No more TuneIn URL streams anymore, guess I am returning my two Eras :(

What is “my iOS app”? Maybe just a typo, but was curious if you meant it was a product you developed yourself that solves this issue  

Haven’t had a desktop in a few years now, so I’m limited to the iOS app (which is where the current issue lies). 

The reason I came to Sonos was precisely the ability to add my own radio streams. Ok, the streams were partially moved to the Favorites. So far, so … not too bad.

First of all, there is no way to edit a Favorites, second, there is a limitation on the number of Favorites (it seems that the limit is 70 but not for sure). Time passing, the URLs will change, and we will lose our preferred streams without any provision to correct the situation.

The net result is that the reason I bought a Sonos system is going to be the reason to buy a similar system from the competition.

The Sonos service which is mandatory could be the solution since its installation is enforced. I cannot understand all the talks one can find on this forum. Sonos must move this feature either in the Sonos service or elsewhere. Period.

Agree 💯. The trend over the last decade from many service providers is “We will decide what the consumer wants—we know better than they do.”  I love technology and appreciate AI—in many cases, it helps discover new music (or whatever the media is). But at the end of the day, I know what I like and having control taken away is VERY frustrating.

So, not for the sound quality, build quality, multiroom sync, extensive choice of radio stations (although clearly not every one) the large range of streaming services, HT products etc etc.  Well fair enough we all have our priorities.

Which competitor multiroom systems are you considering which offer this feature?

Maybe they will.

My app is just that, called “Phonos Plus” on iOS. It allows you to add custom URLs to your Sonos system, and unlike the official app actually validates they work before adding them.

I just tried contacting Sonos via a Live chat, and was met with a great deal of confusion!

Conflicting information was provided suggesting that the old TuneIN feature could continue to be used, but also that the custom URL streaming feature would be ‘Transitioned to Sonos’ - but with very little information on what this actually means!

I was advised that my inquiry would be escaled for further explanation of the ‘plan’ - but I don’t know when I might receive this.

It really feels like Sonos could have avoided the confusion and concern created here by simply acknowledging that this feature would be impacted, and announcing what would be happening with it.

Sonos own support articles still list the established mechanism for adding custom streams!

Thank you for posting! I guess the question might be “How many people are direct url-streaming?” It’s easy for those that don’t use it to write it off. But for those that use it, it’s very important. Furthermore, phrases such as “you can still use the old [unsupported] way” are not comforting to a customer weighing all upgrade options.

Indeed! I’ve also sent an email to Sonos - so, we’ll see what reply is given here.

Sonos seem to have left a ‘confusion gap’ wide open on this one. This is a feature that is not only supported on Sonos, but fully documented on their own support articles.  They could have very easily simply advised people on what the plan is here.

I am, of course, hoping that the functionality simply gets moved to a different part of the app interface, either to the new TuneIN, the Sonos Radio service UX, or just … somewhere else.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see!

In the meantime, the feature does still work, so …. *fingers crossed*

I’ve had a very positive sounding reply from Sonos! It looks like custom URL streams will continue to be supported, but it’s just that the functionality hasn’t yet been implemented! The process will be a slightly more ‘circuitous’ route than we have right now (add the streams in the native TuneIN app for them to then show up in the TuneIN service inside of the Sonos app) - but at least they’re not retiring this functionality altogether!

Thank you for reaching out to Sonos support. 

[...]I am a supervisor here at Sonos and I will be handling your escalated case. Our CEO Patrick Spence, has asked me to reach out to you.

Thank you for expressing your concern about the missing feature in the new TuneIn integration within the Sonos S2 app. We understand that it's disappointing to learn that adding custom URLs will no longer be possible directly through the S2 app. However, there is an alternative solution.

Sonos has collaborated closely with TuneIn to ensure that custom URLs can still be added through the TuneIn app. To make use of this functionality, you need to log in to your TuneIn account with the same user ID on both the TuneIn app and the TuneIn service within the Sonos S2 app. By doing so, the custom URLs you add through the TuneIn app will be available within TuneIn on the S2 app.

Furthermore, if you already have custom URLs set up, they will be migrated and accessible in the "My Sonos" section after the migration process.

Please note that these changes are not currently implemented, but Sonos is actively working with TuneIn to make them available in the near future.

We hope this clarifies the situation. For the most up-to-date information and any further assistance, we recommend checking official Sonos and TuneIn announcements or reaching out to their customer support directly.

This certainly makes me feel a lot more comforted that the feature will continue to be supported, even though the UI for doing so may change. Hopefully, others will take some comfort from this too - figured it would be good to share :)

Thanks for updating us on this, @Rallicat .