End of Software Updates for Legacy Products

As someone who purchased my first Sonos products in 2015, I am shocked and disappointed with the email I received this morning from the company. Because I had the misfortune of purchasing a 1st generation Play:5 a mere two months before the announcement of a 2nd generation, I am now forced into an expensive decision. I would like to say I would have waited for the 2nd generation to be released had I known this could happen (and had I known a 2nd generation speaker was coming). But if I knew, I likely would never have purchased anything from the company. Several thousands of dollars later, here I am.

I am by no means an early adopter here. But as others have noted, this is quite the middle finger to all of its most loyal customers. And to do it this way just reeks. I am incredibly let down and disappointed by this company, one that I have talked up so much that another 7+ people in my life have purchased Sonos as a result. I am embarrassed that I did now. Since the announcement that Sonos was going public, I was waiting for something shady and anti-customer to drop. Well, that day has arrived.

I will assure Sonos that they never have to worry about me purchasing another piece of equipment from them. 30% off an expensive speaker just so I can use my system? No thank you. On principle alone. You don’t treat customers like this and expect us to keep coming back for more. You have to do quite a bit more to remedy this.

If anyone has any recommendations of similar systems that will actually think of their customers, I am all ears. When all of my Sonos speakers are outdated (which I am sure they will make happen sooner than later to help the bottom line), I will want to move on to something better.

My letter to Patrick:

Hi Patrick,

I have been a Sonos user for about 10 years now. I have enjoyed it immensely. Unfortunately I now find that Sonos is attempting to extort me to purchase new equipment. How are you doing that? I received an email from you stating that software updates and support for my system will cease come May 2020. I am told in this email that I must purchase new Sonos equipment, or in the future I will lose functionality. Is this the price one pays for paying a high price for equipment and being an early adopter? I find your lack of understanding and hubris in telling prior customers that they are hostage to your demands to be troublesome. To purchase a Port for my home theater and a play 5, just to replace what I currently have will be $950 list. With your "generous" 30% discount that is still $665 that I will have to spend to maintain functionality. First I will investigate other options, and second I will advise anyone who might ask, to be wary of purchasing a Sonos product, because they may extort you at any time.

Thank you for your time,

Xxx

START POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA!!!

In my 50 years of being a consumer I have never felt so betrayed by a company. 

The public will not see this thread. Today I called numerous Sonos retailers in my city to say, “ethically they should not sell a customer a new Sonos product without disclosing that Sonos currently has, and may stop support for their products rendering them useless in the future.”

I posted my thoughts on any review I could find. 

Please take a moment and flood all the reviews you can find. Post in the ‘comment’ sections of Sonos youtube reviews, hit twitter and facebook, instagram, do a anti-sonos dance on Tic-Toc and whatever else this 50 year old doesn’t know about it. 

Why? 

What good what that do? 

I only use Sonos for web radio, Tidal and Soundcloud and for listening to music I have put on my phone that day while at work*. I don’t have any locally stored music. 

Without those services it would make Sonos completely pointless. 

Streaming services are constantly changing things their end, they have to as they add more features, Sonos are supplied with everything they need to get ‘their’ system to integrate with the services they want to use. It is not Tidals fault if Sonos decide they are no longer supporting Sonos products, it is Sonos’ choice. 

*This feature was removed recently too. That is when I decided to look at other options anyway. Leaving myself with a couple of connects and a single Play 5. 

What kind of upgrade are we getting here?

Take the original system I bought in 2006, the ZP80 and CR100. Absolutely beautiful to have a two-way WiFi remote and the ability to play music from my NAS. I bought more over the years, including a Connect:Amp in 2014 which is also end of life. By then it had Spotify integration.

What advance has there been since then?

Hi-definition audio? Nope, apparently we won’t hear it.

Bluetooth? Nope, tech specs for the Amp proudly boast about the lack of this: “WiFi, not Bluetooth”.

5Ghz WiFi? Nope, it still uses the 2.4Ghz (802.11b/g) frequency that microwave ovens love to leak into. I’ve had endless WiFi problems with Sonos and needed to wire them in.

After moving house last year I got two Sonos Boosts but it made terrible decisions about the topology and wouldn’t lock onto a working network map, so I brought forward a full re-wiring of the house with Ethernet and now the Boosts are packed away. Bit late to eBay them now.

Networking without STP? (causes broadcast storms on some switches) Correct me if I’m wrong, but nope.

