Please go back to the last app, the update sucks SO bad!


Userlevel 5
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Is there any way to revert back to the last app before the recent update? This latest update is just plain stupid.

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397 replies

Userlevel 4
Hi guys, the new app update is really non-intuitive. I don’t know where to start... Navigation is awful. Simply trying to change volume in different rooms and muting some speakers is... well I’m not sure how. If I’m having trouble, no doubt many or most users are. Hope you put it right.
Userlevel 3
New app a huge step backwards, roll it back. Very poor control and poorly thought out
Userlevel 3
I totally agree
Userlevel 3
Totally agree. I want the old app back. Not intuitive at all.
Userlevel 3
I also agree! Selecting which device you want to control sucks now!
Userlevel 3
I’m baffled by the latest update. Sonos UI is its biggest obstacle to adoption in my opinion. It’s incredible how often I’ve had to teach people how to navigate their UI but in general once people get the hang of it they like it. Now I’m wondering how in the hell im supposed to relearn a UI that literally seems to have been created to do nothing better but merely different. It’s surreal.
Userlevel 4
Badge +3
Plus 1 for the old app. I very much dislike the new one.
Userlevel 4
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Cross posted from another thread - I made the mistske of telling Google Store to update the Sonos app. Once the app updated it self and all my speakers were upgraded, I found the new UI to be terrible and not have dark backgrounds, among many other issues. I uninstalled the 8.0 app and found an apk mirror for Sonos 7.4, I reverted back to 7.4 for android to get the original, useful UI back that also has the wonderful dark backgrounds and a host of other things. No issues so far... 🙂
Userlevel 2
I couldn't agree with the feedback in this thread more! As an IT professional, a huge Sonos advocate and a trained UI practitioner, I've been aghast at the latest application update. I mindlessly and trustingly allow the upgrade to my Andriod device as did several members of my family. We've all been super happy with Sonos in the past particularly based on the user experience and ease of use. I've given Play 3 systems several times as gifts and raved about it to others.

I'm now super frustrated by the counter-intuitive UI and my inability to find basic functions in the app. My family has dramatically reduced the use of our Sonos systems (we have two, one at home (5 units) and one in our vacation home (3 units). I've suspended any thought of further investment in Sonos gear until this gets addressed.

To call this a step backwards would be a compliment in comparison to the actual situation. This upgrade is a complete fail! The gap between Sonos and the competition has closed considerably if not completely based on this. The technology is still stellar, but it's a complete shame to see it so severely diluted based on a horrible user experience. Please, please, please, get some UX engineers on staff and revert back to your old style UI. It was best in class, now it's awful, full stop!

Signed a disappointed Sonos owner and former advocate....
Userlevel 1
I have to agree... The new update makes things a lot harder to access... Sonos' strength was it's intuitive interface... They got worse with the update that just automatically adds a clicked song to your queue without giving you the option menu of what you want to do with it... Then this update totally made them tank.. I have 16 Sonos pieces in my place, which has made me a Sonos specialist. This is why I can break down clearly why the update fails logically... Sonos, you had a great thing going but you're getting closer to committing suicide with each update.. Listen to these users... Like some in this post, I created a profile just to let you know how disappointing this update is...Give me a call so I can help with constructive feedback.. I want to stay a fan of Sonos but you guys are making it hard.. I definitely don't look at Sonos the same way after this update
Userlevel 2
Badge +1
As a 10+ year user of Sonos I have been a huge advocate of theirs. However, This newly redesigned Sonos app is a huge leap backwards. In this day and age, one of the most important elements of a technology system is the GUI or user interface. When Sonos released the original app it was a game changer and greatly moved things forward where needed to be to keep up with current times. This however is the most unintuitive app I have ever used. My family is so frustrated with it they want to go back to my LCD Sonos controllers that I once had mounted on the wall throughout the house. The Alexa voice control is a wonderful thing which I use daily but it is obviously limited and the Sonos app is critical to making this system fully functional . This needs to be addressed ASAP. Please Sonos, don't make me convert my entire 12 zone home to something else.
Userlevel 1
My system no longer works. All of my controllers keep insisting that I upgrade, but every upgrade installation fails. So now I have a dead 9-room system. THANK YOU MORON SONOS PRODUCT MANAGER! How do I get out of this brain-dead beta program?
Userlevel 1
This app upgrade is the worst I’ve ever seen. I used to go around and tell people that Sonos made an app that is intuitive and has everything in place just how it should be. Now, I am telling everyone the exact opposite. Stay away. Sonja used to be great, now it SUCKS.

The people who were in charge of this upgrade should be fired and replaced. HORRIBLE. I read blogs all the time, but never write back. So for the first time I am doing it, because I cannot stand this app. Can’t believe people actually sat around a table and made the decision that it was a great improvement.

