Legacy and Modern systems coexistence - will I be able to group speakers?

Thanks Kumar.  I was afraid of that confirmation.

I’m off now to vent my spleen on various social media outlets.

See this for a full disclosure on the subject:

https://en.community.sonos.com/wireless-speakers-228992/will-i-still-be-able-to-group-new-and-old-products-together-and-receive-updates-on-newer-products-6836043

….Separating the legacy and modern devices will essentially have two Sonos systems in your home, they won’t be able to group or play together, but they’ll both be controllable separately…..

Haha,  my wife struggles with the one system in our house.  This will blow her mind!!

There is no way this will work for me.

Will this?

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-a-pragmatic-way-past-it-6836056

If you keep your modern units together in the same system as the legacy units, all using the old software, you most certainly will be able to group them together.  It's only if you split them into two separate systems will they not be able to be grouped.

That is very true, but then your shiny modern units will not get updated and then what happens when you want to add a new product and the system NEEDS an update in order to accept it?

Kind of, but then no.  I am in a slightly different position that I do need to expand my system so I think I will need to get updates.  That means two separate Sonos systems if I have understood correctly, which then breaks my grouping and music syncing.

@Stuart_17, you will be able to add new products to a “legacy system”.

• I believe this is the answer you’re looking for: You will be able get the app that works with a legacy system to use on new mobile devices, or if you accidentally delete it.
• You would either have a legacy system with legacy devices and modern devices, or a modern system and a legacy system. If it’s all one legacy system, than yes, they’ll group together, but if it’s two separate systems, than they’re two, separate systems.
• You will be able to add products to your legacy systems. We'll have more to share on the experience come May. 
• No, Sonos players are a system and won’t operate properly with different versions in one system.
• Yes, if you mostly use the NAS drive, the only likely change with your system will be that you’ll stop getting updates. Everything else will continue to function exactly as it does today. Streaming services will work the same as well, but at some time in the future, service software changes might cause it to degrade or stop working. 

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/end-of-software-support-clarifications-6835969/index5.html#post16394743

@Smilja , maybe - but they should have had the detail of this before sending the email this week.  I for one, am not waiting until May to find out the bad news.

@Stuart_17 Ok, but what do you plan to do instead of waiting? What’s the risk in waiting?

@Smilja no risk.. I just won’t be buying the Sonos Beam I was going to this week and most of all I will be seeing if Sonos actually respond correctly to this **itstorm.

Oh...and I’ll actively be reviewing other provider solutions until May.

Putting any new investment in Sonos on hold till there is full clarity on all the repercussions of this event is wise, I agree. As a minimum. Longer term too it makes sense to explore all options. What this means is waiting till May, till the promised Sonos reveal date perhaps, not the opposite as you said.

@Ryan S from Sonos has stated multiple times that you will be able to add new products to a legacy system as well as reset and re-add old products.  It would seem they are going to put a system into place that allows a downgrade to legacy software.

@Kumar yes agreed.  Apologies for my confusing rant statement “I am not going to wait until …..etc.”

What it should have said of course is that “I am not going to invest, purchase or trade up until we get more detail (May)”

@jgatie I still stand by the fact that they should have all this detail properly communicated and documented rather than buried in two +1000  strong negative post forum threads. 

My guess is that they do not have that detail yet, hence this total mess and justified backlash.

Backlash is justified regardless.  But yes, clarification is needed, if not to stave off some of the ridiculous statements/rumors/FUD about what is going to happen. 

Please know that I will never post anything that is not confirmed by a Sonos rep.  So you can trust the stuff I post. 

There was a post on facebook yesterday apparently from Sonos saying you could disconnect legacy, upgrade the current products and then reconnect the legacy and they will work together again. Can anyone confirm this?

The latest is here:

https://blog.sonos.com/en/a-letter-from-our-ceo/

I’d say nobody knows for sure until closer to the May release date.

Never believe anything you read on Facebook.

@fairmayne I suspect that is hope or speculation.  It certainly hasn’t been confirmed on this site.