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Your feedback on the new Sonos App



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Userlevel 1

Hello,

Along with the thousands of disgruntled Sonos customers, I am extremely frustrated and angry.

Taking away our ability to listen to our own music with our own speakers purchased in good faith is unjustified. That being said, Sonos will never get another dollar of mine.

 

However, I just wanted to share something that I found works for me to continue using my speakers to listen to my own music.

First, I uploaded the SonoPhone app, so to use my iphone as a controller too. Then I dragged all my song folders back to the latest version of Itunes on my windows laptop.

I then opened itunes on my windows laptop. In itunes I clicked the square icon box at the top, to the right of the volume control, and to the left of the song title and player at the top. 

Like magic, all my sonos speaker choices appeared with an option to check the box to play that speaker, and with an individual volume control for each speaker. I can also control everything with my iphone with the SonoPhone app.

The streaming also seems better with the SonoPhone app as well, and I always liked the itunes controller better than the sonos controller anyway. If I knew it was possible to control my sonos speakers with itunes before now I would have been using itunes to listen to my speakers. 

I am using the following speakers.  Arc, Sub , 2 Era 100s, and 3 Moves and they all are working with my itunes as the controller.

One note to mention is that my stereo paired model Five speakers don’t work the same. I have a feeling if I were able to switch them from being a stereo pair back to individual they would also work.

 

I wish all of you the same luck if you are hoping to listen to your own music Library with your existing sonos speakers.

Userlevel 3
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Is there a central location to report and track "bugs" (or old features that are being brought back)? I see some threads on the big ones, but is there a way to track what's already been reported so I know what's being worked on and what they're going to tell us to pound sand on?

Userlevel 4
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After 30 minutes, Sonos app won’t increase or decrease volume. Worst performing app in the history of apps. Sonos = AOL circa 1997

Userlevel 5
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What’s crazy is Sonos seems to think this is a feature parity issue which is bad enough but the reality is most customers systems just don’t work! Money must be refunded if the systems purchased no longer work as they did. I’m at $7,000+. Please send me the return label asap. 

Userlevel 3
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Dear Patrick,

well here we go again. I have to post a second comment about the crap (not the word I should be using) you call an app. Fortunately, I warned my son and daughter NOT to upgrade but neglected to tell my wife. Last night we were sitting enjoying our Saturday and she said “Oh, look I have to upgrade SONOS it won’t let me in” I was too late she had already upgraded. Well, I took the phone and I’m sure anyone who has posted here knows what I did next. DELETED it - Honey, you’ll have to use your iPad, voice assistants or stream using airplay. Now, Patrick I am surprised you still have a job but hey CEO’s like you don’t accept responsibility for a FUBAR’d release. You’ve done a good job of hiding the F’up I’ll give you that. No decent news source has picked it up - to my knowledge anyway - 

all I can say is - wow - did you screw the pouch on this or what. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Can someone clarify this “move to the cloud” functionality I read above:  Are my speakers now dependent on my internet connection, even though my music library is in the same room?  

 

Correct - see my post linked below where I tested this. Maybe try the same steps yourself and see what result you get - would be good to know.

 

No they are not.

I disconnected the WAN cable from my router and had unaltered  access to my local Music Library using Android V16.1 and V80.x. 

Userlevel 5
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I have tested this and can confirm that you can’t see your local music library without internet access.

Tested as follows:

  1. Disconnect router from internet (physically unplug the cable)
  2. Confirm my Wi-Fi is still up and devices are connected to it, including my iPhone
  3. Confirm my NAS is accessible by connecting to it from my iPhone
  4. Open new Sonos app - only thing that shows in My Sources is the line-in to my Sonos amp. No music library, even after waiting 5-10 minutes.
  5. Open desktop app on my Mac and confirm I can browse my music library and play music
  6. Close new Sonos app on iPhone
  7. Re-connect internet cable and re-open new Sonos app on iPhone - music library now present under My Sources.

I’m on the latest version of the Sonos app and the systems are on the latest firmware. This sucks…..

