I just replaced my Playbar with the Arc Ultra and found out the the Play1 speakers cannot be used as surrounds with the Arc Ultra

 I’d have to upgrade the play1 speakers to Era100 and get adapter plates for my Sanus stands

I’m seriously debating whether I should return the Arc Ultra and get the regular Arc soundbar instead. I’ve also realized that most of the streaming services require upgraded subscription plans to play Dolby Atmos shows. 
 

It would have been nice if Sonos was more transparent regarding their lack of backwards compatibility.

So did the App actually not enable you to bond the Play 1s with the Arc Ultra?

 This is error message I get when trying to setup surrounds for the Arc Ultra.

Thanks. In that case I think I’ll stilck with my Arc (with my Play 1 surrounds & floor stands) and not upgrade to the Ultra. 

​@Texles The speakers that the Ultra can work with are listed in the FAQ on the Arc Ultra product page. To me that would count as transparent? What did you expect?

 This is error message I get when trying to setup surrounds for the Arc Ultra.

Some people have reported that factory resetting the play1s has allowed them to be added, expect sonos might correct this “bug” at a later date, others have had no luck 

Have the play 1 as surround on my system with the Arc Ultra working fine. 

Have the play 1 as surround on my system with the Arc Ultra working fine. 

 

I have read someone in holland has it working, yours isn’t English either, maybe this is the reason doesn’t work for all…..

i would turn automatic updates off if i was you, sonos will kill this “bug” iam sure in the future

I do wish to upgrade my Playbar to Arc ultra only found out that I have to also replace my Play:1s and the mountings on the wall.
 

NO THANKS! I’ll keep my current set up.

Makes me also feel sick that Play:1 actually could work and they just don't want us to.

To All

Yes, it would be nice if the Arc Ultra were OFFICIALLY Sonos Certified to work with Play 1’s as surrounds . However, backwards compatibility is not infinite as at some point it becomes impractical for advanced products to work with those that have been discontinued for various reasons.

The Play 1 was introduced in 2013 which is 12 years ago compared to the Arc Ultra. Backwards compatibility comes at a cost which includes firmware, chips and memory adjustments/allocations to name a few. The Play 1 was discontinued in favor of the Sonos One (introduced in 2017) which also underwent an adjustment for memory with added features such as Bluetooth Low Energy (2019) as the original Sonos One lacked capacity for those enhancements/features.

I’m sure (although I can’t offer proof) that the Sonos “bean counters” were consulted about making the Arc Ultra compatible with past speakers as far back as the Play 1. The Engineers (most likely) presented what it would take to keep the Play 1’s as compatible; but implementation cost far exceeded the ROI for each Arc Ultra unit produced. Thus the Play 1’s were removed from the equation.

The fact that the Play 1’s work with the Arc Ultra at present is just a fleeting anomaly that will one day cease to function. Therefore, no OFFICIALLY Sonos Certified to work with Play 1’s as surrounds endorsement.

Not when the One/One SL is supported with very similar specs. Not when it works with the Arc. Not when even the so-called “bug” accidentally proved that it works. The last one is the worst—you can’t explain that away with all the usual hardware limitation excuses.

Even if Sonos did something like, “It’s not officially supported, but you can pair it at your own risk,” it would make people much happier than purposely disabling it.

The Play:1 was a lot of people’s first Sonos product and built from there, and these customers have been loyal for years. They’re the ones who defended Sonos when their friends said to get “real speakers.” But not anymore. That’s why people are sad—because they’re being forced to retire their beloved speakers, being disabled deliberately and artificially.

​@ahdoor 

I’m not trying to explain anything away. Technology changes and products that rely on certain internals are bound at some point not to work with newer more advanced products. As I said backwards compatibility is not infinite.

I don’t know how old you are but you may recall people with analog TV’s were at some point forced to buy TV’s that would receive digital transmissions. That change by the FCC in the US affected everyone. Technology advancements will leave older less capable products behind.

Put more bluntly, obsolescence is inevitable in the tech world. However, the Play 1 is not obsolete as it is still a capable speaker in the Sonos ecosystem. It will at some point become unusable with the Arc Ultra.

Why people are calling the fact that the Play 1’s for the moment work as surrounds with the Arc Ultra a “bug” is beyond me and IMO totally unnecessary. Sonos stated upfront that the Play 1’s are not compatible with the Arc Ultra. The fact that they do at the moment is not some nefarious plot by Sonos to force people to buy speakers. However, it is a warning not to purchase the Arc Ultra thinking that the Play 1 speakers will continue to perform as surrounds.

I’ve probably wasted my time trying to explain the Arc Ultra/Play 1 situation. However, people will either accept the reasoning or not. It’s their prerogative as is yours.