I really don't have a dog in this fight, my system is comfortably locked at 7.4, doing everything I purchased it to do. Although it would be nice to be able to replace units as needed. But here's a novel approach.

Disclaimer: This is possibly based on faulty assumptions as I haven't even been able to purchase a new product for awhile now and don't know what the current installation of new hardware steps are.

Basic Assumptions:

1. You have, will have or want a legacy installation. Legacy being defined as any firmware version       released prior to 2015.
2. You purchase a new unit because of a hardware failure or expansion - NOT any new features.

You then plug the new unit into the system.  It takes a look around and presents the following options:

1. Create a new system. At this point it downloads the latest and greatest firmware with all the bells and whistles and creates its own network installation with no inter-operability with any existing installation.

2. Join an existing system. At this point, it goes back and takes another look and presents the following options:

   - Your system is running legacy firmware Version x.x, do you want to retain this functionality?  

      If you answer yes, it will state that no future SONOS support will be provided or available.

     Do you want to continue?

      If you answer yes, it goes out to SONOS, downloads and installs firmware Version x.x 

     and joins  the legacy installation.

     If you answer no, (to either question) it will state that this will require that all existing units be

    upgraded to the latest and greatest firmware.  And further states that any units not capable of   

    running the latest and  greatest firmware will no longer function in this installation.

    Then it does its thing.

This will also require SONOS to make  the software for all legacy controller versions available for download - with the stated warning that SONOS will not provide any support for these versions.

Other larger and more established hardware vendors provide similar backward compatibility in their own ways, but this keeps SONOS firmware versions out of prying hands which is something that seems important to them.

Does this make everybody happy? Admittedly, No. But it does retain the full functionality of existing systems at whatever firmware version they are using and provide the ability to expand that installation or replace faulty equipment.  It also provides for SONOS to continue to evolve and provide the latest and greatest features that today's ever evolving technological society seems to want.

IMNSHO, SONOS's stated position that an installation with mismatched firmwares will be possible is akin to a politician's campaign promise and you're all fools if you believe it.  I'll just go make some more popcorn and lurk from the dark corner of the peanut gallery.  Let the S***storm continue. My apologies for the interruption and my thanks to Kumar for a dose of rational unemotional reality.

Final thought: If you decide to go legacy, continue to block all updates and only open the door if you need to.  

@coupster 

This is the type of software delivery I would love to have.  If they replaced all the data mining code with more flexible software version delivery mechanism, moving forward (or backward) would have been smoother.

Yeah, apparently we have no clue about how impossible this is to do, support, maintain.

it is the Achilles Heal of Sonos Longevity.

exdirtfarmer

I tried to make my suggestion idiot proof and protect SONOS’s control of its firmware versions.  If you assume that anybody running a stable legacy system is not an idiot, there’s an easy down and dirty way to accomplish the same end result.

SONOS writes a program/process to locally flash the eprom (or whatever) of a device from a file.

SONOS creates an archive of all legacy firmwares and corresponding controllers for download.

The user downloads the appropriate file and flashes their own unit(s) - with the over riding assumption that SONOS is in no way responsible or liable for support, except assuring that the flash process works.

Lol, have you read some of the posts in the announcement area?  

Right, I’m aware but didn’t mention the posts.  The terminology is a little confusing as Sonos has traditionally referred to changing code from one to another as an ‘update’, and this is what I was referring to.  Bug fixes and security changes is now...something else, at least on a legacy system.

Agreed.  It still drives me crazy that I cant flash my system with my chosen version.  This would be the appropriate time for SONOS to release a tool to give us some version control back. They no longer want to support the devices so we will do it ourselves and dump them in the recycle bin when we are finished with them. Apparently we may own the hardware, not the software, they refuse to relinquish software version control to the end user.

Sorry for the rant Kumar. 

It will all work itself out, one way or another, my SONOS system isnt done yet.

Right.  If you don’t trust Sonos, then you can lockdown before the Legacy version stopping point (whatever it would be called).  You will not be able to add new products or get Sonos to do any bug fix and security updates till you move to the Legacy version though.

You can hold off for a week or so without having to lockdown by making sure you have automatic updates off.  Sonos does beta test there updates before release, so it’s likely this will be too.  But if people want to go through all the trouble of locking things down before legacy, that’s their choice.

Agreed, and I reference that point a few times recently as a reason to believe that the Legacy system will be ok, that there is good reason to believe it can go on just fine for years based on the experience of others.

This has been an issue since smart phones came out.  How big of an issue, whether the costs outweigh benefits, is a rather big topic where I think people will have vastly different view points on.

