Enthusiast II

Removal of support for Android 5 & 6

Forum|Forum|6 years ago
November 19, 2019
25 replies
2148 views

I was recently forced to update the Sonos app on my phone (Android 5), despite having done everything possible to avoid it, as in my experience app updates generally remove as much useful functionality they add.

My worst fears were realised last night when I tried to fix one of the all-too-regular issues with my Sonos setup and discovered that all the system management functionality had been removed from the app.

Am I alone in thinking that is completely unreasonable of Sonos to force me to “upgrade” to a version of their software which removes most of its functionality? I appreciate that Sonos cannot reasonably be expected to maintain backwards compatibility with old versions of Android indefinitely, but Android 7 (the minimum requirement now) is barely three years old.

Combined with the fact that the PC desktop version of the app has been similarly deprecated of useful functionality, I am now stuck with £1000 of Sonos equipment which doesn’t work. What am I supposed to do? I spoke with Sonos support this morning who predictably told me to either upgrade my phone to Android 7 or “use a different device”, neither of which I am able to do. They also rather unhelpfully told me to “Please bear in mind that It is not possible to revert to a previous version of Sonos software once an update has been performed”. Well if that’s the case then maybe give users a warning before they upgrade that the new software is incompatible with the version of Android they are running!

Now I know that a lot of Sonos evangelists are early-adopter techy types who like nothing more than upgrading speaker firmware and experimenting with esoteric router settings, but there are a lot of us who see tech as a means to an end - we just want to plug the damn things in and forget about them. So anybody who feels the need to have a go at me for having the temerity not to spend £800 on a new smartphone every year, please spare yourselves the effort.

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Show previous replies

J

John B

@DunkirkPie . If you have frequent problems that require management functions in the app then you need to get your system working properly. Which system management function were you looking for and why?

C

castalla

Local Superstar

I don’t think Sonos actively ‘cripples’ the controllers - they just fail to consider that some users are ‘happy’ with their devices as they are.

I have no intention of buying another device and my devices work as I want them to. So I’ve unstalled the apps from Android. I hope that stops all these ‘updates’.

It's the courageous bee's knees - all 6 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝. - - - - - Make Sonos Great Again - - - - -

D

DunkirkPieAuthor

Enthusiast II

Also, I don’t think Sonos wakes up one morning and thinks ‘Let’s shaft a few users today by semi-crippling the app on older phones’. This doesn’t bring about any further sales of Sonos products, if anything the reverse, albeit negligibly. It is really the case that the phone can no longer support the developing Sonos system, not the other way around, whether for security or technical reasons.

No, I don’t think they do, but also I don’t buy the argument that my 4-year old operating system has suddenly become incompatible with my 2-year old speakers. I suspect Sonos wake up one morning and think “we can save a lot of time, effort and money by removing support for older versions of Android, and it will only annoy a disproportionately small number of our customers, so stuff them”.

J

John B

I very much doubt it saves much money to have Android 7 but not 6, but it would be naive to think cost is not a factor at all. I expect companies to consider costs and benefits and alternative uses for resources.

You have clearly been adversely affected by this. We'll just have to differ on the likely mix of reasons. Neither of us knows the full pictire for sure.

V

veneff

Lyricist I

I just received a Sonos Move speaker (dfirst Sonos product) and I find out that I can not set it up because my phone is still on Android 6. Phone is not that old. Sadly, my wife’s phone is the same. The Windows app can not set it up either. I guess I’ll have to find a way to return it or sell it :(

Airgetlam

Or find a friend that has a newer phone you can borrow for the 3 minutes it takes to set up...

Bruce

D

DunkirkPieAuthor

Enthusiast II

It is really the case that the phone can no longer support the developing Sonos system, not the other way around, whether for security or technical reasons.

I’m afraid I’m calling BS on this argument. High street banks don’t seem to think there are security implications with continuing to support Android 6.