TuneIn no longer supported, custom urls no more?

  • 21 December 2022
  • 34 replies
  • 1695 views

Userlevel 7
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I see that in the Add Services dialog, TuneIn is listed as “no longer supported” (on mobile, Desktop doesn’t include the summary text). We are supposed to use “TuneIn (New)”, which requires a TuneIn account to work.

Looks like this means we cannot add custom URLs any more once TuneIn (classic?) is removed?

Support, can we get an official statement on this please?


34 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @controlav 

Thanks for your post!

Unfortunately, we cannot comment on future updates.

Hi @controlav 

Thanks for your post!

Unfortunately, we cannot comment on future updates.

@controlav wasn't asking about future updates, this update has already happened. The custom URL ability has been removed, and so the question is more about an official comment regarding its removal.

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Oneandonlymort & @controlav 

That’s a fair point. I was just relaying the current, official answer, which admittedly seems a bit out of date.

I’m working on getting a better answer for you, but TuneIn is definitely still supported in the time being.

Hi @Corry P

I understand you can’t comment on future updates.

I can see currently there are 2 x TuneIn options available on SONOS music services called ‘TuneIn’ and ‘TuneIn (New)’ on the latest app.

Are you able to comment on the likeliness that the old TuneIn service will be kept available for a while Is that down to TuneIn?

Does SONOS try to keep legacy software available as long as possible?

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @PhilJonesDev 

I’m told that you will be able to continue using the original TuneIn service, if you so wish.

Please note that it is not Sonos that maintains each service integration, so we cannot comment on how long each will last.

I hope this helps.

Userlevel 1

I’m concerned about this too. I spent a lot of time adding many custom URLS over the years, including lots of higher bitrate streams from my paid subscription service Digitally Imported (eg. the owners of RadioTunes, JazzRadio, ROCKRADIO, etc), to the “My Radio Stations” section of TuneIn.
Now, when I open up the legacy TuneIn service in Sonos, there is a message that this legacy service will eventually go away, and be replaced with the “new” TuneIn service.

It reads: “Is TuneIn going away? No, TuneIn is simply launching a new service and the current one will be removed from the Sonos app soon.” It doesn’t say how soon the legacy TuneIn service will be removed.

Since the “new” TuneIn service currently has no similar  “My Radio Stations” feature/section (that I can see), are they just going to pull the plug on this feature permanently, and therefore, will all of the custom URLs I created simply disappear?

I will be mad if these custom URLs aren’t automatically saved somewhere, since Sonos directed users to add our own streams via this method for years! https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/add-an-internet-radio-station-to-sonos

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

I will be mad if these custom URLs aren’t automatically saved somewhere, since Sonos directed users to add our own streams via this method for years! https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/add-an-internet-radio-station-to-sonos

My iOS app (see profile) will let you export your custom radio station urls to a file as a backup.

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Since Sonos says the options a provider like TuneIn provides are largely up to them, maybe contact TuenIn and let them know this feature is highly regarded by Sonos users?

Since Sonos Radio (Free) relies on streams provided by TuneIn, maybe Sonos can provide this feature? We’ll see when TuneIn (old) stops.

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

Just a thought. If you would use a TuneIn account, could you not ad a radiostation through their app, even when you do not use the premium version? Would this added station then be carried over to Sonos?

Userlevel 1

I contacted TuneIn and they basically said the My Stations feature will not be added to the “new” TuneIn, so I assume I will be losing all of the custom URLs I created over the years.

 

Additionally, while I can add a custom url to TuneIn using their PC desktop app, for some reason, the full  “library” (ie the list of all of my favorited stations) I created using the desktop app, does not show up in the favorites section of legacy or “new” TuneIn apps inside Sonos. Even though I’ve logged into TuneIn inside Sonos with the same credentials, I get a different and shorter favorites list in the Sonos version of both TuneIn apps (legacy and new) versus the list I see while using my PC, Android, iOS versions of TuneIn. 
 

Unless this is a bug, it leaves me to conclude that TuneIn doesn’t pass through the library of favorites (including any custom urls) to Sonos. So, the suggestion above to add custom URLs to the desktop version of TuneIn doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t pass into Sonos. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @controlav et al,

I’ve come across some more information that I’d like to share with you all:

  • Customers who already have manually added stations will have these stations automatically migrated to My Sonos as favourites, so they will not be lost or become unavailable.
  • The new TuneIn container for the Sonos app will not have the ability to add manual stations, but the TuneIn app will, and any added there will automatically migrate to the (new) Sonos TuneIn container, if logged into the same account.

The latter feature is not yet currently not working but it is our intention to work together with TuneIn to bring this feature in as soon as possible.

For now, you can of course still use the “old” TuneIn container in the Sonos app.

I hope this helps.

 

Userlevel 1

I made a mistake saying I was able to add a custom URL using the TuneIn website on my PC. That feature isn’t available there. 
 

However, the TuneIn Pro app on my IPhone currently does allow adding custom URL’s from the Library tab.

But, the list of favorites in my Library in the Tunein Pro app on my iPhone doesn’t currently sync with the list of favorites on the “new” Sonos Tunein app. The favorites list in the Sonos “new” Tunein app is much shorter and is missing many of my favorites even though I’m logged into the same account as my Tunein iOS account. 
 

