This is bull.... it's like telling me that the expensive DVD player I bought has now decided it won’t play my dvds, and I have to start streaming all my movies. I have literally several thousands of hours of music on iPhone and iPad. Much of which is not available on streaming services even if I wanted to pay to subscribe to music I already own, and I don’t have an IMac. You sold me a very expensive set of speakers for my music collection, and then decide I can’t use them.

 

Nobody is forcing you to purchase a streaming service. You can easily play your library from a PC/Mac, Plex, an NAS, or a free Google Play Music account. And if Sonos were really trying to force you to pay for a streaming service instead of being on the bad side of an Apple iOS update, it would be highly ironic because A. They don't make any income from services, and B. They kept the ability to play tracks on Android devices.

 

a garbage $50 cd deck for a car can stream from an iphone but a premium audio company can’t figure it out? LOL Sonos are sellouts and are getting cut backs from the people that cave in and pay for a premium service.

---

Darker forces? A good principle for life: the conspiracy theory is almost always wrong, the simple cockup theory almost invariably right.



Is there any hope of a sense of perspective on this thread?

---

@gary larden Sonos announced the change here.



The way this feature was originally designed has become unreliable with newer versions of iOS, and in the coming months, this feature will no longer be available in the Sonos app.



This post by another Sonos employee mentions that it was a tough decision and that they are aware of how it impacts customers.



I don't think you're going to get a much more detailed answer then that since doing so could be throwing Apple under the bus, etc. It's also worth noting that the unreliability began around a year ago when airplay came along. Sonos has been attempting to resolve the issue for a year.

---

It's also worth noting that Sonos' competitor Bluesound removed their "On this device" feature around 10 months ago, shortly after Airplay 2 arrived.

---

Thanks everyone for your prompt assistance. It is much appreciated.



I'll see if Apple music is accepted by the spouse over Amazon Music. If not, I'll either swap Sonos for Amazon Echo, pay for two services (unlikely), or swap our phones to Android.



I've been testing an S10 as my work phone and find it really does seem to outperform my iphone in almost every way. So maybe that's the fix. Or maybe Sonos builds an Airplay 2 repeater and legacy customers don't have to make big choices to retain the most basic feature they trusted Sonos with in the first place.



Sorry, got a bit bitter there. : )

---

I know this is an old topic but... is there a post where someone has consolidated the alternatives (other than upgrading all of my hardware) to accessing my iTunes music via the Sonos mobile app? I confess, my speakers are already listed on eBay but I'll keep an open mind and see if there's a viable work around.



If I ignore the childish fanboy/hater commentary (about 90% of what's here it seems) I sometimes see references to loading iTunes on a PC and then being able to play it from my Sonos mobile app seamlessly.



I also see refernces to storing the music on a NAS, and I have a Sinology.



But, my (very respectful) opinion is that if I'm asked to use Google Music, or manage my music outside of it's origin (iTunes) then it's not worth the hassle.



I'm baffled why Sonos would let this sort of thing ride. Sure, they probably think folks will run out and buy new Sonos speakers that support airplay 2. But there are SO many equal competitors out there now, and many at much lower price-points. At least for me, because to me it's just a wireless speaker.



There is an argument here that "they need to keep releasing new features" and I get that. I own a software company, so I know the business. But you never force a legacy customer to fail. You make a concerted effort to entice them to upgrade. You don't cut their functionality. Yes, it's a compelling event. But you're also eliminating your company from consideration in the "upgrade."



All preaching aside, I'm sure it's a rub between them and Apple. But we paid a premium for this hardware and deserve premium support from the vendor. Else, we'll buy cheap hardware and throw it away every two years when we're "upgraded" to the point it stops working.

---

The thread you’re looking for is here on this, which offers, and discusses many options, ranging from free to not.

---

It isn't really anything to do with the mesh network. The same principle applies irrespective of whether the SonosNet mesh is active. The Airplay compatible speaker has to be in the group.

---

Maybe it's better if I ask my question as a scenario.



If I have a Sonos in my kitchen with Airplay 2... and one in my office that does not have airplay... can I stream music, through airplay, in the office, but not in the kitchen? Or do the two speakers need to be grouped for Airplay to work?



I know my Sonos speakers form a sort of mesh network. But I'm not sure how Airplay figures in that network. Can I "route" music to a given speaker (Airplay giving me access to the mesh network) or does the airplay capable speaker have to be in the group?

---

I have read all the threads. But the fact that there are all sorts of baroque workarounds, such as uploading to the cloud my entire music collection, which consists of literally a couple of thousand CDs that I ripped to iTunes and then donated (many of which are no longer available, including my father's huge jazz collection), as well as hundreds of hours of unreleased material from my music career, or relying on streaming services that dont have most of what I own, or buying a desktop Mac and then being only able to play music from my office, or buying an Android device or a NAS device, or anything else, doesn't change the fact that I bought several sets of pricey speakers to play the music on my iPad and iPhone, and now those speakers have announced they won't do the one thing I bought them for.

You are absolutely right. This was a bait and switch by both Apple and Sonos. I’m not sure who disgusts me more. I will sell my Sonos stuff on eBay and never recommend them again, although I will trash them on Amazon. I’m stuck with Apple for a few more years. I also gave away and sold my extensive CD collection after trusting them with Apple. I was a schmuck.

---

If I purchase one Airplay 2 capable Sonos will it act like a hub and stream that music to any other speaker? Or do I have to group all eleven speakers in my home and play them all at once? The latter obviously not being a solution. Just grasping at convenient straws... Maybe Sonos should consider offering an Airplay hub for legacy customers!



