New Sonos app removes key features - beware!

Agree - new app is a step backward, lost all my playlists - thanks Sonos (I have 14 Connect:Amps)

Hey folks I’m wondering if any of you are experiencing drop outs since the update? I never had that issue until now. 

I’ve been experiencing queue bugs on Android for 2 years. It got slightly better recently. My guess is they can’t fix the queue bug and decided to eliminate the feature. On the other hand, the timer I use DAILY had no bugs and they did not include it.  There is no reason we should lose features in a new version of an app. They had plenty of time to develop and test it

I'm also a (long time) Digitally Imported premium user and am in shock that Sonos released such a crap update.Apart from all the other issues, I listen to DI every single day. If there isn't going to be a fix sometime in the near future, I would be forced to sell all my Sonos gear. That would be a big shame (and loss)... 

I don’t care about new looks. I don’t care about missing features. I only care that none of the user ‘buttons’; play, stop, FF, work after Play is pushed once. Can’t even stop music without using physical buttons on speakers. 

Have deleted app and reinstalled multiple times, nothing! Have rebooted phone, nothing!

Absolutely ZERO customer service! Can’t “chat” with the Sonos idiot bot! Can’t call! No email!

Typical update from a bad company with bad products.

I just came across this in The Verge too:

“Redesigning the Sonos app is an ambitious undertaking that represents just how seriously we are committed to invention and re-invention,” said chief product officer Maxime Bouvat-Merlin. “It takes courage to rebuild a brand’s core product from the ground up, and to do so knowing it may require taking a few steps back to ultimately leap into the future.”

I think the issue is an HR one.  A systemic HR one.

From the person who thought it was courageous to release an app that downgrades system functionality for months (July is months away) or, worse, believed this was a UAT pass, to the courageous Chief Product Officer who courageously thought this PR disaster might somehow be soothed with this rallying cry to step bravely backwards in the hope of a future… there is a flaw in the recruitment process.  You seem to be scoring courage above basic, baseline competency.

When that design decision was made (IMHO a courageously good one) not to burden the hardware with too many fiddly buttons… that was the moment when the App became the main mode of control.  If someone takes away features from the App - you BREAK the functionality.  It’s like someone came around in the night and removed my Rewind/FastFwd buttons.

Is someone in Sonos courageous enough to fix this (series of) HR mistakes?  I suggest that is the first port of call - that and restoring 16.1 to the app stores with no more pandering. (Or do as I did with advice in another thread if you are on Android, and get the 16.1 apk from a mirror site...)  Et voila - there are my playlists again, I can rewind mid-track in my audiobooks when “I missed a bit”, and I can queue things to play one after another.  It’s like I took a momentous leap forward in time and technology… to 2015.

I’ve talked with their support on 5/7 and warned them that this new app isn’t pretty and good luck in the days ahead…...glad others here are in agreement. I did not get a clear answer on my first call on whether local network capabilities such as “classic search” will ever be added back in. I use streaming services, but have a local server for music that streaming services don’t have (I had to remind them that, yes, this happens!)

After today’s follow up call, the tech told me that this feature will no longer be supported….can others confirm if this is the same response they are getting as well? 

At the end of the call, I asked for an address to ship my devices back to...since this is a deal breaker of a new “feature”. The older app worked just fine for searching my local and streaming service libraries….why is this such a big deal now? 

Thankfully, some prior Sonos experiences I’ve read online have given me pause to purchase future devices from them…..I’m out three Sonos One SLs and a Sonos Amp…..guess these will be on the used market soon…..joining many others perhaps...

I've tried to summarize my concerns into a single question for the upcoming AMA Sonos flaks will be conducting. I'll paste it in below -- if this matches what you want to hear, please upvote it:

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/s/Q92N5xpya0

Prior to this release, Sonos assured customers all existing functionality would remain (the exact words were, "Your products, features and services will work as they always have, and all your settings will be saved").

Since that commitment was very obviously NOT honored, I just want to hear someone from Sonos explain, as honestly as possible with a minimum of corporate/marketing jargon, why they deemed it necessary to release this app BEFORE it included numerous features existing customers who've spent thousands of dollars on their hardware consider necessary to making use of that hardware (for me, those are queue editing, play next functionality, and local library search).

The suggestion that it took "courage" to release this app in this state was frankly insulting, so please treat us with respect by answering truthfully. Why couldn't the release wait until it was much closer to parity with existing functionality? Why should any of us believe you have any intention of adding missing functions back based on your actions so far? Are there missing functions you have already determined will no longer be supported, and if so, which ones and why?

Hmmm, so having thought the upgrade had gone ok this morning I can’t switch between my 3 Play 1s. 
 

I change the room, click Apply and the app still shows the previous room. 
 

what I don’t understand is why was it working fine … and then not. Nothing has changed on the network and the app is still on the same version. So what made it go wrong? Weird. 
 

Anyone else experienced the same and found out how to fix it? 
 

I’m having all the same problems plus my Sonos port just says line in disconnected so cannot play anything from my deck, also because of this I cannot play straight from Apple Music directly from my iPhone or radio apps outside of the controller, all of which was so easy and straightforward. 
seems unless your purchasing new kit all the time they’re not interested, in whether it works for existing equipment. 
The other big question is why can’t we roll the app back and uninstall the update. 
seriously considering switching to another system I’ve enough rubbish to deal with without some app geek adding to my stress level 

regards 

Chris85