 Supporting a single version is a big task. Supporting every version you’ve ever created is a nightmare.  I imagine you’re ok with losing support if you’re on a previous system, but many people will want some level of support anyway, and various reasons.  It really should be avoided if at all possible.

The legacy version appears to now be at least an attempt to find an acceptable compromise in this regard. 

Presumably, if dev hours are going to be reallocated to this effort, one could hope that “acceptable” includes plenty elements from past versions that do not not need to take into account any of the dev goals Sonos has moving forward, freeing up option within the codebase. If legacy will be stuck with this version in perpetuity it sure would be nice if it was an environment with the most control possible, on the most devices possible. 

We then may of course run into trouble simply from the controller standpoint in terms of platform/OS version changes as time marches on, e.g. running for instance what is essentially an outdated .apk on a future Android device and the like. Seems there’ll have to either be some amount of dev involvement into the future for that sort of testing, or else legacy users could eventually require a controller device running X,Y,Z historic flavor of iOS, Windows, etc. That’s a longer term concern, but a concern since most interested folk are likely thinking in terms of a decade or more usage.

I’ve read so many posts today I’m numb and can’t remember who said what ,when and in which order - so please forgive me airing my views which may repeat what others have said on this and other threads.

I’m on locked-down v8.4 to preserve the use of my 5 or 6 remaining CR100s - each costing more than a netbook when i bought them. I started my Sonos system with a NAS in 2005/6 and it’s grown massively with a BlueSound Vault 2i serving as my NAS since last summer. A random offer from Plex for a lifetime subscription for about £72 saw me add Plex (shame the Plex server won’t run on my Vault so I have to leave a laptop on which runs Sonos Desktop Controller just fine) and Tidal through their discounted Plex affiliation.  The only real change is the higher resolution of music that I rip and now stream.

I’d love for Sonos’s legacy software to preserve all of this with no risk to updating to a later version which would kill off my CR100s.  As I still buy CDs and value the way my system worked all those years ago, I’d happily give up all the recent enhancements - most of which would be available through the BluOS and Plex combination anyway.  The line-in on my Play 5 (Gen 1) gives further flexibility for Echo connection etc.

Is it too much to ask that we continue to use our systems the way we used to without fear of the software perpetually trying to update itself. Running 2 separate Sonos systems concurrently and having to remember which Android device connects to which router/Sonos network - and whether it should or shouldn’t apply app updates gives me enough of a headache.  Somehow the simplicity of my 4 button one box ripping/playing Brennan B7 seems very appealing.  I might even use those nice Sonos bookshelf speakers that came with my ZP100s all those years ago and which will work regardless of any Sonos software updates.

Thanks to everyone who has offered the advice along the way to get me to where my legacy system is now.

This is a smart idea.  Seems like it would work fine.  Not sure voice integration would work on a per room basis, but that seems to be the only major downside. 

Firstly kudos to Kumar for setting up an alternative thread looking for a solution.

I've a large collection of ripped CD's on an old PC & currently run it as a server to feed Sonos via the excellent Plex.

I'm not as badly affected as some (with whom I have the greatest sympathy), but I own 1 x ZP90 & 1 x Play 5 (both Gen 1).

I'm thinking of using Plex to run music via Nvidia Shield Pro 2019 (the new one with Plex built-in), using HDMI out to my Yamaha A/V or Onkyo amp.

I don't need alarms, voice activation etc. Just a sleep timer to switch off at night which both amps have.

The question I have, which isn't immediately obvious to me is how to control the Nvidia remotely using either Android Phone/Tablet.

Is this feasible after the inevitable legacy period runs out & the end is nigh for my Gen 1's?

Would be interested to hear of a solution or if there's a better one out there.

I've been eyeing up a Bluesound Node 2i but don't really want to jump out of the frying pan so to speak.

I'm hoping Sonos comes through for their customers with an amicable resolution but question whether the company is really listening and appreciates the seriousness of the situation they've put themselves in, as the way the tide has turned in the past Week against the company could ultimately be it's downfall, which is in no one's interests.

No, voice integration wouldn't follow along room-to-room in my case, but I’d have it in my main room and kitchen with my setup the way it is.
Honestly I don’t much care about voice; as far native integration I have a single original Sonos:ONE and then a couple Google minis, but I very rarely use it for music control except for the occasional “Google, Mute/Stop”. Beyond that my One in the kitchen is a glorified kitchen timer that occasionally tells me about the weather. I’ve always seen voice within the Sonos ecosystem as novelty; I wouldn’t care if it were gone.

