Wait, sorry, I screwed up. Swift native? That means there’s real hope of getting this right on iOS at least, and I’ll let Android users comment too. What parts are Swift and what parts are Flutter? This is crucial for accessibility.
@Nick6489
The only portion of the experience that is in Flutter is what we call “wizards”. The cards that pop up from the bottom of the screen to either walk you through setting up your products or give you tips about how things work. With respect to accessibility, I can share that the wizards are reading the screen content on iOS. I just checked personally on today’s release.
Everything else is native UI. The home screen, search, browse, system view, now playing view, queue view, settings, etc.
One other piece of technology we use is a secure web view for areas that require authentication.
Overall, we think of this as one experience. We will not be satisfied until the entire experience is accessible.
Okay. This is an excellent answer.
Ya know, I'm just a simple guy with simple needs. That's why i bought a Sonos system. I have little interest in the nuts and bolts. I just want to turn it on and have it work. It's not doing that now. Last week it was. I really don't care what your challenges are. That's your problem. Now your problem has become my problem. Pull the plug and roll everyone back.
After what i witnessed here, i believe a professional damage control team should be in order.
Do you have a timeline for fixing the CBC Radio streams that have been broken in the new app? Many people have complained on your boards. Nobody appears to be fixing them.
Please address the rationale behind the removal of sleep timers and alarms. You must have telemetry showing that these were very heavily used features of the app. And yet now they are gone.
@CacheCoherence - we never intended to ship without Alarm Settings.
(I am copying this in since the threading is difficult to follow here)
On the morning of the app launch, we discovered a data corruption error around the new Alarms APIs. The corruption could cause alarms to go off in the wrong room at the wrong volume with the wrong content! In order to save your alarms, we made the difficult decision to remotely disable the alarm settings feature and then completely lock it out. It allowed us to make sure your alarms stayed as they were - but at the steep cost of taking away your ability to change them yourself.
The team rallied to make sure we could turn this feature back on safely. You can have Alarm Settings back right now!
- Update your app to:
- iOS: 80.00.08 - available now in the App Store
- Android: 80.00.05 - available now in the Play Store
- Update your firmware to 79.0-52294 - available now via the Sonos App:
- Tap the settings gear in the top right
- Select “Manage” next to your system name
- Select System Updates
- Select Check for Updates
- Launch the Sonos app twice in order to guarantee we fetch the latest feature flags:
- Start the Sonos app
- Force quit the app
- Start the Sonos app again
I don’t use the alarm function. If I update the app on the one device where I’ve already updated to keep that one up to date, will this mess up the older app on my other devices where I haven’t updated? I’d like to be able to keep the other devices from being updated as long as possible, so I can still control my system, while monitoring the progress of the new app on the one device.
SONOS MANAGERS: You consider the complaints as it was for S1 to S2. IT IS NOT THE SAME! S1 to S2 migration was clearly explain before downloading.
NOT THIS TIME! Your clients are hostages.
No warnings before dowloading this new downgrade app and since no appologies from you! Only polical answers from an internal point of you. Shame on you.
Can you please explain to me how I am supposed to trust the leadership of this company?
the last week has seen:
-an app marketed as “better” remove core functionality without telling us.
-a chance to receive and review feedback and still sending out promo emails saying the app is better when the consumer base is saying it does jot fulfill user needs.
-a statement praising the company for the release and gaslighting the users who do not like it.
-a statement outlining the dates at which features will be reimplemented meaning you were aware you were marketing a less functionally capable app as “better”
-a timeline of “months” to restore core functionality meaning that from the first promo emails on April 23 you knew that the the app would be functionally inferior to what we already had.
-an announcement of an AMA seemingly in response to the overwhelming negative feedback
-a failure to host the AMA on a host actually capable of facilitating the conversation
-a stunning lack of participation from the admins
-PR speak in response to the most committed customers voicing legitimate complaints.
frankly, the Sonos app launch was a failure. the response has been condescending, patronizing and flat out insulting.