Calling it a hub is't accurate, as your airplay 2 capable Sonos will act like any other speaker in your setup. You'll airplay to your new speaker and then group (or group first, doesn't matter) to the speakers you want it to play in sync with. That could be all 11 speakers or 1 speaker, doesn't matter. You would obviously only be able use airplay for 1 stream though. So if you and your wife both wanted to play different music through airplay, you're going to need two airplay speakers.

---

From the great book of "It'll Never Happen"



But maybe the bunny will finally get it 😞

---

I'm trying Apple Music free for 90 days in hopes I'll just replace Amazon Music with that (similarly priced) service. I mean the "unlimited" version of each, Amazon Prime has limited access to music at no charge. Gonna try and be constructive before I take Amazon up on the super-cheap offer to replace my Sonos hardware with theirs, because the spouse does not like IT changes! : )



That said, I have the obligatory "stupid question" as well.



If I purchase one Airplay 2 capable Sonos will it act like a hub and stream that music to any other speaker? Or do I have to group all eleven speakers in my home and play them all at once? The latter obviously not being a solution. Just grasping at convenient straws... Maybe Sonos should consider offering an Airplay hub for legacy customers!

---

I have read all the threads. But the fact that there are all sorts of baroque workarounds, such as uploading to the cloud my entire music collection, which consists of literally a couple of thousand CDs that I ripped to iTunes and then donated (many of which are no longer available, including my father's huge jazz collection), as well as hundreds of hours of unreleased material from my music career, or relying on streaming services that dont have most of what I own, or buying a desktop Mac and then being only able to play music from my office, or buying an Android device or a NAS device, or anything else, doesn't change the fact that I bought several sets of pricey speakers to play the music on my iPad and iPhone, and now those speakers have announced they won't do the one thing I bought them for.You are absolutely right.



No, it isn't. The bolded part is incorrect as has been pointed out a couple times in this thread. He also does not list that airplay functionality is another way to play audio from your iPhone. Your profile says you have a Sonos One, so you should be able to use airplay. The rest is just info about his own personal collection.

---

Stuart I think nik can speak for himself

and you have made over 4000 replies to posts I could ask you if you work for sonos if you don't you should .



Also maybe I don't want to be forced to update my phones or ipads as well

because that causes problems with other pieces of equipment that I own .



Nik I already know how I'm going to handle it .

Maybe my plan to just hook a wifi mirroring device to my TV will help someone as well .



1 more thing usually people who call people names like childish on the internet are people that wouldn't

have the guts to do it face to face .



I am not responding anymore on this topic .



My opinions are mine

Yours are yours

---

Setting up Sonos to work with your iMac is a one time thing. You set it up, it will then work on all of your speakers.

---

In fact, here is the FAQ on how to do so.



https://support.sonos.com/s/article/257



Makes life much better, IMHO, and saves on battery power on the iOS device. I used to have it connected to my MacBook Pro, but have subsequently moved it to an NAS.

---

You apparently haven't read the thread that melvimbe linked to, in which there is a free solution offered, amongst others.

---

This is bull.... it's like telling me that the expensive DVD player I bought has now decided it won’t play my dvds, and I have to start streaming all my movies. I have literally several thousands of hours of music on iPhone and iPad. Much of which is not available on streaming services even if I wanted to pay to subscribe to music I already own, and I don’t have an IMac. You sold me a very expensive set of speakers for my music collection, and then decide I can’t use them.



Nobody is forcing you to purchase a streaming service. You can easily play your library from a PC/Mac, Plex, an NAS, or a free Google Play Music account. And if Sonos were really trying to force you to pay for a streaming service instead of being on the bad side of an Apple iOS update, it would be highly ironic because A. They don't make any income from services, and B. They kept the ability to play tracks on Android devices.

---

This is bull.... it's like telling me that the expensive DVD player I bought has now decided it won’t play my dvds, and I have to start streaming all my movies. I have literally several thousands of hours of music on iPhone and iPad. Much of which is not available on streaming services even if I wanted to pay to subscribe to music I already own, and I don’t have an IMac. You sold me a very expensive set of speakers for my music collection, and then decide I can’t use them.



I don’t think that’s a very accurate analogy.



But anyway: Have you read any of the other threads on this topic? So many solutions available: a Google Play Music account, an Android device, or an NAS device for example.

---

If you gave away the CDs, does that leave you in breach of copyright if you are still playing the music? I’m not sure what the laws are in your country but it may be worth checking!



But, if you have music ripped onto iTunes, surely that means they are stored on a computer disc and can therefore be played - ie controlled and accessed - from the app on your iPhone.

---

Good grief people!!!



Housing your music collection on a PC or Mac DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN ONLY PLAY MUSIC USING THE PC OR MAC!!!!

---

Good grief people!!!



Housing your music collection on a PC or Mac DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN ONLY PLAY MUSIC USING THE PC OR MAC!!!!



Are you saying you can set up a “Music Library” and select music from an app on your iPhone? Wow! That would be useful!

---

Each new Sonos update strikes fear of losing support. Their products are very expensive, and when they limit or prohibit use through updates is sickening. When they work properly they are about the best on the market.

But, people should be aware that, one day, the large investment they made in Sonos products may become a total waste of money.

Perhaps change your community profile Avatar... I thought this perhaps might be a little more suitable for you:

---

There should be an option that lets you decide whether you want to upgrade or not and

it should be explained what you would gain .





Can’t you just turn Off Automatic Updates?

---