* You couldn't add speakers. The process of setting up a new Sonos speaker or adding one to an existing system is entirely dependent on communication with Sonos's servers. If a single speaker in my home were to fail, I wouldn't be able to replace it or re-add it. My multi-room system would be permanently frozen and unable to expand.

Who is going to design and make new Sonos speakers if Sonos is going out of business?

Sorry, could you explain the cloud infrastructure more clearly, please?

As far as I’m aware currently, Sonos points to servers maintained by each streamer, and not a ‘Sonos Cloud’ of any significance. Unless all streamers stop accepting connections fro a Sonos devices (shutter their servers that support Sonos connections), so the only things ‘lost’ would be future updates to software, and the Sonos Radio product.

Is my understanding incorrect?

And, for what it’s worth, everyone who has responded to your post has been a non-employee of Sonos. For all practical purposes, the only Sonos employees that read and respond here are Forum Moderators. Sonos employees who do post here are required to have an avatar identifier that lists them as an employee. 
 

With my understanding of the way Sonos functions, assuming there would be no final change to the Sonos software:

 * You couldn't add speakers. Possibly true. It really would depend on what Sonos engineering chooses to do, if such a situation were to occur. There are several circumstances I can think of where this would not be an issue.
* Streaming services would stop working. Not unless each streaming service shuts down their servers that support Sonos connection requests. 

* Security becomes a liability. This is true of any software that the company supporting it goes away. I’m not sure what Sonos, which in your supposition, disappears, could do about this. It also ignores all of the third party controllers that aren’t supported by Sonos directly, but by others who remain passionate about their devices. 
 

Thank you to everyone who has responded. I’d like to clarify a few points and address some of the confusion about the Sonos system's dependencies. My intention is not to be argumentative, but to present a detailed explanation of why the system's reliance on Sonos infrastructure is a real concern.

First, regarding the question of re-adding speakers: My point was not about adding brand-new speakers, but about the very real possibility of having to re-add existing ones. As anyone who has had to troubleshoot their system with Sonos support knows, a common step is to factory reset a speaker and re-add it to the network. This process, along with the initial setup for new speakers, is entirely dependent on communicating with Sonos's servers. If those servers were gone, a simple network hiccup or a failed speaker could render that device permanently unusable within the system. The "as is" state wouldn't even be an option in that scenario.

Second, to Airgetlam, I appreciate you asking for clarification on the cloud infrastructure. It's a common misconception that Sonos only acts as a pass-through to third-party streaming services. While the music data itself comes from services like Spotify or Apple Music, the management of those services and the authentication process are critically dependent on what is referred to in developer documentation as the "Sonos Cloud."

Based on publicly available information from sources like the Sonos Developer portal and discussions in developer forums, here’s a breakdown of how it works and where the service is located:

 * Location and Maintenance: The Sonos cloud infrastructure is hosted on services like Amazon Web Services (AWS). This means that while Sonos doesn't own the physical data centers, they are responsible for maintaining the servers, software, and paying the bills. If Sonos were to cease operations, those servers would eventually be shut down by AWS for non-payment.

 * Authentication and Setup: The very first time you set up a new Sonos system or add a new speaker, it must communicate with api.sonos.com and other Sonos-owned endpoints to be registered to a "household ID" and receive its necessary configuration. This is a non-negotiable step for a functioning system.

 * Streaming Service Management: The Sonos app's user interface for adding and managing streaming services is not a direct API call to each individual music service. Instead, the app uses an authentication flow that directs the user to a Sonos-hosted login service. Sonos's servers then broker the connection and provide the necessary credentials to your speaker. If the Sonos cloud were to shut down, you would be unable to add new services or, more importantly, re-authenticate an existing service if the token expired.

 * Remote Control: Features that allow for control of your system from outside your home network (e.g., through third-party integrations or the Sonos developer API) rely on the Sonos cloud to manage the communication between your device and the speakers on your home network.

In short, the Sonos system is an interdependent network. The speakers are the hardware, your home network is the local highway, but the Sonos Cloud is the central traffic controller that directs all the cars. Without that traffic controller, the system grinds to a halt. The "as is" state wouldn't be stable because the system is designed to constantly "phone home" to ensure its components are properly configured and authorized.

This is where the idea of open-sourcing the system comes in. It's not a magical fix, but it's the only viable path to saving the hardware. While the community couldn't spontaneously resurrect a complex, proprietary infrastructure, if the source code for the speaker firmware, the application, and the cloud services were made available, a dedicated community of developers could potentially reverse-engineer and rebuild a functional ecosystem. They could create an open-source alternative to the Sonos cloud, allowing users to run their own "traffic controller" to handle authentication and setup. This would effectively decentralize the system, ensuring that even if the company fails, the technology and the user base could keep the hardware alive. My request is for the opportunity to have that contingency, not to wish for the company's failure.

