Sonos no longer support IOS streaming


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Just got the message Sonos will no longer support IOS devices . Looks like it’s time to sell my speakers .

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Hi. First you need to get your facts straight. Sonos is no longer able to supoort playing content stored on iPhones and iPads, as a result of changes Apple has made to iOS. The Sonos app for iOS will still be supported for playing all other sources.

Go ahead and sell. You will be the loser and someone else will benefit.
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So Apple makes changes and Sonos decides it can’t be bothered updating software . I use my phone to play my music and no I don’t want to join a streaming service or stream from my Mac. Oh or I could buy a new Sonos speaker that supports AirPlay. Ah ha there’s the logic behind this .
So Apple makes changes and Sonos decides it can’t be bothered updating software . I use my phone to play my music and no I don’t want to join a streaming service or stream from my Mac. Oh or I could buy a new Sonos speaker that supports AirPlay. Ah ha there’s the logic behind this .
It isn't something Sonos can fix alone. There are plenty of solutions that don't involve buying Sonos gear. But believe what you like. I recommend HomePods.
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Just got the message Sonos will no longer support IOS devices . Looks like it’s time to sell my speakers .

This is factually not true.

Sonos currently supports iOS 10 and higher.

They are just removing one, small, feature. Playing music that is downloaded and stored on the iOS phone or tablet.

Plenty of other ways to listen to your music.

  • Music Library
  • Plex Server
  • Upload your music to Google Play Music
  • Line-In
  • Airplay
  • etc.
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So Apple makes changes and Sonos decides it can’t be bothered updating software . I use my phone to play my music and no I don’t want to join a streaming service or stream from my Mac. Oh or I could buy a new Sonos speaker that supports AirPlay. Ah ha there’s the logic behind this .


Steward123 is entirely correct. The Sonos announcement says "The way this feature was originally architected has become unreliable with newer versions of iOS."

Let me translate. What they are saying is that when they (Sonos) developed the original architecture (design) for this feature, they got it wrong and as a result they are having trouble adapting it for later versions of iOS. This is not an Apple problem as some have stated, it is a Sonos problem.

Rather than invest the time and effort to revise the design of this portion of their app to fix it, Sonos is simply dropping it and in the process abandoning those iPhone users who we early adopters of their excellent product and hence do not have support for the AirPlay feature in their speakers and amps.

I, like Stewart, use my phone as my primary source of music for portability reasons - home, office, car. I, also like Stewart, don't want to subscribe to a streaming service which will replace my song versions with theirs, and reject songs that I have recorded from vinyl records because they don't have an acceptable digital rights signature.

Sonos, do the right thing here and invest the time and effort necessary to fix this issue rather than taking the quick and easy path of dropping a feature that some find very valuable! We have supported you through our purchase of your products. It is time for you to do the right thing and support us.
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Steward123 is entirely correct. The Sonos announcement says "The way this feature was originally architected has become unreliable with newer versions of iOS."

Let me translate. What they are saying is that when they (Sonos) developed the original architecture (design) for this feature, they got it wrong and as a result they are having trouble adapting it for later versions of iOS. This is not an Apple problem as some have stated, it is a Sonos problem.

Rather than invest the time and effort to revise the design of this portion of their app to fix it, Sonos is simply dropping it and in the process abandoning those iPhone users who we early adopters of their excellent product and hence do not have support for the AirPlay feature in their speakers and amps.

I, like Stewart, use my phone as my primary source of music for portability reasons - home, office, car. I, also like Stewart, don't want to subscribe to a streaming service which will replace my song versions with theirs, and reject songs that I have recorded from vinyl records because they don't have an acceptable digital rights signature.

Sonos, do the right thing here and invest the time and effort necessary to fix this issue rather than taking the quick and easy path of dropping a feature that some find very valuable! We have supported you through our purchase of your products. It is time for you to do the right thing and support us.


Thankyou Bob It’s nice to hear somebody else who is not happy about this ,other than earlier posters being up in arms about the fact that some people should feel aggrieved that they will not be able to play their library from the I phone .
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Its incredible that Sonos could not update its architecture for adapting IOS as it is one of the most used sources for music throw iPhone, iPad, etc
Please solve it. I can not expend more money updating Sonos interfaces
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What is more incredible is people not reading the explanation on why this has become a problem. Apple will have no interest in resolving this as they are now a wireless speaker provider, and besides they have AirPlay 2 for this very purpose. Yes annoying, and apple has history with this sort of thing, and I say that as an iOS user.

i am also amazed that anyone bought a Sonos system based on this unadvertised feature. It came as a surprise when I saw it, never used it either. A nas solution is far more reliable and saves space on my phone.
Steward123 is entirely correct. The Sonos announcement says "The way this feature was originally architected has become unreliable with newer versions of iOS."

