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Your feedback on the new Sonos App

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U
Userlevel 3
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I find it incredible that in the midst of this debacle the company is emailing with details of new products to buy. This must surely define unwarranted optimism in the face of reality.

 

I am now having to listen to my favourite radio stations on my audio system from my phone via Bluetooth, likewise my music library on my earbuds via Bluetooth. I guess that I will only ever think about Sonos in future when I have to dust it.

R
Userlevel 2

The 1 Star on Android store is more then deserved, 0 Stars should be possible.
I can’t even sell this system anymore based on this absolut horrific state.

If you’re on Android you can rollback using Aptoide.  That is what I did and I’m back on the previous S2 app.  Apple users have no such option unfortunately (one of the many reasons I despise Apple).

T
Userlevel 2

I find it incredible that in the midst of this debacle the company is emailing with details of new products to buy. This must surely define unwarranted optimism in the face of reality.

 

I am now having to listen to my favourite radio stations on my audio system from my phone via Bluetooth, likewise my music library on my earbuds via Bluetooth. I guess that I will only ever think about Sonos in future when I have to dust it.

The new product that no one will be able to add to their system. Sitting on 3 brand new Roam SLs for 2 weeks. Smh

R
Userlevel 3
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And it’s happened- I can no longer play anything because they are forcing me to update the app. Thus I call tech support tomorrow - whom ever answers the phone -  sigh - I have to remember it’s not them - I’m on the verge of putting every Fing speaker, sub, sound bar, amp et al on marketplace. I work part-time at BB - I just told some of the blue shirts DO NOT SELL SONOS until they’ve gotten there all together. I sell a TON of SONOS products. Not anymore - This is BS - 

 

EDIT - just sent an email to Karen Weise at NY Times. She is a technology reporter. Why her? Because she’s the email address I found hoping she’d listen. Somebody has to hear this. I feel ignored. 

 

If you mean you need to update the mobile app in order to update the system, you could try updating the system using a different device (e.g. via the windows or Mac app) in order to avoid updating the mobile app.

I updating my system to latest firmware via new version of Android app, but I am still able to control it using the old app running on my iOS device.

I called support and unloaded on the poor guy. I apologized profusely after. @osm - Yea, that’s what I’m doing now. I’m using my iPad to do the update first. You bring me hope 😀 

 

dodged the bullet - now I have the new app on the iPad and the old app on my phone. Good enough for me. 

R
Userlevel 3
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So, the question to throw out there is - If you toss it what do you replace it with? Just looking for opinions which yes I know the old saying - Im not sure which way I’d point a customer or have the other folks on the floor point them. 

O
Userlevel 4
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So, the question to throw out there is - If you toss it what do you replace it with? Just looking for opinions which yes I know the old saying - Im not sure which way I’d point a customer or have the other folks on the floor point them. 

Denon Heos

 

S
Userlevel 1

Three points (although I doubt the overwhelmed team will even read it: (1) like everyone else, why put it out there if it is not ready; (2) why bully everyone into “updating” when the app worked just fine before: better to have the option of updating, or rolling back when the app does not work; (3) why are you not just being up front and honest about the music library issue, rather than “we are hearing you” and circumlocutions about the music library not going anywhere?  Sure, my beloved and deceased grandfather is not going anywhere, but he is still deceased).

Over the years I have had a sense that there is a real chasm between the hardware engineers and the software engineers.  Sonos keeps coming up with new products, but the software just changes randomly, for no obvious purpose, as if the software side all have ADHD, or are just changing things to make work so they can keep their jobs.

This (and past rollout mistakes) have really damaged Sonos’ reputation.  

O
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

So, the question to throw out there is - If you toss it what do you replace it with? Just looking for opinions which yes I know the old saying - Im not sure which way I’d point a customer or have the other folks on the floor point them. 

DENON HEOS

O
Userlevel 4
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jgatie

The absolute glee that some are expressing at the downfall of Sonos, some openly calling for it outright, others joyfully posting stock prices or articles in the press, is an interesting social phenomena.  You would think after the thousands and thousands people claim to have invested, celebrating the impending reduction of their investment to worthless junk would be the last thing on their mind.  Yet some are seeing it as a sort of triumphant backlash. 

R
Userlevel 5
Badge +1

The absolute glee that some are expressing at the downfall of Sonos, some openly calling for it outright, others joyfully posting stock prices or articles in the press, is an interesting social phenomena.  You would think after the thousands and thousands people claim to have invested, celebrating the impending reduction of their investment to worthless junk would be the last thing on their mind.  Yet some are seeing it as a sort of triumphant backlash. 

I think it’s pretty simple.

We see that this company and it’s buffoon of a CEO are doing stupid things to please investors.

Seeing it backfire gives us a glimmer of hope: will they start seeing customer service as a correlation to stock price? 

 

Probably not. Head is fully in *.

*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*

D
Userlevel 2
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The absolute glee that some are expressing at the downfall of Sonos, some openly calling for it outright, others joyfully posting stock prices or articles in the press, is an interesting social phenomena.  You would think after the thousands and thousands people claim to have invested, celebrating the impending reduction of their investment to worthless junk would be the last thing on their mind.  Yet some are seeing it as a sort of triumphant backlash. 

or is it perhaps that it may give Sonos exec’s enough of a kick where it hurts to sort this mess out! ...

K
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

The absolute glee that some are expressing at the downfall of Sonos, some openly calling for it outright, others joyfully posting stock prices or articles in the press, is an interesting social phenomena.  You would think after the thousands and thousands people claim to have invested, celebrating the impending reduction of their investment to worthless junk would be the last thing on their mind.  Yet some are seeing it as a sort of triumphant backlash. 

Maybe what many of us want is a whole new leadership team, not the full-on demise of Sonos.  Great hardware, iffy software, absolutely terrible leadership at the top.  Clear out the C-suite and perhaps a new leader (or owner- maybe Apple was waiting for the appropriate stock drop ;-) will set the ship on the right course.  

Music is a very personal and emotional experience for so many of us.  Sonos messed with that, and we’re sick and tired of having to fix these egregious app errors ourselves or beg an overwhelmed contracted support service. 

Arrogance from the top just pours salt in the wound.   

jgatie

I think it’s pretty simple.

We see that this company and it’s buffoon of a CEO are doing stupid things to please investors.

Seeing it backfire gives us a glimmer of hope: will they start seeing customer service as a correlation to stock price? 

 

Probably not. Head is fully in *.

*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*

 

That explains the stock quotes (barely).  It doesn’t explain the people who are wishing Sonos fails, or goes out of business, or (in one spectacularly specific rant, now since edited) is “drawn and quartered”.  No, there’s something else at work here, people are really, really angry.  Far more angry that one would think. 

Rhonny
Userlevel 7
Badge +11

If it is reassurance amongst this furore, there is a point here that Sonos shareholders - for whom the app appears to have been rushed out (to meet financial and headphone announcements) - hold much more sway over the short-term activities of Sonos than the many thousands of complainants on this forum. 
 

The annoyance and upset by consumers has caused a dip in share price and it will be up to the Sonos board to reassure its biggest investors that this is temporary and they are the right senior team to right the ship. 
 

The myriad posts saying Sonos isn’t listening couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve no inside info but I can guarantee that from the CEO down, fixing these issues and re-establishing Wall Street confidence in the company will be priority number one right now. Without fixing the app, bad news will continue to circulate, share prices will continue dropping, hardware sales will tank which will send share prices down further… 

 

Patrick Spence might have a PR calamity on his hands, and I’m not excusing this massive misstep, but I’m certain his days right now are taken up with investor calls and overseeing app reparation. 
 

Give it a few weeks and the memory of this (and the entitled indignation of the many) will seem ridiculous.

jgatie

Maybe what many of us want is a whole new leadership team, not the full-on demise of Sonos.  Great hardware, iffy software, absolutely terrible leadership at the top.  Clear out the C-suite and perhaps a new leader (or owner- maybe Apple was waiting for the appropriate stock drop ;-) will set the ship on the right course.  

Music is a very personal and emotional experience for so many of us.  Sonos messed with that, and we’re sick and tired of having to fix these egregious app errors ourselves or beg an overwhelmed contracted support service. 

Arrogance from the top just pours salt in the wound.   

 

Or maybe the anonymity of the internet lets people say horrible things about people they don’t even know, wishing people to lose their jobs, their livelihoods, and/or their companies over some real or imagined slight that actually only amounts to inconvenience in the grand scheme of things. 

Do I wish Sonos had handled this better?  Of course, I said this was a major screwup from the start and have never backtracked.  Should I (or anyone else) use my love of music as an excuse to insult Sonos developers, abuse the support personnel, or post ever escalating fowl language rants over a crappy app to control my 1st world music system?  No.  Nobody should.  

melvimbe

 

 

Danny
R
Userlevel 3
Badge +3

The absolute glee that some are expressing at the downfall of Sonos, some openly calling for it outright, others joyfully posting stock prices or articles in the press, is an interesting social phenomena.  You would think after the thousands and thousands people claim to have invested, celebrating the impending reduction of their investment to worthless junk would be the last thing on their mind.  Yet some are seeing it as a sort of triumphant backlash. 

 Well, actually the stock is way off it’s 52 week high and has been on a downward trend for a while. So, abandoning the stock may not be a terrible choice but that depends. Maybe they need the loss to offset other gains. That said, the stock is currently a ‘Buy’ or ‘Hold’ according analyst. There are no ‘Sells’. It tanked over 1% today with close in 20 minutes. The truth is - as pissed as I am and as much as I have bitched here they will come out ok for now. To the big investors and industry analysts this is a bump not an abyss. That’s reality- I would like to see accountability within the corporate offices. Let’s face it someone screwed the pouch and should be held responsible.

 

 

B

Missing volume toggle for one speaker.
Forgets recently listened to stations and albums. Search function is hit and miss.

S

This app is a disaster!

 

I rolled back to the previous version of the android app through apkmirror.com and blocked all automatic updates in my system. (Thank God I'm on Android...)

 

However I found out that it is possible to add lost services such as "RadioPlay" and "myTuner Radio" to the Sonos system via the Windows app on a PC. By doing this, stations can be saved as "favorites" and played through the new ""fantastic"" app, albeit this workaround highlights the app's deficiencies. But I still have problems to play my flac-library.

 

Sonos must urgently address these flaws!!!

R
Userlevel 5
Badge +3

Plex is basically my only way to play my own music library. However it is absolutely inconsistent, returns lots of errors with no explanation. Trying to use search on my Plex server from within Sonos simply says “an error occurred try again later”.

 

I guess it goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: this was never an issue before the current app update.

 

 

I'm having no problems whatsoever with Plex and it's been an absolute godsend given the shocking state of the new app. I don't use any subscription streaming platforms and apart from using Bandcamp occasionally, I almost exclusively play music from my personal library. I never liked the idea of using a third party application but I am fast approach the 65K limit (63+K), so it was inevitable that I'd having use something at some stage. I can make playlists on my Android phone using the Plex app and in Sonos it shows the artwork for my music. It's fully searchable from the Sonos app search bar - enter artist, album or track name and it will find it. Basically, I can get by with the new app right now because of Plex.

 

If anyone is struggling with the featureless Sonos app and has the time to invest, it's well worth setting Plex up, despite the problems experienced in the post I've quoted.

 

 

B
Userlevel 1

Well I’m perhaps going to play ‘devils advocate’ here, as I like the layout/concept of the new App. Yes there are features missing, but I accept they’re on their way. I can wait patiently for those.

I agree with @sjw’s comment that it’s a real shame that users were not told about the missing features in advance, particularly as some screenshots of the controller on Sonos.com show some of the missing features in situ in the App.

