Why is it not possible to play directly from my Android phone anymore

It used to be nice and simple to connect to a Sonos system and play music directly from my Samsung phone; being limited by the host’s music library or being forced to use another godforsaken streaming service is a big step backward.

Sad to see Sonos not adapting to Google’s changes and removing features and functionality. When my company’s software is broken by new iOS or Android requirements we patch and update the code to maintain functionality. Sonos is pitifully doing the opposite.

And if Google or Apple tell you you are in violation of their rules and must remove the functionality or be removed from their store, do you still maintain that functionality?  

If it is functionality that the user was sold on and expects, yes, we find a way to properly implement it. That has happened numerous times: we’ve had to replace older libraries, add in support for requirements like account deletion, etc. That’s our job as the developer and duty to our customer.

If local media playback is not something Sonos perceives its userbase needing or not worth the effort to properly implement then that is their perogative of course, but it kills a major point of functionality for me.

Sonos still provides ways to play a ‘local library’. Due to changes in rules from the makers of the various OS systems, Sonos is no longer able to do that from a mobile device, be it iOS or Android. Nothing has changed for PC/Mac libraries, or NAS storage, either. 

It seems challenging to me to lay the responsibility for that removal of access on mobile devices that run mobile operating systems at the feet of Sonos. 

So I guess that means you just live with the fact that your app is removed from the App Store or Google Play Store?  Because Google and Apple have declared that accessing their devices via 3rd party external hardware is a security risk, and have closed it off.  Sonos’ app is not a media player, it is a controller, and the entire design for Sonos is the smarts are in the player, not the app.  So how exactly are they going to access data for which the OS has closed off access, and threatened to remove the app from their stores if Sonos tries to hack around that closed off access? 

Right, but specific to what was of great utility for me and other users was the capability of playing our library from our phone. Desktop/laptop/NAS solutions don’t cover this unfortunately. 

It seems challenging to me to lay the responsibility for that removal of access on mobile devices that run mobile operating systems at the feet of Sonos. 

Perhaps, but their communication/clarity on this has been awful and judging from so many more complaints on the issue I think they could have done a far better job of informing their users. I started skimming through this forum to get more info on the actual root cause and that’s not completely clear either, just some . In any case, I came here to voice my displeasure, am happy to find I am by no means alone with this frustration, and now understand Sonos’s limitations to guide my next purchases.

I personally think Sonos Staff explained things clearly, in advance, and gave their users plenty of alternative ways to play their tracks - here is the thread:

https://en.community.sonos.com/product%2Dupdates/on%2Dthis%2Ddevice%2Dfor%2Dandroid%2Dcontroller%2Dno%2Dlonger%2Dsupported%2D6882524

I don’t see what else Sonos could do with their software ‘remote’ controller App - it was a feature taken away by others. Clearly Sonos didn’t want this - it was something that was forced on them.

There are further alternatives that were not mentioned too (I think) such as iBroadcast service, Emby, aswell as HiFi cast player. I opted to simply use Bluetooth.

I’m not precisely sure how many playback alternatives there are, but there’s clearly a half-dozen, or more, to choose from.

Your government bans the use of diesel. Local gas stations stop carrying it. Is it correct to lay the blame on the local station? Or should you blame the government who banned the use? 

That’s exactly the same as what we’re experiencing here. The Android OS has banned the use of their devices as a local drive, affecting Sonos, among some others, and following in the footsteps of Apple, who banned the same thing a couple of years ago. And yet we seem to be blaming Sonos for this change.

I’m not sure this change would have been something Sonos was in favor of, I have heard rumors of them fighting with Apple about it (my ‘source’ is no longer valid, so I don’t know about discussions with the Android folks, but it seems likely). 

Is it frustrating? Sure. Can we all wish the OS makers didn’t have to make this choice, and force Sonos to alter their connection methods? Absolutely. 

I went through this issue a couple of years ago with iOS. Is it life changing? Not to me, it just required a relatively minor change in my habits. I still use Bluetooth to communicate with my Roam, and group it with my other Sonos speakers to play content from my iPad or iPhone. I’ve moved my library to other places (an NAS) for normal playback, especially when my mobile devices are not on the same LAN as the Sonos is. 

I suspect Sonos are secretly happy about this. Another reason to drop support for personal libraries altogether and just focus on an app that supports streaming services. New search not showing results for personal libraries and their new range of speakers being Bluetooth enabled spell it out loud and clear.