Let me translate. What they are saying is that when they (Sonos) developed the original architecture (design) for this feature, they got it wrong and as a result they are having trouble adapting it for later versions of iOS. This is not an Apple problem as some have stated, it is a Sonos problem.


This just serves to demonstrate your complete ignorance of Sonos' system design. It is an absolutely fundamental part of Sonos' design that the app is just a controller. It is not a music player. It instructs the speakers to fetch the music from the specified source - and that applies to music stored on the same device as the app - the app is still not 'playing' the music. I strongly suspect that it is something in this process which is clashing with the latest iOS. Sonos could not have introduced this feature in any other way without a fundamental change to the nature of the app. Never worth it for a 'nice-to-have' additional feature.
in the process abandoning those iPhone users who we early adopters of their excellent product and hence do not have support for the AirPlay feature in their speakers and amps.

This takes the prize for the funniest comment so far. Early Sonos adopters bought their equipment before playing from a mobile device was possible on Sonos.
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It is not a music player. ....the app is still not 'playing' the music.

Dear John, I have re-read my post very carefully and can find in it no mention of the words "play", "player", or "playing", other than one reference to "AirPlay".

It is not a music player. ....the app is still not 'playing' the music.Dear John, I have re-read my post very carefully and can find in it no mention of the words "play", "player", or "playing", other than one reference to "AirPlay".

You were claiming Sonos had messed up the implementation. I was explaining that the nature of the way Sonos plays music meant that there was no other way to implement. If you had understood that you would not have said Sonos had messed up.
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For future reference, Stewart123 is referring to this message by Sonos: https://support.sonos.com/s/article/2922?language=en_US. So, not all support for iOS will be removed, just the possibility to play downloaded music stored on an iPhone. A bit of trouble for some, maybe best solved by using Airplay 2. For that you would need to have an Airplay 2 enable speaker, of which the One is the least expensive. When playing music from your iPhone via Airplay 2 to this speaker the speaker can be grouped with non-Airplay enabled Sonos speakers, or even de Connect/Connect Amp.

Yes, a work around that wil maybe cost you money, but imo not the end of the world and no reason to sell all Sonos if you prefer to (only) play music stored on your iPhone.
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I’m sorry but this seems like an easy get out for Sonos to me the article states that playing music from an I phone etc is becoming unreliable not that they cannot fix the issue at cost to themselves.
Definitely not the end of the world but easier to pass the cost on to the consumer .
I have two play 3s and a sub so I have invested around £1100 on Sonos gear ,( I’m sure a lot here have invested much more) and now to carry on playing from my I phone I need to spend another £150 for a play 1. Definitely the easiest and most beneficial scenario for Sonos.
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The Play:1 does not support Airplay 2. You would need a One at least, which is more expensive.

Sonos has to make choices in the support of which features they will spend their money. They are confronted by unsupportive partners like Apple. At that moment Sonos decides to spend the money on perfecting Google Assistant instead of investing in the feature you use. I think that this is understandable.

I agree that Sonos could be more open about what the problem really is and what a solution would cost to them - or even be more open about their choices. But I trust Sonos in that they do not make choices that impact parts of their customer base easily….
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in the process abandoning those iPhone users who were early adopters of their excellent product and hence do not have support for the AirPlay feature in their speakers and amps.
This takes the prize for the funniest comment so far. Early Sonos adopters bought their equipment before playing from a mobile device was possible on Sonos.



John,

The “On this iPhone” feature was introduced in 2012.

Of the current Sonos product line-up, the Play 5 was introduced in 2009, the Play 3 in 2011 and the PlayBar and Play 3 in 2013.

Sources: Wikipedia and Sonos

I would suggest that anyone who purchased a “Play” product in 2012 (and for a time thereafter) would have had access to this feature and could certainly be classified as an early adopter of the “Play” product line.
Userlevel 7
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Just got the message Sonos will no longer support IOS devices . Looks like it’s time to sell my speakers .


