Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Updates for Legacy Products

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Please note that we’ve created a new thread with some clarifications to questions that have come up several times in this thread. Please see here to continue the discussion if you still have any questions. The information contained in this thread is outdated and may no longer be accurate.

We have some important news regarding our oldest Sonos devices shared on the Sonos Blog today. The text of that blog post is being included here for your convenience:

Starting in May 2020, some of our oldest products will no longer receive software updates or new features. We want to explain why and your options.

When we first set out almost 20 years ago to invent the technology to easily listen to any song in any room, most of the ways we listen to music today did not exist. In fact, the first Sonos products were introduced before the first iPhone was announced and when Myspace still ruled social media.

In order to invent multi-room music and smart speakers, we combined the worlds of high-fidelity audio and computing. Every Sonos product has a microprocessor, flash memory, and other hardware components typically found in computers and smartphones.

Since launching our first products, technology has advanced at an exponential rate; from streaming services and voice assistants to wireless networking and Bluetooth capabilities. Through all of this transformation, we have continued delivering new features via software updates. We’re extremely proud of the fact that we build products that last a long time, and that listeners continue to enjoy them. In fact, 92% of the products we’ve ever shipped are still in use today. That is unheard of in the world of consumer electronics. However, we’ve now come to a point where some of the oldest products have been stretched to their technical limits in terms of memory and processing power.

This coming May, these legacy products—our original Zone Players, Connect, and Connect:Amp (launched in 2006; includes versions sold until 2015), first-generation Play:5 (launched 2009), CR200 (launched 2009), and Bridge (launched 2007)—will no longer receive software updates or new features.

Today the Sonos experience relies on an interconnected ecosystem, giving you access to more than 100 streaming services, voice assistants, and control options like Apple AirPlay 2. Without new software updates, access to services and overall functionality of your sound system will eventually be disrupted, particularly as partners evolve their technology.

To help you through this transition, we’re providing two options:

Option 1: Continue using these legacy products, recognizing that your system will no longer receive software updates and new features.

Option 2: Trade up to a new Sonos product with a 30% credit for each legacy product you replace.

If you’re not sure if your products are affected, you can check in the System tab in your sonos.com-account

If you choose to participate in the trade up program, your legacy products will be put in Recycle Mode, a state that deletes personally identifiable information and prepares these products for e-recycling. Recycle Mode also protects unsuspecting people from buying legacy products that are approaching the end of their useful life and won’t provide the Sonos experience customers expect today. Recycle Mode will only apply to the legacy products listed above.

We ask that you take your legacy products to a nearby certified e-recycling facility. This is the most environmentally friendly way to recycle. That said, if there isn’t a facility in your area, we are happy to pay for you to ship your products back to Sonos for responsible recycling.

Ideally all our products would last forever, but for now we’re limited by the existing technology. Our responsibility here is threefold: build products that last a long time; continually look for ways to make our products more environmentally friendly through materials, packaging, and our supply chain and take responsibility for helping you through the transition once products near the end of their useful life.

We’ve always believed in freedom of choice, whether that means choosing a certain streaming service or way to control your listening experience. We hope the choices provided here—continuing to use these products without new software updates or trading up to our modern products—enable you to make the choice that’s right for you.

We are honored to have a place in your home and want to make sure that we help continue to bring the best experience we can, even when products reach the end of their useful life.

More information.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

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allendo21

Lyricist I

I have a complete Sonos system and cannot believe that Sonos has made a decision to abandon their early customers who supported their business in its early stage. Most high end audio manufacturers offer a paid upgrade path for their equipment to insure it remains fully functional for years. I guess Sonos would rather offer a 30% discount on an already overpriced product to generate even more revenue. Perhaps a class action lawsuit should review if a successful company can abandon its customers with such an early exit on product support. I could understand if their products were 20 years old or the company had poor financial performance. Most owners don’t expect their older products to have the latest features such as DSD or the latest and greatest wireless connectivity but to abandon us is terrible. I guess our only option is to fill social media with the sad story of abandonment and resolve to never buy another Sonos product.

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bonervz

Enthusiast II

This sucks! After investing thousands in SONOS I am screwed. Any system with a mix of OLD and NEW products will not be updated, period. Am I forced to trade in my perfectly fine, hard working Play 5’s at a high cost (the trade up deal is a joke, 30% off) another $1000 + a new phone because the app is not supported. I will not be giving SONOS any more money, spending $3000 on audio equipment should last a lifetime. I suppose the rest of my SONOS device are not far behind, SUB, Play 1’s. When that happens it will all go in the trash and I will be FORCED to move to something else. I used to be a huge SONOS fan, but more and more I am becoming disillusioned. I am sick and tired of having to shell out money for upgrades to technology that works just fine, because the manufactures just hang us out to dry. I was gong to buy Sonos Move, but, not now as who knows how long before it becomes another doorstop to add to my collection.

