Bring Back the Sonos CR200 Controller!

The Google Nexus phone or tablet is a safe bet.

Alternatively you could consider simply getting a Motorola Moto E or Moto G phone and operating it SIM-free.
Given the local pricing, the Moto E is the best priced. With Boost, I have a decent Sonos net signal across, so presumably it will work on that and stay always on in controller mode? None of the searching for network thing even if I use it after a day of leaving it in idle mode?
And will it work in the future as long as the device does without needing to upgrade the OS regardless of Sonos controller version upgrades?
PS: If on Sonosnet, when using in a room I suppose it will communicate directly to the Sonos unit there, instead of back to the router in another room?

Given the local pricing, the Moto E is the best priced. With Boost, I have a decent Sonos net signal across, so presumably it will work on that and stay always on in controller mode? None of the searching for network thing even if I use it after a day of leaving it in idle mode?
And will it work in the future as long as the device does without needing to upgrade the OS regardless of Sonos controller version upgrades?
PS: If on Sonosnet, when using in a room I suppose it will communicate directly to the Sonos unit there, instead of back to the router in another room?
It would be configurable to stay on the Wi-Fi even when sleeping. Seeing as Sonos continues to support ancient versions of Android there's no reason to think that an OS would be obsoleted medium term.

When on SonosNet the device will tend to home to the strongest signal. How aggressively it swaps between Sonos units as you walk around depends on the Android device.

One point to note about the Moto E: it only has 4GB of storage, leaving not a lot of room for apps. It will however take an SD card. I'll have to leave others to comment about how well Sonos operates off the SD card under KitKat.

But I often find that when I am accessing playlists after some idle time on the touch, the controller app disappears

If the app is disappearing, it is shutting down due to a memory issue, possibly a conflict with another app.

If the app is disappearing, it is shutting down due to a memory issue, possibly a conflict with another app.
How do I identify if the latter? I have reinstalled it a few times with no improvement.
My daughter who knows these things more than I do has just advised me to move from my 5 year old BlackBerry phone that needs changing anyway to a Moto E/G, so I will probably do that anyway now, based on ratty's advice as well -thanks for that. Saves having an extra device for Sonos control.

It is my opinion that "dropping the CR200 dedicated controller" was the WORST decision ever made by Sonos.
Wake up Sonos. Even Bose understands how vital a dedicated controller is. Bring back the CR200!!!

Well, there is no need to launch a new controller, in my eyes. Just let the existing devices connect to the system and leave a minimum of functionality on them for just doing, what we do with any other remote control. There is no need to have it more comfortable as a simple mp3-player.

When the device drops dead, well, that's it. But no need to kill it. I paid for it, I want to use it anyhow as long as possible. I feel cheated by the release note, because it didn't say, that the CR200 will not be usable anyway anymore. A reduction of functions - that's what I expected having read everything carefully.

Here's my alternative deal: I send in my two perfectly working CR200 and SONOS wil send me a PLAY1 for 30 EUR.

It is my opinion that "dropping the CR200 dedicated controller" was the WORST decision ever made by Sonos.
Wake up Sonos. Even Bose understands how vital a dedicated controller is. Bring back the CR200!!!

Well, there is no need to launch a new controller, in my eyes. Just let the existing devices connect to the system and leave a minimum of functionality on them for just doing, what we do with any other remote control. There is no need to have it more comfortable as a simple mp3-player.

When the device drops dead, well, that's it. But no need to kill it. I paid for it, I want to use it anyhow as long as possible. I feel cheated by the release note, because it didn't say, that the CR200 will not be usable anyway anymore. A reduction of functions - that's what I expected having read everything carefully.



You're responding to a year old thread and I think you might have got hold of the wrong end of the stick, the CR200 is still usable, albeit with reduced functionality, exactly as you suggest (hell, the CR100 is still usable!). I'm not sure why you think they can't be used at all now?

You're responding to a year old thread and I think you might have got hold of the wrong end of the stick, the CR200 is still usable, albeit with reduced functionality, exactly as you suggest (hell, the CR100 is still usable!). I'm not sure why you think they can't be used at all now?

Hi, two weeks ago I updated to 5.4 and tried everything to get my two CR200 connected to the rest of the SONOS system. No way. They are fully excluded and won't catch any signal from any other piece of SONOS. Its a new phenomenon, which I really hate to admit.

You're responding to a year old thread and I think you might have got hold of the wrong end of the stick, the CR200 is still usable, albeit with reduced functionality, exactly as you suggest (hell, the CR100 is still usable!). I'm not sure why you think they can't be used at all now?

Hi, two weeks ago I updated to 5.4 and tried everything to get my two CR200 connected to the rest of the SONOS system. No way. They are fully excluded and won't catch any signal from any other piece of SONOS. Its a new phenomenon, which I really hate to admit.

This is not correct, the following is from the 5.4 release notes:

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR SONOS CONTROL (CR200) OWNERS

Starting with Sonos version 5.4, the Room Settings, Add Music Services, Manage Services, Manage Music Library, and Add a Sonos Component options will no longer appear on the CONTROL Settings menu. You will no longer be able to use the CONTROL to:

Set up a new Sonos system
Add new components
Change room settings
Create a stereo pair
Add/manage music services
Add/manage music libraries
Instead, use the Sonos app on your smartphone, tablet or computer to perform these tasks.

There are many things you can't now do with a CR200 but they are still supported.

If this has happened after an update it's probably a duplicate IP address, you need to shut everything on your network down (including the CR200, take the battery out), then restart the router, restart your wired Sonos devices, then your wireless devices (including the CR200 at this stage) then anything else connected to your network.

In my view the iOS (and presumably Android) apps are way better than the CR100 and CR200 however one thing I really going to miss if I switch to wifi mode (seems like I have to because of better performance – not sure yet) are the physical buttons on the CR100. In som situations, in my case like when working the kitchen these are superior in every way controlling volume and play/pause. On the other hand I can find these buttons on my Sonos player so maybe I overrate the remotes. But they are kind of nice.

Another alternative is Insteon home automation. It's expensive to start but if you are considering home automation the Sonos integration could be just the ticket.
http://www.insteon.com/sonos/
8 key physical controller with on/off, Volume up and down then 5 radio stations as the other buttons and I could replace our Kitchen digital radio without upsetting my wife!

The only trouble is the "coming soon" tag. That could be a very long time 😞