non support of older sonos speakers


was reading about your new IPO and in the article it said you would no longer be supporting some of your older speakers in the near future, what speakers do they anticipate no longer supporting?

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42 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +21
Even on the Beta versions I have never had the app freeze, and that is on iOS, Windows, Amazon Fire (aka POS) and standard Android. The UI changes will always have fans and detractors. As of BBC borkage, what do you mean?
I'm not complaining about network issues. My beef is pointless/retrograde UI changes, general app stability (often freezes/crashes restarts and terrible support for the total borkage of programme search working at all/or even just reasonably for BBC programmes. If you search my bug reports you will see the pathetic level of support received.



TBH Sonos' software quality seems to get worse with every new release
Evidence? Examples?

The vast majority of people's problems stem from their defective networks: IP conflicts, wireless signal/interference issues, and of late the introduction of meshed WiFi systems which typically contain a second router and transmit on multiple channels.
TBH Sonos' software quality seems to get worse with every new release
Evidence? Examples?

The vast majority of people's problems stem from their defective networks: IP conflicts, wireless signal/interference issues, and of late the introduction of meshed WiFi systems which typically contain a second router and transmit on multiple channels.
TBH Sonos' software quality seems to get worse with every new release so I'd quite like to go back to the 2 years ago version for my Play5! If they stop doing support once things get stable again I'd be happy for no more updates, and I won't be buying more Sonos kit in the future
Of course I agree they won't do that. I was thinking more like a generous trade in of ZP80 for a Connect, maybe. But who knows?

Exactly.
Of course I agree they won't do that. I was thinking more like a generous trade in of ZP80 for a Connect, maybe. But who knows? My point was that worrying about a non-existing problem is pointless
Well when the unknown development bricks the unknown device and we see Sonos' unknown mitigating action, then we will have something to talk about....

I'll bet you a brand new Play:5 that the "mitigating action" will not be anything like "Sonos Classic". Deal?
Well when the unknown development bricks the unknown device and we see Sonos' unknown mitigating action, then we will have something to talk about....
It already has happened; the CR100. And there was no creation of "Sonos Classic" for the very reasons stated above.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
Well yes Airplay2 is not the tipping point. The tipping point could be the next sonos kit that no longer works, if it's a biggy.
Hopefully it will never happen, but this thread is about what if it does...

No they don't, at least not to anything like the same degree. The clue is in the name: Beta


In addition, Beta is an extension of a single version of apps and firmware. "Sonos Classic" splits the apps/firmware into two distinct versions, each of which must be worked on concurrently, thus doubling the workload.

Once again . . . pass.
Yes it will need two lots of support. But again they support Beta anyway...
No they don't, at least not to anything like the same degree. The clue is in the name: Beta
So Sonos should double their development staff/effort to support two versions of apps and firmware, one of which is for a dwindling market of users who wish to keep older, out of date hardware, not to mention by the very definition of "Sonos Classic" they will never buy any new Sonos products?

Pass.
And how long before someone wants Classic 2 for some other development? I am not convinced Airplay 2 is such a unique tipping point anyway. To make a non-Airplay 2 compatible speaker work with Airplay 2 you buy a compatible speaker. To make a non-Alexa enabled speaker work with Alexa you buy an Echo device.

Slippery slope. I believe Sonos should and will resist calls for legacy versions.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
Surely when sonos decide to upgrade all current kit on sale today,that is not powerful enough for Airplay2, that would be the time to create sonos classic. They support Beta role outs, so classic could be controlled by sonos as well.
Then yes why not sell all with classic installed, then if you are adding to classic version at home it stays the same or updates to latest.
Classic can still have all necessary updates to keep current, just no airplay2 onwards stuff.
Sales remain the same, or may increase as nobody freezes anymore or give up altogether with sonos. Yes it will need two lots of support. But again they support Beta anyway...

My phone is a computer and works fine - and will continue to work fine using the same software until something dies. If I try and run more memory/processor intensive software on it, then understandably it might have problems - but the phone manufacturer doesn't force me to run them. Whilst some would say that Sonos doesn't force you either, the fact that you can't add a new device to an old software build is the killer - eventually you'll be in trouble.


Your phone OS may work fine, but I would bet that many of the apps on them no longer would, Eventually, you wouldn't be able to add any new apps without upgrading your OS. The apps stores don't allow you to pick the version of app that's compatible with your OS version. This really isn't any different than the Sonos situation. What your saying Sonos should do is ship their new products on lower versions and then allow users to upgrade to what version they currently are. Clearly Sonos would have to maintain these versions to install them, and provide support for new products on multiple versions.

It may seem on the surface that allowing new products on old versions is not a big deal, but it actually is pretty much providing full support for older versions.
Also, if Sonos ever allowed you to stay at a particular version, the fact remains that the outside world keeps changing. You cannot tell me that the hue and cry from the "static at a particular version" folks would not be shaking the rafters the day the BBC changed their codec again and their frozen at version x.xx system suddenly loses the life's blood of Brits everywhere. Ditto for the Spotify changes, the AWS security changes, etc., etc.

