End of Software Updates for Legacy Products

If you purchased the Connect recently, it will not be affected.  Only those manufactured before 2016 are obsolete. 

Ugh, this is a little painful. I have 21 Connect Amps and 2 Connects across 2 locations. Interestingly, Sonos is telling me only 16 of them are on the Legacy schedule. I’m quite sure the remainder of them can’t be far behind. I’m looking at the prospect of about $10,000 to replace my equipment that is going to be deprecated. I have to agree that the 30% discount on equipment that recently just had a price hike isn’t feeling very generous or just.

My first and probably last post. Only posting to add my 2p and don’t need to write much as I can see it has all been said before. I don’t claim to be an audiophile but paid premium for Sonos because it “just worked”, looked good and was impressive enough. What is the point in buying new premium Sonos kit if you are going to make it legacy again in possibly less than 5 years!! Have already had to scrap 3 CR100 devices which I could kind of live with… but this takes the biscuit.. I will be moving to cheaper alternatives. 

Sayonara

I was horrified to just receive the “legacy products will need to be replaced or will slowly die email.”

I’d thought Sonos was a forward thinking company but apparently they couldn’t even think far enough ahead to plan against rapid obsolescence or to enable simple memory or processor upgrades.

To date I’ve strongly commended Sonos systems to friends and colleagues. That process stopped today when I shall feel morally obliged to tell them to think very hard before purchasing from a company who think it’s fine announce your system will stop working unless you purchase it all over again at their convenience!

The 30% off offer is little comfort when one has no idea how long it will be before the next “legacy kit” announcement makes such new kit equally redundant.

Bitterly dissapointed!

You can add me to the list of furious and extremely disappointed customers. I tried calling support to add my tuppence but the lines are jammed with other disgruntled and soon to be ex-customers!

I too have suggested your system to friends and family. I’m sure they will be ever so impressed with my advice now!

Hopefully Sonos will see sense and realise that this will irreparably damage their reputation and customer base.

Goodbye SONOS, with a single announcement you've effectively put yourselves and all us users on the scrap heap.

Not since Nokia have I seen such managerial poor judgement.

If you're lucky top heads will part company and this stupidity will be reversed before your rivals eat first your lunch, then any entrails of you that remain.

But they threaten that even the new devices will eventually quit working w/o updates!

That’s my choice, I guess. But my question is what do I do in Singapore. It seems I may not even have the upgrade option. So I’m bricked without even the paltry offer. I’d like an answer to this. 

Sonos simply had to take this action.  Developing the system and taking some of the earlier products along for the ride is simply not feasible, so limited is their memory and processing power.  The real flaw is the 30% discount, leaving many with the unpalatable choice between:

1. Foregoing future updates (and still probably seeing a gradual deterioration in experience), and
2. A hefty bill

In past threads I have said that when the ZP80 eventually had to go, Sonos would be able to offer a generous discount on a Connect to smooth the transition.  (For Connect, now read Port.)  30% does not feel generous to me.  It might be just about OK for an ancient Bridge, ZP80 or ZP100.  But not, in my view, for a more recent Connect, Connect:Amp or gen 1 Play:5.

I won't be buying any more Sonos simply because I can't afford to replace all my Sonos legacy products as will also then have to be done.

Fortunately, there are good cheaper options out there now, where I don’t care that the support window may even be three years; they are that cheap.

How do Sonos expect users to manage, now they have declared that users may find that parts, or all, of their system will no longer be updated. This implies that items will become obsolete, even though they may appear to function perfectly. Are we supposed to run out and spend huge amounts on already expensive components to replace our current systems? Not me. How about you?

No they won’t.  Only those sold before 2016 are obsolete. 

What about the Sub? It came out in 2012 so it seems like it’s right on the line. I am considering using my 30% off from my soon-to-be-bricked Connect:Amp to get a sub but I am concerned with its age.

Looks like SONOS are happy for you to hand your cash over to them for older stuff https://www.sonos.com/en-gb/shop/certified-refurbished

Hah! I was just researching extending my system further around the house, so it’s a relief I didn’t pull the trigger yet on any more Sonos. My Play:5 is 5 years old and I never even contemplated at the time I might be paying $500 for something that I’d be told this soon was obsolete. It’s also pretty worthless now for resale, right? So that’s $100 a year to rent a speaker? I realize I may get another 2 years out of it till maybe Spotify & Pandora won’t work on it; but what you’ve really just told me is I’d be wise to check out other options; I don’t see myself spending the ~$400 I was thinking about for a couple of Sonos Ones if that commits me to having to replace my 5. And my “modern” 3 (4 years old) -- how long till it gets s***-canned? I’m glad this happened now, extending my Sonos at this point feels like a bad bet.