 


 

Yeah this is the behaviour I’m seeing. But it might be a bug as the Library disappears periodically when there is a connection 

 

I don’t think it’s a bug. The music library re-appeared when I reconnected my internet. And I don’t have any problems with it disappearing. The only thing I do see is occasionally it takes a few seconds to appear under My Sources after I start the app. That’s an issue with the new app - the desktop app on my Mac never has any issues seeing the local library.

@Corry P (or any other Sonos staffers) - could you advise, please.

This has to be an iPhone problem. 

I use Android and tried the same. My library is on a Synology NAS.

 

1.  Sonos running in normal, connected state.

2.  Unplugged WAN cable from router.

3.  Uninterrupted access to Library with the same functionality - excellent through V16.1, crippled through V80.x. 

4.  Reconnected router: only difference was that online services reappeared, library access unaffected. 

 

That was yesterday. I'll give it another try, but as far as I was concerned losing web access was a non-event. But then I seldom stream and am an Android rather than Apple user. 

 

Userlevel 5
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Although I don’t like the look and feel of the new app (and yes, I’m sure I’ll get used to it) I’m lucky in that I’m not getting any of the connection or playback issues that some others are seeing. 

I can’t, however, forgive the degradation of the music library features, no matter how temporary they might be. I’m lucky that I can still see and access my library, but removing it from Search is just the pits and who knows how successful it will be when it finally gets added back. Will it go back to being fully searchable with Album art etc, or will it continue to come a poor second to streaming services? 

Many, many historic Sonos users, previously their biggest supporters, will be using Sonos this way and treating them this way is a disgrace. 

 

My sentiments, as a "historic user" - although some would call us dinosaurs - exactly!

What really interests me, though, is which platform you're using. I have a feeling that, like me, you're on Android and that most of the really bad experiences of the "upgrade" are courtesy of the Apple variety. I for one would be interested to hear. 

No doubt Sonos could verify this from the data they collect, but I wonder whether they care. 

Userlevel 7
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My sentiments, as a "historic user" - although some would call us dinosaurs - exactly!

What really interests me, though, is which platform you're using. I have a feeling that, like me, you're on Android and that most of the really bad experiences of the "upgrade" are courtesy of the Apple variety. I for one would be interested to hear. 

No doubt Sonos could verify this from the data they collect, but I wonder whether they care. 

I’ve run the new app on iOS, iPadOS, and Android. Your hypothesis is accurate: the new Android app is dramatically worse—especially with local library music—than the new iOS / iPadOS apps.

That said, the new iPadOS app completely fails to take advantage of the larger screen. So while I’d say the new iOS app is okay-ish relative to the old app. The new iPadOS app falls dramatically shorts relative to the old app.

Userlevel 3
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I’m going away for a few days and will be taking my roam. Will I be able to link the roam into the WiFi where I am staying ?

Userlevel 1

 

Today I found a way to listen to my Sonos speakers with files that were/are in my Sonos Library.

I listened to music all day today with no problems.

 

The latest version of itunes works as a player.

That’s correct, the latest version of itunes with my windows computer communicates with my Sonos devices.

 

First I copied all my music files from the hard drive on my computer to itunes.

Then, I clicked the small icon located top center leftish on itunes which allows me to see my Sonos speakers in a window.

 

I’m able to use the new crappy sonos app to group all speakers and adjust volume etc.

The itunes app also works to group all speakers and adjust volumes.

The SonoPhone app also works well as a controller.

One thing to keep in mind is that I’m using a Windows 11 computer and an iphone 13.

Not sure if other devices will work the same.

 

I hope others are able to enjoy music again using their Sonos speakers.

Userlevel 3
Badge +3

Although I don’t like the look and feel of the new app (and yes, I’m sure I’ll get used to it) I’m lucky in that I’m not getting any of the connection or playback issues that some others are seeing. 

I can’t, however, forgive the degradation of the music library features, no matter how temporary they might be. I’m lucky that I can still see and access my library, but removing it from Search is just the pits and who knows how successful it will be when it finally gets added back. Will it go back to being fully searchable with Album art etc, or will it continue to come a poor second to streaming services? 

Many, many historic Sonos users, previously their biggest supporters, will be using Sonos this way and treating them this way is a disgrace. 

 

My sentiments, as a "historic user" - although some would call us dinosaurs - exactly!

