I was the first person I know who bought Sonos, and I religiously talked them up to everyone I knew. I was like an unofficial, unpaid brand ambassador, and happy to do it. I’ve built my system up throughout the years, even though I felt each time I was overpaying for the unit - I loved the connectivity of it all and their desire to use my opinions within the Beta program.

And now? Sonos apparently decides they can make a whole bunch of money by basically forcing loyal customers to spend money to buy back products they’d previously purchased which still worked PERFECTLY! I’m beyond disappointed. This feels like a scam, and if anyone starts a class action lawsuit, sign me up.

Bring on the class action, anyone who buys Sonos now is a mug.

Windows and Apple (and all) computers become old and the manufacturer's no longer update the software, but the system still works, they even provide a disk or licence so the hardware can be re-booted.

Sonos however are updating the software making the hardware unusable!

They should make available the original software but without updates if they don’t desire doing so, and make a new version of the App for new sonos hardware.

Just to add my $.02 not that  Sonos really cares at all about many of us but you do indeed SUCK as many have commented. I don’t want any updates or further help from you. Just allow me to disconnect from Sonos and let my present system to continue to work as is without crippling my system. So far you will sundown 2 Connects, 2Connect:Amps, 2 bridges, 2Play 5, my CR200 controller (which is far better than the Sonos iPhone app), 2 bridges. I am assuming my 2 Play 3 and my 2 Ones are included. You already rendered my Dock and the CR100 controller obsolete and don’t work. So of course you prefer that I spend thousands of dollars to upgrade, then in a few years make the “new” components obsolete. Not a chance. 

Hate to repeat, but just allow me to continue to allow all of my components to continue to function fully as they presently work and leave me and my system alone. Alas, since you don’t care i assume just like the dock and the CR100 controller my components will cease to function at some point.

Future buyers: beware your components will eventually cease to work..

Unbelievable trying to force me to put in more money to a system that could stop working any day the company choose to put an end to one of the components in the chain. 
Good bye Sons, it will not happen!

Buy a raspberry pi - run Logitech Media Server on it (or even on an existing Win/Mac PC) - your existing Sonos speakers become alive again.

Post 2 - it’s nearly the end of the day.  I have had too many friends telling me “i told you so.” or asking “what are doing with $ thousands worth of Sonos product anyway?” (to which I have to admit, no - it’s $ thousands of *bricked* Sonos components.  I have purchased much more than that.).  Ouch.

Is it Greed, Laziness, Disdain, Dumbness, or Desperation?

You might be surprised how little i actually care about bricking old tech.  It’s not the “what” - it’s the “how”.  Sonos made statements that it is dealing with the computer technology obsolescence in a way that doesn’t hold up to the tech community, that wasn’t the way that Sonos was sold in the first place, and maybe just might be an insult to the Sonos development team.  As well as your user base.

This isn’t a technology problem.  This is a business predictability and trust problem-hopefully now learned through this painful experience. Please - put the MBAs back in their box, try to recover the loyalty you previously earned.  This is your opportunity to turn it all around.  I really want Sonos to succeed, but this is such the wrong path.  

I'm done..no more Sonos for me!  Imagine spending 800.00cdn on a Sonos Sub that now no longer functions....throwing money away...this is nothing more than a cash grab..I will go back to old speakers with amps ...I am pretty sure this is the beginning of the end for Sonos.  

I highly suggest that everyone go.to the app on apple or google and give it a rating of 1 star.  I also suggest that you tell everyone you know to stay away from Sonos products. 

Sonos obviously needs money. You should have just charged a monthly fee for the app and left our equipment alone...or you could have created an inexpensive connect ...like Google music that allowed us to continue to use our product with an inexpensive disposable connect that could be swapped out when technology advanced..

Shame on you Sonos..I  am so very disappointed 

Thank you, Sonos, for the $2000 bill I received in my inbox today. A price that includes the 30% discount for your trade-in program.

Booooo… Your Company is Bad and You Should Feel Bad!

Such an obvious anti-customer cash grab from a struggling company.

With one single email I’ve gone from being an early adopter and evangelical fan to completely burnt on your system and company brand/morals.

I can see how your marketing department thought this move was a great idea, instead of having to find new customers to sell to, why not just re-sell to our captive audience! It’s gear with a luxury price tag so the audience must have cash to splash, lets just hold our customers to ransom to get a quick cash injection.

As with everyone else, this has had the opposite effect on me… I won’t negotiate with terrorists.

Instead of just opening my wallet and handing you money for “more of the same”, I now completely don’t trust you. There’s no way I’m going to “trade up” the “obsolete” units (that still work perfectly fine), when I have to pay full RRP for the privilege (30% off is a joke - it equates to the normal sale price here) and when the new units aren’t substantially different… especially when you will just declare those “obsolete” the next time you want more cash.

Quite recently I was going to buy another 4 speakers and I’m glad I didn’t, as I now realise that every speaker you own with Sonos becomes a revenue stream for them when they hold you hostage for it.

It’s ironic that older whole-home systems (like my parent’s home that have been working perfectly since the 80s and only upgraded if/when/what component they wanted) are still going strong and are in no harm whatsoever. 

Here I am with a system I thought was far more superior and now I wish I had just spent that money wiring mine the conventional way like theirs. 
 

I hope Sonos gets hit with a lawsuit, I’m already brainstorming ideas on alternatives.  
 

I’m hoping other companies cash in on Sonos’ decision to kill their own brand.   
 