As far as whether or not Sonos employees monitor this forum, did you see who started this thread? Tom Conrad the new CEO of Sonos. I would just assume he would look at the responses to his post.
 

I'm not saying Sonos would or even could come out with the statement you're asking of them but I find it a little strange (or maybe I don't ‍♂️), that some would believe the things you've mentioned to be almost non-issues.  As far as I'm concerned, the moment Sonos servers would be switched off, systems would fail and stop working the way we'd want pretty quickly.

As you say, it's unlikely you would be adding ‘brand new’ speakers for a while, if at all, but the process of adding and registering them at all is inherently reliant on Sonos servers.

One can assume that each service will cut the SMAPI as soon as Sonos goes out of business.

And I bet he’s really glad he started this thread. (Although I imagine it’s gone exactly the way the team warned him it would...) 

Hi Tom,
Thanks for your honest and heartfelt message. It’s great to hear your commitment to improving Sonos and really listening to the community. I’m confident that with this approach, the Sonos experience will only get better. Looking forward to seeing the positive changes ahead!

If you want to improve communication (and trust, and loyalty), ensure that there is a News entry for every software update:

The latest news entry is from 7/22/25. There was a software release on 8/5/25.

This basic competence level of communication isn’t complicated...

​@Scott M Decker 

…You mean the software (firmware!) update referred to under “Important Note” in the news article you linked to?

I’m not saying that Sonos couldn’t improve upon notification to USERS maybe by putting a ‘flash scroll” a top of the Sonos home page. However, the first link you mentioned is a courtesy communication provided by the Moderators for COMMUNITY MEMBERS (like yourself). Updates to that thread may not be timely; but most are in my experience.

I made the distinction between Users and Community Members as every User is not a Community Member.

Users can easily find the latest updates and accompanying release by typing:

• Sonos.com in their browser
• Tapping Support: (in the graphic below)

• Typing: Release Notes and “pressing enter” under How can we help?

• The following links appear

As said in the beginning there is room for improvement.

 Why is the app so clunky and lag so much?!? Also the volume controls only operating on the slide bar in the app is very touchy and hard to get at a certain level.  I very much miss when you could use the vol up/down on your phone!!!  I’m sure there’s a reason for the change but would love that back. Or at least the option to turn on or off. 

Tapping on either side of the volume slider button will increment or decrement the volume one click.  The volume hard buttons cannot be used because Apple and Google forbid repurposing those buttons for media not being played via the phone and forced Sonos to cease using the hack it had in place to get around that rule.

Jgatie, thanks for the reply.  Don’t know why I’ve never figured that out for myself but thanks.  Should have known Apple and google were involved.  

Congratulations on stepping into the CEO role, Tom! Wishing you and the Sonos team success in bringing even more reliability and innovation to the products we love. Excited to see what’s ahead.

Glad to see your taking an interest in your own community. There are alot of members/users here with years of sonos experience, that still contribute after one or more painful updates and changes over the years.

Hope you can push sonos onwards and upwards…. 

No.

The latest news article mentions iOS: 80.24.35 and Android: 80.24.32.

The latest Release notes are for 90.0-67171.

Are you saying the ‘Important Note’ included in the 7/22 news article is sufficient notification and explanation of the 90.0-67171 release?

Yes.

The numbers quoted in the post refer to the app version, with details of the app update clearly stated. These release notes are available on the APP release notes page.

The Important Note says that new system firmware for the speakers will also be coming in the near future but doesn’t state the number it will be given. However, we now know that number. These release notes are available on the SYSTEM release notes page.

Hi Tom,

“Stumbled” seems like something of an understatement! Your software disaster last year - a self-inflicted wound I’m sure you’ll agree - ended my love for Sonos and caused me to eventually sell almost every speaker and replace them with Bluesound items. You’ve cost me thousands.

Once lost, trust is almost impossible to regenerate.

​@Flattliner, And yet you keep clinging to the Sonos Community. Not so happy with Bluesound after all?

Does anyone know why this thread was ever started? I thought there might be regular dialogue from the CEO.

To be fair to ​@Flattliner they still own sonos speakers and state why they are rightfully angry. I don’t get the smugness, Sonos screwed us all over, these posts should be amplified especially since the things they broke aren’t back. 
 

and to be fair to Tim, he wasn’t the CEO at the time of the app disaster , imo laying the blame on him is misguided. 

Can’t tell if serious or sarcastic. Please clarify. 

Ha! Serious in fact. It’s like knocking on someone’s door, saying hi, then just wandering off…

Basically, he's constantly promoting Bluesound; to me, it seems as if he's trying to convince himself of the uniqueness of his new purchase.

And?