So what benefit does the upgrade really give to customers?

Sonos might choose to argue that we’re getting lots of music service integrations. Great, although most of us only need the popular ones. I think some honesty is called for here. Are we being pushed to upgrade hardware to pay for ongoing software development, or is it really a hardware limitation? If the latter, how much does these things really cost to make? Given that the Connect (now Port) has hardware comparable to a cheap Blu-ray player (minus the moving parts, plus a couple more ports), I presume we’re paying a premium for the brand, the design, the experience, the software. Is the actual hardware really so expensive? You can get some serious electronic kit for the price Sonos are asking. So why the small discount?

5-10 years ago when Sonos had few competitors, the premium price was worth paying and I was a happy customer.

Now they’ve hiked the prices by introducing new models at a higher price point that do basically the same thing (with modest updates that 10 years’ development could easily bring, but some big omissions) and then claimed they’re offering a trade-in at 30% discount. And 4 months’ notice.

Ok, I get that a company needs to make money. If they don’t have a subscription model then eventually people need to replace kit, or else it’s a giant pyramid scheme funded by new customers (or at least existing customers expanding their network). But Sonos have gone about this the wrong way - there’s no bargain with their loyal customers, no trust - just dumping a really bad deal on us on a take it or leave it basis.

What I expect from Sonos:

• New hardware should actually be up-to-date. Lack of 5Ghz* Wi-Fi is a deal-breaker.
• The discount should be higher to reflect the increased price of new Sonos components and the fact that frankly after 15 years, the technology involved to play 44.1Khz 16-bit audio is pretty cheap.
• Customers should be able to lock in the upgrade discount for at least 12 months, preferably 24 months. Perhaps with a small, refundable deposit if necessary but ideally without.
• Updates should be guaranteed for 10 years from purchase. If Sonos can’t offer that long (especially if a product is soon to be discontinued), this should be clearly communicated and reflected in the price.

(* in many use cases 2.4Ghz is better; that’s why even really cheap kit these days supports both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz).

As an owner of 5 legacy products I find it really disappointing that I’m expected to spend around another £2k plus simply to continue enjoying music through SONOS.  I understand technology moves on, but to offer only a 30% discount is a kick in the teeth to all of those users who have supported SONOS for a number of years.  I would have expected at least a 50% discount to be quite honest.  

Given the market place is very different now from when SONOS was the new kid on the block, there are other alternatives out there which might be a viable alternative.  

Please rethink your strategy SONOS and consider all of us who saved hard to purchase your system in the first place. 

Martin

This is forced obsolescence and utterly deplorable. 
 

I have been a loyal Sonos customer for many years. My system consists of three Connects, a Connect:Amp and a Play:5 (gen 1). All imminently obsolete. 
 

The Trade up was a nice offer but now it is simply part of what is essentially blackmail: “trade up or else...”.  Insulting and immoral.

I actually looked at the new products when I noticed the Trade up offer a few weeks ago, particularly the Port. But two of my Connects use optical out to drive my speakers. There is no replacement for me. 

I was also looking at buying a surround sound system to go with a new TV. I had settled on buying a Beam, two OneSL’s and a Sub. Now that purchase is off. 

This is a huge mistake by Sonos. 

I started my system many years ago when Sonos was the only real option out there (it was Sonos or Logitech Squeezebox). 

Now there are lots of options. As Sonos is making my existing system redundant I’ll be looking for a surround sound system with more options than the Beam has; support for more than Dolby Digital, i.e DTS or Atmos.

Sonos has made me no longer wedded to its system at a time when there is more choice than ever. 

I could have been retained quite easily. Simply tell me that there would be updates to Legacy systems to ensure my iOS app controller and Spotify continued to work as they were updated and I’d be happy without any new features for newer systems. 
 

Abandoning long-standing and loyal customers is not a great business model. 
 

SONOS,

You might want to start collecting ALL of your long-time customer’s 2 cents being given here as it certainly doesn't seem like your planned obsolescence will be making you much money in the future…

I feel compelled to add my voice to those who are disappointed and angry at this decision by Sonos.  I will not upgrade and will run my current system until it ultimately fails and look for a replacement then.  I doubt Sonos will be in business at that point, so they will not be an option for a replacement.  Is there a forum where we can discuss options for a replacement system?

Listen Your Way

Customise your system and play what you want, where you want.

Now I feel absolutely misled about the product service I've bought into bought.