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Ryan S
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
June 8, 2020

Introducing S2, New App and OS for Sonos

Related content:Software
Introducing S2, New App and OS for Sonos

The next generation of Sonos software is now available. Sonos S2 is a new app and an operating system for compatible devices, which brings support for higher resolution audio, saved groups, support for new Sonos products, and more.

Learn more about the Sonos S2 app on our S2 home page.

 

Support for the newest Sonos products

The all new Sonos Arc, Sonos Five, and Sonos Sub will require the Sonos S2 app. These new players are not supported by the Sonos S1 Controller. 

 

Saved Groups

The new S2 app can save groups of rooms to create groups quickly and easily. Once a group is created, you can select it to start playing music and the players will automatically group up. 

 

High Resolution Audio

 

With S2, Sonos speakers now have support for high resolution audio, 24-bit, 44.1/48kHz for FLAC/ALAC only. This support is for local music libraries shared from computers and network attached drives. We’ve updated the article on Sonos supported music formats here.

The Sonos Arc is a Dolby Atmos soundbar, and S2 brings support for that audio to Sonos for home theater and music. Dolby Atmos can be read from Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby MAT, and Dolby TrueHD. 

 

How to get S2

All Sonos systems will be able to update to Sonos version 11.2, which contains some bug fixes and stability improvements. This version is a new S1 update, and compatible with all players. 

Once the 11.2 update is completed, systems compatible with Sonos S2 will receive a notification that the new app is available. You can tap that notification to start updating and the new app which will guide you through updating compatible players to the new platform. If you don’t see the notification banner, you go to System Tools in Settings to check compatibility and update. Sonos S2 is Sonos version 12.0.

You can check our Sonos S2 Compatibility article for a list of products that are compatible with S2.​​​​​

 

Articles and important information about S2

We will support products on Sonos S1 with bug fixes and security patches, and we will do what we can to ensure they keep working with the music services you love given their limited RAM and processing power.

We’ve put together answers to some of the top questions we’ve seen around S2 here, so please check out the following articles on:

Sonos S2 Overview - A great starting place to learn more about S2.

Sonos S2 Compatibility - Information about the differences between Sonos S2 and S1, including which Sonos products are compatible.

Set up separate S1 and S2 systems - Learn how to set up a separate Sonos S1 system with Sonos products that are not compatible with S2.

Known limitations with separate S1 and S2 Sonos systems - This article covers what you can expect when using two separate S1 and S2 systems.

Set up a separate Sonos S1 system

Remove Sonos products that are not compatible with S2 - Instructions on how to use the product removal tool in the Sonos S1 Controller before updating to Sonos S2.

Information about Trade Up:

If you’re interested in updating older Sonos speakers, here’s all the details on our Trade Up program, a way to get a big discount on any new Sonos products that are S2 compatible.

Trade Up home page - Get a general overview of the Sonos Trade Up program.

Trade Up support article - Step by step instructions on how to trade up your eligible Sonos products.

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    230 replies

    Show previous replies
    eisenb11
    Trending Lyricist I
    June 9, 2020

    Has anyone tried to see if 24/44.1 works with Roon? Or does the music literally need to come from something in the library?

    BeJay
    BeJay
    Contributor I
    June 9, 2020

    So, I’ve set up a couple of Groups on the iOS S2 app, all good, how come they’re not available on the S2 Mac app?

    Sonos One (Gen 1 & Gen 2) / iPhone / iMac
    melvimbe
    melvimbe
    June 9, 2020

    There are some on Facebook suggesting that reversion from S2 back to S1 might be possible. Can anyone confirm please?

     

    At this time, it appears that factory resetting an S2 device allows it to be added to back an S1 system.  However, this is not what it says in the Sonos FAQ, and we do not know how long this will be possible.  

    Thanks. Has that been reported by someone who actually did it, or just people supposing it is possible?

     

    It’s been done by a couple different people.  I have done it myself.

    Thanks. Is it reliable enough that it might be a solution for those that have accidentally updated because they wanted to have a look at the S2 app?

     

    Yes.  It’s essentially the same process as adding a brand new speaker.  

    Danny
      press250
      press250
      Prodigy III
      June 9, 2020

      S2 Controller on Kindle Fire resolved:

      • Download S1 Controller from Kindle Appstore
      • First time you run it, select Join an Existing System
      • App detects that you’ve upgraded your system and prompts to download S2 Controller
      • Install S2 Controller
      • Delete S1 Controller

      Nonintuitive to say the least. S2 Controller needs to be added to Kindle Appstore.

      WSu
      Enthusiast II
      June 9, 2020

      One change at a time, they only have a finite amount of support staff. I’ve now got a split system, works fine for me with a few speaker moves.

      Wrong change, wrong time. The number of streamers using Sonos speakers far outnumbers those playing files from their local libraries. Streaming is the present, playing files stored on a hard drive is the past. Most businesses support the majority of their customer base, not the minority. 

       

      In my case i would disagree, i play all my files from a nas drive, don’t have to worry then if the streaming service goes down for any reason.

      Me too. but mainly because the streaming services always have gaps and they are particularly annoying on compilation/soundtrack albums. Singles (Cameron Crowe film) is one of my fave soundtracks but every streaming service I have trialled has missing tracks, for example. Until a service has everything I’ll stick with my NAS… which I upload to Play Music so I can stream it “free” when I am away from home. 

       

      That was kinda off topic - so to say something on topic  - “upgraded” to S2 and I basically notice no difference is use except there are icons, instead of icons+words iat the bottom of the app. :neutral_face:

      Pawl
      Lyricist III
      June 9, 2020

      After updating to the S2 app, my Sonos Beam 5.1 set-up worked without needing any updates. However, my Apple TV was showing “Atmos“, (before, it didn’t). I don’t know if it’s from the eARC connection through my Sony A8H TV or not. I still have a lot to learn. Also. when playing a Blu-ray disc, it wasn’t able to play DTS, but it showed 5.1 on the PCM setting. 

      BoJoUK
      Trending Lyricist I
      June 9, 2020

      My system including 9 Sonos items has successfully updated to version 12 (S2).

      A simple question: Now that I have used the old app to upgrade to S1, and then used the S1 app to download the new Sonos S2 app, can I now uninstall the original S1 apps on my iPads and iPhones? OR do I need to leave the old, updated to S1 apps on our devices?

       

      jgatie
      jgatie
      June 9, 2020

      If you are not running an S1 system, you can uninstall the S1 app.

        BoJoUK
        Trending Lyricist I
        June 9, 2020

        If you are not running an S1 system, you can uninstall the S1 app.

        Thanks for your reply jgatie

        ilbonfi
        Contributor I
        June 9, 2020

        what about music from turntable connected to line-in of a Play:5 2nd generation? How is converted?

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