Loss of Calm Integration in January 2025

I received the same thing. And we just signed up for a Calm Lifetime back Friday deal. We use it is. All rooms. Calm on Sonos is our bedtime routine. I don’t want to airplay I want to control it like I do now. I guess I will have to get creative.  

Unfortunately, Sonos has no financial agreement with Calm, merely a distribution agreement. It’s up to Calm if they choose not to maintain the API and servers necessary to support Sonos. It’s certainly a distressing thing, as I’ve been a non-paying member of Calm for years. Which means I may be part of the issue, not paying for the source, albeit it fairly restricted as to what Calm offers.

I hope you’ve expressed your concerns to Calm. Sonos has no part in this decision, if I read the Sonos partners page properly, as well as the Sonos financials. 

This is completely unacceptable... I use this app integration everyday, on multiple speakers. I also just bought a lifetime subscription to Calm, and it was only because it integrated into my Sonos system! Why the hell would they end integration? We need to create an intense pressure campaign to barrage Calm and get them to keep the integration going. 

While I agree, I’ve never seen a rep from Calm here in the Sonos boards.

Sonos does seem to have lost a few music services recently. Wonder why? Does Sonos make it harder for services to keep up?

There have been some changes in requirements for the new app, but they don’t seem onerous to me. However, they do require actual work, and if a supplier doesn’t have the cycles (or the expertise - maybe they laid off the Sonos-SMAPI dude?) then pulling it is easier than updating it.

Certainly a possibility. And it feels as though there is a general ‘belt tightening’ in tech right now.

But the contrast, that I know nothing about, is the loss of associated customers. I can see some percentage of ‘I listen only on Sonos’ folks to stop paying for the source, since it’s no longer available. How that equates to ‘we need to keep a SMAPI specialist on hand’ is unclear to me. 

In a lot of ways, I consider Sonos to be like a TV. It ‘shows’ what is fed to it. It the streamer (the channel) wants to shut down, and not provide a channel to the TV, that’s really not the responsibility of the TV manufacturer. They’re still making the TV. As Sonos continues to make their speakers and system. 

This was posted on Google. 
 

Sonos did not actively "cancel" Calm, but rather the integration between the two platforms ended because Calm decided to discontinue the necessary API and server support needed to maintain the connection with Sonos, likely due to a lack of financial agreement or strategic alignment between the two companies; meaning users can no longer access Calm content directly through the Sonos app. 

I have expressed my disappointment directly to Calm. I would urge others to do the same.

The email is support@calmhelp.zendesk.com

This speculation is incorrect. Sonos has never had any financial agreements with any music services.  Incorporation into Sonos is open to any music services who wishes to participate, and it is free of charge.  There is a level of effort from the music partner to develop and maintain their SMAPI interface, which may be the issue here. 

Thank you, writing an email to them right now. 

I wrote an email to them a few days back, and was actually met with snark and resistance. And a tinge of good old-fashioned gaslighting. I don't think they give a flying s*** about us. 

I’d assume they ‘know’ how many users connect to them through Sonos, although I’d be surprised if they share that data with their CS folks.

I don’t know how much is involved with maintaining the connection with Sonos is, but I’d think it isn’t all that much. which makes the choice more inexplicable, and perhaps terrifying for their long term survival, but that is pure speculation on my part. 

This is the end of the road with Sonos for me. First the disgusting new app and all its complications, then this. Calm is the service I use most, mainly to play their wonderful selection of sleep sounds and “white noise” overnight in my very noisy environment. I am a paying Calm subscriber. I had even invested in several Lutron Caseta controllers specifically for easy one-button selection of Calm Radio stations with Sonos in our main bedroom. It doesn't matter to me which company instigated this decision. I'm certain that if it was Calm, it was the result of unnecessary API work created by the annoying changes Sonos has made recently and by the fact that Sonos’ reputation is now a shadow of what it once was.

Like others, I have expressed my disappointment in a email to Calm Radio.

Ignore my rant. (I think) I have since happily discovered that this discussion is reference to Calm, not Calm Radio. Although I subscribe to both, it's Calm Radio that's far more important to me. Hence, the end of the Sonos road may now be more distant 😄

I didn't realise that Calm has limited integration with Spotify. I've just emailed them asking if they plan to increase the content available there given the removal of the direct Sonos integration. 

I escalated my complaint about the loss of Sonos integration, and got a full refund of my lifetime subscription. 

Hopefully this will help change their minds when they start losing real money. 

Did you request cancellation or did they simply respond in that measure? 
I just sent them this note:

Dear Calm Support Team,

I hope this email finds you well. I'm writing to express my disappointment regarding the recent discontinuation of Calm's integration with Sonos systems. As an early lifetime member of Calm, I've greatly valued the convenience and ease of accessing Calm content directly through my Sonos app.

While I understand that business decisions are often complex, I wanted to share my perspective on this change:

1. **Potential benefits for Calm**: I recognise that the previous setup may have had disadvantages for Calm that I'm not aware of. Without knowing the details, I can imagine scenarios where direct integration might not have aligned with Calm's long-term strategy or financial interests.

2. **User experience impact**: For long-time users like myself, the Sonos integration provided a seamless way to manage in-home internet traffic and avoid congestion issues that can arise with AirPlay or Bluetooth streaming. This convenience was a significant factor in my daily Calm usage.

3. **Customer engagement opportunity**: I strongly urge Calm to engage with customers who are affected by this change. I will note here that I am not at this point considering cancelling my membership, as there is little value in that option for either of us, and in fact, a net erosion of value for me, which be detrimental to me at the stage of life I am currently enduring. Instead, and staying true to my collaborative nature, I just feel robbed of the opportunity to save on an opportunity that was valuable to many customers like myself. Thus, for what it’s worth to your management team, might I recommend that you consider creating a forum or feedback channel where we can:

   - Share our concerns and experiences

   - Hear Calm's perspective on the decision

   - Collaboratively explore solutions that protect Calm's interests while keeping customers calm. [Every pun intended there, pardon me.]

As a dedicated user, I'm invested in Calm's success and would welcome the opportunity to contribute to discussions about future integrations or alternative solutions. Your commitment to customer-centricity has always been evident, and I believe this situation presents an excellent opportunity to reinforce that commitment.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this matter and hope that Calm will consider re-engaging with the Sonos user community to find a mutually beneficial path forward.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best regards,

James

Note: this email was modified from its original version that was generated via a prompt into Perplexity. 

We have a Sonos One in each of our children’s bedrooms and use Calm for their betimes stories etc. I’ve just tried casting the story to the speaker but I it only picks up the Google nest that we have in the kitchen. Does anyone know if this should work - we both have a Google Pixel Phone.

Thanks

You can use Bluetooth on your Sonos speakers.

I will end up canceling calm bc of this. I used it with all of my alarms and notifications on my Sonos speakers. And I liked it didn’t have to occupy my phone to play anything from calm. It is the man reason I stay with calm. They lost a customer in me. 

Idc whose fault this is but I'm upset as I used this integration with my kids stories and for my bedtime soundscapes. Sonos really has gone down hilll and I say this with thousands of dollars spent in the ecosystem. Please fix this Sonos or Calm. 

We use the Calm rain sounds every night to go to sleep. . I’m pissed. 

I do care who’s issue/fault it is otherwise I would not know who to complain to.  Sonos gets a bad rap, deservedly so, but not in this instance.  

Lobby Calm, like others above have, and maybe they will make a bit of effort to resolve the issue?

I complained to Calm as they pulled the service from the Sonos platform and are the ones who can bring it back.