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Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
October 2, 2017

Now Available, the New Sonos App

Related content:Software



Sonos version 8.0 is introducing a brand new controller for iOS and Android. The new Sonos app makes it even easier to navigate, access, and control your music throughout your home. This new app comes side by side with voice control through Alexa devices, more about that here.

Check out our blog for the Remastered Sonos App. Full details on the new apps can be found here on their respective product guide pages. Let’s take a look at the new app:



Introducing Navigation with Tabs:


The Sonos app now has five tabs visible at the bottom when not in the full playing screen. The tabs are My Sonos, Browse, Rooms, Search, and More. See here:



Now your most used options are available with just one click, and Now Playing is always just one tap away.

My Sonos
We’ve consolidated all your personally curated Sonos Playlists, music service playlists, and Sonos Favorites into one, easy to use page on the Sonos app. You can edit fields to move around the order, or delete them entirely. You can now have up to 40 favorites total, up from 32.

Browse
Browsing your music is even easier as it no longer hides your other options. You can browse and move to different rooms all while keeping your place in the browsing menu. There’s also a dock on the bottom of the app that gives you easy access to the navigation tabs. You can swipe it up to reveal it at any time, then back down. We’ve separated browsing your music and the menu for Settings, so it’s even easier to find what you’re looking for.

Rooms
The menu starts highlighted on the active room, featured right on the app so that it’s even easier to see what’s playing in each room. There’s now an icon on that screen to show you where the music is coming from too. That includes if it was started by Alexa. The active room has a Group button to have it add others to the party.

Search
It hasn’t changed, just moved to an easy to find spot.

More...
All the settings and options are in here. You can add services, make alarms, get some help, and access all your settings. We think this will make it a lot easier to find what you’re looking for. And speaking of settings…


Explicit Language Filtering


Within Settings > Parental Controls, you can set a system-wide setting to filter songs with explicit content. Right now, this is working for Apple Music, and we’re hoping to add it for more services soon. Once the setting is on, Apple Music songs with the explicit tag will no longer play on your system.

Long Press to Group


Making it even easier to play music. With 8.0, you can press and hold the Play/Pause button (or mute on older players) to have your player join the most recently active player as a group. First, you have to start playing music on a player, (it can be from an alarm or any other source), and then just hold the button for a few seconds on another player. That second player will join the first one’s group and start playing the same music in sync.

There's another function of the long press, and that's being able to move recently stopped music to another room. First, stop playing music in any of your rooms. Then, press and hold the play/pause on another player for a few seconds. (Make sure that you don't start playing music anywhere else.) The queue or source will move to the unit you held the button for and start playing. The players won't group together and any existing queue will get whiped out in place of the new one.

iOS 11 and Android O Support


Lastly, version 8.0 has support for the latest operating systems from Android and iOS. This includes iOS 11 support for Trueplay on Sonos. Trueplay isn’t available on Android at this time.
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527 replies

Lyricist II
October 20, 2017
New app is just awful -- I have roughly a 1000 customers I sold sonos to in custom home systems and I am now bombarded by hate emails and phone calls.

Getting past that - I just installed 8.1 on IOS and it is telling me I MUST log in now --- and link to my existing systems... When did this start and how to get around it -- I have ALL systems I have installed on one account or two accounts for management purposes.... Sonos -- this is a disaster... Data mining or what for emails ?


edit -- Deleted app and reinstalled and now can get past login screen and endless loop. (it is still unfortunately the bad version of app)
MoXoM
Contributor I
October 20, 2017
Ok, now SONOS App has suddenly started working on my iPhone 5 (iOS 10.1.1) after I left a negative review on APP Store...
Guy_19
Enthusiast II
October 20, 2017
Ok, now SONOS App has suddenly started working on my iPhone 5 (iOS 10.1.1) after I left a negative review on APP Store...
I wish it would suddenly have a dark background after I left a negative review on the Play Store :-)

@Ryan S - Can you please show the change log for version 8.1 of the app?
7 rooms: One SL Stereo Pair, One SL x 2, Move, Play:5 Gen2 & Port into Arcam AVR with AE floorstanders, Port into Denon microsystem.
Contributor I
October 20, 2017
Horrible. A giant step backwards in usability. Insisting that the client register for a Sonos account makes this system unusable. As a dealer I know my clients email but rarely even see the client when installing their equipment. In the past I could register their equipment with just the e-mail but now you insist on sending them a verification e-mail and setting a password. How am I supposed to set this up when they are not there or do not get back to me or rarely check their e-mails?????. Then, if they ever do set up a Sonos account I will not be allowed to add any new equipment unless I know the password. Do you know how hard it is to get a client to remember their password?! They have no clue and don't care. You obviously did not have a dealer in mind when tacking on this stupid requirement. There has got to be a SKIP option for this so I can get my work done.
Ryan S
Ryan SAuthor
Retired Sonos Staff
October 20, 2017
@Ryan S - Can you please show the change log for version 8.1 of the app?
There's an announcement for version 8.1, but largely it's the software for the Sonos One. It teaches your system what that product is and how to work with it. There aren't any changes for the app in that build.

How am I supposed to set this up when they are not there or do not get back to me or rarely check their e-mails?????. Then, if they ever do set up a Sonos account I will not be allowed to add any new equipment unless I know the password. Do you know how hard it is to get a client to remember their password?! They have no clue and don't care. You obviously did not have a dealer in mind when tacking on this stupid requirement.
I'll pass your concerns on to the team. These decisions are made with security and future functionality in mind usually. You could look into setting up accounts with customers before the installation even, have them create an account on the website and use those same credentials to set up their system. Perhaps using some combination of their Sonos player's MAC address or serial number to make remembering the password easier.
Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
Steve_199
Enthusiast II
October 21, 2017
Why do they make you click on the bottom of the screen which brings up a menu then you have to click in the upper right which disappears and makes you click on the bottom again. The home menu is there at the bottom, but then it disappears. The home menu should be there all the time.

The whole thing is annoying, searching the page for a tiny little V button that keeps moving and a home menu that disappears.
Trending Lyricist I
October 21, 2017
So, if I want to listen to music late at night because I can't sleep, I have to blind myself with the bright white background and then fumble around with twice the number of button presses as I had before?

Also, why are you wasting so much space on the screen? It's like a child's version with "big pretty icons" but no real functionality.

FIre your design department. READ the reviews on the Play Store... This is an EPIC FAIL! You have more one star reviews than two or three star reviews - and the VAST MAJORITY of newer reviews are complaints against your growing idiocy.
Lyricist III
October 21, 2017
Yep, it’s bad. Clunky, non-intuitive, lots more button presses. And hate the white.

Moderation edited inappropriate language.
Contributor I
October 22, 2017
@Ryan S the new app sucks so bad. It has completely screwed up my system so that 1/2 of it isn't even found or recognized. Complete garbage. Also it is buggy and way less user friendly. STUPID MOVE!

Because I want to spend my Friday night and most of Saturday trying to fix your mess ups.

I'm thinking the easier thing to do is call in a sons install person from Geek Squad and just have them send Sonos the bill!!!!!:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:@:(

Moderation edited inappropriate language.
Lyricist III
October 22, 2017
I'm assuming there are some urgent meetings going on in Sonos right now - along the lines of 'well, we thought it would be better but really screwed up!'. A bit like after the new Skype was released and suddenly only got 1 star reviews on iTunes!!! It was a very similar screw up of simple functionality becoming stupidly complex - and white!!!. I couldn't agree more.