End of Software Updates for Legacy Products

I agree. The ease of use is a major plus, but I think a lot of the cheaper options have narrowed that gap over the past few years (especially if you prefer voice control, which I can’t stand). The other reason I have bought so many Sonos products--and talked my friends into doing the same--is due to the excellent customer service. Now that the “customer first” reputation is ruined, I feel like I have very little loyalty to Sonos anymore. It’s a terrible decision from a customer service standpoint, from a business standpoint, and from an environmental standpoint. I just got one of the Sonos/Ikea lamps-speaker combos, but it's still unopened, so I think I’ll probably return it while I consider my options.

I shall not be paying your ransom you will not see another £ from me so kill my system.

It is a bad thing to brick audio devices that you sold only 5 years ago, but it is unconscionable to also use them as “Trojan Horses” to bring down entire connected systems of a dozen devices, some of which were new releases only months ago.  Your job is to figure out how to make the technology work together even if you can’t continue to add new features.  

My expensive Apple Display and Time Capsule Router (both of which were discontinued years ago as technology improved) still work perfectly fine with the new laptop that I bought last month.  If you are a technology company, it is your responsibility to make the technology work, especially considering your pricing model.  Remember you chose to enter a venue that respects and brags about respecting round disks of plastic.  We respect things that last. 

No wonder Google tricked you. Good luck with that lawsuit. I’d bet on Google. 

Good Afternoon,

I have been a Sonos user and fan for over a decade.  I have sold Sonos products consistently during this time, both professionally and as a non-commissioned consumer convincing friends and family how wonderful of a product it is.

I have 17 zones in my home.  Of those 17 zones, 12 of them are affected by this news.  This is incredibly disappointing and disheartening.  I was under the impression that these were long term investments.  The realization that over $6,000 of investments in our home will soon be obsolete is a very tough pill to swallow.  I realize that they will continue to work for an undisclosed amount of time, but the day that our system suddenly no longer works will be a huge punch to the gut (not to mention the wallet).

In my humble opinion, 30% is not enough of a discount - especially for people that have been buying, pushing and supporting your products since 2008.  Perhaps consider some sort of “bulk recycle” deal or something for people that need to recycle more than 3 or 5 units to remain current.

I saw the news this morning and the announcement was well crafted and the reality of the situation does make sense after they have explained it.  However, the reality of the situation for an individual or family, especially ones as deeply invested as I am, is just massively disappointing.  Furthermore, it would really have been nice to know this information years ago, as while it does make sense today based on the explanation provided, this was not in any way news I would have been able to forecast, as I was (apparently falsely) under the impression that these devices and investments would only be limited by the natural degradation of hardware, not the implications of evolving software.

I am very sad about this news and will need to take some time to seriously think about how to best plan for the future of music and entertainment in our home.

There was no formal designation, but it seems later models were equipped with more memory and processor power.  

Just checked my system and it turns out that Sonos are asking me to replace the following:

1 x Play: 5

6 x Connects

1 x Connect amp

2 x Bridges

That’s ten hardware units in total that Sonos want to consign to landfill and will cost me £2,600.00 including the trade in! Absolutely unacceptable!

I am not in the least reassured by messages from Sonos saying that everything will still work fine after May. We know it won’t. Countless times I have had to upload new Sonos software at the most inconvenient times and the prospect of an update that kills my system is unthinkable. Sonos have really shot themselves in the foot here.

OK. Fine. I understand. However, I’m trying to participate in the trade up program and the Sonos web site doesn’t apply the credits to my purchase. Trying to get sales help is fruitless. I’m either on hold forever, dealing with chat agents who can’t help me, or trying the trade up phone number listed (mid day Tuesday) to receive a message that the office is closed with a hangup. 

Sure is tough to do business with you guys lately.

so apparently I have 10 legacy items out of 20 listed on my account

so again sonos shaft us good customers

even have my three cr100 still on my account that sonos wouldn't honor their £100 credit as they only allowed more than one rebate but then went ahead and moved the goalposts but only for certain people and gave rebate galore

my last 5 x play 5 s2 will be my last sonos purchase

So today i received my trade up email notification that my first gen play 5 will no longer receive updates come May 2020. Not only will it stop receiving the updates but my entire system will no longer receive updates as well. Currently i have: 1 Beam; 2 amps; 1 play one; 1 play 5 gen 1 and 1 play 5 gen 2. Needless to say i have been a fan. I must say though, that this trade up notification pisses me off to no end. The fact that my perfectly working play 5 gen 1 will keep the rest of my system from receiving updates is ridiculous. I can say with certainty that if I do decide to pull my play 5 gen 1 so that my system continues to receive updates i will more than likely not replace it….or most certainly go with the cheaper SL instead...why to go Sonos…...alienate your loyal customers….The fact that Sonos cant update new gen devices if old gen device share the network is ridiculous. If you can develope a software update to brick old devices you can certainly come up with a fix to only update the speakers and devices that can take them. i will have to give serious thought to considering any future expansion of my system...

Frustrated fan

I agree that blocking updates to newer devices that are co-mingled with legacy devices is a last straw decision. None of the suggested or likely methods to make old and new devices play nicely together approach being acceptable for a system like Sonos that’s built around music-anywhere and interoperability.
 

On the plus side, I suppose, I’ve been debating whether to expand my investment through a 5.1 system or two, throwing down for some 5s and subs.

Given this move, I can say with confidence that I’ve made my last Sonos purchase and will be focusing on other options integrated with roon.