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Keith N
Sonos Staff
May 11, 2024

The New Sonos App and Future Feature Updates

Hey all, today we're sharing a message from our chief innovation officer, Nick Millington in the announcement here. Going forwards we will update that topic and we therefore close this one for further replies.

 



 

We set out to create a more personalized and effortless listening experience with the updated Sonos app. It was rebuilt from the ground up to ensure it could support future innovation in the years to come. For its initial rollout, we focused on how we could answer some of the most common requests from our customers, including increased reliability, performance, and faster access to music.


Many of you have shared valuable feedback on both the improvements that have made your experience better, as well as the areas where we fell short. We are listening to all of your comments and working to address them as quickly as possible. Over the coming weeks, we will reintroduce the below features, while fixing bugs and performance issues. Thank you for your engagement and we look forward to building upon this first step to create a listening experience that meets everyone’s needs.
 

 

Available now

 

To access these changes, check for updates in the iOS / Android app store to download the latest version of the Sonos app. Make sure your Sonos products are also up to date.


Last updated: Oct 28, 2024. See release notes.

The update has the following version numbers:

 

80.11.38 - iOS
80.11.32 - Android

 

In this update:

 

  • Support for the all-new Arc Ultra soundbar and Sub 4
  • Music library improvements*
  • Improvements to product setup
  • Improved performance when browsing content in Home and in Browse on Android
  • Improvements to multi-system support on iOS
  • Fixes for multiple settings including Bluetooth display, EQ, and Sub bonding on iOS
  • The ability to schedule System Updates on iOS
  • Continued Voiceover improvements on iOS

 

* Requires player update - 81.1-58074 (or higher)

 

 

You can also follow along with updates in this article: 

 

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

2256 replies

jgatie
June 3, 2024

Your personal experience on your personal device doesn’t mean anything.  Like many other users here searching for answers, it is not working on all devices. You’re being pedantic and obtuse. You can say it wasn’t “taken away” but it is “not available” when “it was previously available” so it has been “taken away from the list of available features”. 

 

Why are you being so adamant about something which is so easily proven wrong?  A couple hundred or so people (maybe even thousands) can’t access their local libraries, which is not good.  Some need to disable SMB v1.  Some need to download the PC/Mac app and reindex.  Even fewer than that probably have to call up Sonos support and find out why their particular install isn’t working.  Is that great?  Of course not.  Does that mean every one of the millions of Sonos users have had access to their local library “taken away”?  Again, of course not.  Does this mean you should be happy?  Probably not, but I’m certainly happy that a couple hundred people is not millions, and there’s hope that everyone gets a fix eventually. 

But depending on their agenda, I’m sure some out there are unhappy that anything good can be reported about this farce and will always hope for the negative (even if they have to exaggerate and mislead).  Those are the ones who are here to watch things burn. 

Renowned Listener
June 3, 2024

Your personal experience on your personal device doesn’t mean anything.  Like many other users here searching for answers, it is not working on all devices. You’re being pedantic and obtuse. You can say it wasn’t “taken away” but it is “not available” when “it was previously available” so it has been “taken away from the list of available features”. 

 

Why are you being so adamant about something which is so easily proven wrong?  A couple hundred or so people (maybe even thousands) can’t access their local libraries, which is not good.  Some need to disable SMB v1.  Some need to download the PC/Mac app and reindex.  Even fewer than that probably have to call up Sonos support and find out why their particular install isn’t working.  Is that great?  Of course not.  Does that mean every one of the millions of Sonos users have had access to their local library “taken away”?  Again, of course not.  Does this mean you should be happy?  Probably not, but I’m certainly happy that a couple hundred people is not millions, and there’s hope that everyone gets a fix eventually. 

But depending on their agenda, I’m sure some out there are unhappy that anything good can be reported about this farce and will always hope for the negative (even if they have to exaggerate and mislead).  Those are the ones who are here to watch things burn. 

You clearly have a different experience than many others on here. Sonos acknowledged there is a problem with personal libraries and said a fix is coming mid-June. This is viewed as unacceptable for those unable to access their personal libraries.

All I can assume with your constant posting is that you need to be ‘right’. Congrats, you win, we all surrender to your superior experience.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

 

jgatie
June 3, 2024

If you have a problem with my posts, I suggest you report them to the mods.  Only they decide who should or shouldn’t be allowed to post and if they are found to be against the TOS, the mods will edit or delete them.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.

Contributor I
June 3, 2024

If you have a problem with my posts, I suggest you report them to the mods.  Only they decide who should or shouldn’t be allowed to post and if they are found to be against the TOS, the mods will edit or delete them.

