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 The information contained in this thread is outdated and may no longer be accurate.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

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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B

bogometer

Contributor I

I purchased a sonos amp less than two years ago and now you tell me its legacy and i only get a 30% discount? thats kind of a rip-off if you ask me. what i really care about is music sources. is it likely that say, apple music, will require a software update that renders my speakers unable to play apple music because they dont get updates?

Frisyren

Avid Contributor III

Can't really believe this. It's totally outrageous. It was hard to accept Sonos ditching the CR100 controller - but this is beyond the imaginary, I'm chocked.

Someone mentioned class action lawsuit earlier in the thread - I really hope that can be a way. Sonos will not change their mind and a 30% discount for being a very loyal costumer since 2006 is humiliating.

2 X SONOS ONE - PLAY 5 - CONNECT:AMP - ZP100 - SUB - CR100

J

johnmills52

Contributor I

How disappointing that Sonos are prepared to abandon their earliest customers, who invested in Sonos products before they had a proven track record!
Can those of us who are now “offered upgrades” for products that we are perfectly happy with, really be sure that there’s no commercial advantage being sought by Sonos or that our systems which have performed perfectly well to date will not deliberately be outdated by Sonos, who have the freedom to “outdate” as well as “update” our system software?

i would be interested in responses from both users and from Sonos.

John Mills,

Sonos user and advocate for 13 years.

A

andy_120

Enthusiast II

As been said already send the ceo an email, still waiting a reply tho. But as things stand another customer lost and already looking at alternatives. And just look at there share price falling faster than a stone in water. So long and thanks for the fish.

H

HelterSkelter

Enthusiast II

2 months ago no plans to make devices obsolete.

Wow, somebody didn’t have the facts, or was told to lie! :(

N

Nick.M

Lyricist II

So, I’ve given this a bit of thought.

Yep, I’m incredibly angry about what Sonos have done, and Yep …. I won’t be spending any more money on Sonos equipment. There is absolutely no point, as that too will expire in the future.

My decision is to continue to use my existing sonos system (15 units of which 9 are legacy, and 4 more will follow very very soon) until it really does die and will no longer stream any more.

At that point, I’ll enjoy looking for a replacement system, from a different company.

My requirements will change though, It’ll be a single hub that communicates to any sound source (including streaming services), easy and relatively cheap to replace when that no longer functions, and outputting just sound connections to fairly dumb speakers around the house that don’t require updates.

This new system may appear to very similar specification to the system my parents had in my childhood home. Interestingly, it still works very well, and I’m now 53.

Exactly how I’ll be doing it. Going old school. My parents still have the Yamaha system I grew up with in the 80s and it sounds great.

D

Danioro

Lyricist I

I personally think this sucks, and is one more nail in the Sonos coffin from my point of view. Lately the system has become very cludgy, frequently being unable to connect with my WiFi, necessitating a systemwide reboot. (Known problem about which others have complained in this forum). I can no longer access my music library. This planned obsolescence takes the cake though. I have $4000 worth of equipment which will no longer be supported, but hey, just buy the new stuff and all will be well!

I say , no mas, i am looking into new technologies and will use my Sonos stuff for door stops!
Anyone else really angry about this? So you buy the new stuff, and wonder when your equipment will once again be obsolete.

Beyond pissed.

I

Igor61

Lyricist I

I just got the email saying my four Connect:Amps are not going to be supported after May. I have seen people suggest that they will just remain on the last supported version, but that is not a realistic solution, as app installs and future hardware replacements will surely be a problem eventually.

I am now planning to replace all my Sonos gear with some other solution, which is a shame because it has worked well for me.

Before retiring I was a software developer, and I know there are costs of maintaining support for older systems, but this smells more like planned obsolescence than a real technical problem, especially in light of the Sonos CEO talking about faster development cycles to increase profits.

In short, I am very angry.

NotoriousEGB

Contributor I

”Without new software updates, access to services and overall functionality of your sound system will eventually be disrupted, particularly as partners evolve their technology.”

I totally understand this, and it’s been a great 8-10 year ride with the 4 Play:5 speakers that I have. But at the very least, it would be great if I could continue using these speakers for many more years to come through the line-in input. Will I be able to do this?

T

toastedbass

Lyricist III

So if they introduce a new revised spec Play 5 this year, the gen 2 you may upgrade to in the coming weeks will soon be on a 5 year countdown to obsolescence in a few months.

Imagine blowing thousands replacing all this “legacy” equipment and you see the whole line getting a spec bump in the coming months? All of it will immediately be on the planned obsolescence train.

No thanks. I’m not gambling on what your product roadmap might look like. Not now you have a clear financial incentive to do micro-spec bumps to all products to get all existing devices on the planned obsolescence train.

Past performance is irrelevant. This strategy is new and follows you becoming a public company, as your recent filings warned everyone about. How long you have supported devices in the past when you were a private company is completely irrelevant.

The biggest kicker of all - the “innovation” chest nut. How much innovation have we seen within Sonos software in the past 5-6 years? You laid off your best engineering talent years ago, and your software shows it. Sure you’ve expanded support for a wide range of streaming services using APIs, but I am not convinced there’s anything there that really requires you to kill off old hardware. If anything, the use of streaming has reduced the stress of trying to manage large local libraries.

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