New ios app sucks

  • 15 October 2017
  • 51 replies
  • 2411 views

Userlevel 4
Badge +6
I upgraded to app v8 it started by not connecting to my 2 play 3s and 1 play 1,
had too set it all up as a new system never had this happen when i have updated
app.
Also dont like the layout one bit, is there anyway to get the old ios app back on
my ipad iphone both on ios 11.

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51 replies

I swipe down in MY SONOS, still no favorites. What am I doing wrong? Unable to see them at all.

Everyone I have spoken to hates this new app. My wife also has trouble getting to any channel we previously liked on. Way to ruin a great thing.

I will NEVER have a mic in my house, so am very upset . Your #1 priority should be to fix this app.
My Sonos is the new Favourites, you don't need to swipe down, You should see your Favourites categorised by type
I click MY SONOS, I swipe down, i see my phone notifications.

Still unable to see favorites.

And if you have to come to a forum to figure this out, id say its pretty universally terrible.
My Sonos is the new Favorites, you don't need to swipe down, You should see your Favourites categorised by type

I go to the Windows PC app, favorites are there, go to MY SONOS, nothing there.
I recently updated my MacOS app to v8.0 and iOS app to v8.1 and have some feedback on the horrible new UI.

Suggestions to the Sonos UX team:

[1] The UI between the Mac and iOS versions is different, specifically the iOS version has a button MySonos while the Mac version is called Sonos Favorites. I don’t know if this is a matter of one version being older than the other, but it’s confusing to call what I think is the same feature by two different names. I think “favorites” is the simplest label for this feature.

[2] There’s a UI change on the iOS version which I feel is a big mistake and has resulted in a worse user experience. Specifically in the previous version when I clicked what is now called My Sonos (I think it was called favorites like the Mac version, which makes more sense) I would see a vertical list of my favorite stations, music etc with a small icon for each item. In the new version I see a horizontal list of stations etc with a large icon for each item. The problem with the new UI is that on an iPhone 6 Plus I can only see two of my favorites unless I press the “see all” button, which changes to the vertical format, where I can see 9 of my favorites.

[3] When I updated my iOS app I was informed that I needed an account and that the account associated with my Sonos system is w***C@yahoo.com. Since I have never had a Yahoo! account with this email address I’m wondering if you use this as a default email address for anyone who doesn’t already have a registered account, or if someone has taken over my account with their email address?

I really hope you change the default My Sonos/Favorites display back to the vertical format which is much more user friendly.

Overall the recent Mac/iOS app updates were a yuuuge mistake (from a UX perspective) for me.
[3] There is no default email. What often happens is if you use an installer, they put their own designated account email into the system. This is addressed in the follwing FAQ: https://sonos.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4136




I don’t recognize the email that is displayed. Can I change the email?
Yes. If someone else installed your Sonos system, it may be registered to their email address. You can change the email by tapping on “I don’t have access to this email.” This will allow you to enter in a new email address that you have access to. Your Sonos products will be registered to the new email that you’ve entered.

Can I change the email address for my account?
You can change the email address for your account at any time at sonos.com/myaccount/profile/.

I forgot my password and no longer have access to my account's email, can I change the Sonos account my players are linked to?
Yes. You can transfer the account your Sonos system is registered and linked to.

Open the Sonos app. From the More tab, tap Settings > My Sonos Account > Transfer Sonos to a new account
Using the Sonos app on Mac or PC: Select Help > My Sonos Account > Transfer Sonos to a new account



You should probably transfer your system to the account you used to register here using the last procedure in the quoted FAQ.
Update sucks. Not intuitive and constantly shifts room selections. NOT an improvement. Who knew it was so hard?
Userlevel 1
I couldn’t agree more with this. Since the downgrade to version 8 I now have a load of Sonos kit that is virtually defunct. I don’t have time to mess about with the app to try and get music playing, the whole point was easy, instant music to help people relax and enjoy life, or so I thought. Now we have a harsh screen and no logical way to get music to play. After a few minutes of stress trying to get it to do something you maybe lucky or may have to just give up and move on with life. I am hoping Sonos will release an upgrade to version 7 soon, before I go and find a replacement system. Sonos, can you please let me know how I can upgrade to version 7 from this Micky Mouse version of illogical, user-unfriendly rubbish?

Short of that can we get version 9 out very soon ( by the weekend would be good, after all you already have the code working and tested it just need the version number hanging from 7 to 9)? The app icon is still black with white writing, let’s make version 9 have a black background to match. When we open a room let’s put a method of playing music on THAT screen. After all surely I would want to select a service to play the music in a room??? Even if we don’t have access to all of the advanced features without a three year training course followed by a 5 year masters in Sonos use it would be nice to stream some music into a room every once in a while.
Come on Sonos it’s ok to make a mistake as long as you admit it and rectify it. I guess it’s apt this is version 8, reminds me of a Windows version of the same number.
Userlevel 1
I have always been a fan of Sonos but this app has totally p****d me off. I work in tech, trained in electronics and software, and run teams of people who write apps so I believe I am entitled to pass comment at least as a consumer..

