I sent this to the Sonos CEO email, as this seems to be the only support option available. My main point is to find a solution on the bad situation I find myself in, with the non-functioning new app.
Anyone else, if not the CEO, is welcome to give their suggestions and comments, that may help me on the way. Thanks.
“Dear Sonos,
You have done something completely absurd, as you are aware of, by killing off a functioning app and replacing it with one that has close to no functions - a work in progress, at best, or a disaster of an app, when speaking realistically.
After some years without Sonos for my part, since you decided to kill off all older devices, threatening that if I didn't replace them with new ones I would be at risk of you sending out software updates at any time that would render my system useless, I decided to give you a chance again, ordering a Port.
The day after receiving this new device, before I had even managed to connect it and start using it, came this infamous app update.
I have one - one - purpose of owning a Sonos system: I want a player for the music I have in my own collection. CDs that I have copied to a local SAN and are playing from there.
This is hardly possible now. I was lucky to get the old desktop app before you stopped access to it, so that I at least in that app can make playlists - which most of the time are visible and playable from the mobile app.
In the mobile app, it happens from time to time that "My music" appears - and when it does, it sometimes stay long enough for me to see the music collection - in a somewhat useless form, as all contributing artists and their mother and neighbors seem to be in the list that, therefore, becomes extremely long - and since it is not searchable, I can effectively see only the first few letters of the alphabet. When it works at all, that is.
And what can I do with that music overview? I can pick one tune. Or one album. And play it directly. That's it.
If I pick an album, I cannot see the tunes on it in the queue, which is called empty, even though the system does play song after song until that album is over.
If I try with the web app, I can always see My music, and I can pick an artist, if I want - but wanting this means accepting that all tunes by that artist will be played either alphabetically or in random order (if I push that button). I cannot get them played in the order they are on the albums.
So, back to the old desktop app that I now do not dare to upgrade, even though it constantly asks me to do so: There, I can make playlists of albums that will be played in the correct order.
You want so much that I upgrade that app, but what will come out of it? I expect nothing good.
My take on all this is that you have ruined my joy of ownership of that new thing, the Port, like you previously did with the older devices I had. It was wrong of me to give you another chance. You have not proved worthy of that.
So, apart from not buying any more devices from Sonos, due to this failure of delivering what you sold me, I will again start looking for an alternative.
You are in general lucky, in that the competition is very poor. I tried out Yamaha's MusicCast and Denon's Heos, and where Yamaha had great hardware, they had a terrible app. Where Denon had a useful app, they had malfunctioning hardware. Sonos used to be the combination of good hardware and software, even though you several times have shown a lack of sense of fair business, but now you have the most miserable app of them all, making it impossible to utilize the hardware, so it no longer matters if that is good or bad.
I hope that there is a fourth or a fifth player on the market that I can find and shift to. And since you obviously do not want me as a customer (making my ownership experience as miserable as possible), you probably wouldn't mind that I move to a competitor?
So, please advise on who is providing a system for playing music that actually works.”
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Jorwin, great email to sonos CEO but it was a predictable boiler plate response, the kind you get when a company outsources tech support, and spend 5 mins hearing them tell you how sorry they are, acknowledging our frustrations, but be assured, they are there to help you fix the problem, etc. etc. etc.
I doubt that 1 million emails like yours will have any effect.
I almost gave up on sonos way back when when suddenly my original many of them, speakers were no longer operable. And sonos response was, I think it was, return the old ones and they’d give you a $25 credit towards a new one, or some rediculus “solution”.
I gave all my sonos away but them decided I’ve give them another try.
Well, in my world of current technology, it’s 2 strikes and you’re out.
Dickos, thanks for the recommendation for sonos REPLACEMENTS. I hope others weigh in on their new replacement-of-sonos-speakers.
I am now going to Wiim Pro website and start purchasing.
Bye, bye, sonos.
as the saying goes, too little too late (if ever, in your case)
User302029 suggested “in the meanwhile, but the headphones.” the sonos headphones? Never in a million years. I would never buy another sonos product and I was just about to buy the sonos headphones. I’m glad I didn’t.
Sonos are dead to me. Literally as my setup does not work without the app and I've uninstalled it as it was visibly draining the battery. I've had the fanboyz who complain about newcomers moaning tell me my equipment is too old. For me it's anything BUT Sonos. I'd rather have a 20£ Bluetooth speaker from Argos than this again. I'm moving in October and will invest in quality then, probably Linn or equivalent with a dedicated music library server.
