Dead spots on CR200

My replacement CR200 died recently. Contacted sonos, obtained RMA and replaced the unit. Brilliant service as usual.

Shame I can't say the same about the CR200 :rolleyes:

Out of interest, Sonos say they still make the CONTROL (CR200) although don't sell it now. I guess they are still expecting the return of a lot of duff units.

John Lewis @ Bluewater had them for sale yesterday.

I'm on my 3rd controller in 2 years.

Both failures have been bottom right hand corner of screen. Sonos has dealt wonderfully with the replacements. No hassle, next day pick up from my house and delivery of a new one a few days later.

So, for now, I am happy. However, if it happens again, I will have to consider other options.

Sonos probably treats these on a case-by-case basis. Give them a call.

So the dead spot on my controller has got worse and now covers the play now and add to queue function making the controller useless.

I contacted SONOS and got a response from Gary Quinn asking me to remove the battery and replace it to see if that helped, if not they would process an IN WARRANTY RMA.

The battery thing worked until recently.

I contacted Gary again asking for the RMA but now they will not do it as IN WARRANTY eventhough I have an email stating they will. They want £100 now.

So by putting up with having to remove and replace the battery every week I have now got to pay £100!

Not impressed at all. I always held customer support in high regard unil now.

I was seeking support for the general principle that repeated failures should be handled through the Small Claims procedure, if the owner is UK-based. I think there is a legal right to more than 2 years' use with a device such as this.

I got no replies at all!

What do you think?

Fraser

I just wanted to show appreciation to Tat Chuan Audio in Singapore for taking matters into their own hands and replacing my last 4 Sonos CR200 Controllers with 4 brand new 32gb WiFi Nexus 7 tablets free of charge. I have over the last couple of years had to replace 12 CR200 controllers (must have all been from the same faulty batch - eh Sonos) and they have got to the point they will not replace them anymore. They told me they have had major problems with them in Singapore and as they are high end HiFi people they felt they could not expect their customers to accept this anymore.

Well done Tat Chaun Audio, shame Sonos did not show the same level of professionalism in recalling all CR200 units and refunding wasted money.

Love the Sonos kit had it for about two years and currently have the following

Three play 3s
Five play 5s
Two connects
One connect Amp
all linked to a 2TB hard drive

Plus I purchased 2 CR100 used from Ebay
So a considerable investment in the system

The only mistake I made was the purchase with the original system set up of a CR200 I've just been told that the 4th replacement unit is available for collection.
Excellent customer service from the store and a no quibble replacement from Sonos however I have zero faith in the CR200 lasting more than 6 months even the store doesn't believe that this unit will last any longer than the last.

It really is unacceptable that a dedicated controller costing £250 only lasts 6 months while a couple of old CR100s bought 2nd hand for the bathroom just keep running and running.

Fortunately as well as the CR100s my wife and I also control the system via a couple of galaxy tabs a couple of Ipads and our phones so that isn't a problem.

I am however just thinking of selling off the CR200 on ebay which is a shame as I really like the feel and quality of the CR200 and its also easy for visitors to use.

ive had the same controller problems of not charging and now a part of the screen is dead. ive had to reboot regularly for some time but the screen problem doesnt seem to go away. i contacted sonos who were very good until they asked for £101 for a replacement as its out of warranty! i dont want to spend £101 to have something else that doesnt work ( for long)

how can a company that sells such good and very expensive gear have such a rubbish remote control and then not support it even when customers have spent thousands on their equipment

we have iPads, iphones, computers but we still like the controller when it works. working off the sonos network rather than wireless is so much better when we are in the garden etc this is a real limitation to a great system

We were advised when we bought the system to stay away from the controller and go for a iPod. I wish we had listened!!

I've decided to register and post to this forum, as I've just started experiencing the dreaded 'part of my controller is dead' issue. For me, it's the top-right corner ('#' and A-E on the vertical search).

I've emailed Sonos and I'll be interested to see what they do, as my controller is out of the standard one-year warranty, but not the two-year one (although I purchased it in November 2012, which is after Sonos announced the extended warranty).

I note that Sonos aren't making controllers any more (apparently because the 'app' does the job just as well, if not better). I wonder if the quality of the touch screens had anything to do with that decision? In any case, in my experience, the app isn't much use if (like me) you don't have an iPhone.

I also note a recent post which suggests that Sonos are now asking customers to pay £100 to fix the controller. Given that it cost £279 in the first place and has hardly been used, £100 to fix it seems rather expensive for a product with a known and widespread fault, which appears to have a good chance of recurring. If this is the case, I'm struggling to see why customers should have to pay £100 every so often to fix Sonos's issue. This would be a shame for what is otherwise an excellent system.

I'll update this post as and when I hear from Sonos.

Welcome to the forum.

Although many of us would have preferred that Sonos maintain a dedicated Controller, I can't imagine that many were sold after the apps - both iOS and Android -- were available. Why would a user pay $349 for a Sonos CR200/Control when an iPod Touch is $229 (or less if you get a previous generation) and the Touch can do so much more? Whether the touchscreen problem played a role in the decision to discontinue the Control is something we'll probably never know, but it certainly didn't help.

I won't guess as to what Sonos will tell you with regard to repair/replacement, but I know I'd never pay that much to fix one. Very inexpensive Android smartphones -- often models intended for the no-contract prepaid market -- are readily available. I bought one for $29 new -- not a typo -- for my granddaughter to use. Not only can she use it as a Sonos Controller to play her songs on the Play:3 in her room when she visits, she can play games and all sorts of things a Sonos handheld can't do. Granted, smartphones aren't always available that cheaply, but even at 5 times that price you're still under the repair cost.