Sonos iOS update is shockingly bad - first impressions



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How could Sonos get it so wrong! Up until now I have found the apps so easy to use and very easy to change settings. Now I'm stumped - cannot get the right music to right room. Please can we have a remedial update!! Desktop programme doesn't seem as bad however so I'll have to use that until Sonos get the ios app sorted out. A Sonos fan for 4/5 years.
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There is an old adage that if it ain't broke then don't fix it. Unfortunately I have noticed over the years Sonos pumping out updates for the sake of it. This one takes the cake and echo everyone's sentiments. The fundamental underlying product hasn't changed at all yet the Sonos marketeers are tying to have us believe that they are giving us an improved experience. Well they ain't.

Change back please Sonos.

If you want ideas for ways to improve your product don't look inhouse, just read these bloody forums!
Agreed. Truly terrible “upgrade”, with so much competition from the likes of Amazon and Google Home how have they managed to get it so wrong?! Completely unnecessary change.
Agree - what a crock of crap. The saying "if its not broke dont fix it" comes to mind. After this people will flock to Amazon Alexa for the simplicity ....with the new sonos one that could be why they've done it?
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Words fail me on how much I *HATE* this latest update. I have 7 rooms. I used to be able to tap 'Rooms' and switch between them with one finger. If I do this now it does not change the room, but reverts to the wrong (original) room. Now I have to tap 'Rooms', add the room I want to listen to - ensuring that it *AND* the previous room are selected, then touch "Done". Then I have to click 'Rooms' again, de-select the previous room - leaving the new room selected, then click 'Done'.

THIS IS NOT AN IMPROVEMENT IN WORKFLOW. Is *anyone* listening at SONOS ? Was this ever tested ?

I used to recommend SONOS to all my friends wanting multi-room music. With the current state of the UI I can no longer in good conscience recommend this to anyone. My wife has simply stopped using SONOS, she just can't make the new app do what she wants.

If there was an easy way to select local content on Google Chromecast audio I'd be selling my SONOS on craigslist tomorrow.
You know, I'm not crazy about this new look and feel of this update. I can get used to it, but worse is the non functional, frustration inducing room grouping feature that has been changed. Sonos made several steps backwards in what looks like an attempt to fix something that was really not broke. But now it really is broke and is crushing (in the negative meaning) the whole sonos experience. It will not switch rooms no matter the sequence of rooms deselected and rooms selected. it just doesn't work . Come on Sonos, say something... Something this bad needs attention rightaway! Just own it and let us know you are fixing it immediately...
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And the white buttons against v light grey is a poor choice.

The UI designer needs to get fired

The UI designer needs to get fired


What makes you think that there's just one person involved in such dramatic ux changes?
Userlevel 3
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You know, I'm not crazy about this new look and feel of this update. I can get used to it, but worse is the non functional, frustration inducing room grouping feature that has been changed. Sonos made several steps backwards in what looks like an attempt to fix something that was really not broke. But now it really is broke and is crushing (in the negative meaning) the whole sonos experience. It will not switch rooms no matter the sequence of rooms deselected and rooms selected. it just doesn't work . Come on Sonos, say something... Something this bad needs attention rightaway! Just own it and let us know you are fixing it immediately...

It's taking me some time to get accustomed to the new interface, but give it a chance. I had been trying to switch rooms by doing what I think you are doing, which is actually the interface for grouping rooms. To switch control to a different room you need to get to the menu across the bottom of the app and select the "Rooms" menu. Then it should show all rooms and you click on the one you want from there.

I am wondering if some of these controller changes were necessitated by the Alexa integration and possibly future features that are planned.
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The valid comments and criticisms have now been aired here fully so now please Sonos don’t let this continue. Acknowledge “issues” and tell us customers you are going to address them ASAP.
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The new interface is beyond bad. It looks like they took the same poor interface from their forums, took a lever and forced it into a phone. Just total shit. They have made opaque the best features of SONOS. Wish I could go back to old interface.
You know, I'm not crazy about this new look and feel of this update. I can get used to it, but worse is the non functional, frustration inducing room grouping feature that has been changed. Sonos made several steps backwards in what looks like an attempt to fix something that was really not broke. But now it really is broke and is crushing (in the negative meaning) the whole sonos experience. It will not switch rooms no matter the sequence of rooms deselected and rooms selected. it just doesn't work . Come on Sonos, say something... Something this bad needs attention rightaway! Just own it and let us know you are fixing it immediately...

It's taking me some time to get accustomed to the new interface, but give it a chance. I had been trying to switch rooms by doing what I think you are doing, which is actually the interface for grouping rooms. To switch control to a different room you need to get to the menu across the bottom of the app and select the "Rooms" menu. Then it should show all rooms and you click on the one you want from there.

I am wondering if some of these controller changes were necessitated by the Alexa integration and possibly future features that are planned.


I will give this a try. Thanks for the info.
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I sm not a fan of the new Sonos app either. Its not very intuitive, the old ap wad so easy to select rooms, group them and select music. This new version is a mess. I am forever bouncing sround to select rooms and music.
This is a first for me - posting the same text on more than one thread. But since the same ridiculous hyperbole is being posted on several threads I feel it is justified.