I switched to Wiim Pro boxes after 13 years of Sonos loyalty. Why did I switch? I had either a 3 or 4 zone setup over those years, that was mostly stable and a satisfying experience. Then came S2, obsoleting two of my players. The last two years with Sonos were spent constantly resetting Sonos players and being told my “wireless environment” is the issue. I finally realized that for the price of selling one my Sonos players on Ebay I could buy 3 Wiim Pro boxes that run on 5G (what a novel concept, modern wireless protocol). I’ve had six months of flawless whole house music and wonder why I and others stuck with Sonos so long. I still haven’t gotten over the feeling of being used.
I can agree on that - the WiiMs just work, and they sound nice. I have a WiiM AMP and a Pro Plus. Also, in my new system is a Bluesound Node connected to one of the otherwise miserable Denon amplifiers (bought for their HEOS that doesn’t work) having excellent quality of sound in the amplifier itself - and I really enjoy this setup.
Especially controlling it from Roon, this leading to a close to perfect system that I really enjoy. And if either Roon, Bluesound, or WiiM should decide to make “a Sonos” and destroy their app, I can continue listening to my music almost as if nothing had happened. I just added a dedicated small computer for Room (an Intel NUC) and it added additional pleasure to using the system. And using 5 or 6 Hz on the WiFi - out of the box - no problems at all, makes it as fast as it gets.
Sonos-loyalty is silly, when considering that even Sonos devices can be blended into this system, if I want - as just one more brand of dumb media players.
Jorwin, great email to sonos CEO but it was a predictable boiler plate response, the kind you get when a company outsources tech support, and spend 5 mins hearing them tell you how sorry they are, acknowledging our frustrations, but be assured, they are there to help you fix the problem, etc. etc. etc.
I doubt that 1 million emails like yours will have any effect.
I almost gave up on sonos way back when when suddenly my original many of them, speakers were no longer operable. And sonos response was, I think it was, return the old ones and they’d give you a $25 credit towards a new one, or some rediculus “solution”.
I gave all my sonos away but them decided I’ve give them another try.
Well, in my world of current technology, it’s 2 strikes and you’re out.
Yes, you are probably right - the support will not help. But then again, I told them that I didn’t want any other help than a suggestion of competing products - something that worked…
I agree with you about not giving them an endless amount of chances. They have clearly shown, through many acts over time, that they do not care about me, not even as a customer.
If they had low-cost products, I would expect it. Something like “we sell millions of devices, earning a dollar on each, so we cannot care about each individual customer - those who can use the products are our customers, the others are not”.
But their approach is rather to sell expensive products with the claim that they provide a great user experience and a load of functions. In such a scenario, they are ecxpected to earn a lot on each product, but for that, be ready to listen and adapt to their customers’ needs and wishes.
Maybe Sonos hate being in the enthusiast market? Maybe they prefer the one-dollar customers?
Sad, though, that they are probably too big to fail. Someone will buy them rather than them going bancrupt and close. Perhaps Harman? We probably will not get rid of Sonos anytime soon, and chances are that they will bump in and replace something else that we hopeful former users would try out instead, so that we in reality cannot escape.
When Sonos launched the S2-scandal, they had just raised their prices with 30% - and then offering 30% off for letting them literally kill and brick the old devices - or else... So, within a few months we were face with a dream dying, a threat to distroy our products, and a request to buy it all one more time at, effectively, full price.
But they could do that only because they had prepared for it years earlier with their forced logins to the devices (whic came over night with an update) and their ability to force updates to each device at their wish. They actually stole the devices we had bought from them - the usability of them, at least, and the control of their future use.
So in my book we are now at the third major attack from Sonos on their customers, and that is already one too many, according to your clever rule ;)
Keep the headphones. I won’t buy them.
Hi everybody that is Manuel from France , since the last version has been installed , it was impossible for me to listen music All my android 3 devices are blocked and so i could n’t run the app ; After some hours to debugged by trying install of older versions (no possible) . I decide to switch off that ****. And i’ve search for an alternative. First i found one which is functional and i installed it on my laptop . It’s working fine under linux the name of that app is sonos-controller-unofficial (github source). And i’m happy to get music now. I decide to search also an app under Android to replace definitively the sonos app which goes bad and low quality since the first version.
I have owned Sonos speakers for over 8 years. For a number of those years I have believed the speakers are worth the money. Not any more! The new app update is the nail in the coffin for me. I will not continue to buy into a premium brand that has such a poor understanding of their customers needs. I need to believe my investment is safe but I cannot see a future for the system any more.