Was nice while it lasted.

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Sonos from leader to loser in 2020.

C

CP4321

Lyricist I

To reiterate what others have said… Sonos needs to think again. You are basically saying if I want my product to continue working I need to replace it with only a 30% discount. So with the 30% discount a PLAY 5 is going to cost about £300. In return, I get no new features I want. Oh, and if I don’t you will keep the rest of my devices hostage and they will also not get the updates so I can expect streaming services to stop working at some point.

Sonos is a ‘premium’ brand. This isn’t the behaviour associated with premium products. In one announcement I’ve gone from an evangelist and happy customer to never going to buy a Sonos product again. Time for Sonos to think again.

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rbfrailey

Lyricist I

I foresee that this will be a thread of record length!

Only offering a 30% discount makes the upgrade undoable for me as it’ll cost way over $1K (2 5s and a Connect:AMP) after already spending $$ to upgrade to Boost, and I just bought what I have a little over two years ago. I get the technology change argument, but this seems very harsh, almost unethical to a degree unless SONOS is claiming that their breakeven is 70% of list which I’d find hard to believe. Buyer beware! I used to be one of their biggest fans until this announcement! Ughhh….

Maybe. Hard to tell. This is a little different than other announcements since nothing is being bricked involuntarily. You can continue to use what you have till it dies or doesn’t work with your streaming services anymore. You just can’t expand your system. This fits what a lot of people wanted when the CR100 incident happened.

I think people who just about a legacy Sonos product used, or about to sell, are going to be upset. That value just hit rock bottom. It might be a while before we start hearing those complaints. There will be those asking for a full refund, not just 30% tradeup.

And if a device has been factory reset after May, and thus not registered to any one, I don’t see how it can be claimed for 30% tradeup by anyone. This won’t make the reuse/recycle bunch happy at all. Maybe Sonos can prevent factory resets for these after May? Or maybe I don’t understand tradeup and factory reset properly?

There may also be some difficulty in telling the difference between a legacy connect or connect:amp and a still supported, 2015+ connect or connect:amp. That will bring some complaints.

Probably not thinking of some aspects. Still very early.

I’m not quite sure how I feel. I understand and respect dropping updates for products that are over 5 years old. At the same time, I would like to keep using the non-updated products without lcoking down my system. Seems like I should be able to take advantage of new products and features without losing the old. However, I did get a lot of features added to my legacy products that were not even on the horizon when I originally bought my speakers, which I certainly took advantage of.

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Stuart_17

Enthusiast II

Sonos, I am utterly disappointed in a company that I have championed over the last 5 years with my friends and family. Over this time I have build up a collection of 18 speakers. It would appear that I am ‘lucky’ to only have two Play 5: Gen1s to replace…. but how long before you give me 3 months notice on my 13 Play 1s?

In order to appease me you would have to at least double the 30% trade back rebate. But even then I don’t like the way you have gone about this at all and I am off now to start researching alternatives.

It is disgusting the way you are treating people and quite frankly it could mean the end of your business.

Please let me know where your Sales & Marketing director got educated, I will make a note not to send my two boys the same way!

P.S. @RyanS this is in no way directed at you and I am sorry that your employer has made you the messenger for this. Not good of them.

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attacama40

Headliner I

Expensive day! …. 5 boxes gone out of a stable of 14!!! ….guess I’ll just have to turn the ones in the other rooms up to 11! :-)

I sort of get the need for movement and progression but a bit of a brutal tsunami of tech death all at once me thinks ….

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gizze

Enthusiast II

I will ask again.

If you have legacy products in your system, then buy a new product after May, with a later firmware, will you be able to even add it?

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Chris Stan

Lyricist II

I will ask again.

If you have legacy products in your system, then buy a new product after May, with a later firmware, will you be able to even add it?

Good Question!

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oomph1000

Lyricist I

Are you freaking kidding me? After buying your expensive speakers, that’s all I get out of them? What a joke. You earned another unsatisfied customer here - will never buy Sonos again, or recommend Sonos to anyone (quite the opposite). Wow. What a way to dump your best early adopter customers. When is the bankruptcy announcement coming?

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brymills

Enthusiast I

In some respects I do not care, on the whole I’ve found the updates to the apps irritating. I have no use for streaming services such as Spotify, but I will be annoyed if in the future the radio apps break.

I have a Connect - not a Connect:Amp, and from what I can see the upgrade product is to the new Amp - not the Port. So even with the discount an Amp is still more than a Port.

poor show Sonos. Very poor show.

No, the upgrade for the Connect is the Port.

Ok, so it’s just a rubbish website layout.

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