To those who have challenged the critique as not being specific enough:

1) The overall presentation of the app is just poorly executed. Colour combinations look like they're not thought through. Pages don't follow logically. The overall UX is just bad.

2) The previous drop-down to change rooms replaced with this comedy thing where the underlying assumption appears to be you will normally combine rooms. Why? Groups worked fine, since the update I find 8 times out of 10 I've somehow got two or more rooms linked.. when I go to ungroup them, 7 times out of 10 I stop the music in the place I actually want it. OK, some will argue this is user incompetence.. funny how I never had the issue before.. funny how my wife is howling about how difficult it now is to use the Sonos.

3) The one that drives me most crazy. On at least a dozen occasions it has taken me the best part of five minutes to even FIND where the accessible content is; we have Spotify and TuneIn Radio connected plus our own music collection on the LAN, but I regularly find myself jabbing away in the top corners, the bottom corners, swiping up, swiping down, and somehow infuriatingly never actually finding the content to change what's playing.

It's really basic stuff when making such profound changes to an app that you put it in the hands of a broad cross-section of existing users and get their honest feedback on the new version. 100% clear you did not do that or you would have received the wall of negative feedback BEFORE you deployed the new version and saved us all the pain.

My wife is very smart but hates tech. So she's my benchmark for whether tech is user-friendly or not. For five years Sonos has been the centre of her days in the house - now she won't even use it.
Userlevel 2
Couldn't agree more and chuckled to myself about the comment re: wife.
Mine simply gave up in frustration after trying to manage our 8 component system and playlists/favourites etc.

Has simply said 'let me know when they fix it' otherwise she has decided not to use it anymore. Kind of sad... she typically plays lots of music for our young daughers who love 'dance parties'

I have always been a fan of Sonos but this app has totally p****d me off. I work in tech, trained in electronics and software, and run teams of people who write apps so I believe I am entitled to pass comment at least as a consumer..

To those who have challenged the critique as not being specific enough:

1) The overall presentation of the app is just poorly executed. Colour combinations look like they're not thought through. Pages don't follow logically. The overall UX is just bad.

2) The previous drop-down to change rooms replaced with this comedy thing where the underlying assumption appears to be you will normally combine rooms. Why? Groups worked fine, since the update I find 8 times out of 10 I've somehow got two or more rooms linked.. when I go to ungroup them, 7 times out of 10 I stop the music in the place I actually want it. OK, some will argue this is user incompetence.. funny how I never had the issue before.. funny how my wife is howling about how difficult it now is to use the Sonos.

3) The one that drives me most crazy. On at least a dozen occasions it has taken me the best part of five minutes to even FIND where the accessible content is; we have Spotify and TuneIn Radio connected plus our own music collection on the LAN, but I regularly find myself jabbing away in the top corners, the bottom corners, swiping up, swiping down, and somehow infuriatingly never actually finding the content to change what's playing.

It's really basic stuff when making such profound changes to an app that you put it in the hands of a broad cross-section of existing users and get their honest feedback on the new version. 100% clear you did not do that or you would have received the wall of negative feedback BEFORE you deployed the new version and saved us all the pain.

My wife is very smart but hates tech. So she's my benchmark for whether tech is user-friendly or not. For five years Sonos has been the centre of her days in the house - now she won't even use it.
@Alastair_M. With regard to your points 2 and 3, I am not personally experiencing those difficulties but it must be frustrating to do so. I don't know if this will help, but I offer it in the hope it does.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mI9AOixsZpxDrxVnsnzYQbPZ23bSV-EG
Userlevel 2
I couldn’t agree more with this. Since the downgrade to version 8 I now have a load of Sonos kit that is virtually defunct. I don’t have time to mess about with the app to try and get music playing, the whole point was easy, instant music to help people relax and enjoy life, or so I thought. Now we have a harsh screen and no logical way to get music to play. After a few minutes of stress trying to get it to do something you maybe lucky or may have to just give up and move on with life. I am hoping Sonos will release an upgrade to version 7 soon, before I go and find a replacement system. Sonos, can you please let me know how I can upgrade to version 7 from this Micky Mouse version of illogical, user-unfriendly rubbish?