The new app doesn’t even have the basic functionality of playing or shuffling an album. A fundamental failure that demonstrates a lack of care or consideration for the customer or the core product objectives. It is simply not fit for purpose.
A £30 Amazon Echo does a better job. The software is better produced and the company are improving the offering.
Get the basics right Sonos or you will soon join the elephant graveyard of failed companies.
I switched to Wiim Pro boxes after 13 years of Sonos loyalty. Why did I switch? I had either a 3 or 4 zone setup over those years, that was mostly stable and a satisfying experience. Then came S2, obsoleting two of my players. The last two years with Sonos were spent constantly resetting Sonos players and being told my “wireless environment” is the issue. I finally realized that for the price of selling one my Sonos players on Ebay I could buy 3 Wiim Pro boxes that run on 5G (what a novel concept, modern wireless protocol). I’ve had six months of flawless whole house music and wonder why I and others stuck with Sonos so long. I still haven’t gotten over the feeling of being used.
I can agree on that - the WiiMs just work, and they sound nice. I have a WiiM AMP and a Pro Plus. Also, in my new system is a Bluesound Node connected to one of the otherwise miserable Denon amplifiers (bought for their HEOS that doesn’t work) having excellent quality of sound in the amplifier itself - and I really enjoy this setup.
Especially controlling it from Roon, this leading to a close to perfect system that I really enjoy. And if either Roon, Bluesound, or WiiM should decide to make “a Sonos” and destroy their app, I can continue listening to my music almost as if nothing had happened. I just added a dedicated small computer for Room (an Intel NUC) and it added additional pleasure to using the system. And using 5 or 6 Hz on the WiFi - out of the box - no problems at all, makes it as fast as it gets.
Sonos-loyalty is silly, when considering that even Sonos devices can be blended into this system, if I want - as just one more brand of dumb media players.
In total agreement… I gave WiiM a shot a week or 2 ago and bought a “Pro” with some powered speakers… altogether cheaper than a single Sonos speaker. Pairs nicely with my Plex media server that is already serving up my music in the same way the Sonos controller did… except it actually works. I loved it so much, I basically just bought the equipment necessary to replace my entire Sonos setup. You should be finding them on eBay/Facebook marketplace soon! Will offer them at a good price to whomever wants to deal with this mess.
Interesting alternatives. I'm just about to sell my Sonos bricks and the Amazon Echo looks good.
Question for the WiiM crowd - can you use it without Plex? And can you link to any speakers?
Thanks in advance!
Interesting alternatives. I'm just about to sell my Sonos bricks and the Amazon Echo looks good.
Question for the WiiM crowd - can you use it without Plex? And can you link to any speakers?
Thanks in advance!
Plex is only used to serve up a local library of music you may have stored on a local PC/server/NAS. Most everything else is driven directly from the app… like hooking up to different music streaming services. It links to its own players… they have to be hooked up to a pair of powered speakers, an existing amplifier (Like a Sony, etc. already hooked up to speakers), or a pair of unpowered speakers using a WiiM Amp player. The nice thing is that they function as Chromecasts or Alexas -- all built in. So it would act as an Echo. It just really expands what you could stream to these devices, and not completely reliant on 1 single app.
Interesting alternatives. I'm just about to sell my Sonos bricks and the Amazon Echo looks good.
Question for the WiiM crowd - can you use it without Plex? And can you link to any speakers?
All WiiM devices speak DLNA and UPnP, so they are compatible with a good variety of music players. Check out Audirvana, a beautiful player with a focus on high audio quality with excellent local library support (as well as lossless streaming from Deezer and others).
Some months back I added a WiiM Mini to my Sonos Five, creating a bi-lingual (Sonos + DLNA) speaker … works like a champ!
Thanks for all your help. This is the useful thread. And none of the Sonos groupies are here to browbeat, bludgeon, berate and humiliate anyone asking for help (they really are a cult). I've sold most of my Sonos kit now so looking forward to building a new home audio system when I move later in the year and a big chunk will be based on the advice here. In the meantime I've got an app called Cloudbeats that allows you to play anything from for example OneDrive. So I'm using my JBL and playing anything I want.