As long as you stay in locked down mode, you should not even notice the Brexit except in places like this.

But that leads me to more questions, having only partially understood the recent discussions on this thread.

1. In the quoted case, what will happen after May, if the lock down is removed? Will the system jumped to the legacy version, thereby bricking the CR100s? If it does, can it be taken back to 8.4?
2. This is relevant to my situation that is a lot more common, with 3 legacy zones and 3 modern ones on the latest version. What will happen after May if all 3 legacy zones were to be in powered down state, and unwittingly I invoke an update that then gets applied to the 3 modern zones? The legacy zones would then be unreachable, correct? In that case, if I was willing to live with a split system, would that be possible? How?
3. In the above case, if I did not want a split system, would it be possible to reverse the update and go back to one legacy system of 6 zones?
4. And a final question, though not likely to apply to me - if I wanted to add a new product in May 2021, could I add that to the legacy system on the legacy version and run it as a 7 zone system?

Perhaps these questions have been answered, but while I understand more about this than many, I understand a lot less that the few who fully do so, so indulge me.

I’ve been looking into all this and wanting to lean more on PLEX as well. I already use it extensively (fairly recently) for music when I’m out of the house and I love it’s metadata capabilities. I use the actual PLEX client which already can cast out to Sonos speaker or groups (if they’re already grouped) and in many ways it’s a nicer app environment than the Sonos mobile app. My only issue is when I use it via my smart TV, quite simply, the analog out from the TV into the Sonos Connect and then my receiver just doesn’t sound nearly as good as when played directly from the connect.
I’ve been looking at the Node 2i a lot (and a couple other streamers) in the past 3 days and am leaning that direction - largely just to give me excellent sound quality for when I’m listening only in my main room stereo setup. Then I can feed the Connect which it has taken the place of and pipe it around the house if I want… I don’t care as much and can’t hear the difference in quality nearly as much when it’s just whole-house and much of it is coming out of PLAY:1s and ONEs.
At least if Bluesound follows some sort of similar suit we see here today, I’ll only have one device to worry about replacing. (For that reason I can’t say I’m keen to add any other Bluesound devices.)

These are all excellent questions; each one interests me too… I’m afraid we can’t yet get definitive answers for them (if going by the “we’ll have more to share in May” statements) but I'd wager some here can speculate on with some accuracy. 

@chickentender : I thought that the May sharing would be related to workflows and details, not answers to these simple questions. If just the answers are not known to Sonos, that is an unpleasant shock because it suggests that Sonos isn't conceptually ready for the change. The Brexit analogy looks even more apt then.

Anyway, I am happy to wait for the answers, there is no hurry. As long as each one is definitively answered a few weeks before the event. I don't need to read any speculation about what the answers could be, because that just muddies the waters even more.

I wish they would offer a firmware version just with the basic functions of the device

plus playing a sound file from a given path and playing a stream.

All this in the current already supported formats.

This would make it flexible, easy to write 3rd party applications and a way to remove

the file collection limit. This would open so many doors even home automation.

Sorry for the possibly stupid question, but did I miss something?  There’s a fair amount of references here to a “Legacy Software Version”.  In a quick rescan of the official communiques I can find only references to a “Legacy Mode”.  My translation of that is that come May when “Legacy Mode” is implemented, those older hardware units affected will no longer receive software updates leaving them operating at whatever version they are running at that time.  There will be no change.  So if you’re running 10.6 (or whatever) on the day of the change you will still be running 10.6 from that point forward.  SONOS won’t be working on or releasing a “Legacy Software Version”, So in theory, if you unlock your 8.4 system, it will remain there and your CR100s will be unaffected. However with wiggle terms of bug fixes and security updates, I won't be unlocking my system ever.  I locked my system at 7.4 for my reasons and don’t want to change for anybody else’s reasons.

This is why I suggested SONOS give us access to all older versions of the firmware and controllers, as well as implementing a way to flash the units locally.  In that way I can buy a new Port and flash it to 7.4 and add it to my existing system to replace my 10 year old Connect.  Otherwise my installation will slowly self destruct as units suffer hardware failures.  And to further reiterate, this is all  with the understanding that SONOS will not support this implementation, I am on my own.  SONOS is only providing me with access to the needed software and a tool to flash the unit locallly.

Well, I think there’s simply a fair amount of speculation going on with a hinted mix of each individual’s (here) wouldn’t-it-be-nice-if’s and what-makes-sense-would-be’s. Being given the option of many available firmware choices as you’ve mentioned before would be of huge benefit. The latter part of what you’re saying now is also speculation/suggestion too. 

