Why is Sonos discontinuing support for iOS devices?

I have an Android phone and so even if I played music from my phone I would be unaffected by the recent removal of 'on this iPhone'..

So I don't know if Airplay is seamless, just that it is Apple's method for doing what you want to do.

Unlike Bluetooth, Airplay 2 has multiroom capability. There is plenty of info on using Airplay with Sonos on the Sonos website.

I think apple have told sonos to pull the plug on this facility to get people to sign up to apple air play etc. All I know is I now have a very expensive radio . THE OINLY REASON I purchased all of the kit in my house was the fact that I could play my own music free of charge without accessing anything but the iPhone in my hand. I feel cheated

I think apple have told sonos to pull the plug on this facility to get people to sign up to apple air play etc. All I know is I now have a very expensive radio . THE OINLY REASON I purchased all of the kit in my house was the fact that I could play my own music free of charge without accessing anything but the iPhone in my hand. I feel cheated

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by 'accessing', but if you store your music on a computer, NAS (which could simply be a thumb drive connected to your router) , or Google's free music storage service, then you would be able to control all of that from the iphone in your hand. Of course, airplay would also be fully controllable from the iPhone as well. Perhaps 'accessing' means that you just want your music files on your iphone and nothing else will be acceptable. In that case, yea, airplay is the only current way to do that with an iPhone.

Um, those notifications already blast through my Sonos speakers. If you're talking about the stuff I hear via Pandora, Spotify, etc.

But I'm willing to admit my own ignorance. Which use-cases am I missing? Trust me, I'd love to be proven wrong. I don't like the idea of investing a lot of money in something and throwing it out. But so far, I'm a little more convinced by posters here who make the point that if the work-arounds take that much effort to explain, there must be something wrong with the system itself.

chicks is talking about text message alerts, update alerts, phone ringing, etc. that will play on a Bluetooth speaker because Bluetooth is just an extension of the phone's audio.

As to missing use cases, when you store your music on a PC/Mac/NAS, or upload to Google Play Music, there are a number of benefits:

1. Every controller you use can access all the music.
2. You can use the music in Sonos playlists and alarms.
3. Your phone's battery isn't drained when playing music.
4. Your phone can leave the area and the music keeps playing.
5. Imports all your iTunes playlists.

In the case of the free Google Play Music solution, there are additional benefits:

1. You can access the music from the Google Play Music app from anywhere, so you can free up space on your phone.
2. Other household members can get a free account, and their account will appear separate from others on the Sonos app.

I don’t want to do anything else. What was wrong with the way it was. I take my music to my friends houses and play mixed playlists and vice versa. I have over 2,500 songs in my phone and about 40 different playlists. I don’t need AirPlay / Apple Music/ a NAS. I would like to know, without anyone throwing alternatives at me, as to why sonos as a company cannot rectify something that has ‘ become unreliable ‘ Reliable. Look at the people you are upsetting. This is why it makes me think there are darker forces at work. Sonos should support the people that have invested in them ( I’ve got £1,700.00s worth of the old stuff) and now I feel duped. Perhaps little Sonos is buckling under the weight of the Big Apple. So can someone from sonos give me the real answer to my question? or have I already answered it for myself🙁

Darker forces? A good principle for life: the conspiracy theory is almost always wrong, the simple cockup theory almost invariably right.

Is there any hope of a sense of perspective on this thread?

@gary larden Sonos announced the change here.

The way this feature was originally designed has become unreliable with newer versions of iOS, and in the coming months, this feature will no longer be available in the Sonos app.

This post by another Sonos employee mentions that it was a tough decision and that they are aware of how it impacts customers.

I don't think you're going to get a much more detailed answer then that since doing so could be throwing Apple under the bus, etc. It's also worth noting that the unreliability began around a year ago when airplay came along. Sonos has been attempting to resolve the issue for a year.

It's also worth noting that Sonos' competitor Bluesound removed their "On this device" feature around 10 months ago, shortly after Airplay 2 arrived.

The only ‘darker forces’ at work that I see are Apple. There isn’t another tech company around that can match their scale. We have collectively made them so, me included. I have 10 years worth of music from them combined with my own ripped CD collection.
I’m an older guy and I too do not like ,what I consider, an unnecessary change. However, you cannot ignore Apples ambition... they will steamroll over any business in order to reach their goals. They want to dominate this space and they don’t give a damn about Sonos.

For me me this is the issue. I have decided to break from my reliance on Apple and to invest in a NAS system. I don’t need, or want, to rely on my phone so much. I have young kids and I just don’t have the time to keep up with the latest tech. I just want a great system to play my music on. Sonos works for me right now but if issues like this are recurring in the future then who knows...

What I’d really like to see is a music platform from Sonos that I could support. If we all get behind this idea we could start a movement... 🤔

I know this is an old topic but... is there a post where someone has consolidated the alternatives (other than upgrading all of my hardware) to accessing my iTunes music via the Sonos mobile app? I confess, my speakers are already listed on eBay but I'll keep an open mind and see if there's a viable work around.

If I ignore the childish fanboy/hater commentary (about 90% of what's here it seems) I sometimes see references to loading iTunes on a PC and then being able to play it from my Sonos mobile app seamlessly.

I also see refernces to storing the music on a NAS, and I have a Sinology.

But, my (very respectful) opinion is that if I'm asked to use Google Music, or manage my music outside of it's origin (iTunes) then it's not worth the hassle.

I'm baffled why Sonos would let this sort of thing ride. Sure, they probably think folks will run out and buy new Sonos speakers that support airplay 2. But there are SO many equal competitors out there now, and many at much lower price-points. At least for me, because to me it's just a wireless speaker.

There is an argument here that "they need to keep releasing new features" and I get that. I own a software company, so I know the business. But you never force a legacy customer to fail. You make a concerted effort to entice them to upgrade. You don't cut their functionality. Yes, it's a compelling event. But you're also eliminating your company from consideration in the "upgrade."

All preaching aside, I'm sure it's a rub between them and Apple. But we paid a premium for this hardware and deserve premium support from the vendor. Else, we'll buy cheap hardware and throw it away every two years when we're "upgraded" to the point it stops working.