What really interests me, though, is which platform you're using. I have a feeling that, like me, you're on Android and that most of the really bad experiences of the "upgrade" are courtesy of the Apple variety. I for one would be interested to hear. 

No doubt Sonos could verify this from the data they collect, but I wonder whether they care. 

iOS in my case. The Sonos Windows controller still works but I have to use that from my desktop so it’s impractical for most uses. I’m currently using Sonophone and Sonopad until/unless they sort this mess out. 

the Sono… apps work well, although they could use a bit of UI modernising (without doing a Sonos, of course 😊)

Userlevel 1

Update to new app and unable to access Sonos radio even after trying to re authorise 

same here, until yesterday I could through various manipulations ( use my ipad instaed of my phone ,.. ) still connect to my tune in radios but this morning .. nope. it is not improving rather the opposite… 

Userlevel 3
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I have tested this and can confirm that you can’t see your local music library without internet access.

Tested as follows:

  1. Disconnect router from internet (physically unplug the cable)
  2. Confirm my Wi-Fi is still up and devices are connected to it, including my iPhone
  3. Confirm my NAS is accessible by connecting to it from my iPhone
  4. Open new Sonos app - only thing that shows in My Sources is the line-in to my Sonos amp. No music library, even after waiting 5-10 minutes.
  5. Open desktop app on my Mac and confirm I can browse my music library and play music
  6. Close new Sonos app on iPhone
  7. Re-connect internet cable and re-open new Sonos app on iPhone - music library now present under My Sources.

I’m on the latest version of the Sonos app and the systems are on the latest firmware. This sucks…..

 


 

Yeah this is the behaviour I’m seeing. But it might be a bug as the Library disappears periodically when there is a connection 

 

I don’t think it’s a bug. The music library re-appeared when I reconnected my internet. And I don’t have any problems with it disappearing. The only thing I do see is occasionally it takes a few seconds to appear under My Sources after I start the app. That’s an issue with the new app - the desktop app on my Mac never has any issues seeing the local library.

@Corry P (or any other Sonos staffers) - could you advise, please.

This has to be an iPhone problem. 

I use Android and tried the same. My library is on a Synology NAS.

 

1.  Sonos running in normal, connected state.

2.  Unplugged WAN cable from router.

3.  Uninterrupted access to Library with the same functionality - excellent through V16.1, crippled through V80.x. 

4.  Reconnected router: only difference was that online services reappeared, library access unaffected. 

 

That was yesterday. I'll give it another try, but as far as I was concerned losing web access was a non-event. But then I seldom stream and am an Android rather than Apple user. 

 

 

Hi @jreddaway. Thanks for testing. I don’t know if you spotted in my testing, but I started without the app open (completely closed - not running in the background), i.e. the internet’s gone down, I’ll listen to some local music (or not, as the case was for me 😀). In that scenario, the local library music source never appeared when I opened the app, until I reconnected the internet.

 

This could be an Android vs iOS difference (no Android in the house to test with) but it would be interesting to see what you get with the app completely shut down before unplugging the internet.

In simple and short terms…..its awful.

It’s not intuitive and quite frankly hardly ever works without numerous restarts.

Will not interact with my speaker system.

Seriously considering selling all 12 products I own.

Awful

Userlevel 3
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@Corry P Please can you also provide an update and timeline for returning access to Sonos Playlists. I cannot see them and cannot see the menu ‘My Sources’ which others refer to as being in their app. But I know they are there because I bought the Spnophone app.
 

I’ve worked out that presumably the reason I cannot see my local music NAS drive is the smb1 issue. It would have been helpful if you had told us in advance as I wasted much time.

overall I echo all the other complaints. As an early adopter and evangelist for Sonos since 2007, I deserve better, we all do. I suffer from Anxiety and Depression and this has not been at all good for me.

 

Mike

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Today I found a way to listen to my Sonos speakers with files that were/are in my Sonos Library.

I listened to music all day today with no problems.

 

The latest version of itunes works as a player.

That’s correct, the latest version of itunes with my windows computer communicates with my Sonos devices.

 

First I copied all my music files from the hard drive on my computer to itunes.

Then, I clicked the small icon located top center leftish on itunes which allows me to see my Sonos speakers in a window.