A ‘thumbs-up like’ on its own is not enough to support this post. Best post of the day and a succinct and accurate summary of the situation.
I’ve only observed up till now. There are only three respondents to, what — 400 users here ? While the Sonos replies are too few and too infrequent, they each generate further exponential posts, many just to get in a snarky response. This was never going to work. There have been plenty of pertinent questions posed, but also far too much mud-slinging which was never going to add anything. Maybe next time, a different platform for the Q&A, and hopefully a few more adults in the room.
I think if they would have come out and apologized right away and then laid out some semblance of a plan to make it right - they could have changed this trajectory quickly.
Oh come on, I’m an adult — I don’t need an apology from someone I’ve never met. And an apology would be derided on here as insincere — the staffers here have been put in an absolutely impossible situation, that absolutely anything they say will be copied, pasted and shot to pieces. The release schedule up till mid-June already shows some semblance of a plan to make it right. It’s a bloody app, for god’s sake - it was released too early, it’s buggy and bug fixes are coming. Many in here need to learn how to behave.
Whilst I agree to a degree with your comments. It was relatively calm at the start and most people were waiting for what was going to be said. Things only started to go awry when there was a considerable delay in responding to questions. Also I think certain attendees were expecting a different format.
Then when they answers did start to infrequently arrive, it was David Brentism’s all the way. Pure management speak which added nothing.
Not that it matters, but personally I think an apology would have calmed things down significantly.
Everyone knows mistakes are made and people on whole are pretty forgiving if you put you hands up and say sorry.
Unfortunately, sonos decided to take the route of doubling-down on their mistakes and further antagonised everyone in the room. This hasn’t helped and has made a bad situation worse.
As many people have suggested, just make the old app available while bugs are ironed out of the new app.
Just been accused by Mike R H from sonos of attacks without any basis. This is what they are doing. Fighting everyone and ignoring all valid concerns. Boycott Sonos. Let them burn.
Wait, sorry, I screwed up. Swift native? That means there’s real hope of getting this right on iOS at least, and I’ll let Android users comment too. What parts are Swift and what parts are Flutter? This is crucial for accessibility.
@Nick6489
The only portion of the experience that is in Flutter is what we call “wizards”. The cards that pop up from the bottom of the screen to either walk you through setting up your products or give you tips about how things work. With respect to accessibility, I can share that the wizards are reading the screen content on iOS. I just checked personally on today’s release.
Everything else is native UI. The home screen, search, browse, system view, now playing view, queue view, settings, etc.
One other piece of technology we use is a secure web view for areas that require authentication.
Overall, we think of this as one experience. We will not be satisfied until the entire experience is accessible.
Diane, at least on the accessibility topic, you are a star. You offered me real hope that you can actually get this one fixed. Thanks!
Will EU customers have the possibility to opt out from transferring their data to play.sonos.com and use the app only locally as before?
Will Last.fm scrobbling support be added back into the app?
@tuckerseverson the email from Sonos before the new app update rolled out stated this…
“How will this affect my system?
We've taken great care to ensure that this update only enhances your Sonos experience. Your products, features and services will work as they always have, and all your settings will be saved.”
Can we have an apology because this was clearly not the case.
Another 2 minutes then the horror comes to an end
Regarding http://play.sonos.com/, I would rather not have to login every day if possible.
I would love if the sonos app redirected to this experience when not on my network. Home Assistant does something similar, using local network access when on home wifi, then switching to URL when off home wifi.
What security designs and measures are in place to prevent unauthorized access to Sonos devices through your web app?>
I didn’t get an answer to my question 
Yeah, I have to say Sonos.. you really dropped the ball with this fiasco. What a sad way to disgrace your system that worked well which I was proud to own, use and share with others.