Before continuing I am still using the old s2 app and firmware 16.1 , I bought a WiiM mini which was delivered Friday and connected it to my 5s via line in and have listened to music more than usual.
i also grouped with my moves and listened in the garden it sounds better than before and my Qobuz is showing 24/192 in the WiiM app it also has a 10 band equaliser so I can at last shape the sound to my taste. so I have a replacement path to follow and can utilise my Sonos speakers until they fail can recommend WiiM so far using the most basic thing they sell guessing the more expensive ones just add connections and features
Hi everybody that is Manuel from France , since the last version has been installed , it was impossible for me to listen music All my android 3 devices are blocked and so i could n’t run the app ; After some hours to debugged by trying install of older versions (no possible) . I decide to switch off that ****. And i’ve search for an alternative. First i found one which is functional and i installed it on my laptop . It’s working fine under linux the name of that app is sonos-controller-unofficial (github source). And i’m happy to get music now. I decide to search also an app under Android to replace definitively the sonos app which goes bad and low quality since the first version.
Manuel - if you’re running Linux anyway then you should be able to find the app called Noson in all of the main repositories.
It’s a free app by Jean-Luc Barriere, and it has been in existence since 2015. It is maintained, and it works well, though with very little multilingual help (understandable - it’s built by just one person, not a corporation).
Replaced my Sonos play 1 with a Denon Home 150 and I am quite happy with it.
The sound quality is excellent, allthough tbh I like the Sonos sound better.
The Denon does have some great features that Sonos has not 1) speaker is recognized immediately 2) volume control works without delay 3) When you click on a song, it plays immediately
I was able to get a decent price for the Play 1. My other speakers are on auction sites now. A decade long I have enjoyed the Sonos system, but this will come to an end within the next few weeks.
Why Sonos decided to ruin their system remains a mystery to me. Hope for the people that stay true to Sonos, that things will improve on the short term.
Goodbye
Why Sonos decided to ruin their system remains a mystery to me.
The reason is pretty simple - Sonos management were so desperate to release a new product (some rather ordinary headphones) that they gambled on forcing untested and unready software on their entire existing customer base.
The gamble was an appalling failure of judgement, and IMO they will pay a price. My guess is that they will lose a lot more customers from dissatisfaction than they will gain by selling those headphones.
Interesting alternatives. I'm just about to sell my Sonos bricks and the Amazon Echo looks good.
Question for the WiiM crowd - can you use it without Plex? And can you link to any speakers?
All WiiM devices speak DLNA and UPnP, so they are compatible with a good variety of music players. Check out Audirvana, a beautiful player with a focus on high audio quality with excellent local library support (as well as lossless streaming from Deezer and others).
Some months back I added a WiiM Mini to my Sonos Five, creating a bi-lingual (Sonos + DLNA) speaker … works like a champ!
The WiiM devices come with a quite attractive and useful app, but adding Roon to the mix makes it all more than just attractive - it becomes outright beautiful! A pleasant user experience with great sound and multi-room features that can even be mixed with products of other brands.
Recommended!
Why Sonos decided to ruin their system remains a mystery to me.
The reason is pretty simple - Sonos management were so desperate to release a new product (some rather ordinary headphones) that they gambled on forcing untested and unready software on their entire existing customer base.
The gamble was an appalling failure of judgement, and IMO they will pay a price. My guess is that they will lose a lot more customers from dissatisfaction than they will gain by selling those headphones.
I think I disagree with this assessment. They could have updated a few graphics and rolled out a new release and everyone would have been happy. But to purposely remove some functionality and hobble other functionality speaks of something different.
I believe they have an agenda here and they want a certain segment of the customer base out of the picture. IMO they are dumb but I don’t think they’re stupid. Time will tell. Maybe they are both dumb and stupid.
Terry Bradshaw once said “I may be dumb but I’m not stupid”
Utter nonsense.
Just bought my second Wiim
I know lots here vowing to ditch their systems - maybe some will some wont
Slowly but surely, I am replacing the whole thing
Truly the worst app experience I’ve ever had. And I’m a super smart, reasonable and humble person. Capable and competent, a little saucy, and totally humble person who just can’t get Sonos to work for him no matter what his little heart desires. I used to love Sonos. Now it’s barely useable and I’m opting to just listen to music on my phone most days. Where can a good man find succor?
Not in Sonos...
So, please advise on who is providing a system for playing music that actually works.”
Just set up ‘Connect Spotify’, it found all devices, including Sonos Amps, & the GUI is pretty good. Plays all of my ‘Library’ from our servers here as well :-):
Flowers Name
Thanks for your Suggestion!
Let’s face it, saying we’re going to ditch Sonos sounds like all the people who said they would ditch Twitter. Are we really going to switch to the Threads equivalent of speakers?
I 100% ditched Twitter long ago and never looked back.