 

I’m able to use the new crappy sonos app to group all speakers and adjust volume etc.

The itunes app also works to group all speakers and adjust volumes.

The SonoPhone app also works well as a controller.

One thing to keep in mind is that I’m using a Windows 11 computer and an iphone 13.

Not sure if other devices will work the same.

 

I hope others are able to enjoy music again using their Sonos speakers.

This works for me too. I’m also W11 but have not updated soft/firmware yet. I have used iTunes for years and have always wished I could do this-delighted I can now, thanks for pointing it out 

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Today I found a way to listen to my Sonos speakers with files that were/are in my Sonos Library.

I listened to music all day today with no problems.

 

The latest version of itunes works as a player.

That’s correct, the latest version of itunes with my windows computer communicates with my Sonos devices.

 

First I copied all my music files from the hard drive on my computer to itunes.

Then, I clicked the small icon located top center leftish on itunes which allows me to see my Sonos speakers in a window.

 

I’m able to use the new crappy sonos app to group all speakers and adjust volume etc.

The itunes app also works to group all speakers and adjust volumes.

The SonoPhone app also works well as a controller.

One thing to keep in mind is that I’m using a Windows 11 computer and an iphone 13.

Not sure if other devices will work the same.

 

I hope others are able to enjoy music again using their Sonos speakers.

This works for me too. I’m also W11 but have not updated soft/firmware yet. I have used iTunes for years and have always wished I could do this-delighted I can now, thanks for pointing it out 

Update: I have found that my “iTunes Remote” app on my iPhone gives me full access to my music library in my W11 laptop via iTunes. So I have full access to my music on my laptop using my phone as a controller without using the Sonos app

Userlevel 2

My understanding is that there are two updates of Sonos:

  • controller app
  • system (firmware) of the speaker

My System firmware on all 10 speakers is still 16.1.1 because I have disabled auto-update inside the controller app.

I am still on the “old” system so I still don’t have much pain as most of the other users here.

But what really makes me angry is that Sonos is still, after the update of 2024.05.21, pushing me to update the system. I don’t want to do that, please STOP!

Stop SHOWING the ads in the Sonos application → I know that there are new Headphones, I receive emails from Sonos, I don’t need spam in the Sonos controller app. I will consider them when and if I will, not because you show it in the application. You are just forcing me to close that add and that takes my time.


I have Android phone, I disabled auto update in Google Play, I disabled auto update on Sonos app, and I installed last version of S2 from APKmirror.  But Sonos app, after 1-2 hours  automatically updates to this last garbage version → please STOP doing that.

I am not Android developer, but it seems that developer can choose to force update even when auto-update is disabled, if there is critical security fix or bug fix (which is not the case). This is WRONG. Please STOP. I will update my system when I want to update.
 

There is one more “bending the truth” thing: when we are talking about MVP (minimal viable product) then usually we are building new application, we are starting from zero and gradually adding the features to the application until you reach maturity.

Using MVP in our context is completely wrong, because we have working application and system.

You could create S3 version as MVP and gradually add the functionality there and after some time, a year from now, when you have mature product then the users would install it by themself, because they would see the benefits to install it, not because they are forced.


I can understand that with the architectural changes in the system (firmware) and in the controller app could help to reduce the maintenance costs, but I strongly DISAGREE about the way you force the update of half-baked system on ALL users → that is totally disrespectful to your paying customers.

 

Please STOP forcing me to do changes on my system that is running more or less okay.

One more thing: It seams I CAN NOT use Sonos if I don’t have Internet connection. Please FIX that. 
I have, as many others, a huge music library on my NAS and I want to use my system as long as I am in my WLAN, regardless whether I am connected to the internet or not.

 

Given all the wrong things that I mentioned, I won’t recommend Sonos to my friends and family any more. I invested too much money in the system so that I could drop it or switch it easily, but I won’t expand it.

At the end of the day, I simply feel that I’ve been “verarscht”.

 

In the German Play Store, Sonos app has 1.1 stars.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sonos.acr2&hl=de&gl=de

Well done Sonos! Well done!

My understanding is that there are two updates of Sonos:

  • controller app
  • system (firmware) of the speaker

My System firmware on all 10 speakers is still 16.1.1 because I have disabled auto-update inside the controller app.

