Question

Mac OS 10.6.8 compatibility

  • 30 August 2015
  • 68 replies
  • 15298 views

Hello lovely SONOS people.

Hope you can assist with this, sorry if it's been asked before!!

I'm running an iMac with 10.6.8 which holds my iTunes library and has been working solidly for, well, for a very lond time. It's an original Intel 17 inch machine which alas can't have the software updated any further.

For some reason, and I cant explain why, my SONOS controller software on this machine no longer works so, I'm looking to re-load it with a download from the SONOS site.

The latest software will not work with my machine but I can't locate a software archive for a older suitable version.

Could you please help and give me a link for the software that will work with 10.6.8.

Thanks in advance to all the great community contributors.

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68 replies

As already noted in this thread, Sonos must have had to retire support for OS X 10.6.8 for technical reasons. They don't thoughtlessly pull OS support: witness the fact that the antediluvian WinXP is still supported.

Even if one could locate an old DMG file it would be of no use, assuming the players had already updated to the latest firmware. An unmatched controller version wouldn't talk to them.

FWIW I agree that you should have been presented with a warning that 10.6.8 was unsupported before proceeding.

Your options appear to be:
- upgrade your OS X (if you can -- Apple may have effectively obsoleted your hardware)
- use a different Sonos controller, such as a cheap Android tablet

A music library stored on the Mac should still be playable by Sonos.
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I thought that was not a possibility. My next thought was to go to BBB about it. I had a tangle with tracfone (I know they are crappy, but my 10 year old needed something cheap to call mel with) and they swallowed 400 minutes I paid for when they sent a new sim and told us to put it in--I asked three times if this would erase our minutes and they said no. They absolutely refused to restore the minutes, but BBB worked it out and we got the minutes back. It was actually sort of similar. I told them without the minutes, the phone had no value and I would just throw it away. The sonos was a Christmas gift and we have really enjoyed it and this is just sad to me. I will call customer service and see if they will help before I write anymore terrible reviews. With Tracfone, it was a pain to go around and remove all the reviews--true but unflattering--after they gave the minutes back, but it was the right thing to do.
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Ratty, yes, although initially the Sonos device would not sync with the system, I'm fearful that it was plugged in and my son pushed a couple of buttons as requested and maybe it's now ruined as well from within.

I disagree with "had to retire." You can't "have" to do anything. There's always a choice and it's more about how much you are willing to do for customers. The earlier guy made it pretty clear that what he was willing to do was call people spammers and then insult their ios. That's cheap and easy, but does tend to offend people. Poor customer service. And I am assuming that he is employed by Sonos because who else would come on there and say things like that to a person who is frustrated.

I am not a computer person. I don't know if or how to update my system, and I certainly don't have the money to do it if it isn't free, because if I did, I would just buy a new one and not bother with all this. I'm a well educated person who decided to stay home with my children and live on one salary and pinch and scrimp to make ends meet to be able to do that. This is just sad to me and I hate the waste of that thing sitting on the counter ruined.

Good point with the sonos device. Probably I ruined that today, too, trying to fix this whole thing. It really sucks. In that case, I probably should still leave the reviews warning people.
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Hi Northen_glr, what kind of Mac do you have there? Have you checked if it's capable of updating to Mac OS X 10.7 or higher? You can check that here. There may be an update available for it which will have everything up and running.

We try to hold off from removing support for any controller or device as long as possible, but sometimes we have to when moving forward with features that just can't be supported by some devices or operating systems. Apple stopped supporting OS X 10.6.8 in September of 2013, so any computer still running the software isn't getting any updates, security or otherwise. This can cause a lot of trouble and as a "computer guy" I'd recommend upgrading if at all possible.

When we knew we weren't going to be able to support this operating system last year, we sent out emails to every Sonos owner who had a computer registered as running 10.6.8 letting them know what was going to happen. The release notes for the update also had these details as well and gave warnings. That was several releases ago however, so the new release notes for the latest updates might not have included the warning about the updates. Our apologies if you didn't see them or if someone else initiated the update, I know how frustrating that is.

