Sad day for me and my CR100

  • 5 November 2022
  • 38 replies
  • 1023 views

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I have an old system with ZP80s, ZP100s and 2 CR100s.  I have not updated the firmware on my system since Sonos announced they would no longer support the CR100.

Most of the time, I listen to my favorite radio station through TuneIn.  A couple of days ago, I tried to listen to my favorite station and got the following message

“Unable to browse music - there was a problem connecting to TuneIn.”  I knew this was coming, but was hoping it would happen after I take my dirt nap.

I ran upstairs to my Windows computer and launched the old version of the Sonos controller and was able to use TuneIn to listen to my favorite radio station.

Every once in a while, I now get a commercial coming through my Sonos from TuneIn.  They are local commercials and fairly annoying.

Please note, I am not complaining about anything.  It’s just a sad fact that the things we were told about our old CR100s is coming to fruition.

I can get around the TuneIn supplied commercials with a blue tooth gizmo and an antiquated cell phone to listen to my favorite radio station.


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38 replies

You may be able to find a direct link to your radio station and skip TuneIn.

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AH!  Great idea.  Thank you.

Userlevel 7
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The message “problem connecting to” and recurring adds on TuneIn spell wifiproblems to me. In my experience TuneIn only places adds on new (or restarting) streams…….

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The message “problem connecting to” and recurring adds on TuneIn spell wifiproblems to me. In my experience TuneIn only places adds on new (or restarting) streams…….

Thank you for the reply.  Can you please offer a bit more info on this?

Userlevel 7
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I’m not sure how your problems relate to the CR100.

 

What’s your network setup? Do you use a Sonos Bridge?

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I’m not either.  I do not use a Bridge.  I have two ZP100s, a ZP80 and two CR100s.  I have a large library of digital music.  This stuff plays no problem.

On either of the CR100s, if I go to radio and press the center wheel button, I get the “Unable to browse music - ….”

 

 

I have an old cell phone without a SIM card.  I have the Sonos app loaded.  I can access TuneIn and play my stations.  It’s interesting that when I play the radio stations, I now get “Information” on the song that is being played.  In all of the years I’ve had these CR100s, I’ve not seen that before.

 

 

 

I would think if I had WiFi issues the CR100s would not work at all.  There are no IP conflicts on my network.  I went through al of them this morning.

I thought, having never used one, the CR100s worked only when the Sonos system was in wired (SonosNet) mode, which means on Sonos device, either a BRIDGE or a speaker was wired to the router directly. Is that not the case?

That being said, time moves on, if your system is ‘frozen’ at 8.3, it wouldn’t surprise me if some streaming sources have updated their servers and no longer match with rather old Sonos 8.3. 

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Thanks, Bruce.   My system is quite old and I am one of the few CR100 holdouts.  I do not have any “speakers”.  My system dates those.

When I set up my system, I wired my house.  My original system was a ZP100, a ZP80 and a CR100.  Later, I added another ZP100 and another CR100.  The later ZP100 is wirelessly connected to my network.

I am on the last version, 8.4.  I recall something from Sonos when they announced discontinuing support of the CR100.  But, I cannot recall exactly.

It’s been a great ride with Sonos.  If I have to stop using the CR100s, it’s ok.  Used cell phones are cheap and there is more than one option for a controller.

Before I bin the CR100s, I’d like to exhaust every effort to figuring out the issue.

My CR100’s died a while ago. Do you have a “Sonos Favorites” section visible on your CR100? If so, you may be able to insert the station’s URL using a phone, then select the station with the CR100.

If you purchase a cheap phone or pad to use as a controller, make sure that it is running an Android version that supports the SONOS controller.

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@ossodiseppia Thank you for your explanation. Your problem is clear to me now. Sorry to say I cannot bring any solution to the table, beside the one you already got yourself: buy a used phone that fits with Sonos.

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I am sure this has to do with security and the CR100, I just can’t remember what was said about it when Sonos announced the end of the CR100.

This recent development and the artist and song title under “information” plus now hearing local commercials tells me something has changed with TuneIn.

I’m not interested in hearing commercials for local businesses through my Sonos.  In order to continue to listen to my favorite radio station from half way around the word, I will buy a Bluetooth device to plug into the back or my ZP80.  I can then stream from my phone.

 

Thank you for the suggestions and feedback.

I revive this thread, as I have the same problem; i switched on my Sonos system for the first time in a few months and got the same error message on my CR100 with regard to connecting to TuneIn. I own 2 CR100 an two S5 (1 first gen with software 8.4)

I am still able to play TuneIn radio stations on my system using an old version (8.4) of the Windows Sonos App. I only use the CR100 to change volume or pause the playback of the TuneIn Radio.

 

@ossodiseppia Were you able to resolve the problem, so to be able to again fully use the CR100 to connect to TuneIn and chose radio stations?

 

 

 

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Hi @Buttel ,

 

I am sorry, there is no solution to this.  My remotes can only access my music library and Amazon music.

