Turn off updates and update notifications on a CR200

Thomas, thanks for your post.

I must commence my response by stating the reality of the situation; there will come a day when the CR200 is no longer supported. When I first started working at Sonos, having some background in technology, I was already astonished that the device was supported back then... 2 years ago. Alas, I digress.

In direct response to your query, there is little advice to be offered, other than what has been stated already. You are correct, there are limited options on the CR200 and you will find that it will be continuously limited in its functionality as time passes. I am happy to forward this feedback for you. Thanks and let us know if you have any further thoughts or suggestions.

Thomas Förster,

If Sonos decided to withdraw the 'partial' functionality on the CRx00 it would surely be because further developments in the core firmware made it impossible to maintain support without compromising those newer features. IMO it makes little sense to turn off updates, block outbound traffic, or even don a tinfoil hat to forestall the march of progress and potentially lose out on (free) features that could enhance your Sonos experience.

Compared to the venerable CRx00 controllers a tablet or phone of the last few years is in a different league in terms of price–performance. Nowadays my old CR100s make nice paperweights, and a failed CR200 touchscreen qualifies it as e-waste.

Thomas, thanks for your post.

I must commence my response by stating the reality of the situation; there will come a day when the CR200 is no longer supported. When I first started working at Sonos, having some background in technology, I was already astonished that the device was supported back then...

Have asked many times but am still not clear on what the Sonos supported strategy is for large installations with lots of controllers. You can't just throw away a dozen controllers every few years to accommodate software updates. This is financially impractical and the frustration is magnified when the updates add features you don't care about and never wanted while removing functionality you use every day.

You can't just decide to never update because that blocks the ability to expand your system or replace broken Zone Players. So what is the right controller strategy if you want to invest in a large Sonos system that you can count on being stable and reliable for the next 10 years without being forced to replace a huge batch of hardware every few years for no good reason?

Depends on what you mean by "every few years". I highly doubt you are going to see a viable strategy for a period of 10 years, the logistics are just not there. However, Android phones/tablets are still compatible with Android versions going back to the first really viable OS version, and are fully compatible going back 5 years. So if one were looking for a strategy for the longest time between controllers with the least amount of cost to replace, a cheap Android tablet is the solution.

The problem with updates is that you never knew you didn't want an update or feature until you have it e.g. Track skip on a CD player. Neither do you know if you want the things you have been using for years - which you have only used because there was no alternative e.g. Programme track order on a CD player.

As far as updates are concerned has there ever been the removal of existing functionally? Especially the day to day variety.
Updates will, by there very nature, make some hardware it is being used on redundant, but how does that equate with the natural redundancy of that hardware.

The iPhone is now, what, eight years old and look at how that has changed beyond all recognition for the first ones. That the original controllers still work, albeit with some limited functionality, is more a testament to Sonos not abandoning their kit.

Sonos is a 32 zone multi-room music system so somebody building a house should be able to include one in the design and prewire of that new house with the expectation that it will need no further significant investment any sooner than they would remodel any other part of their home... kitchen appliances, bathrooms, etc. It is part of the house infrastructure like smart light switches or a security system, not a disposable stand alone appliance like a TV or a cell phone (or some Bluetooth lifestyle music system).

Android tablets might have a longer life than the CR 200 did but without the drop in charging dock and other key features of a dedicated controller so they are at best a significant compromise.

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As far as updates are concerned has there ever been the removal of existing functionally?

Yes there has been a significant reduction in features in the CR100 and CR200. Fortunately the PC interface has been left unmolested but that is the only control interface you can really rely on any more so let's hope they don't decide to screw with that.


Updates will, by there very nature, make some hardware it is being used on redundant, but how does that equate with the natural redundancy of that hardware.

Not sure what natural redundancy of hardware means... I know a lot of people who drive classic cars from the 50s and 60s... they don't have fancy navigation systems and rear view cameras but they do what they were built to do without any update making them redundant. Likewise I have amplifiers and other sound gear built in the 70s that I still use daily with no concern about redundancy.

When I first bought into the Sonos ecosystem there were no tablet based controllers and the advertising around updates was strictly about adding functionality. No mention was ever made of eliminating features or making things redundant.

Sonos is a 32 zone multi-room music system so somebody building a house should be able to include one in the design and prewire of that new house with the expectation that it will need no further significant investment any sooner than they would remodel any other part of their home... kitchen appliances, bathrooms, etc. It is part of the house infrastructure like smart light switches or a security system, not a disposable stand alone appliance like a TV or a cell phone (or some Bluetooth lifestyle music system).

Android tablets might have a longer life than the CR 200 did but without the drop in charging dock and other key features of a dedicated controller so they are at best a significant compromise.

Sonos has promised in the past their players should have the life of an average home appliance, and for going on 10+ years they have kept the promise. However, Sonos has never, ever marketed itself as having their controllers integrated into the infrastructure of the home. Its controllers have always been portable and separate from the players. Matter of fact, Sonos was from the start marketed as an alternative to the traditional "home-run wired, wall mounted control" type of systems.

The fact that some users/installers choose to mount iPads in walls or phones where volume controls used to be is not the fault of Sonos, nor is the onus on them to support these types of installs. Sonos long ago stated they were switching to phones and tablets for controllers. This was not hidden from users. As you said above with your mention of cell phones, the phone and tablet market is by definition one of near disposable tech. If one is going to invest in Sonos, they should be doing due diligence and realizing this, not to mention they (or their installer) should be doing as much as possible to ameliorate the effect of disposable tech (if that is a concern) by either modifying the outdated wall mount install, and/or refusing to buy controllers with a history of being abandoned.

The controllers were not physically wired into the house infrastructure but they were dedicated parts of the Sonos multi-room system which is considered infrastructure. All components of an infrastructure system are considered part of the infrastructure even if they are wireless. My wireless garage door opener is not wired to my house but it is still considered a component of the door opener system. It may break and have to be replaced at some point but I don't expect it to become unusable because it is made obsolete midway through the lifespan of the rest of the door opener system.

Also Sonos never marketed their controllers (the only control option available at the time) as potentially having a different supported lifespan from the rest of the system components.

A step toward due diligence would be to get an answer from Sonos as to what their control strategy going forward will be for large installations where an installer is using Sonos as whole house music infrastructure. Is the answer that they just aren't going to pursue that market anymore and people should return to wired systems such as Russound etc.? Or if they do want to maintain themselves as the viable alternative to wired infrastructure then reveal their supported strategy for a more enduring control mechanism that won't blow up at the whim of Apple or Samsung? Is Alexa that long-term option that will allow the control interface to keep up with changes without needing for hardware to be replaced?

As I'm sure you know already, any "strategy" Sonos is going to reveal to the public has already been revealed.

For the rest, we will agree to disagree.