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


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

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

397 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Having the nav bar always visible and now playing always visible above it (either full screen or minimized) will always show the current room working with and what is now playing.
The tab bar always at the bottom will solve 95% of the complaints about navigation from those who would actually drop the act and admit there are some things better about this UI. I'm not sure why separating "My Sonos" (can we just call it "favorites"????) and browsing gets the reaction some have. I know I very rarely go to browse, I'm either in search or favorites. I also have many sources that I normally don't use, but still use occasionally. I don't want a screen of rarely used sources when I only want favorites, and I also don't want that screen if I'm going to search. Same as the Settings and alarms menus being separated; now I don't have to scroll through a dozen source selections just to set an alarm, and that is yet another good thing about the UI.
Userlevel 6
Badge +1
The tab bar always at the bottom will solve 95% of the complaints about navigation from those who would actually drop the act and admit there are some things better about this UI.

Well I'm sure that if sonos dropped their self-righteous act and rolled back to the previous version of the app, that would solve 100% of the complaints.

I'm not sure why separating "My Sonos" (can we just call it "favorites"????) and browsing gets the reaction some have. I know I very rarely go to browse, I'm either in search or favorites.

And there are plenty of people who do the exact opposite because their favorites are associated with the services they use. That way, if they are on the road they are still able to access the same songs, playlists and favorites. A single my sonos list suffices in that case to access the occasional radio station.

Same with the alarm. If you have a philips wakeup light, you won't be bothering with setting up a sonos alarm. Might as well get rid of that silly feature.

That others can and do use their sonos almost exactly opposite to you, is something you might want to keep in mind next time you reflect on the quality of the new interface.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
#1 - they won't roll back - steadfast rule. And makes no sense in that they can't role back new code and features they have invested in new version.

#2 - The My Sonos should be a repository for quick access to playlists etc. in all services. And Sonos playlists are great in that they can incorporate music from multiple different services. However, quick access to existing - like like my my playlists in Apple Music from My Sonos saves steps in going into the Apple Music app.

That others can and do use their sonos almost exactly opposite to you, is something you might want to keep in mind next time you reflect on the quality of the new interface.


Oh the freaking irony!!!! :8

And I never claimed for my reflections to be anything but my subjective opinion. That others deign themselves able to speak for all users should have no bearing on an assumption that I do the same.
Double post.
Badge
Totally agree . . .it is really a pain in the a.. 😠
Userlevel 6
Badge +1

That others can and do use their sonos almost exactly opposite to you, is something you might want to keep in mind next time you reflect on the quality of the new interface.


Oh the freaking irony!!!! :8


I guess we happily overlook that in the post I was reacting to, you used your own usage as the key argument.

As the defacto archivist of this board feel to find a case where I actually do that, instead of the focusing on the before and after. ;)

#1 - they won't roll back - steadfast rule. And makes no sense in that they can't role back new code and features they have invested in new version.
No doubt about that they clearly went for a big bang, without a way back. But such a rollback would solve 100% of the complaints :)

#2 - The My Sonos should be a repository for quick access to playlists etc. in all services. And Sonos playlists are great in that they can incorporate music from multiple different services. However, quick access to existing - like like my my playlists in Apple Music from My Sonos saves steps in going into the Apple Music app.

Depending on your personal usage patterns that may very well be true, which is way at the end of the day we can only argue before and after for individual elements and features. And when we do that we'll quickly come to the conclusion that for most changes, things are now less efficient.

Your idea of My Sonos is excellent in this regard. It would definitely safe people time and trouble, while removing the need to remember what you already favored in My Sonos. And in terms of clicks, it would've been just as easy in the previous as in the current interface. Conclusion: a great idea.

When we do the same exercise for reducing room selection & configuration to configuration only on the now playing screen, the conclusion will also be very clear: a bad idea. And there are quite some cases to be found like that.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Lets see what they come up with - then new version is an obvious work in process. At least these days releases are coming fairly quickly (a year or so ago you would have to wait 3-4 months at least for next release).

I guess we happily overlook that in the post I was reacting to, you used your own usage as the key argument.

As the defacto archivist of this board feel to find a case where I actually do that, instead of the focusing on the before and after. ;)


I expressed confusion over why others find something difficult or troubling where I do not. A far cry from someone who declares the definitive superiority of a "before" or "after" when others most certainly disagree. So now we aren't allowed to use our own usage in our own subjective analysis of a problem, yet one such as yourself who intimates they have the pulse of the majority of users when they analyze the pluses and minuses of "the before and after" can? You are really a riot.

