Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Updates for Legacy Products

Related content:Software

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 The information contained in this thread is outdated and may no longer be accurate.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

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jgatie

This is too technical for me, so will all my Sonos stuff stop working having spent £000’s on it ? Got it all about 8/9 years ago. play 1’s, play 5’s ? Will this lot be gathering dust soon as dead items? If so I’ll be pretty cheesed off. And no I don’t want to upgrade with 30% discount, I can’t afford it and spend more money to be on same situation in a few years time?

Play:1s are unaffected. The Play:5s will be obsolete, you can choose to remain at the old firmware (which will eventually deteriorate in functionality if you use music services), take them offline, or replace them.

P

Peck

Avid Contributor I

I simple cannot believe this. It’s completely rubbish, simply don’t understand why it’s necessary and it feels like a two fingers to loyal and heavily invested customers.

There is no way in the world I am going to replace the whole of my system with new products from Sonos when as far as I can tell in the next 5 to 6 years I will have to do it again!

I bought my entire system just 5 to 6 years ago. A total of six Connects and Connect:Amps

I can accept that the older players have more limited space for playlists etc. And don’t have Alexa support, or the other features of the latest products.

But to stop support altogether and demand the whole lot is upgraded … I mean, WTF?!?

It seems very lazy, greedy, and wasteful. They have all the power you need to play music and that demand or the size of song files isn’t going to change.

I add my voice to the voices above, there is no way whatsoever I am buying Sonos again, or at the very least I will be looking seriously at competitors, I believe there are some half decent ones these days.

I bought Sonos because of personal recommendation, but be assured I will be recommending AGAINST buying these things when the company has so little regard for its customers, what we have invested, and the environment.

Literally, aghast.

And the option to keep the products but disconnected from updates…. it simply doesn’t work. We are expecting to move to a slightly bigger house later this year, we would want another zone or two…. then what? And when the streaming services we use stop working?

Honestly, in any sane world this would be a sick joke.

Sorry for the somewhat inflammatory language. But I can’t put into words what I really feel about this.

Good bye, Sonos.

N

NeedSleep

Renowned Enthusiast I

Does this mean that the older devices, while not receiving updates or features, will be ‘frozen’ but will continue to work fine and do their core job of playing music?

So, a year or so from now they could be on software 10.7 but the rest of the components are on 12 for example? (a departure from the current way of working)

My understanding from the email is that if you have a single “legacy” item, no other items will be updated.

I don’t know what’s happened to Sonos but there seems to have been a recent shift to try and wring customers for all they’re worth. I’m not impressed at all. I’ve got a significant investment in Sonos products, I’ve put many others on to them and now I feel I’m being kicked in the balls, again and again.

Public company gotta make it rain for shareholders

M

maurer14

Lyricist II

Wow.. way to announce this a week after the price hikes go into effect. With five zones impacted by this I’ll have to re-evaluate my future commitment to Sonos. I’ve built up my system over 15 years and can’t afford to replace all of these components in short order. This news is very disappointing.

S

stoney_burke

Lyricist I

Anybody want to buy some Sonos? This is a deal killer for me. I wanted to add to my system in the future but this news just changed my mind. Your stuff ain’t cheap and is hard to justify buying to begin with. If you’re now going to brick my expensive Play 5’s then I can’t justify spending money on something that down the road you’ll probably do the same to. I’ll be looking to dump the Sonos stuff I have and look into something else. I haven’t had the Play 5 (Gen 1)’s all that long. I certainly don’t feel I got my $800 out of them. This is an extremely bad decision on Sonos part.

P

Paul Thompson

Contributor I

This morning, 1/21/2020, I received an email from Sonos regarding 2 products for which I have spent money: Bridge and 2 Play 5 speakers.

Email:
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.

Legacy products were introduced between 2005 and 2011 and, given the age of the technology, do not have enough memory or processing power to sustain future innovation.

Please note that because Sonos is a system, all products operate on the same software. If modern products remain connected to legacy products after May, they also will not receive software updates and new features.

End

I actually do not care about new features. What I have does the things I need it to do - play music from my iTunes library.
At this point, I will no longer purchase Sonos products. I will use the devices I have purchased (2 Play 5, 3 Play 1, Bridge), but will not add other components. I will no longer recommend Sonos devices.

H

Hagbeard

Trending Lyricist I

Wow. 4 Connect:Amps, 1 Connect ZP90, and a Play:5 are all being obsoleted. Is this your strategy for staying afloat? Forcing customers to replace fully functioning hardware? Even with the discount I’m looking at $2500 so updates will work. And why on earth is the upgrade path from a Play:5 to the freaking Move?? Why not to another Play:5? Oh, that’s right, don’t want to discount that. This is beyond disappointing, if I’m spending $2500 to replace the system it won’t be with Sonos.

M

mistyoptic

Avid Contributor III

Having championed the Sonos system to friends and family for years, I’m now in the embarrassing situation of having to admit that I’m being , effectively, blackmailed into spending about £1200 or maybe more on new kit in order that the rest of my system can continue to update

Very disappointed with this latest development

O

ogormakc

Lyricist I

I can’t see what features that can be added to make it worth replacing $2000+ of equipment (which i’m sure is not an uncommon amount to have spent) that works perfectly fine right now…I really like the products and never would have considered going with another manufacturer until now. I don’t understand the reason to open that door to its customers, many of whom are very loyal.

J

jjj

Contributor I

I have to say this is extremely disappointing especially the complete lack of clarity with regard to what the actual impact will be. Stating “However, some functionality will be impacted over time.” isn’t very helpful, especially considering that event with the trade in discount it will cost me £770 to replace these “Legacy Products”.

Having just bought a move that’s a cost that I can’t really justify at the moment, and the concerns is that this will happen again in another few years time so does make me wonder if I need to look at alternatives.

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