Retired Sonos Staff

'On this iPhone or iPad' No Longer Available

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Starting today, the ‘On this iPhone or iPad’ feature will no longer be available in the Sonos app. There are still many ways to play your locally saved music library to Sonos and control it from your iOS device, including some good free options.

We first launched ‘On this iPhone or iPad’ in 2012 as an option to play locally saved content from your iOS device before Apple AirPlay was available on Sonos. The way this feature was originally designed has become unreliable with newer versions of iOS and Sonos.

The best way to play the music stored on your phone to Sonos is now by using Apple AirPlay 2 on compatible Sonos speakers (Sonos One, Amp, Beam, Play:5 (Gen 2), Playbase, and SYMFONISK WiFi Speakers). Using AirPlay 2, you can send the audio to one of these products and use the Sonos app to group it with any other Sonos rooms to have them all playing in sync. You can find more information about using AirPlay 2 with Sonos here.

For people who don’t have AirPlay 2 capable Sonos products, additional options to play tracks that are stored on your phone to Sonos include:

Uploading your tracks to a music service with a storage feature, such as Apple Music or Google Play Music. These services will store your library and allow you to stream it anywhere. This is a great option if you have songs that aren’t available on a subscription based streaming service. Also, Google Play Music has a free account option that allows you to upload 50,000 tracks and play them which works with Sonos.
Setting up a Music Library share on a Computer or Network Attached Storage drive. You’d need to have the computer or local drive available when you want to play music, but your library would be easy to transfer to these devices, if it isn’t already on them.
Streaming the catalog from a music service. There are more than 100 music services available on Sonos, many with several millions of songs.
Android mobile devices will continue to have access to the ‘On this device’ feature. If you have an Android phone or tablet, ‘Playing music stored on your Android device’ to Sonos is a great option.
If you have a Sonos Play:5, Connect, Connect:Amp, or Amp, you'll 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. You could even look into connecting a Bluetooth or AirPlay receiving device to that line in to use your mobile device without needing to wire it in to the line-in. See more about 'Using the Line-In on Sonos' here.

With the first three options, your phone doesn’t need to be turned on to listen to your music, and the music will keep on playing even if your phone is off or leaves the house. There are also alarm and Sonos playlist features that are available for most music sources that aren't available from 'On this iPhone'.

More about how to ‘Play music stored on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch’ is on our support pages.

We'll continue to support everyone through this change, and will help them set up the necessary workarounds to keep listening to their 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

Sjoop1985

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

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.

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. :astonished:

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……!!

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...

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans (John Lennon) --- Living room: Arc, Sub, 2x One - Kitchen: One - Bedroom: Play 3 - Office: Beam - Bathroom: Play 1

J

jmwalker04

Lyricist II

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

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.

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. :astonished:

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……!!

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

Sjoop1985

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.

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans (John Lennon) --- Living room: Arc, Sub, 2x One - Kitchen: One - Bedroom: Play 3 - Office: Beam - Bathroom: Play 1

J

jmwalker04

Lyricist II

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 ?

Smilja

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

»And the world is like an apple whirling silently in space, Like the circles that you find in the windmills of your mind.« (›Windmills Of Your Mind‹ [1967]. Music by Michel Legrand ; English lyrics written by Alan & Marilyn Bergman)

arcadelt

Enthusiast I

Either Sonos is going to refund my $150 or I'm going to sue them.

How did your lawsuit go?

jgatie

How did your lawsuit go?

Probably the same place every other threatened lawsuit goes. Nowhere.

S

Steverogers2020

Lyricist I

Thanks for rendering my $600 of Sonos products mostly useless without paying for a subscription or spending money on newer replacement products.

Let’s see...will I buy new Sonos products that allow me to do what I need from a company that has demonstrated they have no problem taking away what I’d consider basic functionality and a cornerstone feature

OR

Will I just spend that money on a product/company that will do the same, minus the propensity to handicap basic functionality?

Yeah, it’s been real Sonos, but I’m jumping this sinking ship. Your decision to make such a big change, blame iOS, and offer no kind of remediation is low.

BTW-you can blame iOS all you want, but that’s not how SW development works. Just admit you didn’t want the added expense to keep up with OS changes and didn’t mind alienating a portion of your customers to save cash.

J

John B

Yawn. This is so last year.

I

Iphone person

Lyricist I

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

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.

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. :astonished:

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……!!

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

jmwalker04 has a number of valid points. Sonos would do well to pay attention and properly address the issue for affected customers.

I bought 2 Play 3 speakers and a Connect unit, and yes it was with the only intention of playing my recorded music from my iPhone.

Im now expected to to pay more to make the system work as advertised. Minimum spend is AUS$314 to exchange my Connect for the new Port to make my system functional. Thats more than 20% of the original purchase price after less than 4 years, just to maintain its basic use.

My previous stereo system lasted 25 years, and never cost a cent to maintain. Sonos sound system lasted less than 4 years and is obsolete to me. Wish I had kept my old system!

Overall a very disappointing performance for a large company trying to engage with consumers.

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