I admit (I’ve never bothered to investigate) I do not know (is it known?) precisely how each added device has, historically, updated to the latest software/firmware version when it is added to user’s network. My assumption was always simply that it was brought online, contacted Sonos during the setup process whilst being added to an existing network (or alone if that’s the case) and received that latest firmware. But I don’t know if that is the case. I'm genuinely asking if that’s already known, how the initial firmware update proceeds. Does it even come with a factory version that’s capable of operating without the update (It’s been at least 2 or 3 years since I added new device), or must it be loaded at the onset. And, in either case is it possible it can be loaded from other devices on the network it finds, or simply from the controller version present? (I’m still assuming not, but this opens many doors/questions: choosing version at the controller level, maintaining version on the user legacy network, etc.).

In any case, there is (or rather will be) a legacy software/firmware version to be maintained and updated by Sonos, apart from the current/modern build; one thing that has been implicitly stated (I’ve seen several time mentioned from Sonos staff) is that newly purchased devices will in fact be able to be joined to legacy networks. If that is the case there is a legacy software version that must come from somewhere (and so it stand to reason it could be possible for Sonos to modify that version based on community input from legacy users), unless of course it is the one which would be factory-loaded before shipping… but honestly that doesn’t seem to make much sense to me. Maybe it does however. 
Again… questions.

At the beginning you added players without any SONOS interference to your system. You went to their website downloaded the PC/Mac controller install and everything was managed locally. Their might been an option to register but if so it was not required. A few weeks ago I added a ZP100 I forgot about new in the packaging. Firmware version 2.xx.

here you can see how it used to be :

SONOS 2005 Support

Thanks Kumar. You’ve succinctly distilled the implicit questions in my late night ramblings - particularly points 1 and 4.

My CR100s are clearly what has made me stay at v8.4 and it’s almost become a personal challenge to nurse them to the end of their extended lives in defiance of Sonos otherwise trying to kill them off. (I’ve just remembered that my 6th one is on life support permanently plugged in in my garage).

I had planned at some stage to reunite my systems on a common software version once the CR100s eventually died (possibly to populate my kids’ first homes with excess devices), but this glimmer of hope for unification and stability for the future is not as clear in my mind as i had naively hoped. (Korea anyone? )

For anyone considering Bluesound, I can only reccommend it 100% for integration with Sonos.  I bought it primarily as a ripping NAS but was accidentally supplied with the 2i version of their Vault NAS instead of the older Vault 2. I can use it in isolation through some AptX HD headphones late at night and can also feed bluetooth sources into it to play throughout that Sonos system.  The app is really comprehensive and there’s now a remote control too.  In fact the only negative is not being able to install Plex server software on it. BUT Sonos may be relieved to hear that I’ve no plans or need to add any more BlueSound kit to my setup.

I think the first part is very admirable and to be imitated by anyone concerned about the planet; I never had Cr100 or 200, both were before I started with Sonos in 2011, but I felt the same way about my beloved little Sonos Dock that I let go only reluctantly, and that only because the workarounds for it had become simple by the time it was killed. And now I feel exactly the same way about my two Connect Amps/Connect. I refuse to let them be prematurely killed off and sent to a landfill - and remember that in India we don't even have decent landfills. And, perhaps equally importantly, I cannot afford replacements from the Sonos line up.

Your hope too isn't naive and is achievable I now believe, with some workarounds. But the problem you have is that in addition to the CR units, you now also have to wait for more hardware - the legacy products, if you have any - to also die. Seeing the build quality of Sonos kit, that may be years.

This just had me checkout my cart that the Node 2i’s been sitting in for several days. Very similar to my application (except I serve quite a bit from my PLEX which is Synology installed). Right before reading you post here I was elsewhere reading it was IR capable, shouldn’t have a problem mapping my LG remote the Blueos IR options from what I can tell. All that was enough to say enough’s enough. (and no plans here to move beyond the Node personally either. It’s modular from here on out.)

@chickentender and others: I admire the lateral moves that you guys are inventing to move around this situation. Most of it, I will have no clue how to achieve, and of course I don't grudge you that.

But I can't help thinking that even to implement the simple kind of plug and play solution I am looking at, how much of the user base that is out there will have the knowledge and guidance to implement - folks that come to online discussions are just a very small percentage of the base.

Given that, I sense a May tsunami that won't abate in a hurry as things start rolling out.