The answer is there, so clearly that it’s maddening. All of this work you’re doing fixing these bugs, when you can let the user roll back. Fix this hot mess of a UX/Internet of Things system that removed many features and introduced new problems.
I would still be with you when you got the new app locked up tight! It would be so great! And it’s not too late. But I promise your team that if digging your heels in is the way you’re going to do this.. it’s going to be remembered and do damage to your brand. Every minute that you hold the features back that we bought our systems for under the guise of this being the future.. it’s just convincing me that I don’t like your future. I don’t like this app now. I don’t like this AMA and I don’t like the answers I’ve been given. I don’t want to own my Sonos system because I was lied to. And that’s the part that saddens me the most.
I’ve only observed up till now. There are only three respondents to, what — 400 users here ? While the Sonos replies are too few and too infrequent, they each generate further exponential posts, many just to get in a snarky response. This was never going to work. There have been plenty of pertinent questions posed, but also far too much mud-slinging which was never going to add anything. Maybe next time, a different platform for the Q&A, and hopefully a few more adults in the room.
I think if they would have come out and apologized right away and then laid out some semblance of a plan to make it right - they could have changed this trajectory quickly.
Oh come on, I’m an adult — I don’t need an apology from someone I’ve never met. And an apology would be derided on here as insincere — the staffers here have been put in an absolutely impossible situation, that absolutely anything they say will be copied, pasted and shot to pieces. The release schedule up till mid-June already shows some semblance of a plan to make it right. It’s a bloody app, for god’s sake - it was released too early, it’s buggy and bug fixes are coming. Many in here need to learn how to behave.
It’s not just the app though. Many people have non-functional systems right now and can’t use things that were previously available. I’m sorry, that’s just unacceptable for the price we pay for these products. Nobody here is asking a lot. The task at hand is what Sonos put themselves in by releasing some half-baked app.
Is it not possible to roll back the app because the main functionality has already been moved to the cloud?
Regarding http://play.sonos.com/, I would rather not have to login every day if possible.
I would love if the sonos app redirected to this experience when not on my network. Home Assistant does something similar, using local network access when on home wifi, then switching to URL when off home wifi.
Just interested, @bstephens16 , what is the use case for using your Sonos system when not at home? (by the way .. this is a serious question, as I can’t think of a use case off the top of my head… but maybe there is one that could be useful).
Three hours in and we're at the end of the advertised window for the AMA.
Final numbers then, though of course people will probably continue posting in the thread (numbers in brackets are the count at 2 hours and 1 hour)
@DianeRoberts - 9 (4, 0)
@KateW - 6 (5, 3)
@tuckerseverson - 4 (3, 2)
Total Sonos Responses - 19
Total Comments - 742
Average time between replies: 10.47
Looks like tucker got a little tuckered out at the 2 hour mark.
EDIT: Looks like Tucker woke up from his nap!
And some stats of my own counting:
Respect shown to customers - 0
Horrific discoveries - 2
- Data corruption issue in alarms didn’t stop a release.
- All speakers now available on the public internet protected only by a users password.
Feedback/suggestions actually taken by Sonos - 0
Awkward questions Sonos didn't want to address ignored - All of them
Commitments to do anything other than they'd already announced - None
Time wasted - 3 hours of my life anyway and I'm sure plenty of other customers
Also a piece of advice for anyone who side-loaded the 16.1 APK on Android, remember to turn off auto-updates in both the play store AND for the speaker firmware in the app. The first will stop the new app overwriting 16.1 and the second will stop your speakers downloading new firmware, you never know when Sonos will break compatibility with the 16.1 version.
Well, I was really interested in the romoured Sonos headphones, but I won't be buying them and I'll probably be looking elsewhere for hardware in the future.
What user personas do you use to model your use cases? Which of these personas were ok with not knowing about lost features in the “upgrade”?
Let's call it a day. Great job answering all the questions!
Let's call it a day. Great job answering all the questions!
That’s a joke, right? Right? ...
