Retired Sonos Staff

‘On this Device’ for Android controller no longer supported

Related content:Software

297 replies
16332 views

Starting May 23rd, 2023, the Sonos S1 and S2 controller for Android will no longer support the ‘On this Device’ feature for streaming locally saved audio files directly to Sonos devices.

As newer versions of mobile operating systems are released, it can sometimes change the way information is shared between devices, and this feature will no longer be compatible with newer versions of the Android operating system.

While this feature will no longer be available in the app, we know local audio files are important to our listeners and we’ll continue to offer other options to enjoy downloaded tracks on Sonos, including:

Streaming the catalog from a music service. There are more than 100 music services available on Sonos, many with several millions of songs.

See our article on 'Adding music services' to get started.

Some music services allow you to upload your own music files to a cloud storage service like YouTube Music for example, which allows for an upload of up to 100,000 files with a free account. Services that allow you to upload files to a cloud storage:

Streaming through music services or cloud storage allows you to access your music without your phone.

You can play music files from your Android device to a supported Sonos product using Bluetooth.

See more about 'Using Bluetooth on Sonos' here.

Setting up a Music Library share on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) drive. You’d need to have the drive available in your network when you want to play music, but your library would be easy to transfer to these devices, if it isn’t already on them.

See our article on 'Using a NAS drive with Sonos' to get started.

If you have a Sonos Play:5, Connect, Connect:Amp, Amp, Era 100 or Era 300 (with the Line-In dongle), you have a Sonos player with a Line-In connection. Using that Line-In, you can play music directly from any device connected to it, to any player around the house.

See more about 'Using the Line-In on Sonos' here.

We'll continue to support everyone through this change, and will help you through the necessary steps to keep listening to your favorite tracks on Sonos.

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.

Show previous replies

D

Duke2k

Lyricist II

No they surely didn´t poll their friends. It´s surely a 100% business decision because it shall makes people buy their BT devices to be able to direct play again. Furthermore it supports other use cases that Sonos emphasizes.
It sucks big time that they can take features away compared to the time that you bought this stuff.

I don’t think you can ignore the costs that they have to incur to maintain existing features, either to work with other company software, like Google, or to protect from malware threats. And that’s assuming that it is even possible to get these feature to work with whatever android code is coming out and some level of effort that doesn’t take away from other features. I tend to think that is more of the decision factor than trying to force customers to replace existing features with new products. Honestly, I would think that about most companies, not just Sonos...the big companies that have major leverage over markets being the exceptions.

Generally I tend to agree. But for this very feature I don´t as this very feature is something they most likley don´t touch anyway…

Another way: They could at least tell customers: if you don´t like it, don´t update to the new App version starting on May 23rd. Or release a new app like they did with the Sonos S1 vs. S2.
There are so many ways they could have chosen to keep customers happy and be flexible. But they decided to just get rid of a function that might have been a reaon to buy for a bunch of people. Generally very sad decision and not customer friendly. No matter what some people in the thread say, most likely because they are not using the feature.

buzz

Grand Maestro

As I mention in these discussions, I had to recycle a perfectly functional cellphone because the cell towers will no longer support it. The carriers decided that there was no economic advantage for them to continue to support my phone.

We don’t know the details leading to this result. I’m reminded of the AirPlay development when it was replaced by AirPlay 2. All supporting models had to be redesigned. This required a lot of expense by the adopting companies. There may be some sort of similar development for this Android feature. SONOS knows the numbers and any required licensing terms. In spite of the howls here, there may not be a significant base of SONOS owners using the feature. It’s also possible that Google demands that feature users accept Google advertising and snooping — essentially converting the SONOS controller into a Google accessory.

jgatie

The disagreement was related to “it´s generally useless”. It maybe doesn´t turn out in a good way. But if you don´t try, you have lost already...

No, it’s completely useless, and one has already lost whether one complains or not. Me, I like to hold onto my dignity rather than ranting to nameless, faceless corporations as if I’m owed some sort of loyalty. I either stay with the brand, or walk away., and if I choose the latter, you won’t hear Boo! from me about it. YMMV.

D

Duke2k

Lyricist II

The disagreement was related to “it´s generally useless”. It maybe doesn´t turn out in a good way. But if you don´t try, you have lost already...

No, it’s completely useless, and one has already lost whether one complains or not. Me, I like to hold onto my dignity rather than ranting to nameless, faceless corporations as if I’m owed some sort of loyalty. I either stay with the brand, or walk away., and if I choose the latter, you won’t hear Boo! from me about it. YMMV.

Thanks for enlighting us about your posture. If you don´t like what others are doing to improve the situation then just leave the scene.

jgatie

Thanks for enlighting us about your posture. If you don´t like what others are doing to improve the situation then just leave the scene.

The entire point is there isn't anyone doing anything to "improve the situation". You can't. You may as well shout at the wind. It's like banging your head against the wall, it will only feel good when you stop.

D

Duke2k

Lyricist II

Thanks for enlighting us about your posture. If you don´t like what others are doing to improve the situation then just leave the scene.

The entire point is there isn't anyone doing anything to "improve the situation". You can't. You may as well shout at the wind. It's like banging your head against the wall, it will only feel good when you stop.

PLase stop talking as if you know what I am doing to improve the situation. Just because I am posting here my opinion doesn't mean I think it just improves by doing this. A board is exactly for that to share info and express opinions. And just because you have a different one, you don't need to mock ppl who express their discomfort with the sonos decision.

B

Bio

Contributor I

Today my new Denon 350 arrives.

My sonos play 5 will be for sale tomorrow

A

Andre Willey

Contributor II

I purchased a Sonos One speaker as a birthday gift for my wife several years ago, for the SOLE use of playing her locally stored music collection from the SD Card on her Android 11 phone. All tracks ripped from CDs that she owns or purchased from Amazon/etc, about 15-20GB of MP3s in total.

She does not have, nor does she want, any paid online services as she already owns all of the music that she wants to listen to. She browses her collection by library cover art grid, and plays her music that way.

Is this purely an app update (which I can block for her by preventing Play Store updates) or is it controlled via Sonos server-side mechanisms? I guess I could firewall the Sonos from internet connectivity, while leaving the local WLAN operating?

If this cannot be resolved, her Sonos speaker will become an expensive brick - very deliberately broken by Sonos themselves - for which we would of course require compensation.

Andre

controlav

Lead Maestro

Just a thought: is this being removed from the S1 app? If that one truly is feature-frozen, then will the S1 Android could be a possible solution? Sonos could also block the S1 app on A14, avoiding whatever platform issue is the underlying cause.

Author of the leading independent Sonos apps for Android, MacOS, iOS, Windows and Xbox.

melvimbe

Just a thought: is this being removed from the S1 app? If that one truly is feature-frozen, then will the S1 Android could be a possible solution? Sonos could also block the S1 app on A14, avoiding whatever platform issue is the underlying cause.

Per the original post, first line…

Starting May 23rd, 2023, the Sonos S1 and S2 controller for Android will no longer support the ‘On this Device’ feature for streaming locally saved audio files directly to Sonos devices.

Danny

Show more replies

Sign up

Login to the community