to share the requests on this topic with them.

@Ryan S Is it also planned to add a feature for alarms to be set on a group of rooms ?

We don’t have an announced plan to add that as a feature, but we’ve heard the request before and I’ll make sure the team knows people are asking for it. Generally speaking, we don’t announce a lot of features before they are added for a number of reasons.

Can you also please pass along my thoughts (which I’m sure others have expressed):

• When viewing the Alarms page, consider adding the source of the audio to each alarm; bonus points if it includes the duration. For example on iOS:

Patio

9:30 AM

Daily * Groovy Radio * Pandora * No Limit

12:30 PM

Daily * Groovy Tunes * Music Library * 1 Hour

3:30 PM

Daily * Groovy Playlist 1 * Sonos Playlist * No Limit

5:30 PM

Daily * Groovy Playlist 2 * Plex * 2 Hours

Neither the iOS app or the MacOS app have source info on the alarm page and its difficult to figure out if I want to duplicate an alarm, say, for a one time use, or play something on demand that is setup as an existing alarm, but can’t remember where it is sourced.

Also, I’m sure other have chimed in already, but here’s my +1 to the request…

• Instead of or in addition to an alarm, it would be beneficial to have an actual scheduler with start and stop times; bonus points if it included zone group themes & music schedule themes. (ex, a schedule setup to play holiday music from a variety of sources including streaming services.) 

Looking forward to seeing any and all UI improvements from Sonos. Thanks.

The team has concluded their testing and the alarms shortcut is being sent out to all Sonos households today. You will be able to access your alarms screen from the Rooms tab, by clicking on the alarm bell at the top left of the screen. If you don’t see the shortcut yet, check for updates in your Sonos system, as there is one that released today, and then you might just have to wait a little while. The setting is rolling out to homes today and might not have reached your system yet.

Thanks for your patience everyone, and I hope this shortcut makes it easier on your evenings. I’ve also passed on the other feedback for other functionality and displays.

Thank you, Sonos. The inconvenience of the previous alarm setup had me enviously eying the Andoid-based clock thing on my wife’s nightstand.