The new app has its flaws (more on that in a minute) but basically it is really simple to use. New things take a bit of getting used to. Most of those who have slammed the new app seem to have based their views on 2 minutes effort. The Sonos bar is key. I want to pick a room? Tap the Rooms button. Then a source? Tap Browse. The one inconvenience is that the bar doesn't appear on the Now Playing screen, but I hope that will change. But I just swipe down and there is the bar (and usually either the Rooms or Browse screen, saving me one of my button presses).

I came in this evening and in less than ten seconds of opening the app had my music library playing in the Living Room. How disastrous is that?

It is logically organised. Instead of a jumble of things on the main menu, Browse contains just sources (wish they had called it Sources), More contains the things I need much less often, like Settings and Setup. Search and Rooms are self evident. 'My Sonos' contains the things I have chosen myself and want to get at quickly. What is so ****** difficult?

Yes, the icons are too big. Yes the Sonos bar should be on EVERY screen. I'd like to see Playlists on the Browse screen and just selected playlists in My Sonos.

But come on guys. Get with it and make a bit of an effort. With a few tweaks this is going to be way better than 7.4. If you want to be left behind, that's your call.
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I have given up trying to add to Favorites! Its ridicously complicated!
Are you using 7.4 then? There is no Favourites in 8.0. What are you trying to add?
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Are you using 7.4 then? There is no Favourites in 8.0. What are you trying to add?
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I have not been able to add since the update....
Add what? Or is this you mourning the passing of Favourites? Ah well....
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I have to agree with the masses-I have been an avid Sonos user for about 4 years now. I have 19 units and have always recommended them to friends.

Until now.

This update is just brutal. It’s absolutely Horrible. I don’t understand why something that worked so well had to be scrambled just for the sake of an update. My wife won’t use it anymore. I’ve had about a week to play around with it now and it’s a real pain. So UN-intuitive. I’ve had major updates to my iPhone, Mac, TVs etc...never have I had to struggle this much to try to navigate.

The look and feel of this version is a huge step backwards.

PS. It had been about 2 years since I’ve wrote on this forum and it took this garbage to make me hunt down my password to comment.
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I have to agree with the masses-I have been an avid Sonos user for about 4 years now. I have 19 units and have always recommended them to friends.

Until now.

This update is just brutal. It’s absolutely Horrible. I don’t understand why something that worked so well had to be scrambled just for the sake of an update. My wife won’t use it anymore. I’ve had about a week to play around with it now and it’s a real pain. So UN-intuitive. I’ve had major updates to my iPhone, Mac, TVs etc...never have I had to struggle this much to try to navigate.

The look and feel of this version is a huge step backwards.

PS. It had been about 2 years since I’ve wrote on this forum and it took this garbage to make me hunt down my password to comment.


I have 15 and feel the exact same way. A friend who just bought a couple for his new house called to ask me what was going on with the software.
All I can say is it took me half an hour to feel comfortable with it and use it with ease. I just go back to the Sonos bar and thereafter nothing much is different from before. Leaving aside the colour scheme, the Rooms screen looks like the old version, the Browse looks like the sources bit of the old main menu, and 'More' has the rest of it. The search works the same and looks the same.

'My Sonos' I'm not so happy with, but it's OK.

All these familiar screens are just a button press on the Sonos bar away.

I am utterly baffled as to why people are finding this difficult.
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The Sonos app has become unusable. I don't see any upside to the new interface, and every task I try to complete takes more steps than before. There are a few things I haven't figured out how to accomplish. Worst of all, my wife hates it, too, and she was your biggest fan. I'm pretty open minded and will try a new interface with hopes it brings improvements, but I am not seeing any upside here. Please offer an option to revert.
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All I can say is it took me half an hour to feel comfortable with it and use it with ease. I just go back to the Sonos bar and thereafter nothing much is different from before. Leaving aside the colour scheme, the Rooms screen looks like the old version, the Browse looks like the sources bit of the old main menu, and 'More' has the rest of it. The search works the same and looks the same.

'My Sonos' I'm not so happy with, but it's OK.

All these familiar screens are just a button press on the Sonos bar away.

I am utterly baffled as to why people are finding this difficult.


1. Does it take you more or less steps to accomplish things?

2. What have you gained?
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All I can say is it took me half an hour to feel comfortable with it and use it with ease. I just go back to the Sonos bar and thereafter nothing much is different from before. Leaving aside the colour scheme, the Rooms screen looks like the old version, the Browse looks like the sources bit of the old main menu, and 'More' has the rest of it. The search works the same and looks the same.

'My Sonos' I'm not so happy with, but it's OK.

All these familiar screens are just a button press on the Sonos bar away.

I am utterly baffled as to why people are finding this difficult.


There is a reason you are the ONLY one saying one thing while everyone else is saying the exact opposite

It takes way more work to do the same thing

Also if you were to give a Sonos newcomer the old version and the new version-are you seriously saying that it would be better or faster with the new version??? Didn’t think so