Hopefully that’s simply because the “syncing between the Sonos TuneIn service and other devices with TuneIn accounts” feature hasn’t been enabled yet.
 

It is great to hear that Sonos plans to migrates the list of saved favorites, including custom URLs, to the “My Sonos” tab. In doing so, will Sonos concurrently increase the number of available “slots” in My Sonos (which is currently limited to a fixed number) to accommodate this migration?

 

I tried adding a custom url to my favorites via the TuneIn app, but I can't. I use the free version. Is it that? Or am I doing something else wrong? I can play the custom url, but that's the only thing.

Userlevel 7
Badge +17

@Gemstone035 See the above message by a Sonos employee that this “feature is (…] currently not working but it is our intention to work together with TuneIn to bring this feature in as soon as possible.”

Great to hear that Sonos knows that this problem exists. I can also confirm that the added custom URLs in the TuneIn iOS App are not synced with „TuneIn New“ Sonos app. 
 

I use this feature extensively for hq radio streams from DI Radio and for streaming sound from my turntable via custom radio station running on a raspberry. So please don’t remove the old TuneIn app before you somehow re-integrated that feature into TuneIn Sonos integration. TuneIn support didn’t give eny feedback if they are even working on it btw.

 

 

Hi @controlav et al,

I’ve come across some more information that I’d like to share with you all:

  • Customers who already have manually added stations will have these stations automatically migrated to My Sonos as favourites, so they will not be lost or become unavailable.
  • The new TuneIn container for the Sonos app will not have the ability to add manual stations, but the TuneIn app will, and any added there will automatically migrate to the (new) Sonos TuneIn container, if logged into the same account.

The latter feature is not yet currently not working but it is our intention to work together with TuneIn to bring this feature in as soon as possible.

For now, you can of course still use the “old” TuneIn container in the Sonos app.

I hope this helps.

 

This makes me immensely happy as I've some new speakers under the trial and they'd have been going straight back if they'd removed the custom URL streams! 

Are there any other apps that permit custom streams?

 

how about radio.net or Plex?

 

is there a cost to publishing an app on TuneIn?

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Are there any other apps that permit custom streams?

how about radio.net or Plex?

is there a cost to publishing an app on TuneIn?

Custom streams are actually nothing to do with TuneIn:

  • When you add a custom stream in the Sonos app it is stored in the Sonos database, same as your Favorites, Sonos playlists, local library data etc.
  • When you play one from within the TuneIn section of the browsing experience, the url is extracted from the database and sent to the group coordinator (speaker) to play.

TuneIn themselves have nothing to do with it, despite how the UX is presented right now.

The other question:

Sonos doesn’t pay for access, nor receives payment from anyone (minor caveat is Sonos HD radio, I think), based on looking at their financial reports. Anyone can request being part of the Sonos ecosystem, there are instructions at the Sonos partners page.

 

@controlav 

 

thanks for this

 

I must add when I wrote

is there a cost to publishing an app on TuneIn?

 

i actually meant app on Sonos not on TuneIn 

 

@Airgetlam comment is where I was aiming at  

 

so the TuneIn app is just a convenient way of storing a book mark to the stream, it should be in the Sonos app not a third party app.

 

kinda looks like Sonos wrote the original TuneIn app and now TuneIn are doing their own without some features  

 

realistically Sonos should add the custom streams to their app then  

 

would make more sense overall.

 

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Curious if any updates on this or anyone has found a work-around?  My fav thing to listen to is a custom internet station and it sucks I can no longer use my SONOS system to stream this.

Userlevel 7
Badge +23

Curious if any updates on this or anyone has found a work-around?  My fav thing to listen to is a custom internet station and it sucks I can no longer use my SONOS system to stream this.

Sorry what is the issue for you right now? Are you lacking TuneIn (Classic) on your system?

Userlevel 7
Badge +16

You would think the logical next step would be for Sonos to add custom URL stream input to their own APP rather than leaning on 3rd parties to do it for them.

Does seem very odd?.

Maybe down to not being able to monetize custom URLs..

You would think the logical next step would be for Sonos to add custom URL stream input to their own APP rather than leaning on 3rd parties to do it for them.

Does seem very odd?.

Maybe down to not being able to monetize custom URLs..

Always the suspicion that Sonos is unable to monetize this, or monetize that. I suggest you read back through the thread.

The custom URLs have no TuneIn involvement at all. They’re stored directly in the system. The old TuneIn menu was merely a convenient place to put the UI at the time. If one adds a URL, favorites it into My Sonos, then removes the TuneIn service entirely the URL will continue to work fine.

Hopefully Sonos will find a new menu location for custom URLs. I only retain (old) TuneIn for this purpose as UK laws so unhelpfully block it from listing anything interesting. 

So is there any clarity yet about our ability to continue adding custom URLs in one way or another once these changes to TuneIn come into effect? My custom URLs are saved in my ‘Favourites’ as ‘TuneIn’ stations, even though they have nothing to do with TuneIn.

Maintaining the existing URLs is one thing, but certain stations change their details over time, and – sometimes one even discovers a new station so needing to add new feeds is crucial.

It would be great to have a native feature in SONOS to do this… without any app or subscription. This is actually a key feature for many people who were sold the ability to listen to internet radio.

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