Shame though -- awesome system! But I bet with a little research I could be as happy with another option. And this is educational, I’ll have to be sure to understand next time how much of the “smarts” sits with the speaker and is subject to these kind of end of life decisions.

I am happy to see SONOS starting to take a beating on social media: WELL DESERVED.

I honestly cant see how you are justifying this. Being part of the beta for the new version for 3 months now and today i get a e-mail saying 3 of my 6 devices are now EOL. The justification that the units have been pushed to their limits and can’t receive your new update is just bs. If they had been pushed so hard how is it that i’m running your next version perfectly fine with no issues?? This to me just seems like a money grab to get early supporters to spend more money.

I’ve recommended you to so many people over the years and now hate the fact that i have. I for one know that i’ll not be purchasing any more sonos devices (and i was just looking at expanding my line up 30 minutes before the e-mail) and when i am forced to update because the integration with Alexa or Spotify stop working that I will spend my hard earned money somewhere else. So disappointed 

It was purchased from Amazon. It was literally hooked up less than a month ago. It shows up n my account as a Legacy product.

I recently received the end of software update email that essentially told me my entire system will be obsolete come May. It is this email that has informed my decision to not buy any more Sonos products.

It seems to me that Sonos is pushing the voice controlled software on everyone, if i wanted voice control I would buy google or Amazon product. 

I could even see if your new products supported 24bit high resolution files or dsd or even legacy DTS, at last that would be a reason to upgrade.

But forcing people to upgrade as a business model is not good business, i see no valid upgrades in the new product line. If anything the new products due to the voice assistants area liability in my book.

I will use the products I have until they no longer work, after that I will find a better system probably blu-sound or HEOS. 

I fear that this new direction that Sonos has taken will be its downfall, if you are going to charge premium prices for your products you need to blow the google and amazons out of the water I wish Sonos a lot of luck on its new path but I will not be following. 

I have a very large Sonos system - grown over time as we have really enjoyed the relative simplicity, even though it lacks terribly in queue / playlist management.

I’ m looking at $1800 after the “discount” to get current. 

I get that these products are getting long in the tooth and I knew eventually something would have to change to get modern tech and features.

What really irks me is that this new “follows” the price increases instead of giving up a heads up that, BTW, if you don’t upgrade, your old stuff is dead (or at least comatose).  That’s some jerk behavior.  If you’d have waited a year, maybe OK, but wow.  Sonos should roll back the price increases for some period of time now after this announcement.

So now, after years of use (we still use the original Sonos LCD controller! - when your products were built to last and did), Sonos have given us a good reason to re-shop the competition and perhaps unwind ourselves from Sonos altogether as our legacy system becomes frozen.  Or maybe I do nothing, and enjoy the system as we have been until a component dies - then deal with it.

I was just talking to a friend who also saw the email just now and he’s gone ballistic like me! 
Once all the stuff ceases to work as Sonos has shat on us, let’s hope they go under, lot of job losses and the company folds and we’ll just get a different cheaper system that has less drama who look after their ‘not so poor’ customers! 
I curse the people who decided to shit on us and are trying to cash in on us! 

Only??? That is a disgusting support perspective!

I could understand not updating old products with NEW features but the subtle threat of bricking ‘legacy’ components ‘over time’ is insane (oh I’m sorry, services will be IMPACTED). SONOS is clearly struggling against Amazon and Google. It’s hard to imagine there’s any real technical reason for this - rather some suit high up saw it as a money pinata.

Surely they could find a way to keep Spotify working on my old components?

They will surely lose long-time customers over this. They will lose me as a customer over this and at least right now only one of my devices has been made ‘obsolete’. I suggest all of you boycott this company unless they reverse course on this. Money talks.

Well gutted about the announcement my sonos equipment will eventually be useless. 

I purchased a play 5 4 years and now it's apparently obsolete. Gutted and I feel robbed. 

Also the connect is now obsolete which is replaced with something way overpriced. 

I cant justify spending so much money and fear this is the start of the end of my relationship with Sonos. 

I feel let down and forced to upgrade. 

I want to be able to disable updates and be assured forced updates wont render my investment bricked. 

I just received the email from Sonos notifying me about the end of support for my 3 legacy Connect Amps and (stereo) Connect. I’m somewhat old school and don’t use streaming services, nor do I use any voice controlled devices. I only listen to music files either stored on my iPods or from my Apple computer using either the Sonos App or Occasionally (when it works!) iTunes Airplay. I live in the country and don’t have access to reliable high speed internet.

After reading mixed reviews on the new upgraded Amps that Sonos is selling, I decided against upgrading.

What do you all think: should I upgrade my Connect Amps or stick with the Legacy Connect Amps?

To clarify: I don’t want to use streaming services, nor do I want to have anything to do with voice controlled devices… And I’m sticking with Apple computers.