I am LIVID.  I too have personally spent over $3,000 worth of Sonos equipment and have been your company’s Pied Piper making fanatics out of friends, family, and random shoppers I have proselytized to in the stores were Sonos products are sold.  I’ve given Sonos speakers as Christmas gifts and purchased them for church raffles and company party door prizes.  The best your company can do is offer 30% off of a $700 amplifier??  TOOLFOOL is correct, YOU GUYS SUCK.  I’m DONE being a SONOS SUCKER!!

I've got 13 speakers in two different accounts. I've given them to as Christmas presents.

Looking at this I'm sorry to say:"No more Sonos for me" 

Am I from a different planet for feeling taken hostage by a company that wants to sell its new products to users after a few years?

i am outraged about the email I received, telling me that four component, some not that old, will stop receiving updates after May. 
i have been promoting SONOS to friends for years. This email triggers a 180 degree in my position. 
I now regret owning the system. 

Appalling. I understand that products eventually become old, obsolete, discontinued, too costly to support. However you are taking all new devices as hostage by not updating them unless the legacy devices are ringfenced in a separate network. 

Moreover, you will still be supporting the Play3? It’s older than the Play5 Gen 1 you are scrapping. Doesn’t add up. 

This is creating e-waste on an unprecedented, industrial scale. Not sure I want to continue with such an irresponsible company. 

Never mind all the money I just lost. I still have a few older Connect AMP, Play 5 from 2015. Five years later you virtually make them useless.

So let’s say I go for the 30% Trade Up discount. What guarantee do I have you in 2025 won’t be telling me it’s time to replace again.

I have around 20 SONOS devices in my two houses. Such a bad investment. I sincerely regret it.

From the Verge:

“But this is the first time that software support is ending, so some Sonos systems will get stuck on whatever software they’re running in May — unless customers quarantine the older gadgets into a secondary network. This software flow is still being developed, and Sonos doesn’t even mention that the option is coming on its FAQ page.”

not all doom and gloom it seems.

I invested in sonos as my whole home system… now you obsolete it piece by piece like a disposable product… FU.   I’ll put a $79 echo or $29 dot in every room next time.   5 zones going down in flames.

Summarizing 3 main points here about the recent Sonos EOL announcement.

1. End of life dates need to be announced in advance of folks investing in a product. If you buy a chromebook now you know the date it will stop receiving updates and potentially not be compatible with partner software. It’s obviously not ethical or OK to tell someone who may just have bought an AMP yesterday that their product may not function correctly and is worth less. We aren’t dealing with an OS here where people are aware that their products come in versions and can break at the software level. It’s egregious enough that legality and class actions are likely in play.
    
2. The narrative is that people have a choice and we’re hearing things like... “If I choose to trade in” or if “I go with keeping my old system”. This should be rejected. Yes, you have the choice to eat your sandwich and buy something new, whatever that may be. Or, you can not accept that a solvent company is making a business decision to bait n switch you. 

1. Regardless of the worst case scenarios, I think posts like this are  almost unnecessary. Failing to do the minimum to make the basic functions work would be brand suicide. Even a tiny percentage of us who are unable to use our devices would be a turd in the olympic swimming pool. Yes, another reference to the turd this is. Even Microsoft has pushed back their PRE-announced EOL. I’m sure the new SONOS investor group looked at this on paper and it made sense. The software engineers made sense as well. In the real world it will be too expensive. They have to be about to walk this back in the form of clarifying that old devices can not be bricked.

From the FAQ page:

How long until existing functionality or features are impacted?

We don’t expect any immediate impact from ending software updates. 

As changes are made to technology in the future, particularly by music service and voice partners, access to certain services or features may be disrupted. An example would be a music service partner issuing a new update that isn’t backwards compatible with legacy software.

My legacy system will NOT be traded up as Sonos recommends.  Me and my system will gladly lose the music service provider(s) than isn’t backwards compatible with legacy software.  Just don’t brick my perfectly functioning speakers with future updates in May.

Early adopter and evangelist too here, long-time supporter and have showed off the Sonos system countless times. I have a house full of Sonos stuff which is now forced into obsolescence and, thanks to their bricking patches, has no resale value. 

This is outrageous. 

Exactly, it’s one of the dead giveaways that the hardware excuse is just a convenient cover for their cash grab.

I bought my 1st generation Play:5 and 2 x Play:3 on the same day and yet they’re saying only the Play:5 is “obsolete”. The Play:5 was significantly more expensive than the Play:3’s and was sold up until 2015, so why does it contain crappier technology at a higher price point?

During the rollover period from Play:5 Gen 1 to Play:5 Gen 2 they never told customers “don’t buy a Gen 1, you’ll only get 5 years of support before we brick your unit and ask for you to buy it all over again”.

I hope they release full technical diagnostics on precisely why these systems are considered “obsolete” and what they’ve done to try to include them. It’s my guess there is nothing but greed preventing them from running older units with limited features, providing a LTS version, or allowing them to run separately or standalone.

Sonos tells me that some of my Connect AMPs are ok and will be supported while some are obsolete after 1 May.  What technically is the difference the look identical from the outside.  

In the UK Dixons is still selling Connect AMP.  I saw it at Heathrow Terminal 2 today!  Whats going on?

I asked this earlier because I experienced the same thing.  Some connects and connect amps have better processors and more memory -- those sold later in time. 

Its obvious why the keep the Play 3.  They havent upgraded that one yet.  I am sure 1st gen Sonos 1 will go soon as well.  Need to sell more!!

I am sure a technician can upgrade the memory on Connect Amp.  They should offer a trade in and then refurbish them. Or a refurbish opotion.

Where is SONOS on sustainability????