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I am in the same boat as you: “problem connecting to TuneIn.” 😞

This is a watershed moment - can’t now listen to the radio by pressing a button on the beloved CR100. 😢

I note, for everyone’s amusement, that since locking down the Sonos system all those years ago so that my CR100s would continue to work … all my CR100s have exploded and destroyed the house several times because of foretold problems with the lithium batteries. 😮

I have two options: battle on with the legacy system and pump audio into it another way - or ditch the CR100s and finally upgrade the s/w to what Sonos want us to have. 🤔

Thoughts appreciated...

 

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Thoughts appreciated...

Take the dive, @Mike_195. There comes a time for all of us to realize that it's time to move on.

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So what options are there to replace the CR100 for simplicity of usage?

I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

Userlevel 7
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I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

You could use your phone, your tablet or your PC. Take your pick.

So what options are there to replace the CR100 for simplicity of usage?

I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

 

You “don’t want to mess about with your phone”, which more than likely is in your pocket or close by, is light and portable, has a touch screen interface, and is ubiquitously used for everything from phone calls, to texting, to internet searches, to navigation, to locating the stars in the heavens, yet you spent the last decade+ picking up a one pound brick from its charger and used a wheel and hard buttons to “switch the radio on”?  

Depending in the rest of your system, you could also use voice control from Amazon, Google, or Sonos, for streams. None of them do local music. 

Userlevel 6
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So what options are there to replace the CR100 for simplicity of usage?

I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

 

You “don’t want to mess about with your phone”, which more than likely is in your pocket or close by, is light and portable, has a touch screen interface, and is ubiquitously used for everything from phone calls, to texting, to internet searches, to navigation, to locating the stars in the heavens, yet you spent the last decade+ picking up a one pound brick from its charger and used a wheel and hard buttons to “switch the radio on”?  

He must still be on a Rotary or flip phone if he thinks using the old Russian iPod as a controller is better than his phone 

@Mike_195,

I always enjoyed my CR100 and the CR200 that followed. Unfortunately, they have all died. Currently, I prefer the desktop controller and this works well for me because I spend lots of time on my computer. When I’m not at the desk, I have a phone and a pad and must use these to change system configurations because the desktop controller does not support modifying configurations.

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So what options are there to replace the CR100 for simplicity of usage?

I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

 

You “don’t want to mess about with your phone”, which more than likely is in your pocket or close by, is light and portable, has a touch screen interface, and is ubiquitously used for everything from phone calls, to texting, to internet searches, to navigation, to locating the stars in the heavens, yet you spent the last decade+ picking up a one pound brick from its charger and used a wheel and hard buttons to “switch the radio on”?  

The CR100 sits in a beautiful cradle right in front of the ZP120. When I walk into the kitchen I stretch out my arm and press one button and the radio plays - how much simpler could the world be?

(And the buttons do have have lovely tactile feedback.)

I do not feel the need to carry my phone around with me all day long.

When I do feel the need to browse the internet, look at stars, message / call people and even take photographs, I’ll happily pick up my phone and use it.

 

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I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

You could use your phone, your tablet or your PC. Take your pick.

All far less convenient .. just to switch on the radio. 

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Depending in the rest of your system, you could also use voice control from Amazon, Google, or Sonos, for streams. None of them do local music. 

Rightly or wrongly, I’ve already chosen the Google offering for home control and have been using it for several years.

In my experience thus far, voice assistants are “not terribly good” (Siri and Google used) and generally take longer to achieve anything than the simple flipping of switches - providing that they are, of course, within reach.

I think it fair to make a comparison with Philips Hue: when walking into a room, it’s far easier to flip a wall switch (Friends of Hue) to switch the lights on than to utter something to a voice assistant and hope it understands (I do have some sensors too). Hue Tap is a movable physical switch module, and there’s the mobile phone app which is the most powerful but ‘least accessible’ way to interact with the lights.

I think that I, and the missus, could live with the voice assistant for the vast majority of the time - providing that a simple request to switch the radio on was far more reliably fulfilled than some of the other actions I ask of Google.

However, having a tablet “permanently” running the Sonos app and sitting just where it needs to be, may just about replace the simplicity and reliability of the CR100 for the simple tasks [On/Off, Vol Up/Down]; however, I perhaps need to look into the SYMFONISK Sound remote.

There is also a level or risk re-engaging with Sonos who have displayed utterly contemptible attitudes to its customers in the bricking of CR100, and then the attempted bricking of first gen equipment.

Apologies for the tome...

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So what options are there to replace the CR100 for simplicity of usage?

I don’t want to mess about with my phone just to switch the radio on.

 

You “don’t want to mess about with your phone”, which more than likely is in your pocket or close by, is light and portable, has a touch screen interface, and is ubiquitously used for everything from phone calls, to texting, to internet searches, to navigation, to locating the stars in the heavens, yet you spent the last decade+ picking up a one pound brick from its charger and used a wheel and hard buttons to “switch the radio on”?  

He must still be on a Rotary or flip phone if he thinks using the old Russian iPod as a controller is better than his phone 

I think this post is definitely worth ignoring.