If you haven't yet, please feel free to give us a call on our support line and speak with a technician live. They'll do the best they can to assist further.
I am assuming that he is employed by Sonos because who else would come on there and say things like that to a person who is frustrated.
Sonos staff are clearly identified, such as with Ryan S above.
I'm sure the thousands of five star reviews on Amazon can handle the hit. Flame away!
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I'm sure the thousands of five star reviews on Amazon can handle the hit. Flame away!
Done.
There are people who go to the negative reviews specifically, and if someone has this ios, then they really do need to know that it's not going to work for them. I now have a very expensive piece of crap. The fact that people with newer computers love the Sonos system is immaterial to me and other potential buyers in my situation.
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I'm planning to call customer service next week. It's a little busy just now and yesterday because my older son's eagle scout project is this weekend. If I get my problem solved, I will alter my reviews to reflect that and let people know they can get appropriate support individually if they contact Sonos. It is a great system and we have enjoyed the device a lot.

The tragedy came when I innocently updated my software to make it fresher. In two minutes the whole product was ruined and the responses on this thread seemed to be a big thumbing of the nose. The smugness and inconsideration were astonishing. Jgatie has popped back in here today to perpetuate that small-minded attitude with a new disappointed Sonos user.

I would feel bad for Sonsos (sucks to have sucky non-employees being disrespectful to people coming to the thread for help), but if Sonos put some overt support or links on their website, then it wouldn't come to this.

I am NOT asking for software people to do a bunch of extra work or continue to work on supporting my system. I am simply asking for the software that I had yesterday morning which worked great. This is not an outrageous or ignorant request.

It would cost me $20 to upgrade to 10.7, but I really have no guarantee that things would work properly then or that Sonos isn't going to create a new roadblock next week and make that additional investment as worthless as the $200 system is now. And the way people blame Apple is stupid. Apple didn't do anything. They stopped supporting my ios a while ago and it was frankly a relief. I no longer get repeated notices to upgrade to this or that.

I also have no interest in Windows 10 on my laptop. It's a legitimate choice not to be pushed into new software I don't need. What's the big deal?
But you didn't come here for help, you came here to rant incessantly in post after post after post like a crazy person. So we treated you like a crazy person. If you had actually asked for help in a rational way, you may have received it.
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I came here for help, read the thread, thought the small and thoughtless person was a sonos employee who represented their interests and I got angry. Then I expressed my feelings and plans with some ALL CAPS which did feel good to type. When it was pointed out that the real employees are indicated clearly, and I received a real response from one of them, I engaged in a conversation with that person and will try to get some help from customer service. You are snarky and inconsiderate, and poor Sonos to have you "working" for them.

I would suggest that the past is in the past, and maybe take my feedback and consider being less hilariously sarcastic and try to see people from where they are and imagine how they are feeling when they suddenly lose the use of a valuable piece of equipment with no warning and are offered no recourse for correcting it.

I get that you love sound systems and you are a 10057 comment expert, but you do not come across as a very cool person. It wouldn't take much on your part to make that shift. So maybe try it. 🙂
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Err. Do you have a Windows laptop?

You can work Sonos through that. You don't have to upgrade to Windows 10
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Thanks, Stuart. I sort of suspected that, but I am not a windows person. I hate my laptop and it mostly gathers dust unless the girls want to play a nancy drew game on it or I have to enter boy scout advancements which work better on there. I got it for $40 and using it makes me want to bang my head on the keyboard. So although what you say is true, I would rather slam my hand in a door that deal with it on any regular basis. I am not putting PCs down--I know there are people who love them, but to me they are as fun as a kick in the pants.

If nothing works out, then I will try to do that, though. I really hate using PCs. Perhaps it's from the old days before windows and I had to use one regularly in grad school at UC Berkeley, and there was this guy who loved them and laughed his head off when I was trying to work with the darn thing. He wasn't laughing mean, but he thought it was so funny the way I would figure out weird ways to get the computer to do what I wanted. I thought it was torture.
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I'll tell my 12 year old to make the laptop run the Sonos. He'll have no problem doing that. I'll still try customer service for the mac, but that's actually a great solution now that I think about it. 😃
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Err. Do you have a Windows laptop?

You can work Sonos through that. You don't have to upgrade to Windows 10


Actually, all our music is on the mac and the controller can't access it. I tried downloading the older version linked in this thread into my mac, and it wouldn't let me in unless I "updated" it--and we know that's a dead end. So I'm not sure we will be able to use the laptop. I suppose it would work for the radio things, but we use Sonos primarily for our playlists. We'll still try it, though, when we have time to do that.
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Err. Do you have a Windows laptop?

