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Trending Lyricist I
June 13, 2024
Answered

S1 controller and downgrading software

  • June 13, 2024
  • 25 replies
  • 1688 views

When will the ability to downgrade software be restored to the S1 app?  I just purchased a Move speaker because it was supposed to be compatible with the S1 app and my older Sonos speakers, but in order to make it compatible, it needs a software downgrade.  The latest version of S1 removed this feature.  When will the app be updated to have that feature restored?  Thank you.

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Best answer by DCgal

UPDATE:  I was able to resolve this thanks to others in the Sonos Community who reported that they were able to use an old Apple device (specifically, an iPhone 7) to download the old Sonos app to downgrade their speakers to S1.  As an Android user, it was a little challenging for me to find an iPhone 7, but I eventually got my hands on one, and it worked like a charm!  After logging into the Apple Store with my spouse’s Apple ID, I searched for the Sonos app.  The app appears in the Apple Store with the Sonos black logo, but once you download it, it switches to the old Sonos app with the gold-colored logo, which is the only version that is compatible with iPhone 7 operating software.  I then connected the app to my wifi network and the Move speaker and used the downgrade feature to downgrade the Move speaker’s firmware to S1.  I then used the S1 controller on my regular Android device to connect the Move speaker to the rest of my Sonos system.  The whole process took like 5 minutes (after spending weeks and weeks of researching and trying different things).  It’s a shame that Sonos cannot be more helpful by continuing to make the old app available while the glitches with the new app get worked out, but I am very grateful to the other people in this community for helping me figure this out.

25 replies

Lyricist II
July 15, 2024

@DCgal I’m not sure I follow this. I have an iPhone SE which is the one before the iPhone 7 so I should be ok there. I have all Play:1’s on the old app (S1 app) which all worked fine - now I just bought an additional one to create a stereo pair, only this new Play:1 is the one that the app is saying I need to downgrade. Where even is the downgrade feature? On the newer Sonos app, it’s not picking up a signal from any of my devices. On the old S1 app, i still have my whole system only I can’t add the new Play:1

 

I just spent an hour on hold with Support and they said it’s impossible. When I asked to escalate it to a senior member, they said it’ll be 2 days before they get back to me. What kind of technology company is this?

DCgalAuthor
Trending Lyricist I
July 16, 2024

fameneverdies1:  I think you need a device with an operating software between iOS 14 and 15.  Is that what you have on your iPhone SE?  If so, you can downgrade your speaker using the prior version of the regular Sonos (S2) app, not the S1 controller (which is what I mistakenly assumed when I first posted my question in this forum).  So trying downloading on your old iPhone the Sonos (S2) app.  The App Store will tell you that your phone is not compatible with the current version and ask if you’d like to download the prior version (the one with the gold colored logo).  Do that and then connect that app to your wifi network and try to locate your speaker.  I think if you click on “other options” there is an option there for downgrading.  You may need to factory reset your speaker first.  I hope this helps.  Customer Support is useless, by the way.

DCgalAuthor
Trending Lyricist I
July 16, 2024

PS-once you downgrade with the prior version of the regular Sonos (S2) app, then switch back to your S1 controller app to connect the speaker to the rest of your Sonos system.

Lyricist II
July 16, 2024

@DCgal Wow it worked. My SE is iOS 16 BUT i do have my old iPhone 8 still lol so I used that and found the gold Sonos app where the Downgrade option was available

 

However, in trying the workaround of upgrading my old system (which still didn’t work) now the S1 app won’t allow me to add products without updating my app to the new Sonos app. And the new Sonos app won’t pickup the signal from the Play:1’s at all. All of a sudden, now my whole system shows incompatible

 

What a joke

DCgalAuthor
Trending Lyricist I
July 16, 2024

Oh, no, I am sorry to hear that.  Why are you trying to upgrade your old system?  From what I can tell, almost all Sonos users wished they were still on S1.  

Lyricist II
July 16, 2024

@DCgal it was an attempt at a workaround because, before I got your instructions, I couldn’t downgrade the new product to be compatible with the old ones. So now I have two products, one old and one new, that won’t work with either app

 

I can’t believe their tech is so bad and their customer service is so useless

Lyricist III
July 16, 2024

I only downgraded on an old iPhone with the  tan coloured Sonos app then added with my normal phone via the S1 app and had no issues. 
the S1 app on my new phone does updates but just don’t go to S2

Contributor I
July 31, 2024

Miguel_7:  to clarify, Sonos did not flag my answer as the “best answer,” I did.  I totally feel your pain, as the Move speaker that I purchased also was a gift for my spouse that initially was ruined by the inability to downgrade it.  When I read about the iPhone 7 solution in the forum, I asked everyone I knew if they had one, but nobody did.  I eventually found a used one on Amazon for $115, which I promptly returned after using it for 5 minutes to downgrade the speaker.  Hope that helps :).

Thanks for clarifying. I have been asking around for an old iOS device for a little while now, but no luck yet. You can’t make it up.

Lyricist III
August 6, 2024

Did Sonos now block this workaround as well???
 

I was able to get an iPhone SE running iOS 15.8.3 and attempted to download the Sonos app as indicated on DCgal’s post.  It downloaded, but when I tried to install it, a message came up:

“This application requires iOS 16.0 or later. You must update to iOS 16.0 in order to download and use this application.” 
 

The new Sonos app requirements indicate that you must have iOS 16 or higher. If I update my iOS to 16.0 on the iPhone SE, will that now just install the latest Sonos app and not the previous one with the gold logo???

Lyricist III
August 6, 2024

DCgal wrote: “The App Store will tell you that your phone is not compatible with the current version and ask if you’d like to download the prior version (the one with the gold colored logo).”

Unfortunately, that was not an option (or was no longer an option?) available from the AppStore when I tried to download and install it.