This is infuriating. I have a significant investment in SONOS products, nearly 20 components, and now several of them will be unusable if I update my system. How many more will age out next year or the year after? By making this move SONOS, you are telling me to stop investing in your product line...
Just received the same e-mail and have the same response. Sonos may think they are “legacy” but I have 5 Sonos products all bought within the last 5 years that are now.
- No longer supported
- As a result resale value zero
- Effectively been told to put them in the trash and buy new for which they will “generously provide a 30% discount” (so they still probably make a 25-40% margin)
- Were the mostly up-to date product Sonos supplied at the time of purchase
The last thing I want in my house is a speaker system that allows Amazon/google etc to spy on me.
I’ve been constantly recommending Sonos to friends/colleagues. Never again
So, I now have 9 devices that you want me to upgrade? I used to tell all who would listen what a great company Sonos was. I feel personally betrayed and stupid. Thanks for the 30% offer, but it seems I don’t have the extra $5,000 to $6,000 for the privilege of staying current.
You guys should come up with a better way of dealing with the tech challenges so as to not screw over your loyal customer base.
This policy is outrageous! I have 3 older amps, and 1 older connect, and 9 newer components.
I’m not going to spend $2000 to get updates for my newer components!
keep the old ones running somehow even if they don’t get newer features or I will never again be a Sonos customer!!!
Your threat that unless I upgrade the newer stuff will also eventually quit working is even more outrageous!!!
Outraged!
Just received notification that my perfectly good gen 1 Sonos 5 (2 of them) will not be receiving update support etc.
I do not recollect any statement by your company that there would be time limited support for my very expensive purchase. Totally pissed off by your company especially as the 30% discount on new hardware is irrelevant. My speakers work perfectly, they provide exactly what I need, the quality is superb and you are suggesting that, over time, they will be worthless, not because they do not function properly but because your company will not provide the necessary support.
How can this be legal?
If and when they do fail I personally promise that I will NOT replace them with any type of Sonos product.
You have let your most important customers down. The early adopters gave your company the chance to flourish but right now I hope this policy of imposing obsolescence destroys it.
14 of my units are now legacy. Mostly Connect’s and Connect Amps. Replacing them would be a financial burden considering they were purchases over a long period of time. Thanks SONOS. /s
Who else is pissed about Sonos dropping support for non-legacy prodcts? Just got an email notice from Sonos saying, “In May the following products in your system will be classified as legacy and no longer receive software updates and new features. This will affect your listening experience.” In other words, in may Sonos support for non-legacy componentsd will end.
Of course, they expect me to solve their unwarrented action by shelling out for a new product. I don’t know of any other company that acts like that. They should continue support until my legacy product would actually cause a problem and not before.
I just don't see why Sonos can't have a cut down firmwae that is for older devices. Others carry on getting updates, we can continue to add to and grow our systems, systems won't get accidentally upgraded etc. Newer firmware is aware of the older one and doesn't care or offer updates to it…
Meanwhile the newer ones can then benefit from bigger libraries, SMB2+ etc. etc… but continue to send music (you know, the reason we bought this stuff for) to other speakers.
This is unbelievable. I just spent a fortune on a Connect for Christmas and now I find out it will no longer work. This is unbelievable. I own 3 One speakers, the Subwoofer and the Playbar and just got the Connect to hook up to my outdoor hardwired system. I have spent a small fortune on your system. There was no mention anywhere that the Connect was going to stop getting updates when it was purchased. Giving me a lousy 30% off a $650 amp is an additional $400 to basically get what I already have.
I am very disappointed with your company.
Just posting to say the same thing. Regretting the fact that I purchased three new Sonos products to go with my two original (still perfectly good and fully functional) ones.
I will run this collection of hardware until Sonos execute it and then move to something else. Sonos can take their kind discount and stick 30% of it where the sun doesn’t shine.
I guess like a lot of people I have a mixture of old and new Sonos hardware. Only the items that I want to use at any one time are powered up to save electricity. I’m perfectly OK with the functionality I currently have and I’m not that bothered if I can’t add the latest bells and whistles. However Sonos must prevent the scenario where only new hardware happens to be powered up, latest software updates then get installed automatically on the new hardware and this then prevents the older hardware working in the system when it is next powered up.
Sonos, 30% trade in is pathetic. Should be at least 50%
I was saving up for some new speakers, but if this is how Sonos handles 5 year old products we would be better off switching to the many competitors out there now.
This forces users to spend a fortune on new products or risk their entire system stop working when updates start failing (and I bet they will).
In the past, if you don’t do the update you can’t access the system any more….crashes or won’t connect. If this happens again, all my speakers will become unusable unless I ditch my legacy one/s and waste hundreds of GBP.
I also object to using the word “recycle”, when it is nothing of the sort. Don’t pretend this is in any way something good for the environment/waste, please. Products are not being recycled, they are being made obsolete for a “trade in” discount.
Hope you will be upping the “Trade in” to at least 50% to make this pallateable.
I agree! I just received the same email. Also pissed off. I bought my products in 2015. Five years is all I get?
This paragraph is the kicker:
“You can continue using legacy products after May, but your system will no longer receive software updates and new features. Over time this is likely to disrupt access to services and overall functionality.”