You can work Sonos through that. You don't have to upgrade to Windows 10


Actually, all our music is on the mac and the controller can't access it. I tried downloading the older version linked in this thread into my mac, and it wouldn't let me in unless I "updated" it--and we know that's a dead end. So I'm not sure we will be able to use the laptop. I suppose it would work for the radio things, but we use Sonos primarily for our playlists. We'll still try it, though, when we have time to do that.


The old controller won't work on the Mac, but even without a Sonos controller on it you can share the library and use another controller to control Sonos. If you work with one of our technicians they should be able to get you all set up to do that if you mention that you have the Windows computer to work with. Also, if there happen to be any smart phones in the house, iOS or Android, we do have apps for those as well, depending on the version of the software.


It would cost me $20 to upgrade to 10.7, but I really have no guarantee that things would work properly then or that Sonos isn't going to create a new roadblock next week and make that additional investment as worthless as the $200 system is now.

I believe that the upgrade to 10.11 is free from Apple and you might not need to pay to update to 10.7 first. Take a look here for a list of computers that can update. It might be good to reach out to Apple support on this one to confirm, they'll know best.

We try to keep backwards compatibility with all controllers and operating system as long as possible, but in some situations it just can't be helped. Once the manufacturer stops supporting a device, there's always a chance that we'll be making updates that it can no longer handle. If we are going to have to stop supporting a device we'll let everyone we have the contact for know who has one.
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I get that you love sound systems and you are a 10057 comment expert, but you do not come across as a very cool person. It wouldn't take much on your part to make that shift. So maybe try it. :)


Great suggestion ....
I am sick about this. My system worked great and I really liked using it, then I thought I would spruce it up and see if there was an upgrade. I upgraded--there was NO warning about compatibility with my system. Then it would not work and I read that you can get the software directly from Sonos. I downloaded the dmg or whatever and upgraded and now my mac is incompatible. I am going to go to every review site and FLAME you because this is a terrible way to run a business. in two minutes the sonos went from a favorite toy to a piece of junk to be thrown away and it is ALL your fault. Every other company used updates to make things easier--not to RUIN them entirely. Shame on you. Fooey on your stupid company. I want the software for ios 10.6.8 back and the fact that you won't give it to me is crazy and stupid. Who does that to customers? Well, a company that finds itself with very accurate reviews detailing the issue as a warning to potential new customers. Good luck with that.

Exactly, wt>>
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Err. Do you have a Windows laptop?

You can work Sonos through that. You don't have to upgrade to Windows 10


Actually, all our music is on the mac and the controller can't access it. I tried downloading the older version linked in this thread into my mac, and it wouldn't let me in unless I "updated" it--and we know that's a dead end. So I'm not sure we will be able to use the laptop. I suppose it would work for the radio things, but we use Sonos primarily for our playlists. We'll still try it, though, when we have time to do that.


The old controller won't work on the Mac, but even without a Sonos controller on it you can share the library and use another controller to control Sonos. If you work with one of our technicians they should be able to get you all set up to do that if you mention that you have the Windows computer to work with. Also, if there happen to be any smart phones in the house, iOS or Android, we do have apps for those as well, depending on the version of the software.


It would cost me $20 to upgrade to 10.7, but I really have no guarantee that things would work properly then or that Sonos isn't going to create a new roadblock next week and make that additional investment as worthless as the $200 system is now.

I believe that the upgrade to 10.11 is free from Apple and you might not need to pay to update to 10.7 first. Take a look here for a list of computers that can update. It might be good to reach out to Apple support on this one to confirm, they'll know best.

We try to keep backwards compatibility with all controllers and operating system as long as possible, but in some situations it just can't be helped. Once the manufacturer stops supporting a device, there's always a chance that we'll be making updates that it can no longer handle. If we are going to have to stop supporting a device we'll let everyone we have the contact for know who has one.


I also have OS 10.6.8. Received the notice to update Sonos controller, did so and come to find out my OS is incompatible. I think it's a weak excuse to blame Apple saying they don't support this system so why should we. If I even wanted to update I have a lot of perfectly functioning software that won't work after doing that update - just to get Sonos to play ball? I now have a lot of equipment from Sonos that is useless. Thanks a lot. I will never buy another Sonos product again. What a cheap gimmick. Really, how hard is it to have a lite version of controller that works on OS 10.6.8? You had one - strip off the stuff that's incompatible with the system which by the way, that didn't change. So it's a matter of convenience for you to so called support? I never called for help, the controller worked, played my music from my Mac and I was happy. You didn't really think this one through, did you.