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.


Huh

Lyricist I
June 3, 2024

I appreciate that some of the app functionality has been restored, but there is still a lot left to be desired. I have a long laundry list of things I dislike about the newest version of the app, but among my top current complaints:

-The volume controls are highly unresponsive. Trying to adjust a group volume sometimes affects some speakers but not others. Sometimes the volume reverts back to where it was. Sometimes tapping in the volume slider bumps the volume up/down one notch, and sometimes not. Increased performance: FAIL

-I’m glad the alarms are back, but I wish they weren’t buried under 3 layers of menus. They used to be easy to access. For those of us who don’t necessarily wake up at the same time every day, this is irritating.

-Many stations in the “Recently Played” list return an error when trying to play them from that list. When that happens, it’s again, three menus deep to access them (because tapping on the station in the ‘favorites” menu doesn’t play the station; it just pops up info about that station with a play button to then play the station). Faster access to music: FAIL

-Also, why do half of my stations not display their icons anymore? That, combined with the two-wide layout, makes the stations I’m looking for much more difficult to find. Faster access to music: FAIL AGAIN.

I am very much in agreement with others here who would prefer to revert to the old version of the app while this version is polished… or taken back to the drawing board? There’s nothing to love about it.

I want to continue to love my Sonos system and recommend it to others, but right now I’m hoping another viable company comes on the market soon, because y’all are clearly losing your way.

Contributor I
June 3, 2024

I know it's just another drop in the downpour, but I feel every single one counts. The new app is a total disaster and I hope there's some kind of lawsuit. It's ridiculous that I have a few thousand dollars worth of speakers that just won't work on and off....

Prodigy II
June 4, 2024

Perhaps Sonos should have done a much better job informing customers that SMBv1 was going. It affected one of my brothers I suspect. I had no notification of it.

 

Still a Sonos issue as far as I’m concerned.

"I saw the Stooges and the MC5"
Prodigy II
June 4, 2024

 

So in that case why do they list the following above :

Coming soon

  • Continued improvements to navigation for visually-impaired customers: mid-June
  • Adding to queue and playing next: early June
  • Sleep timer: mid-June
  • Local music library search and playback: mid-June
  • Update WiFi settings: mid-June
  • Snooze alarms: TBD

The playback part would seem to indicate that it is missing and when I updated (my system uses SMB 2.0 or 3) the Q was seen but would play 1 song at a time over and over again (regardless, if an album was added in one go to the Q). No ability to do anything except replace whole the Q anytime. So you can see the library, as long as you don’t wish to actually use it, you’re all good!

 

Not the case at all.  I don’t know what the “playback” is referring to, but here’s proof it works in the new app:

Music library listed and visible:

 

 

Track playing from Music Library (circled in red):

 

 

As to the queue features missing, nobody claimed they weren’t.  But the Music Library has NOT been eliminated from the new app, which is what people are saying. 

 

and the second track in that album plays after track 1 finishes ? without you having to do anything ?

 

Mine skip around a bit as well. Not often but occasionally.

 

I’m unhappy. I can imagine some people are ropeable.

"I saw the Stooges and the MC5"
ranash1995
Contributor I
June 4, 2024

In summary for the late comers trying to parse all this noise and just want some answers:

  1. Local libraries (NAS, PC based, etc. collections of ripped/downloaded files) have ceased to work for many systems.
  2. Many other systems continue to work quite happily with local libraries, but tread carefully and don’t disconnect them. They may not come back if you attempt to add a new source.
  3. The 913 error is a networking permissions error that relates to authorising Sonos speakers to access and add the folder with the content. This is a firmware issue that will not change until a fix is available for download and update in mid-June. 
  4. There are literally dozens and dozens of differing configurations for local libraries and most of the suggested fixes are very config specific. Sadly, until the fix is released, you may be just spinning your wheels engaging in attempts to correct it. If you get a 913 error, even after a full shutdown of all your speakers, it is game over until mid June.
  5. A local Plex server (highly recommended) or upload to the Youtube Music service (free service for uploads and a good way to backup a collection) will give you access to your collection as music sources in the app. Not perfect, but they do work without issue.

This took me about 15 minutes to put together. Sonos management; get your act together and show some solidarity with your customers and start providing some feedback that is visible on your home page. 

Corry P
Sonos Staff
June 4, 2024

Hi All,

Please note that this is a thread for discussing the new Sonos app - not each other! Please restrain yourselves from inflaming or antagonising other users, or the thread will be closed to further discourse.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein