Will Airplay 2 ever be supported via Surround with Playbar and Ones?

I agree. I fully expected that with this update I could use AirPlay 2 with my Playbar and two Sonos Ones added as surrounds. Like you, I bought the Playbar recently on the assumption that provided the Sonos Ones were part of a surround sound grouping with the Playbar all would be well. I could have bought a Playbase but didn’t think it made any difference. I was disappointed and puzzled when I couldn’t find my surround system as an Airplay 2 destination. I didn’t realise there was a difference between grouping the Playbar and Sonos One speakers as a group, when it apparently will work, or grouping in a surround system, when it doesn’t. Please fix this, Sonos.

Same boat here, and such a shame. It's so frustrating to constantly having to switch between grouping and bonding to be able to use the Play One's as surrounds or with Airplay 2 compatibility. Is this in anyway not fixable? Seems like should've been a non-issue to be honest.

I have to hope it can be fixed. Exactly the same hardware is involved, and it’s just a software configuration to switch between surround sound (which doesn’t work) and grouping (which does). Surely it must be possible to address this through software?

It’s a hardware limitation. So it would require a new soundbar or you can group with a speaker that is compatible to bring airplay 2 into the mix.

I have the whole surround system that I’ve purchased within the last year, Playbar, sub, and two play: 1’s. Can’t use airplay 2. Cant replace either play 1 because Playbar is the brains of the surround and it is not compatible. I can replace my $700 soundbar with a $300 beam to get it to work. The only reason I invested in sonos to begin with was because of the promise of Airplay 2 and now it has all these restrictions making my $2,000+ in equipment useless. I have been frustrated beyond no end having to use Sonos interface because it is terrible but kept telling myself it’s just until airplay 2 comes out. I will be selling my extra standalone speakers and will just have to keep my surround sound separate from the rest of my house that I will be filling with HomePods. Have loved Sonos sound quality but this turn of events has put me over the edge and I will have no problem sharing the experience with my customers. It’s one thing to be exclusive when you have a great product but when your user interface is terrible and extremely inconvenient and you force planned obsoletion, stay away!

It’s a limitation based on the new protocol from Apple. The older hardware will continue to work and have support from Sonos. They have been pretty upfront about what devices will support AP2 and the only confusion has been around grouping older speakers to gain airplay.

They have not been upfront about it. I purchased my equipment after sonos announced support with air play 2. I am heavily invested in  and would not have invested so much into Sonos until after it released had they said anything about products not being compatible. All they said was they were supporting it and it wasn’t until it came out that they started saying only their newer hardware would support it. I just got an email from sonos that says the Playbar is compatible with air play 2 but when you click on the link to the website you learn it that it’s not. I’m sure it’s a typo but when you are dealing the money they charge for their products you would hope for a little more professionalism but it feels more like they want to be premium but act like Walmart. Very regretible. As far a a protocol limitation, you want me to believe that a $700 speaker can not get a software update but buying a new $300 speaker will solve it?! I can’t even buy new Ones to resolve the issue?! Here is the link to my other speaker if anyone is interested. Sonos no more.

https://syracuse.craigslist.org/ele/6642997972.html

They announced It as soon as they had enough information, it was reliant on Apple. It has nothing to do with software, it’s based on hardware, the older speakers don’t have the memory to support airplay 2 (which Apple have done to prevent buffering). You can buy a One and group it with your system to make it work with airplay. You just can’t do it if the one’s are used as rears since they are bonded with the Playbar and that is the driving force of the setup so it is the speaker that needs to be compatible in that case. I understand the frustration, but it’s not as simple as blaming Sonos.

Hey All,
I purchased a HomePod and was instantly pissed when finding this out. I did find the work around. Once you play using airplay open the Sonos App and go to rooms. Hit Group on the speakers shown playing through airplay and it will allow you to add all of your other Sonos speakers. I hope this helps.

Everyone's unnecessarily steered away from the main conversation into how playbar is not supporting etc. Please go and discuss that in the relevant discussion. This is a post about how Playbar + 2 Play:One's won't support airplay 2 if they are in surround mode. That has nothing to do with Apple or the protocol, it's on Sonos to fix this. You can not expect end users to constantly change between grouping and surround setups so they can both use airplay 2 and have decent surround setup, especially when you promote and sell playbar/base/beam with ones and sub to promote 5.1 setups. Sonos, will you reply?