I am still on the “old” system so I still don’t have much pain as most of the other users here.

But what really makes me angry is that Sonos is still, after the update of 2024.05.21, pushing me to update the system. I don’t want to do that, please STOP!

Stop SHOWING the ads in the Sonos application → I know that there are new Headphones, I receive emails from Sonos, I don’t need spam in the Sonos controller app. I will consider them when and if I will, not because you show it in the application. You are just forcing me to close that add and that takes my time.


I have Android phone, I disabled auto update in Google Play, I disabled auto update on Sonos app, and I installed last version of S2 from APKmirror.  But Sonos app, after 1-2 hours  automatically updates to this last garbage version → please STOP doing that.

I am not Android developer, but it seems that developer can choose to force update even when auto-update is disabled, if there is critical security fix or bug fix (which is not the case). This is WRONG. Please STOP. I will update my system when I want to update.
 

There is one more “bending the truth” thing: when we are talking about MVP (minimal viable product) then usually we are building new application, we are starting from zero and gradually adding the features to the application until you reach maturity.

Using MVP in our context is completely wrong, because we have working application and system.

You could create S3 version as MVP and gradually add the functionality there and after some time, a year from now, when you have mature product then the users would install it by themself, because they would see the benefits to install it, not because they are forced.


I can understand that with the architectural changes in the system (firmware) and in the controller app could help to reduce the maintenance costs, but I strongly DISAGREE about the way you force the update of half-baked system on ALL users → that is totally disrespectful to your paying customers.

 

Please STOP forcing me to do changes on my system that is running more or less okay.

One more thing: It seams I CAN NOT use Sonos if I don’t have Internet connection. Please FIX that. 
I have, as many others, a huge music library on my NAS and I want to use my system as long as I am in my WLAN, regardless whether I am connected to the internet or not.

 

Given all the wrong things that I mentioned, I won’t recommend Sonos to my friends and family any more. I invested too much money in the system so that I could drop it or switch it easily, but I won’t expand it.

At the end of the day, I simply feel that I’ve been “verarscht”.

 

In the German Play Store, Sonos app has 1.1 stars.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sonos.acr2&hl=de&gl=de

Well done Sonos! Well done!

Verarscht - perfect description for the ongoing fiasco!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Userlevel 1
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Hi @jreddaway. Thanks for testing. I don’t know if you spotted in my testing, but I started without the app open (completely closed - not running in the background), i.e. the internet’s gone down, I’ll listen to some local music (or not, as the case was for me 😀). In that scenario, the local library music source never appeared when I opened the app, until I reconnected the internet.

 

This could be an Android vs iOS difference (no Android in the house to test with) but it would be interesting to see what you get with the app completely shut down before unplugging the internet.

I’m still seeing the same behaviour on Android with the latest update.

When I open the app, Music Library eventually appears but when I go to browse my collection I’m presented with “Something went wrong”.

Userlevel 5
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Hi @jreddaway. Thanks for testing. I don’t know if you spotted in my testing, but I started without the app open (completely closed - not running in the background), i.e. the internet’s gone down, I’ll listen to some local music (or not, as the case was for me 😀). In that scenario, the local library music source never appeared when I opened the app, until I reconnected the internet.

 

This could be an Android vs iOS difference (no Android in the house to test with) but it would be interesting to see what you get with the app completely shut down before unplugging the internet.

I’m still seeing the same behaviour on Android with the latest update.

When I open the app, Music Library eventually appears but when I go to browse my collection I’m presented with “Something went wrong”.

 

 

Hi @DivvyBramble and @dpg50000 

Yes, I am finding the same.

An Android V80.x instance that is already running continues with, as far as I can see, continued library availability, after internet access is cut.  But shutting Sonos down and then opening it from scratch after cutting off, I got the “Something Went Wrong” message and no library access.

It was then interesting to find that, with the internet disconnected and library music running from the V16 controller, I could see the Now Playing screen on the V80 controller and use the controls on that screen for volume control, next/previous tracks start/stop etc.  I then noticed that the Queue had populated and I could select tracks from it, so the V80 controller was reading NowPlaying and Queue information from its associated product and could interact with it on the local level, but anything else has to go up and back through the Web connection.

