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 The information contained in this thread is outdated and may no longer be accurate.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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julesft

Lyricist I

I only bought my Sonos system 4 years ago from a high end sound system retail outlet, so over £1000 worth of speakers useless. I loved my Sonos and couldn’t praise them enough and about to buy the move NOT NOW!!! Sonos have lost what was a loyal customer never again and I look to replace the whole system of 12 elsewhere. What a let down

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TomPalke

Lyricist I

I’m sure this has already been asked but, suppose in December 2020 I decide I would like to add a new Zone. Will this be compatible with my legacy systems? If so, you are forcing me to NOT be a future customer?

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gmmarshall

Lyricist I

Hello Mr. Spence,

I am not at all happy with your corporate decision to end support for one of my many Sonos devices, thereby forcing me to get rid of it or forego software updates for all of those devices.

If this is part of your long term strategy, I will presumably lose others of my Sonos devices that I have acquired over the years to build this system. After investing a considerable amount of my hard-earned after-tax money with your company, this leaves a very bitter taste. My most recent purchase, within the last year, was a sound bar. Had I known that your products, not to mention the systems that they are a part of, have a lifetime arbitrarily determined by your company that can be terminated without warning prior to sale, I would probably have chosen another product.

I urge you and your corporate and technical teams to reconsider right away, and to find a satisfactory way to continue support for older products and the systems they're part of (which work just fine, thanks, except when I tried your beta test and ill-considered software updates before they were ready for prime time). I would rather have solid long-term support than the newest, largely unused by me, features that you feel must be incorporated.

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M

mwiseman

Enthusiast II

This is very disappointing. I have four Connects and two Play:5s. This means, even with the 30% discount, that I will need to spend more than $2,000 just to get back to where I am now.

In addition to the newly obsoleted equipment above, I have twelve Play:1s and two subs and a Playbar.

I have a considerable investment in Sonos gear. Before I even consider the Trade-In offer, I am going to research options for replacing all of my Sonos equipment.

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A

attacama40

Headliner I

Will be a lot of cheap white boxes on ebay the coming weeks bought by the less informed. Have to confess to doing that with my old CR200 and I made a profit over the original purchase price.

Not desperately ethical but ….

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mrdampsquid

Lyricist I

What about controller apps (phones/tablets/Windows/Mac)? Will updates to that still be able to drive the legacy system? If not then will the “legacy” apps remain available in case of new purchase or reset of devices requiring re-install?

^ THIS!

Sonos, we need an answer on this key question!

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G

Goodbye Sonos

Enthusiast II

I will never buy another Sonos product.

Your product should last a long time and is expected by your customers to last a long time.

Music systems and Hifi are not mobile phones - people expect them to last for years and work for years.

Customers do not expect their Hifi system to be made defunct overnight.

You have at a stroke made half of my system obsolete, BUT in effect the whole system is now obsolete because I play music across all my units at the same time - so if I split the system into defunct and supported units I can no-longer do the ONE and only ONE THING that I use my Sonos for - which is to play music in time with each other across multiple units in multiple rooms.

Of course I could spend £££££££ upgrading. BUT why would I - all I get is the same system I used to have today.

I was a strong support of Sonos and many of my friends have bought into the system on my recommendation. How embarrassed I am now, and how I will need to apologise to them.

Once bitten twice shy.

I will not make the mistake of buy Sonos again.

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melvimbe

I only bought my Sonos system 4 years ago from a high end sound system retail outlet, so over £1000 worth of speakers useless. I loved my Sonos and couldn’t praise them enough and about to buy the move NOT NOW!!! Sonos have lost what was a loyal customer never again and I look to replace the whole system of 12 elsewhere. What a let down

Just for clarification, your system will continue operating as it does now without any updates for sometime. Looking at your profile, it looks like most of your speakers are not legacy. You would only need to replace your Play:5 Gen1 (s) and amp(s), if you decided to allow upgrades and add new products and features.

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Danny

J

jkmcf

Lyricist III

I strongly suggest figuring out how to reduce your software footprint with more efficient code or optional feature support based on product.

This is a shameful solution and probably means I will abandon Sonos products. I need a better excuse for this tactic than “new features”.

First, the Play:5s were expensive.

Second, they are in perfect condition and working perfectly.

Thirdly, I have a house full of other first gen Sonos speakers that will be abandoned in the near future even though they are declared “modern” today. Multiple thousands of dollars. Your upgrade program is almost worthless to me.

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D

davestein

Contributor I

posted too quickly (hadn’t realized I posted) .
A more complete post is on page 19 of this thead.

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