I have just noticed that I can’t play my iPhone content on my Sonos system anymore. Yes it’s something I do not use a lot but it’s a function I do use. Or would not be reading this thread. I don’t drive my car everyday but I would to expect the Manufacturer to come and take the steering wheel away. 

If you’ve read the thread you’ll see why the feature was terminated. Your analogy above should actually be “I would not expect the subcontracted manufacturer  of the steering wheel to come and take it away”. 

The joys of using apple devices and auto correct. Do you remember when Sony updated Firmware to remove Linx from there Playstation consone? people did lawsuits and wone..

Then I guess you are going to sue Apple? Because they are the ones who removed it. 

Also, this thread is 8 months old.  How often could you have been using this feature if it took 8 months to notice it’s gone?

Never buying Sonos again … feeling a bit ripped off 

By Apple?  Because other companies who compete with Sonos lost this functionality too.  Is Sonos removing this function from their competitors, or is it Apple?  And if Sonos is removing it, why didn’t they remove it from Android devices?

I too have just discovered this having not used the system since moving house. 

Very disappointing

What’s the plan?

Do we as consumers just suck it up, or has anyone had any success with Sonos regards returning products etc?

I bought a product to perform a simple/single function - to play music from my phone - and it can no longer provide / perform that function. 
 

moving my library to another provider (google) is the proverbial sticky-tape bodge fix on a very expensive play bar that is only a few years old.

It may not be Sonos’ fault, but it is very much their problem. 

A Playbar is first and foremost a soundbar for a television. If you bought one for the sole purpose of playing music from your phone, then you bought the wrong product.  

Jgatie

My purchasing decisions are irrelevant here? 

If you need more detail….. 

I bought the SONOS Playbar - over other soundbars - because of the additional feature (the subject of this topic). 

Yes it still works as a playbar/soundbar.

Yes I can still stream music if I pay for a service or faff about uploading my library to google.

But you are missing the point.  And so too is SONOS it seems. 

For me and clearly many other customers, a major USP/feature has been removed.

And their response - a shrug of the shoulders like it’s no big deal. 

Well it is to me and it clearly is to other customers.

I commented on the thread because I am interested to see if anyone has been able to get anything of value out of SONOS other than a few clunky work arounds. 

Seems not...

 No, by Sonos.

if you create and sell a product that relies on a third parties components, you ensure you have a contractual agreement for the supply of those components for the lifecycle of that product. The law should require this but it probably doesn’t.
Sonos have built their product and customer base on apple technology; now that tech has been removed they accept no responsibility. 

I am astonished that you are lashing out at Sonos for something they are not responsible for, since it is well established by now that Apple changed iOS in such a way that this feature no longer works. Not only on Sonos, but also on competing products.

Sonos did not build anything “on Apple technology”. Sonos was around for years before the first iPhone was released. There's even a good chance that Apple is infringing Sonos patents. Please don't pretend like Apple is the be all and end all of technology, they aren't. They are copycats with a very good marketing department, at best.

You are willing to forgive Apple for this, a company that is famous for selling overpriced, badly designed hardware (look at some Youtube clips from Louis Rossman), and famous for saying “You're holding/using it wrong” when something fails due to their bad design work. You are willing to accept all that at insane price points, and then blame Sonos because they were more or less forced to remove a feature, by that same company?

Meanwhile, I can still stream music from my Android phone to Sonos.. I wonder why Sonos decided to just spite Apple users… Oh no, it's Apple who continues to spite Apple users. And they willingly take the abuse. Talk about bad purchasing decisions.

I don’t have a “contractual” agreement with Apple on this topic. I didn’t buy an Apple phone on the basis it would work with Sonos. I bought Sonos on the basis it would work with Apple. If they couldn’t guarantee the service, don’t sell the product on the availability of that feature. Simple no? 

As per my other post, this may not be Sonos fault, but it’s their problem. 

Being able to select tracks from my music collection to play on my play 1 from my phone was so convenient… having to go to my pc or keep a laptop open is not convenient — until yesterday I had assumed that I was doing something wrong and out of laziness just used Spotify - ...now it seems that without Spotify or an equivalent service my Sonos is redundant…. 

@charliepaterson Did you look at the Google Music Free option? Maybe not completely what you were used to, but since you’re a Spotify user, you will probably get used to it! No need for a laptop after the upload is done.

So what do you want Sonos to do? Apple have make it impossible to play music stored on an iDevice over a LAN other than by using Airplay 2. There are numerous practical alternatives, including free ones.

In the absence of a magic wand, what do you propose Sonos should do to make things exactly like they were?

And it really isn't Sonos' problem.  If you refuse to consider alternatives, it is your problem.  Everybody else has moved on.

i’m playing with this this morning.

I’ve just accepted Google draconian terms of business with a shudder (anything that states “I waive all rights” sends a shiver down my spine)..

Now to see how to get my purchases from my iphone, onto my Mac, and then back into Google Play. 

This will work fine Im sure, until Google change their terms next  

Time for an NAS when that happens? Perhaps not until Sonos support a more secure SMB than v1… but that’s a whole different thread of discussion…

Hey John,

Hmm good question. 