I understand “new updates and features” to some degree (sort updates by whiz bang features and maintenance updates), but most important is “disrupt access and overall functionality”. What the heck does that mean? Not a happy camper...
You want me to spend hundreds on a forced replacement, knowing full well that you will pull the same stunt on me another few years down the line? It's not supposed to be a subscription service. What guarantee of serviceable life do I get on any new kit I buy at the not really great 30% discount?
I'm not a complete mug. Hugely disappointing, and time to move on to different kit I'm afraid.
How can speakers become outdated, and why? Makes no sense to me when i have had sonos 5 speakers for 3 years and they are being outdated with new software upgrades? These aren’t cheap, and to offer a whooping 30 % discount to new replacement is an insult. What has to be upgraded that you couldn’t make these still compatible with new software. I have 2 pairs of these. Plus 3s and 1s ,2 soundbar, 2 subs …. What an expensive system that shouldn’t be outdated in 3 years
anyone else feel screwed with this announcement?
Hi Ryan
Why are re-sellers still selling the Connect: and Connect:Amp? These will become obsolete in less than 6 months. To be continuing to sell these after the announcement you have just made, is (in my opinion) close to fraudulent activity, and certainly would not pass the “fit for purpose” test.
Thanks
Me too - 7 (seven) pieces of my hardware are about to be dumped. I can get 30% off the next bit of their hardware….. don’t think I’ll be bothering with sonos anymore. Absolutely shit service. I am speechless.
Hmm. I also have two Gen 1 Sonos 5’s and a 3. I can listen via headphones with them (the 5’s) but you can’t do the same with the second generation, strangely. Just received my email too and am also most disappointed in the company. I bought a Gen 1 Sonos 5 for my son, for the same reason - can listen to quality sound without affecting others. This considerable investment now appears under threat. The first stage of the programme has now been implemented. Be prepared for the next, which will probably render our equipment inoperable!
I have three Play5 units. The most recent one is only 6 years old. They were all very expensive.
And now I learn that they are considered out of date and that ideally I should junk them and buy newer Sonos items that don't do anything extra that I want and that are even more expensive than the ones I already own.
And then presumably 5 or so years down the line I will get another email advising me to bin whatever “upgrades” I bought this year because they too are out of date.
Well, don't hold your breath.
I think that Sonos have been taking lessons from Apple, and that’s another company whose products I would never buy for exactly the same reasons.
I also have no plans for expansion ...
So this does not bother me all that much, once I am satisfied that accidental bricking of legacy products can be avoided.
Good for you. However, there are lots of people who have evolving Sonos systems in which they’re adding devices.
I know; and of these people, those that get to know of this event are going to find that their decision has become more complex.
The case for getting legacy styled “dumb” stereo kit and adding cheap Echo Dots interfaces to it, that can be thrown away every few years, just got better. Sonos needs much higher up front investments, and their messaging in support of that has in turn immediately become more of a challenge.
Yup - me too and not pleased! We have been loyal Sonos subscribers since the very beginning. We have everything form the original wired amp through add on speakers and the whole tv surround system I have loved Sonos and been willing to pay a premium for their products because I felt they supported building a system with their products. There has never been any communication that there was a risk that they would stop supporting the products that now represent a big investment for us. Funnily enough, I filled out a survey for them last week and I commented that their integration of new products to existing is the main reason we have loved them. Now I wish I could redo the survey! I am amazed they are doing this as it forces me to rethink my needs for something that I have been blindly loyal to since roughly 2002-3.
I never post on forums but want to add my voice here. This will cost me 3 play 5 and a new amp. I’m not impressed and agree with earlier commentators that the bandwidth for streaming is not changing significantly so what’s the problem.
Very disappointed.
@Ryan S All my hardware (2xPlay:1+Sub, 2xPlay:5(gen1), Connect:Amp, Bridge) will be impacted by this move. They’re running the latest firmware (10.6.1). Say I buy another piece of hardware which comes with firmware v11 installed. What will happen? Will it effectively be a brick (because it’s on different firmware to the rest of my equipment) until I’ve removed “old” hardware from my system (i.e. dumped my entire setup so I’m back down to this single new piece of hardware)?
Thanks
@morgan4x4, if all of those devices are legacy devices, your system will continue to function as it does today once the update happens in May. The only change is that your Sonos system will no longer receive software updates. Your experience will initially remain the same. However, the functionality of features and services will be impacted as technology, particularly music service and voice partners, evolves over time. If
So $7,499 MSRP to replace all my “legacy” kit!
$5,239.50 with your generous discount for me to stay current.
are you sure this is the direction you want to take with your firm?
social media is a witch when thousands of angry customers take their message public.
Given all the competitive alternatives out there, I am astonished this is the way you want to go.
richard
Lot of outrage here. Justifiably. Any lawyers out there with a view on the legality of this?
I can’t believe I actually recommended your products for years. What a chump. Now, everyone who took my advice and spent A LOT of MONEY on your products, including myself, will eventually be left with a worthless pile of components. Also, thanks for killing the resale market for all of us. I literally did certain renovations in my house to fully integrate my SONOS system!
How can anyone trust that SONOS as a company won’t just turn around and stop supporting their new products whenever you decide you no longer want to support them or need to goose product sales? You do realize that this cannot be perceived as anything other than a craven money grab from people who are your oldest and strongest supporters, right?