Got news for you pal, it is all subjective personal opinion. Some of us don't disguise it as objective analysis when we know it is not.

Counting clicks is useless without context. I could easily reduce the number of clicks to search for recordings of Borneo drum circles by making a button that defaults to a search for Borneo drum circles. Tada! I reduced clicks and thus came up with a better UI. Except I didn't, I just made it easier to enter a rare search that may not be rare for Borneans who have a penchant for drum circles, but is relatively useless for the rest of us.

Similarly, without usage charts and marketing studies, you also cannot declare a simple reduction of clicks as a definitively better UI, for those added clicks may have allowed other, more oft used functions to flow more effectively or efficiently. You (just like I) have only one anecdotal user experience, and yours is no more definitive than mine. Counting clicks does nothing to change the fact that you are relying on that usage case and only that usage case (especially when that usage case tends to concentrate on those actions that increase/decrease the number of clicks in order to prove a predetermined outcome due to an initial reaction to an unfamiliar UI).
Userlevel 6
Badge +1
Counting clicks is useless without context. I could easily reduce the number of clicks to search for recordings of Borneo drum circles by making a button that defaults to a search for Borneo drum circles. Tada! I reduced clicks and thus came up with a better UI. Except I didn't, I just made it easier to enter a rare search that may not be rare for Borneans who have a penchant for drum circles, but is relatively useless for the rest of us.

Congratulations on your strong case against the notion of favorites. Really impressive. :)

Next time focus a little less on trying to shoot the messenger. You'll sound less ridiculous and notice that the large majority of the posts on this board are about ease of use and efficiency of common tasks (because that's what matters in a remote control).
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
What is it you dislike about the My Sonos section. It hold your Sonos Favorites plus you can add links to your favorites in other services.

I like having my Sonos Playlists handy as they a lot of times compromise music from various services and my home music library. Then its great having section such as my Apple Music Favorites. Which dynamically then stays up to date with all my favorites in the Apple Music app so I don't have to dive into the Apple Music app - my favorites are stored in their own section in the My Sonos section.

I think the My Sonos section has a lot more power then the old Sonos favorites since you can incorporate in sections from other services for quick links.

What more would I want from the section to complain about? (other then fact you can't backup your Sonos favorites but that is nothing unique to this or any other version of Sonos Controller).
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Example: All music I Shazam automatically saves to an Apple Music Shazam playlist. When I decide I want to listen to my Shazaam tracks I could go to Browse..Apple Music..My Music..Playlists..My Shazam Tracks.

Or I can click on My Sonos .. my top section is Apple Music Playlists so all I have to do then is click My Shazam Tracks.

Easy and very useful in My Sonos. Saves me a lot of clicks. Why would I not want this favorites functionality.


Congratulations on your strong case against the notion of favorites. Really impressive. :)

Next time focus a little less on trying to shoot the messenger. You'll sound less ridiculous and notice that the large majority of the posts on this board are about ease of use and efficiency of common tasks (because that's what matters in a remote control).


Ahhhh sarcasm, insults, and dismissal. Who exactly is shooting the messenger here?

No problem, though. I understand how only two or so months after the release people having to bump the threads in order to get any attention can be hard on you. It can really shoot some holes in the "It's not muscle memory!" theory when people stop posting once their muscle memory readjusts. The 5.0 thread lasted 5 months, this campaign is sputtering after 2. Bunch of pikers. 😃
Userlevel 6
Badge +6
For goodness sake drop the muscle memory nonsense. None of us are idiots — we all have reasonable cognitive abilities. Given enough time each of us could learn Macbeth, Pi to 100 places, Polish are anything else you care to mention. So 2 months in we’ve all adapted to v8. So what, does that it must be good ?? In my opinion (I stress MY option) it’s still a crock of ****.

Andrew
I predict that very soon this and the other 8.0 threads are going to get real quiet, aside from people praising the changes to come. Just like what happened when a few tweaks (that, ironically, were suggested by the more rational posters) fixed the most glaring problems with 5.0, and a little retraining of muscle memory did the rest.