This is not about getting used to new app changes. I’ve been using for a while now and have confirmed my initial impression that this was the worst upgrade in history. Strong work SONOS!!

Please go back to the way it was.

#verydisappointed
Userlevel 1
Agreed, this app is a disaster! I am a Sonos dealer, new customers are frustrated. Sonos has always had an easy to use interface that is easy to teach to new clients after the install was complete. They have now taken a MAJOR step backwards! They have almost begun to make the BluSound App look easy. Come on Sonos, what happened?
Userlevel 1
Please, please roll back to the old one. All the recent updates seem to make it worse. I'm sure the UI is fine if you have a single room or something but a I have Sonos in most rooms and the UI is a bear to work with. I've given it some time and I hate it more every day.
Userlevel 1
The SINGLE WORST FEATURE, if you even want to call it that is queue management for the rooms. Horrific. Literally a joke that this got by QA.

In the old APP (7.4) on Android or iOS, you could have two people playing different queues of music in Room A and Room B. If I closed the app on my phone and later went back in, I went back into the original room and queue I was playing music from.

NOW. When I go back in, I'm presented with the last room and queue that was accessed LAST by any controller on the network.

The queues also get mixed up so that now my Romo A has inherited the queue from Room B and vice versa. Finally getting the controller to switch to a different room is bloody impossible and rarely works without going in and selecting and deselecting multiple rooms until the controller gets it right. During all of this, rooms mysteriously disappear and then reappear.

Seriously the worst upgrade of all time. Back to 7.4 😠
Come on now Sonos. It’s time this got sorted. You are not bigger than your customers. You’ve had a month already.
Userlevel 3
Badge +6
Just piling on. Long time Sonos user and this is THE worst controller layout I think I've ever used. While I HAVE gotten used to it and I can get around just fine it is seriously the most unintuitive layout possible.

Probably the worst offender to the whole thing is how the menu bar on the bottom disappears on you. At a bare minimum this should be displayed at all times.
Userlevel 1
My opinion and experience is clearly reflected in the comments. TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE. The UI is not intuitive and room changing doesn't work. I'm very frustrated.
Userlevel 2
I uninstalled the 8.0 app and found an apk mirror for Sonos 7.4, I reverted back to 7.4 for android to get the origina...No issues so far... :)

Did this and it worked - so happy to get the old app back. The new one has just about the worst UX/UI I've encountered.
Userlevel 2
I uninstalled the 8.0 app and found an apk mirror for Sonos 7.4, I reverted back to 7.4 for android

How did you do that exactly?


1. Delete 8.0 version app

2. Download the APK from site like:
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/sonos-inc/sonos/sonos-7-4-release/sonos-controller-for-android-7-4-android-apk-download/

2.5 If downloaded on computer transfer APK to phone with memory card, email, Drive, or Dropbox

3. Install APK
Userlevel 3
Had sonos for ~4 years now, I just setup my Sonos account so I could add my voice to this thread.

This update to the mobile apps is HORRIBLE! I have to stumble through commands to decide whether I am group rooms together or working on a new room, it takes about 3 tries to choose the right sequence to find my Sonos Favorites, or choose a new music service for the right room/group.

And... White default background is horrible for many reasons. Please go back to the more simplistic setup, and provide an alternative to White!
Userlevel 5
Badge +10
If people cannot tell the difference between logical organisation and flow on the one hand and visuals on the other, there is nothing I can do about that. Sonos will not and should not go back to 7.4. They will make v8 better. I am signing off on this topic now because life is too short....

You are right-the dozen or so threads are just from simpletons who don’t understand basic navigation on software.

You should write a book

They shouldn’t have to explain how things work. That’s the point. That’s the problem. That’s what the difference of being intuitive and not. If it was it would just “work”. This isn’t happening
Userlevel 3
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I hate the new app. I look at it and I can't find anything I need. It takes several menu actions to change the music or locate your room, who knows where my favorites went... When a room is selected, there is no option to change the setting without going back. My kids can't figure it out either. We have to use the computer because the app is so bad. The menu on the bottom of the new application should never disappear when you select the room. I've been a customer 10+ years and go back to the CR100 controller so I have been around a while and welcomed all the upgrades but this one is total crap. I don't want to dig through my app looking for settings, I want to listen to music. The app is no longer simple or intuitive. ROLL IT BACK!!!
Userlevel 1
Remember the days that you could easily switch rooms in the app? How I long for those. There is some async issue when changing rooms. The UI suggests that it is changing rooms, however, it will constantly revert back to the room it was on when I started down the road of changing rooms. Please patch this. The app used to be amazing when it came to managing all of the music in my house, and having four different zones makes this feature a must have for me.