Excellent advice

How did you do that? Do you mind sharing the steps? I’ve tried to get the previous APK but when opened, it opens in the new version of the app, even though the APK version is the one before the update. Thank you.

No problem,

I uninstalled the sonos app.

Went to apkmirror.com on my phone browser, and downloaded Sonos 16.1 (arm64 v8a). Then opened the download folder and ran the install. (You may have to select the permissions on your phone to allow you to do that). Following install I turned off wi-fi and mobile data, then went to play store and selected do not automatically update apps. Then turned wi-fi and mobile data back on, then ran the app and signed in.

cheers

It worked. Thank you. So much better. 

@ChrisJC 

Thanks for the guide on how to install the earlier version of the App.

What a shambles Sonos have made of this new release. 

Thanks for your info ChrisJC. I’ve now successfully reverted to 16.1 using the download from apkmirror.com, which seems to be a safe site as it’s said to be run by the people who run Android Police. I downloaded Sonos 16.1 (arm64 v8a) on my Linux machine and checked the SHA-1 and SHA-256 sums then transferred the file to my phone before installing it.

I started getting problems with the app late last night, although my wife’s phone was still OK but by the time I came to check her phone this morning, the update had been applied. Fortunately my old phone hadn’t updated so I immediately switched off automatic updates and did the same on my chromebook.

The main problem for us is the loss of access to our NAS which holds all our audio files. A lesser problem is the loss of Sleep Timer which I often use at night. No doubt there are others.

I agree that this update is a complete shambles, almost as if Sonos were trying to make people switch to other speakers, which I’ve seen several people threatening to do.

You don’t *have* to stop updating all apps on the phone - I just turned off automatic updates for the Sonos app.

After it was all running properly again I went in to Settings>System>System Updates and turned off “Update Automatically”, just in case there’s some equally unhelpful update headed for the speaker itself.

Yes - sorry - you are right, I should have made that clear. I turned auto update back on but disabled it for the sonos app only as you say above.

thaks

I have the old version now on my Android phone but the new one on my iPad. I have turned off all auto updates on the google play store so will just pick which ones I want my phone to update until Sonos sorts out this app!

Nice that you can revert at least on Android!

Does anyone know if something similar to the above can be done for an iPhone please?

Your instructions work! Thanks so much!

reply to Grizzly-44:

theverge.com says: “There’s no way to downgrade back to the previous S2 app — not on iPhone, at least.”

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/8/24151704/sonos-new-app-bad-reviews-missing-features

Totally agree: the new app on Android is even worse than the new app on iOS. Sonos Favorites—kinda the first thing you encounter—simply does not work for local library albums (they’re grayed out) on Android, while that does work on iOS.

THANKS to super-helpful souls on these forums, I learned how to rollback to 16.1 on my Kindle Fire tablets. I have two of them as dedicated (wait for it) Sonos controllers.

BIG THANK YOU, ChrisJC! Now I can use the Sonos again. 

I’ll join the chorus of boos for this update!  As a software developer I would have been fired for this kind of update.

My thanks also to ChrisJC and everyone else with the version revert instructions.and auto update suggestions.  I’m happy to be back on version 16.1 enjoying (in my opinion) the older and much superior interface and functionality.  I love Sonos but am now thinking about the need for a backup plan in case this is a sign of things to come!

Thanks for this information! Just spent way longer than I wanted to getting the old app up and running. Had they paired the app rollout with a system update this would have been so much worse.

@ChrisJC thank you so much for this. 

I was stuck with an alarm that had lost it's Spotify playlist so had reverted to the Sonos Chime. With no way to turn it off I was faced with the prospect of angry early mornings until Sonos felt bored enough to give me access back to my own music system. And who knows when that might be because they appear to be stuck in full-on gaslighting that "THIS IS A MASSIVE COURAGEOUS STEP FORWARD AND YOU MUST LOVE IT".

If anyone at Sonos is wondering how this strategy of contempt for their customers works out I invite them to Google "Gerald Ratner".

You shoudn’t and don’t have to disable automatic updates for all apps (dangerous!) - you can just disable updates for the SONOS S2 app (search for the app and disable automatic updates for this app alone in the menu).

At least SONOS should release the 16.1 app as a separate app for “power users” like the S1 app.

you are of course correct. I’ve disabled auto updated for sonos. All other updates remain.

Very usefull, thank you very much!!!

How to so so in iPhone? This update us a complete disaster!

i habe an old iOs backup, would that work to restore?

Thank you ChrisJC! I followed your instructions and was able to revert back to 16.1. Such a relief. I’ve come to depend on my Sonos system in many areas of my life, especially now that I’m raising my special needs granddaughter. Playlists, alarms, numbered volume controls, adjusting speakers easily and efficiently in every room is crucial to helping her regulate her mind and body and also to falling asleep and staying asleep each night. Despite feeling relief that the “old” version is up and running again, I am researching Sonos alternatives so I have a backup in place when Sonos pulls this utterly stupid move again--which I’m sure they will. Sonos developers are clearly not Sonos users.

Thank you so much for the tips to uninstall and then reinstall the old version. What an utter shit show caused by Sonos Dev team. The Sonos arrogance in NOT owning this disaster is just as disturbing. I gave up after about 40mins waiting on hold to talk to someone to get my system fixed. I used to tell all my friends and family about how awesome Sonos is ... NO MORE... I will NOT recommend Sonos to anyone anymore. Your lack of communications, your lack of assistance, your lack of taking ownership in this HUGE screwup has erased any confidence in Sonos that previously existed. 

The new app is garbage - so thankful I'm on Android & could follow the steps advised by ChrisJC (thank you).

I've been using Sonos for years mainly to replace clunky (but fun to configure!) Squeezebox solutions to access music I own, in the format I want, with metadata and album art just the way I like it on the type of storage platform I prefer.

It defies logic to take something whole, strip out 70% of it's substance and replace it with something sub- standard dressed up in marketing bull, and I don't understand why Sonos risk destroying multiple consumer relationships, 20 years+ in my case.

Along the way, it seems.that Sonos has forgotten that music is personal. I take it personally that I can no longer enjoy my music the way I want to enjoy it with the new Sonos app.

I'm not a dinosaur and happily adapt to change in my personal and professional life. Even when other Sonos decisions were questioned (S2 vs. S1 for example) I've kept the faith as Sonos still provided the best  software and hardware platform experience for me to enjoy my music. 

However destroying the S2 app for the dog mess that is the new app is unforgivable. I will be researching my next music platform of choice as I no longer trust Sonos or the incompetent app strategy and direction the company appears to be heading.

I would be sacked if I delivered something of the 'quality' of the new Sonos app in my business.

Al

Does anyone know a better sonos alternative? Does sony/bose/b&o offers something similar?