We will see who is right.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
I'm putting my money down on jgatie if we are taking bets!
Userlevel 6
Badge +1
An easy bet to win. Most of us have no intention of squatting this forum the way the fanboys do. Eventually we'll cut our losses and move on. And there are plenty of alternatives to move onto by now (Samsung, Bose, Bluesound, etc).

Sonos is an interesting position in that regard. They can listen to their customers and get back to the excellent user experience of the early days, or lose the loyalty and word of mouth that got them were they are today. Up to them to decide.
Userlevel 1
My issues are not just with the UI. Since the 8.x updates I have been having stability issues on a system that has been rock solid for 3 years in it's current location.
I have had much of my system since 2013, yes this has happened before with the UI, my issues with the development stand, it is the simple things they screw up every time they do a redesign and it feels rushed. QA is important and to me it really feels like it got cut short or skipped.

But that's just like, my opinion, man.
Yeah, lets ask the posters in the 5.0 thread about their many and varied threats to leave Sonos for superior competitors. It will be easy to do, most of them are in here clamoring to get it back!

See, the thing with "or the bunny gets it" threats is the bunny never actually gets it!. It just hangs around until the next time the easily indignant get their feathers in a ruffle over the next bunch of UI changes.

And PS - I still hate the queue changes! 😃
My issues are not just with the UI. Since the 8.x updates I have been having stability issues on a system that has been rock solid for 3 years in it's current location.
I have had much of my system since 2013, yes this has happened before with the UI, my issues with the development stand, it is the simple things they screw up every time they do a redesign and it feels rushed. QA is important and to me it really feels like it got cut short or skipped.

But that's just like, my opinion, man.


Every update has these types of issues with a couple dozen posters. In the vast majority of the cases they are due to underlying network problems, specifically IP conflicts, which are uncovered by the update. If you wish to cure this, do the following:

Reboot/power cycle your devices in the following order:

Modem
Router
Switches or hubs
Wired Sonos units
Wireless Sonos units
Computers/printers
Wireless devices - phones/tablets etc.

Allow each device to come back up before proceeding to the next. Note that you can permanently prevent duplicate IP addresses by assigning an IP to each device's MAC address in the router setup. See your router manual for details.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
There are some regular contributors here that at the time of 5.0 were rather vile in their criticism of Sonos (not unlike many who have been voicing their opinion on this revision). The application adjusted and so did they.

Why is anyone who is reasonably patient a "fanboy". I've expressed what I don't like about the current version and that's that. I don't have to dwell on it awaiting the next revision. And I'm not arrogant enough to believe what I want is best (they have never given us a queue lock/party mode even after the horrible queue changes in last revision). There are a lot of things I don't like about the last version. This version is a little worse but I think with potential to be much better. I'm looking forward to the next changes.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
also - my network with latest revisions has never had any issue. If people are having issues with their Sonos devices after recent updates they are most likely do to IP Conflicts or other network issues that came to light on reboots. They can be fixed by going through steps to resolve. I have seen no inherint changes in the new version to cause Sonos to behave any differently on a network then the past.

I have permanent fixed IP Addresses on all my network devices and I rarely have any issues with devices after they are updated/rebooted from any vendor.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Wow I just subscribed to Spotify for the first time in years. The new Sonos app is an exact copy of the Spotify app. I mean down to all the behaviors. They went for a copy and now need to tweak it for Sonos multiroom obviously.

Even the little red room menu many complain about is there on Spotify.

Do people complain as much on the Spotify forum?
Userlevel 6
Badge +6
The postings of unhappiness have died down — of course they have. There are only a finite number of users and it’s not like we seem to have Sonos’s ear. And there a few posters who like to shout down any dessent, so it’s not like it is a rewarding pastime.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter if v8 is better or worse than 7 or if 6 was better than 5 or if 4 was better than all of them. Personally my memory doesn’t recall what came before the last one.

The question should be if is v8 good enough? I don’t think it is. I think it is a terrible design. Sonos have kindly posted a guide to changing rooms, referring to their being a steep learning curve. Excuse me ?? So the problems are not of Sono’s making, then — but more of our ineptitude!! No, it is not a steep lurning curve — it is clearly poor design. The fact that they have had to post a guide (when none was ever needed before) should be a source of embarrassment for the company and a clear sign they have got it wrong.

I don’t care which of the last 8 versions were best. I stand by what I posted above —- in my opinion, v8 is a crock of ****.

Andrew