Can you set up a new system and put just the Roam on that new system? Then you can try it out for reliability and functionality before deciding whether to update your main system. If you decide in favour you can delete the second system and add the Roam to your (main) remaining system. 

Hmmm. I have seven PLAY:1s, and run the current S2 firmware. I’ve not experienced any significant issue, even though a majority of my music is local. Of course, I also have a lot of newer speakers, too, but my PLAY:1s and PLAY:3s, not to mention my PLAY:5 gen 2s, are plugging along, mostly playing music from my WD NAS. In fact I’m listening to Yes from it right now, using the current version of S2.

Not sure “older” version you are using.  I am on Version 17 and not having any real problems (unlike the versions just after the update debacle).  I did not have any issues updating from S1 to S2. Most of my music is played using Airplay from my desktop.  One complaint is that even though I have it set to auto update, the timing is always off or it does not autoupdate and I have the wait the 4-5 minutes for the update when I wanted to start playing music now (yes I am impatient).  I wish you could set the hours for the autoupdate like you do on a PC or MAC.

Settings → General Settings → System Updates → Scheduled.

You can choose Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or Overnight.

Thanks!  I missed that.  Hopefully that will help some.  I still don’t have them updating automatically, but I restarted the update automatically and set it on evening (it was set for morning).  Maybe that will fix the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will be forced to update if I were to consider purchasing new speakers, which, right now I am not considering. It was a bummer to lose the Roam because of the battery, but it would be much worse if my system didn’t work. Right now it does and I have read that some people are still experiencing issues, sadly. 

I think that the viability of the current release depends on your “must have” features and, to some extent, on your network hardware and setup. There are many users who are honestly asking “what’s the problem?” and others who are piping out vitriol.

For example, until very recently management and use of the local library using pad/phone controllers was 4th or 5th class at best, however, PC users (like me) were not having problems. Alarm users have been complaining, citing various issues. On the brighter side, we see relatively few reports of SPOTIFY issues. There are reports of TV audio mishaps, but they are mostly associated with user misunderstanding.

Another leaf on the tree of failure are network issues. The new approach uses the network differently and the default router settings may need to be adjusted. This gives rise to angry “never happened before” complaints that tend to cluster around certain router models.

The bottom line (update or not) for you is: Are your must have features working and will your network support the firmware without adjustments that you are unable or unwilling to make.

Thank you very much for the thoughtful response, Buzz. I get it. Again, I do realize that I will have to update at some point if I am to stick with Sonos, which is still a question for me (I have been looking into alternatives). Like many other users, there was a time I loved my Sonos system and I know I sold a fair amount of people on Sonos, but if I were to be asked at this time I would give my honest feedback, which likely would not result in a sale. I definitely understand the frustrations many people have had. They most certainly caused a lot of people headaches with a software ‘upgrade’, to say the least. For me, my must have features are centered around my personal library working (playlists included, of course). I have a very large library, and a lot of playlists. I don’t really stream music and I don’t use alarms. If the TV audio mishaps you are referring to include the Sonos Beam not working as part of my system and/or as a speaker for my TV, well, then that is a big deal as well. 

Can’t tell you the last time I updated. Have auto update turned off on all my devices. But…I don’t use the Sonos app. I have changed to SonoPhone, SonoPad and the Clic app. They work great and probably better than the Sonos app. 

Dogdad … same here. I have not upgraded since learning of the issues related to the app update in 2024 (was in in May?) that caused issues for so many people. I’m glad I have the habit of reading about updates before installing them, as I was able to avoid the issues and I’ve been using the SonoPhone/SonoPad app since then. I was not aware of the Clic app, so thanks for that tip. I downloaded Clic and it’s nicer than SonoPhone. Can’t really complain about SonoPhone, but Clic does seem like a better app. One question, if I may … I assume you are on Clic Super, and if so, does it allow you to add speakers to your Sonos system? The free version does not, so I am just curious. If it does, that would be great. AI says it can, but in doing some quick research, I am gathering the Sonos app is still necessary for adding speakers and/or setting up the system itself. Funny how often I find AI to be misleading, or just plain wrong. That said, I can’t be sure about this particularly question because I haven’t found an answer online as of yet, which is why I ask.