The new Sonos Mobile App & Web App

This whole drama is actually a prime candidate for crafting a Hitler rant, using clips from the movie Downfall. Possibly the same clips used for the hilarious “Hitler calls an Indian call centre because his computer won’t respond”, that is there to be seen on YouTube for free. Far better suited to this fiasco than Peter Sellers pictured above.

Is anyone else having trouble authorizing Apple Music on the new app?

Agreed the iPad version has always been less than idea but this version is arguably worse than the old one and that I don’t like. 

I fully disagree the iOS doesn’t have a design language. There is very clear guidance and UI conventions set forth for iOS app development - sure many apps out there don’t follow them, but that’s not a good excuse. At a minimum an app should follow the navigation bar at the bottom convention like most apps do from Photos to Apple TV to Slack and heck even Facebook. That is a convention that should always be followed on iOS. Lazy developers use cross-platform development tools. Developers committed to the best user experience, the most performant app, and the most fully-featured app use platform-specific tools and APIs that integrate with the platform they are running on. 

Am I correct that the new app (on iOS at least) does not allow playing music from a local library (eg NAS on my network)? Customer service just told me … but I can’t believe it’s possibly true.  Any way to find the previous version of the app to redownload. Any comments gratefully received!

If it’s any help there is a good app called SonoPad which might help people get their system back again.

You can play from local library provided you’ve already added it to your system (otherwise you need to add via the Desktop app) - my NAS shows under My Sources.

What you can’t do is search local libraries, nor use the alphabet shortcut on the right-hand side in albums, tracks and artists to navigate them. It’s no longer there and you literally just have to keep scrolling until you reach the point you need. With large libraries, that can obviously take a while!

Absolute shambles of a release.

Thanks  This is helpful. My NAS was added on my Desktop app. But I have not updated the desktop app for fear of losing access altogether. I guess that's why I can’t see it with iOS. And even then… based on your experience… it is no good having the library if you can’t search it efficiently. 

The customer service online chat told me it is not possible to add the local library at all.  Obviously they don’t know what they are talking about. I can tell the library must be accessible because music plays from a playlist that is accessible. 

I wonder if the CEO actually uses his own system?

I am appalled and utterly lost without the ability to search my music library.  I would never have invested in sonos products had I known it would come to this.

They dont care!

Believe me, they dont care about anything written here, because all the people they just f****** with this update already spent their money on Sonos.

I am really p***ed and no one of my family will ever spend a dollar on Sonos again. But 'so what’ nobody cares.

They want new customers. Whoever buys a Sonos sytem today wont know anything about this list and just be happy with whatever works in the app.

Its so frustrating financing people like this.

I mean it would be so easy: listen to the customers, do what they want and test what you do.

The Sonos way: let the product manager and his/hers third class developpers do what they want an roll it out so the customers can test it.

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

But what’s the alternative? Does anyone else make a wifi-based multi-room system? 

@Kumar , for anyone to upgrade from this to S1, they need another Sonos device already running S1. Plus, the newer devices aren't able to run S1.

Still staggered at the false promises and lies in the promo email and no effort to warn users in advance that lots of core functionality had been removed and zero acknowledgement still from Sonos about this.  All we have seen still is the corporate bullshit paragraph.
Mods are obviously around and still answering small queries.  In massively underestimating this shitstorm, they'll have had a “Let them vent, they'll move on.“ email early I imagine. I feel for them.

Sad to see some media outlets who heavily rely on Sonos advertising to still be saying how nice the update is with no warning of the harm it causes to systems..

Nothing we write here will change anything, as we have already bought into the ecosystem. Leaving feedback about the new app on the App Store and on Amazon has more impact. 

Assuming that this isn't a S2 upgrade, can’t people go back to S2 then? Or, is it an S2 upgrade, in which case they are sunk with Sonos, till Sonos swims again.

Echo, that does this as well as Sonos does, at lower price points. And there are others at Sonos or higher price points. Sonos now is just a me too solution. Regardless of what their fervent advocates here will say.

Closest real world alternative is Apple's homepods but limited when it comes to sound bars, wet room applications, biggest speakers, etc. 

After the frustration from yesterday I see only practical way to go is huge press from the community on all public channels - here, redit, other forums, participating in the so called Sonos events not letting them deny they didn't know there was a problem with app and overall experience, putting YouTube channels and media sponsored in any way by Sonos on ground. After investing tons of money no-one will start to sell it just like that. And as hardware there still ok so let us navigate them in their own mess with proper and firm customer feedback!

p.s. sleeptimer is what upset me right away after the update. They cannot tell me that when I feel I'm falling asleep a should get up of the bed going to other room with pc to set it. Amateurish to “forget” the sleep timer, twice more amateurish to give such response in official support. I fund my workaround last night using Home Assistant and HomeKit and now is even better with one press in my Apple's Home up all is set but this not the way and this not what ppl paying to Sonos after all. 

p.s.2 Sonos, crisis management at your end is even worse than newly released up. Think about is as it will be crucial part of your business the way you're heading to.

Speakers haven't updated, ‘just’ the App.  It's a version change.  If you are on iOS you're stuck.  If you're on Android you can remove it and sideload (directly install the App) the previous version. It's available from a few places and not generally recommended due to possible security risks - but that's the position Sonos have put users in due to their lies.

Just been forced to update the app on my iphone and ipad. Now nothing works. Spealers are not connected, bridge has disappeared, cannot play anything from the app and my music library has gone.

Is this usual for an app update?

How do i revert to the app that was working perfectly fine on Tuesday?

C’est une honte !

Plus rien ne fonctionne, impossible d’appairer les appareils, les services ne fonctionnent plus.

Remettez l’ancienne App 16.0 en ligne et remettez vous au travail !!!

You don't, you accept the removed functionality or complain to them about why they have removed functionality.

You don't need a device already running S1 - just a hard reset of the S1 capable device then a downgrade using the S2 option to downgrade.

You are however right that newer devices aren't able to run S1. There is a list of what can run S1 on Sonos Website (Google it).

OK, thanks for that, I really thought you did.  Ironically, another thing Sonos say they've removed in this update……..

Just a bit of feedback - like the overall layout but:

1. When is the alram feature being returned to the app and
2. In the interim, how can I return to the S2 app!!!!!!

Very surprised that an update has reduced functionality without prior warning

so...just adding my voice to the countless comments about removing local / NAS search, disappointing - if I wanted to search Spotify I’d use Spotify.

One of the main reasons I use Sonos equipment is to access my 240Gb of personal music!

Cheers

Paul J

I still don’t know why my iPad Pro updated itself to the new version because I turned off auto updates in the app. My old iPad air asked me if I wanted to update when I opened the old version and I said no to that and it didn’t. At no time was I asked on my iPad Pro if I wanted to update.

I’m still confused about it and also gutted because there is no way that I wanted this new version on any of my devices.

This updated app has rendered my system almost useless. All the albums and playlists I had setup no longer exist in it. The new search is terrible and if I go to the effort os trawling through my music library and add an album as a favourite the it still doesn't show up anywhere. In fact this update is mind-bogglingly bad. The only thing that's saved me from total disaster is that I also have the app on my tablet and I managed to get to turn off automatic updates before the damage was done.

The arrogance of Sonos is breathtaking. If they were so confident they should have given the app a new version, then glitches could have been ironed out and using the previous version would be easy.

So now I'm looking for alternatives,  does anyone know of any?