Never mind those who want something shiny and new like Alexa and don't get it. Even the king of "static at a particular version", upstatemike seems to realize that the use case for someone who wants to stay static, and is willing to eventually lose all streaming capabilities, is slim to none, and slim left the building weeks ago.

Also, the very vocal CR100 thread had less than 500 unique posters (including those posting in the contrary), and I would guess the number of those who actually froze their system to be less than 200. With a couple million users out there, that's a use case of about 0.01%. No company is going to waste valuable resources on that kind of market, especially one which by giving them the option, they will never buy any more Sonos gear.

PS - And don't give me the disclaimer solution. The very notion that these folks want to remain where they are makes them the very first in line at the complaint desk when something doesn't work.
What one individual regards as an essential development is of no interest to someone else. We all have our own subset of use cases, and the suggestion in places on this thread that Sonos should make it easier to 'freeze' at a particular point is frankly barmy. They would have to support a multitude of legacy versions to keep a relatively small proportion of users happy.. They would be crazy to do this.

The other thing that gets overlooked is that Sonos is an integrated software and hardware environment in which speakers (old and new), controllers (on a variety of devices), networking and other third party devices have to work together. So please, no more 'my phone still works...' irrelevance.
Userlevel 7
Badge +17
So far sonos have been happy to keep everybody on latest release of software, only killing the cr100 and several customers iOS or android controllers. This guarantees future sales to ALL customers.
Since airplay2 has split the product line into ones that can handle it & those that can't, this is the first real time as voice could be overcome with Alexa devices.There may come a time when they will have to freeze old products on a classic version. They could still sell the matching version products from their website, but support would be a nightmare and need funding.
Or they could bring out a room device with a microphone and more processing power to "push" airplay2 and other coming developments to older stereo paired devices, priced a lot cheaper than a sonos one.
Any computer, and let's face it, the basis of the Sonos ecosystem is a computer in every speaker, can and will eventually be out of date. Memory, processing power, networking abilities all can become dated.
Yes, but they only go out of date more quickly because Sonos keep changing the software... If they didn't change anything then it should keep going until the hardware fails. They also do nothing to help you keep it static at a particular version. If Sonos made it easier to run at a particular build - and to stay there - then it wouldn't be as bad. It's worse for some of us because other than Trueplay nothing worthwhile has been added to the software for some time - and the quality of the IF has gone sadly down hill.
My phone is a computer and works fine - and will continue to work fine using the same software until something dies. If I try and run more memory/processor intensive software on it, then understandably it might have problems - but the phone manufacturer doesn't force me to run them. Whilst some would say that Sonos doesn't force you either, the fact that you can't add a new device to an old software build is the killer - eventually you'll be in trouble.
Any computer, and let's face it, the basis of the Sonos ecosystem is a computer in every speaker, can and will eventually be out of date. Memory, processing power, networking abilities all can become dated. I commend Sonos for doing all they can over the years for maintaining the software in such a way that there's been only one device that's been deemed as "not good enough".

Yes, I'll be unhappy when my old PLAY:5 gen 1 or PLAY:1s go out of date, much as I was when my iPhone originally went out of date. But Sonos continues to keep the longevity of their speakers much beyond what Apple does with their iPhones, so there's not a bunch I can complain about. They certainly don't force me to buy new speakers every other year (well, maybe slightly longer, but still).

Not looking forward to spending more money at some point, on the other hand, think of the features that might be part of a new software release that forces an older speaker out of the ecosystem. Might be interesting.
Userlevel 5
Badge +11
I'm a little sad at the idea that my speakers/connects could some day be put down due to old age. I have hifi that is many decades old and still works fine. I get that technology is moving but that doesn't mean I have to embrace losing equipment that I love before it naturally fails.

From a microphone in a connect perspective, I have two connects and a connect:amp and none of them would benefit from a microphone - they are all hidden away. My answer for this is an Echo Dot. That can be placed conveniently and gives all required functionality for me.
Userlevel 7
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The rebate is long over but if you didn't get notified it might be worth a call to Sonos support to see if there is anything they can do for you.
Userlevel 5
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augustwest, I'm surprised you didn't take advantage of the Sonos rebate for the CR-100 when Sonos dropped support for them. While there are a lot of the CR-100s for sale on ebay it looks like a lot of them are "no refund" offers, probably because buyers will be unhappy to discover they won't work with Sonos gear running current firmware.

I wasn't notified of the rebate by Sonos and I don't hang out on these forums very frequently.
Userlevel 7
Badge +22
Sonos is facing severe resource constraints in some of their older gear, they seem to be willing to offer cut-back versions of their software for older devices but they have also given up on really old and constrained stuff like the CR-100.

I won't be happy to see my ZP-80s drop out of support but they have given me a lot of years already and if Sonos has a rebate program similar to the one for the CR-100 I won't be really unhappy unless they have a mike in the new version.