It’s clear the controller notes & published App preview-screens, were for the finished product and so that infers a decision was made to get the software out, sooner rather than later.

I guess there were technical reasons for why the new App could not be released as a ‘preview (beta) app’ alongside the S2 App - it’s quite disappointing though that that was not considered in the early days of development in case there were development delays. There was no clear ‘plan B’, I suspect.

Anyhow, I will just choose to look forward, rather than back, as there are far more important things going on in the world these days and truth be told, I can still play my chosen audio to all my speakers. Everything I need still works with all my hardware.

I have large-ish local libraries running on NAS boxes, each with the secure SMB 2/3 protocol, so still see those tracks and in most cases, I browse my folders by artist/album and, in the past, have created my own .m3u playlists and so don’t miss/need the library search, but it would still be a ‘nice to have’ option to search for local tracks… again I have Plex and use iBroadcast too, so I have lots of options.

The S2 App on iOS is stable, but I find it slow to launch from a fully closed state 15-18 seconds compared to 8-10 seconds with S2. Its horizontal misting effect, as mentioned by @castalla, is not something I like either. That in itself, creates a feeling of having to wait, as I navigate about the App.

Clicking buttons, such as to play/pause etc. gives no audio/haptic feedback and so feels unresponsive and somethings just feels quite slow to react. An amount of App Optimisation needs to be (re)considered to make launch and navigation ‘feel’ quicker - even leaving the opening ‘Sonos’ screen displayed for a little longer, as things open in the background, might make things ‘feel’ quicker to the end-user.

As far as the iPad controller is concerned, I don’t like the size/position of the ‘now playing’ or ‘room grouping’ screens - they overlay the room in focus, situated at the top of the ‘room selector’.

The slide-up ‘room selector’ screen goes right to the top of the App/screen display and I find that occasionally, I either slide-down the iOS ‘lock screen’ by accident, or I hit the ‘split screen’ (…) ellipsis iOS feature, situated top-centre screen.These things mentioned though are perhaps just personal gripes and I may find things improve with continued use and more familiarity.

If asked what would I like to see put back in the new App first by the developers? - I can answer that easily. I just want the features on the attached screenshot, followed by the restoration of queue management.

Anyhow my Sonos glass still remains half-full, looking forward, rather than half-empty.

It’s less about the missing features and more about: the app simply doesn’t work. It’s full of bugs and shuts the system down and again, does not work. This app should have never left the coding floor. Period.

M
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

So, the question to throw out there is - If you toss it what do you replace it with? Just looking for opinions which yes I know the old saying - Im not sure which way I’d point a customer or have the other folks on the floor point them. 

Anything here:
https://roon.app/en/partners
(except Sonos 😄)

F

Despite the new update of the application, it is necessary and it is really disappointing about the control over the music, if I am buying a more expensive system than others but it does not give me the possibility of equalizing the music then I am buying an alarm with Alexa Sonos Roam and my goal is to be able to hear what I want with high technology, not with sound that is forced to be heard because I don't have the customization, I still don't go with the philosophy, to let the client hear their music in the way they want with lower or louder tones. high, an equalizer is needed, I am disappointed that they pay more attention to an alarm, or a reminder, to a sound system, if what you are looking for is to hear that striming with quality

C
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

I find it incredible that in the midst of this debacle the company is emailing with details of new products to buy. This must surely define unwarranted optimism in the face of reality.

 

I am now having to listen to my favourite radio stations on my audio system from my phone via Bluetooth, likewise my music library on my earbuds via Bluetooth. I guess that I will only ever think about Sonos in future when I have to dust it.

It’s astonishingly tone deaf. I also hate that they are pushing those ads not just by email but right into the centre of the awful new app interface. 

Clearly marketing are not going to be swayed from a pre-determined timeline for pushing products by a little thing like community outrage and user disgust in the company.

It’s so disconnected of them to be hearing the screams of frustration and think what that is saying to them is ‘you know what? now would be a great time to push more products to the angry masses’.

Who thinks like that? 

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