Constant Updates REALLY ANNOYING

Stuart, any idea what was the average time between updates in 2012? I could not find it anywhere. Comparing that to the above is more pertinent, I suggest. Or even to any year prior to 2010.

Speaking of assertions and 'These are the only releases....' etc.., where is 10.0.2 and 10.0.3? They were separate bug fix releases too from memory. Assuming all 'updates' are being discussed - whether that be player or App.
EDIT: Looks like they were released within days of each other about a month ago
( https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/sonos-10-0-is-now-available-6820022/index6.html )

I was mindful that the site I linked may not be complete which is why I noted for full disclosure.

But just my own feeling based on updates is that it's not every few weeks on average

I'd like to think that Sonos are on top of this in terms of they know exactly how the updates have changed over the years and the effect on users. It's clearly a concern.

To me they could perhaps create different levels of updates - minor and major for the want of better explanation. If you select don't update then minor updates will do nothing but majors will notify the user. These should be restricted to, say, twice a year

Seems it may be time for a Sonos employee to directly comment on this thread again, and specifically attempt to answer some of the legitimate questions posed. Wade through some of the empty complaints and there's merit among this madness for their representation and clarification.

The thing is that automatic updates does not work for those of us that use the desktop controller.


Understood. I wasn't trying to imply that Sonos auto firmware updates made updates carefree across all platforms, just that it's a sign they are aware that upgrades are annoying to some users.


I don't know how well it works for androids too, going by my experience - I do not see that my phone app has automatically renewed itself even with the phone set to do this automatically for apps, which it does for others. Maybe there is another thing to toggle just for Sonos that I have missed, but this isn't a big deal for me, stuck as I anyway am with having to manually update the computer controller every time.


I've had no issues with Sonos automatic updates.


And of course, automatic in all cases only works for those that have the network quality and set up to be where Sonos needs it to be. I have no idea what that is as a percent of users.


Yea, that can be annoying if your phone does updates over a mobile network, but your home has weak or no internet access. Again, I'm not claiming that it's not frustrating to some customers.


On the process discipline, let us agree to disagree; I am not seeing it to the extent I would like to, but that may be just me, I agree.


Eh, I'm not really claiming Sonos does have good process discipline as am that there isn't enough information to claim one way or the other really. It's hard to gauge the consequences of waiting to put in a new feature, security patch, bug fix, etc.


Finally, for some of us, this is just a music system; it is all very well to say that it is software etc etc, but we use it just to play music and are not seeing that use case change in many years, notwithstanding all the jazzing up Sonos may have done to it.

Sure, and I'd happy to see Sonos make changes to make updates easier to delay and/or less painful for you all somehow. I don't know exactly what that looks like.

And FYI, if I could speculate on another reason why updates are coming more frequently, Sonos used to be a much more closed system. With involved in android and iOS systems, and voice control, they are forced to react to changes made to those systems as well as their own. Again, not necessarily a concern of every customer, but something that factors into to the update decisions.

Vaccines are important for kids. If a child needs 50 shots to be fully vaccinated by the time they're 12, should we give them 1 at a time? Of course not - we group them together to make it easier on the child. If I make the claim that "giving 50 shots one at a time is ridiculous and unnecessary," it is not the same thing as saying that the shots are useless. It's the frequency that matters, not the content that's being administered.


Vaccines are given together, yes, but also as a matter of availability. Yes, you get as many shots at one time as you can, but as new diseases arise, you get the new vaccine irregardless of the last time you had a vaccine. This happens every year with the flu vaccine. People get them in the fall because that's when they become available and that's when they are needed. As new flu strands are considered to be active, the flu vaccine is updated, and you can get the vaccine again if you wish.

It really isn't that great of analogy, as there are plenty of differences between patches and vaccine. I don't think it supports your argument anyway since vaccines aren't spaced out for the convenience of the patient, they are made available as soon as possible.


As I said REPEATEDLY before (but for some reason, people seem to fail to understand), there's nothing wrong with updates, but doling them out more than a few times per year is unnecessary for an app that plays music, and does nothing else.

I understand that you think the frequency of the updates is unnecessary. I understand that they are frustrating and don't have any outward value to you. I just don't agree that the frequency doesn't serve any purpose for all or most of Sonos customers...at least not without looking more closely at what's in the updates and why they are released now as opposed to later.