Short of that can we get version 9 out very soon ( by the weekend would be good, after all you already have the code working and tested it just need the version number hanging from 7 to 9)? The app icon is still black with white writing, let’s make version 9 have a black background to match. When we open a room let’s put a method of playing music on THAT screen. After all surely I would want to select a service to play the music in a room??? Even if we don’t have access to all of the advanced features without a three year training course followed by a 5 year masters in Sonos use it would be nice to stream some music into a room every once in a while.
Come on Sonos it’s ok to make a mistake as long as you admit it and rectify it. I guess it’s apt this is version 8, reminds me of a Windows version of the same number.
totally agree. This thing never was that user friendly, but new app has made it completely frustrating. My two Play1s are going to be dust collectors. Going back to old school audio. Hit a bitton, listen to (higher) quality sound.
So disappointed! What a huge step backwards this new UI is. Been a user for years, referred so many to Sonos over the years and have 13 zones myself. I absolutely hate using the app now and Sonos in general. My usage is way down. Everyone in my family also is having issues. So many steps to get things done that used to be so simple. I have spoken to many friends with Sonos and all feel the same. I would never recommend Sonos at this point and hope they completely revert back or give people the choice. I have no idea how such an innovative company has made such a huge mistake!
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Can't stand the new G.U.I. it is not intuitive at all and is horrible to navigate... the white screen is awful and it's next to impossible to get from one screen to the next... is there anyway to go back to the former version?
Userlevel 1


It is eminently logical compared to the old system.


How is it logical to skip to the next song when touching a station? You have to touch the up arrow at the bottom to bring up the station menu instead of station itself...there is nothing logical about it.
I'm a longtime Sonos user and I agree this new interface is baffling and painful to use. It's not intuitive because you launch the app and immediately seek to play certain music in a specific zone. On the main welcome screen, there are Sonos playlists and random radio stations. The only visual cue is the white bottom display that shows what's playing in what zone. The bottom menus are black and fade against the phone, and so you forget about them, and click the white now playing button, with two stacked dot/dash menus but neither lets you simply browse and pick the music from your available stations, services, etc. You then remember about the menu buttons, so close the details and go to browse to find music.

Apps should be intuitive in their workflow so users can easily figure out and remember how to use them. The old app did that but this one does not, and so whatever cool features it may have are offset by the painful user experience it imposes. Hopefully, Sonos finds a way to restore their app to an intuitive and easy-to-use experience.
Can I repeat a question asked at the very beginning of this thread that doesn't seem to have been answered... is there any way to get back to the old layout? Thanks
No.
That's a shame. So maybe I'll just add my "two-pennorth" on the new layout. I feel the same way about this update as I do about supermarkets who change the layout in their stores just as you get to know where everything you need is. I used to use the front page of the old app to provide one-click access to all my available music sources - i.e. Sonos favourites, radio, spotify, deezer, music library etc etc. Now I cant find most of them. Since I'm reasonably competent I expect I will find other solutions - I'll probably use the native Spotify app and iPlayer more - but my wife, I am sure, having just become reasonably familiar with the old Sonos layout, will just go back to the radio - which is a shame, The vast majority of computer updates such as this are driven by technophiles who tend to forget that not everyone is as tech-savvy as they are and don't want to invest the time or have the interest in going back to square one whenever the developers get bored with the status-quo.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
If you dislike the current Sonos app your going to dislike the native Spotify app —- as they are identical.

The browse button at the bottom of the current Sonos screen is nearly identical to the previous home screen with all music sources that you say your having difficulty finding The biggest issue is that navigation bar is hidden by the now playing screen (actually exactly like the current Spotify app). The only difference vs old source menu is the Sonos favorites are moved to their own dedicAted button (my Sonos). Otherwise everything is just as it was in prior version.

Sonos has said they are using customer feedback to improve on this and expect a new release coming fairly soon.

For now just remember to always swipe down the now playing to get back to all your options.
Userlevel 6
Badge +1
If you dislike the current Sonos app your going to dislike the native Spotify app —- as they are identical.

There's indeed quite some similarity - the resemblance with apple music is even more eerie - and most likely the result of copycat 'design'. And not surprising, android users weren't happy either when Spotify changed their navigation.

If there is one thing to be said though about the Spotify app is that you can actually select a different room using their equivalent of the red room thingy (devices available).
Userlevel 7
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Yep Spotify even has that red room thingy.
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Many problems with the new iphone app, music sources seem to disappear, virtually impossible to switch between different rooms playing different music/radio stations. I found the only way to do it successful was to resort to the Windows app. That, at least still seems to function simply and correctly. With the iphone app I have found it necessary to either shutdown and restart the phone, if closing the app and clearing the iphone memory does not work.

A Horrible update. Ive seen no comments from The Sonos tech team about this, unless I'm looking at the wrong forum?
Userlevel 3
Badge +4
Try SonoPad, it will end all the frustration, no I’m not connected just a happy user.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Just remember to always flick down on the now playing screen and you should be ok until the next update.