Since they seem worthless to you, I assume you’re not expecting to get much for them. How much are you offering them for?
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Thankyou Bob It’s nice to hear somebody else who is not happy about this ,other than earlier posters being up in arms about the fact that some people should feel aggrieved that they will not be able to play their library from the I phone .


Hi Stewart,

You’re welcome! The removal of a useful feature that has been available since 2012 is a legitimate concern, and your post expressing that concern was more that justified.

I have found another thread on this subject which is much more active, and on which the discussion is much more balanced and thoughtful.

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/upcoming-changes-to-on-this-iphone-or-ipad-playback-6826585

I suggest it would be worthwhile for you to re-post your comments there.

Thanks again for your thoughts on the matter.

Bob
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This is incredibly disappointing. To say this in an unadvertised feature is completely incorrect. In fact, for me, it was the primary reason why I invested in a comprehensive Sonos system (see Sonos's advertisement highlighting this precise feature: https://www.ispot.tv/ad/77HU/sonos-featuring-questlove-song-danny

While I don't blame Sonos per se as it is obviously a change in how Apple wants their platforms used (or not used) with sun-setting of iTunes and the break-up of the individual apps, I have GOT to believe there would be a way to pull content from the device and Sonos should absolutely pursue.

Yes it still streams, of course there are other options like building out a media server - but for many of us who have spent decades curating our music to truly have on our device - this is a huge step backwards.
Userlevel 1

Just got the message Sonos will no longer support IOS devices . Looks like it’s time to sell my speakers .This is factually not true.

Sonos currently supports iOS 10 and higher.

They are just removing one, small, feature. Playing music that is downloaded and stored on the iOS phone or tablet.

Plenty of other ways to listen to your music.

  • Music Library
  • Plex Server
  • Upload your music to Google Play Music
  • Line-In
  • Airplay
  • etc.

This is NOT one small feature, if you only have your music on your phone, and you do not have internet reliable enough for PLEX etc.., and you use your system set up as Surround. The airplay function IS NOT available in that setup even though Alexa still is available. Makes no sense to disable the AirPlay this IS a Sonos issue.
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This is NOT one small feature, if you only have your music on your phone, and you do not have internet reliable enough for PLEX etc.., and you use your system set up as Surround. The airplay function IS NOT available in that setup even though Alexa still is available. Makes no sense to disable the AirPlay this IS a Sonos issue.


So if you're mentioning Plex, that means you have a computer.

Sync your phone to your computer or download your purchased music to it, and index the music library.

If you just HAVE to have your music on your phone, look into getting an Android controller.
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I have a NAS with music on it at our other house that has great internet service. I do not think I should have to spend more money to make the $2000 I spent on all this stuff 3 months ago to make this continue to work Why can’t the AIrPlay work when I’m surround model is used? Alexa still does !
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I have a NAS with music on it at our other house that has great internet service. I do not think I should have to spend more money to make the $2000 I spent on all this stuff 3 months ago to make this continue to work Why can’t the AIrPlay work when I’m surround model is used? Alexa still does !

That's a great question for Sonos engeineers.

If I had to guess it's because you're trying to use a bonded speaker to send audio data to the rest of your system

Usually data transfer goes Master -> Slave not Slave -> Master.
Userlevel 1
This is ridiculous. I bought Sonos speakers BECAUSE I wanted to play music, listen to podcasts etc from my iPhone. Sonos, are you going to upgrade my speakers for free?

i want my money back.
Akubra91
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I am also not happy about being held hostage by APPLE AND SONOS.
Bad enough you have to buy a new I phone every couple of years to do the same thing your old one did .
But this is bullcrap
If I wanted to be on apple music Google or any other streaming music site I would be already .
Should not have to pay to use speakers that I own to play music That I own .
Maybe get rid of Alexa and all the the robot crap
I bought this system to play music on from my I phone and I pad .
You should also support your product

I also have to deal with this crap in my work as a musician and sound tech .
Some of the mixing boards I work with only work with older model ipads
BUT THEY STILL WORK .

Soon we will all be drowning in old iphones and obsolete tech
We can all rant all we want but nobody will do anything about it .
But they will take our money .

Think I will put together a nice analog system and plug my ipad into it
or I could just plug my ipad in to my TV until I can sell my sonos to some sucker .
If I sound like an unsatisfied customer it's because I am .