Once the internet was reconnected, V80 would not show the Sources, Services, Library listings etc until it had been shut down and reopened.

One thing I did find with V16.1 was that it didn’t mind whether web access was available or not until the phone was rebooted.  Calling it up after that produced strange messages about it not being on the same network or something and offers to fix it which I declined.  I then connected the web back and it was all up and running in seconds.  

 

The bottom line appears to me to be that, while there are differences between V16.1 and V80 as to their need for web access, they both depend on having it in order to interact in one way or another with Sonos’ cloud setup, whatever that may be.

V16.1 seems to require it only after a reboot or, presumably, if you want to change the system your controller is linked to.  Apart from that it seems to be perfectly happy in isolation.

V80.x is, apart from being able to work as a very dumb terminal where music has been selected from a PC or V16 controller.  Otherwise it’s totally crippled when it cannot access the web.

What does Sonos’ roadmap for future developments hold in store?

While the return of certain features is nice, I guess, I really just want my system to work again.  We have about 12 speakers throughout our house and we have still been unable to get them all to work since switching to the new app.  We have 2-gig, fiber internet, and the devices are showing-up in our system as connected and playing - but no sounds is coming out of them.  Thinking it may be an issue with how the app interacts with mesh wifi - as it is not always the same speakers refusing to play at any given time.

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Hi @jreddaway. Thanks for testing. I don’t know if you spotted in my testing, but I started without the app open (completely closed - not running in the background), i.e. the internet’s gone down, I’ll listen to some local music (or not, as the case was for me 😀). In that scenario, the local library music source never appeared when I opened the app, until I reconnected the internet.

 

This could be an Android vs iOS difference (no Android in the house to test with) but it would be interesting to see what you get with the app completely shut down before unplugging the internet.

I’m still seeing the same behaviour on Android with the latest update.

When I open the app, Music Library eventually appears but when I go to browse my collection I’m presented with “Something went wrong”.

 

 

Hi @DivvyBramble and @dpg50000 

Yes, I am finding the same.

An Android V80.x instance that is already running continues with, as far as I can see, continued library availability, after internet access is cut.  But shutting Sonos down and then opening it from scratch after cutting off, I got the “Something Went Wrong” message and no library access.

It was then interesting to find that, with the internet disconnected and library music running from the V16 controller, I could see the Now Playing screen on the V80 controller and use the controls on that screen for volume control, next/previous tracks start/stop etc.  I then noticed that the Queue had populated and I could select tracks from it, so the V80 controller was reading NowPlaying and Queue information from its associated product and could interact with it on the local level, but anything else has to go up and back through the Web connection.

Once the internet was reconnected, V80 would not show the Sources, Services, Library listings etc until it had been shut down and reopened.

One thing I did find with V16.1 was that it didn’t mind whether web access was available or not until the phone was rebooted.  Calling it up after that produced strange messages about it not being on the same network or something and offers to fix it which I declined.  I then connected the web back and it was all up and running in seconds.  

 

The bottom line appears to me to be that, while there are differences between V16.1 and V80 as to their need for web access, they both depend on having it in order to interact in one way or another with Sonos’ cloud setup, whatever that may be.

V16.1 seems to require it only after a reboot or, presumably, if you want to change the system your controller is linked to.  Apart from that it seems to be perfectly happy in isolation.

V80.x is, apart from being able to work as a very dumb terminal where music has been selected from a PC or V16 controller.  Otherwise it’s totally crippled when it cannot access the web.

What does Sonos’ roadmap for future developments hold in store?

 

@jreddaway - thank for doing the further testing. Seems Sonos has made local library playback quite dependent on the internet. I can’t think of any reason why it should be needed, and Sonos staffers don’t seem to be commenting on it. For me, this is another nail in the coffin - I’ll be seeking alternatives when it comes time to replace my Sonos kit. Possibly just something simpler, like standalone speakers with Airplay.

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Coincidentally I just came across an old eMail conversation when I enrolled in the Sonos Alpha and Beta (yes Alpha!) release user testing programme…

That was 2015 so at that point at least they knew how to release software - I am assuming everyone from that time has probably been sacked (or sold thier shares 😉) by now which would explain a lot 🤔

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