[quote=melvimbe]
It really isn't that great of analogy, as there are plenty of differences between patches and vaccine. I don't think it supports your argument anyway since vaccines aren't spaced out for the convenience of the patient, they are made available as soon as possible.

Vaccines are not given "as soon as they are available." They are grouped together primarily for the convenience of the patient (or parent).

"Combination vaccines reduce the number of shots your child needs while protecting against several serious diseases." (from www.cdc.gov)

DPT, MMR, etc are good examples. It's done to minimize the number of injections. Newer combos include Pediarix (DTaP, Polio, and Hep 😎, ProQuad (MMR and Chickenpox), Pentacel (DTaP, Polio, Hib,) etc.

Group the updates together so there is more per update, with fewer updates. It's that simple. Fine, if there is some Earth-saving critical patch that will rescue mankind from demise via a glitch in Sonos software, I would welcome that patch and all of the annoyance that comes with it, since humanity is at risk. Since I doubt there are too many potential fatalities from Sonos systems going off the rails, I'm going go ahead with my assertion that Sonos could dial down the volume a bit on their updates and we'd all be just fine.

This thread is still going? And now it's somehow about vaccination? Exceptional.
😉 Venom would say: "Outstanding. Now, let's bite all their heads off, and pile them up in the corner."

This thread is still going? And now it's somehow about vaccination? Exceptional.

I like to drive off road once in a while. You never know where the path will take you. One thing that's worth mentioning at this point in the thread, is that Sonos updates come out too frequently.

Ok, feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

While we have more regular updates now than before, it gives us more opportunities to release fixes for issues that might have come up.

Not to be stirring up dust here, but shouldn't those fixes be resolved before releasing the software on consumers? I understand that some bugs are unavoidable, but if the reason for more frequent updates is to patch holes in the software that cause major system breaks, I think it calls to mind the question of whether the software should be held on to a little longer so more bugs and corner cases can be worked out.

Code that's worked on by multiple engineers who drive their own ship can get ugly, very fast. I'm not saying that's what's happening here, but it does make me wonder if the software is inherently buggy and that's why there are so many "fixes" being released so frequently.

pacificdiver,

Equating reserving IP addresses with being a "mainframe installer" or "engineer" is hyperbole of the highest order. It's akin to equating making a grilled cheese to making coq au vin. Unless one has some type of handicap, one should not be so harsh on one's ability to perform simple tasks.

I'm going to agree with @pacificdiver on the argument that reserving IP addresses and other network troubleshooting can be too much for some people. It's not necessarily because they aren't capable of understanding and learning, it's that they are so afraid of tech that they effectively shut down mentally and can't complete the simplist of tasks.

My mother is a good example of this. She definitely is an intelligent woman, but she was afraid of changing the inputs on the TV for fear she won't be able get cable back on. It took years to get her to be comfortable with the idea. She has a few echos now, and can manage them ok, but I had to setup some Alexa groups for her. There is no way I'd set her up with Sonos as she would not be able to manage it.

(side note: I would get Sonos for mum if she leaved a bit closer to me where providing tech support on a regular basis was a reasonable option)

That's not a knock on Sonos, just that there is a segment of the population that can't handle Sonos, and therefore shouldn't be buying Sonos. But I would say that the frequency of updates really that relevant for the majority of people. If you can't use a screwdriver or change the input on your TV, you're going to struggle with Sonos long before an update happens. And if you can manage to operate Sonos on an every day basis, you should be able to reserve IP addresses and work with Sonos support to troubleshoot networking issues.

As far as the issue of whether the updates need to be happening as frequently as they do, Sonos replied to that and gave reasons why. I'm not sure what the point of further debate on the topic would be.

I too am getting pissed off with the updates, everytime there’s an update I lose most if not all of my zones for a few hours. So just to clarify, are you still running your devices on SonosNet, with the suggested WiFi/SonosNet separation and have you chosen yet to reserve your devices in the routers DHCP Reservation Table, or not bothered, or unsure of how to do those things and finally have you sought support here before, or with Sonos Support? I’m just curious as to what you may have done over the years about your issues?