Hows this for a plan.

1/ Acknowledge the inconvenience this is causing my customers, recognise that I have sold them a product that includes a piece of functionality that may have likely swayed their purchasing decisions toward my product which I can no longer offer. 

2/ Accept this is my issue to solve and that its probably going to cost my company some money, but you know what, these customers got me to the multi billion dollar business I have today so maybe I should show them a little more respect & empathy?

3/ Proactively contact my customers to let them know this has happened. Don’t leave them 8 months in the hope they dont find out, and if they do, leave them to figure out this has happened via an out of date community thread. 

3/ Go above and beyond THE ONLY free work around (that will work for me) relying on the availability of yet another providers service (Jeez when will they learn! What happens when that service becomes unavailable??? ). 

4/  Offer my customers a proper solution. 

Personally, I would be happy with any of the following

• a full refund on the items I have purchased
• an upgrade path that is calculated on the age of the product I own 
• a subscription to a music stream like Deezer / spotify (I personally don’t listen to enough music to warrant a music subscription hence I dont have one but I am sure this would appease a lot of people) 

Im glad you’ve “moved on” John  - I suspect lots of Sonos customers will too if they havent already……!!

Yeah maybe they should stick that in their trendy adverts.

A clip of some stressed out dude with a server rack UPS & cooling taking over his house.

“Look how convenient this is ! “

I hope you responded the same way when Apple decided it was a good idea to cripple their devices to save battery life…

Your cognitive dissonance shows in every post. But you are not alone, Apple users are so readily drinking the Apple Kool Aid that they will look for every splinter in other companies products or services, while happy to overlook the glaring beams in Apples practices.

Matter of fact, Sonos tried to resolve this for a year before they eventually removed the feature. Also, if I recall correctly they did reach out by e-mail. The fact it took you 8 months to find out, is not their fault, and it speaks to how crucial this feature apparently is to you.

Analogy for you:

You buy a sports car. After a few years, speed bumps are put in that your car cannot clear. Is it the car manufacturers fault that the car is now unusable through action of a 3rd party? Should they give you a car with greater clearance for free? Didn't think so...

1/ I don’t have an issue with my apple devices. They all do what I bought them to do. 

2/ Feel free to post the original email sent to all Sonos users.

3/ Your analogy is flawed. Your analogy SHOULD be “you buy a new car. You select a particular car because it parks itself. The company that makes the software which enables the car to park itself (the subcontractor) stops providing/allowing the manufacturer to use that software. As a result, the car can no longer park itself.

Do you take the car back to the dealership? BLOODY RIGHT YOU DO !!

Maybe not if the car is 10 years old, but on a 3-4 year old car.?? I certainly would, and I don’t think thats unreasonable.

Maybe, you wouldn’t?

Either way, that is the correct CAR / SONOS analogy for this situation. 

Had the world stopped producing electricity (enter the speed-bumps), and I was upset with Sonos, then your analogy would be more appropriate.

4/ How frequently I use this feature is irrelevant. I bought the system and Id like to use it more now we’re all stuck at home. If thats ok with you all.

Sorry if this is insulting, I think you have little idea of how commercial agreements / business works in general works. 

On a final note!

Clearly this community is staffed by many passionate Sonos staff / shareholders, and I suspect you are all concerned (or maybe you were at the time!) about the impact this has on your business. Or maybe your not, because you dont understand the commercial ramifications of having to withdraw features and functions from products you have already sold and collected the revenues for. 

Sorry Apple put you in a situation. But I bought my product from your company and Id expect you to provide me with a solution that is acceptable to me.

Regardless, when I started this search for a solution, I was a little bit disappointed with Sonos.

Having read this post, seen how you have responded to other unhappy customers, interacted with some of you and received your attempts at personal insults I have gone from a little bit disappointed to totally disenfranchised.  I expected so much more ! 

Adios

• I am not connected to Sonos in any way, nor are most other users here, and if that's not a personal attack, I don't know what is. You don't want to be helped, you just want to rant.
• Please don't assume what I do and don't know about business. You bought a product and agreed to an EULA. You don't have a contract with them. Please show me all of the class action settlements that Sonos has had to pay out for removing features, discontinuing support of the CR100 or otherwise, then we'll talk.
• If you developed software or hardware for the iOS or Android ecosystem, you would know that the car/road analogy is much closer to reality than yours. In your analogy, surely there would have been some sort of subcontracting agreement preventing such situations. There are no such agreements when you develop an app or ecosystem that runs on iOS, Android. You are basically just left to the whims of Apple and Google. If they change something that you cannot overcome on your end, then that is just that. 

All the best in your search for a replacement.

1/ whats wrong with having a rant? 

2/ Does the EULA state the products features are reliant on 3rd partys and may be revoked/removed at any time? Serious question? If it does - and can you check the EULA from 3 years ago? >  then I stand corrected and should have read the small print. Silly me. 

3/ If not - maybe the lesson for Sonos is don’t build, market and make money from a product which you can’t control the supply of. 

Is it not that simple ?

To my knowledge the “On this device” feature has never been advertised by Sonos. You must have discovered it after the purchase.