Retired Sonos Staff

'On this iPhone or iPad' No Longer Available

Related content:Software

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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.

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Laurazfox

Lyricist I

Why do I still have a Sonos system? There are so many other options and being able to play from my iPhone was keeping me on this antiquated platform. Grrrr. I don’t want some sad excuse that so is put on here nor do I think their convoluted instructions here to play my music on my phone don’t have me scrambling to stay.

sonos: weak excuse + weaker “solution”= becoming irrelevant

Typos? Can’t be bothered correcting because Sonos can’t bother reading

H

Heems

Lyricist III

Add me to the list of upset customers. I will join a class action, please contact me. Manufacturer cannot / should not take away a paid for feature without due compensation. That’s got to be basic consumer protection. I was playing music from my iPhone to the Play:1 just fine for a few months after purchase. Then all of a sudden that feature is take away unilaterally. That is just not right. We need the product to be refunded/credited or reinstated to it original sold feature set.

Curios, has anyone reached out to Sonos customer service and get their side on this? Maybe they are offering compensation/credit?

D

DeniseG

Lyricist I

So the “play from phone” functionality will still work on Android devices, just not Apple devices. If this makes people upset they might want to think about who to be upset with. Why would Sonos remove the functionality from one type of device and not the other might be the question to ask to yourself to decide who to direct anger towards.

Obvi! I guess they are just not as smart as Apple? Upgrading right out of SoNOS!

Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the community guidelines.

C

cknutsen

Contributor I

Sonos no longer allows you to stream your own music.

100% False

All of the streaming options would require that I pay money for a service I don't want just to stream my own music

100% False

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

If the above statements are included in your affidavit, good luck!

Quick question @jgatie : Are you being paid by Sonos or have you ever been given its products for free? If so you should disclose your relationship to this community. Not doing so would not only be misleading, it would be unethical.

J

John B

Don't feed the troll. (Who can't even attribute comments correctly)

Smilja

@cknutsen, I’ve not received a ‘Thank you’ for my engagement on the community, let alone a product for free. According to your profile you own an AMP, therefore you can use Airplay.

Play music stored on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

»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)

jgatie

Quick question @jgatie : Are you being paid by Sonos or have you ever been given its products for free? If so you should disclose your relationship to this community. Not doing so would not only be misleading, it would be unethical.

You resurrected a 5 month old thread for a lame accusation like this? Sad. Quite sad.

G

Gillimarie

Lyricist I

Such a shame. I was given the Play 1 as a retirement gift from family. Now I can’t use it without firing up the pc. I don’t want to buy a subscription. I don't use it enough to justify it. Whatever the reason it was changed, it’s not good for customer relations. When we have family meals, I use their streaming services. I don’t remember any emails saying they were withdrawing the facility. It just wouldn’t work. Took me ages to find out the reason. I probably would get a Bose next time. They are small and very portable and don't need to be plugged in. And the music quality is really good.
maybe I should go back to the vintage turntable and Pioneer set up! It’s still working fine!

bockersjv

Local Superstar

Holly thread resurrection Batman. So Apple withdraw a feature and it’s Sonos fault? That’s some odd reasoning. Besides this was well over a year ago and Sonos offer what Some provided as an alternative, Airplay.

But you clearly want a Bose so why not sell the Sonos and get a One? Sonos kit attracts great second hand pricing.
Alternatively get a Roam or Move as they don’t need to be plugged in either.

Although I’m pretty certain this is just atrolling post anyway.

G

Gillimarie

Lyricist I

Sorry. I was just reading through all the posts I accidentally came across when I was researching how best to play my music on my Sonia speaker without it costing too much. So I thought I would comment and mentioned my actual experience. I’m not sure what you mean by a trolling post. Isn’t trolling when people say dreadful, unkind things online about other people they would never say actually to them? I’m not sure how that applies here. I thought I was just adding a comment to a thread. I apologise if I’ve caused any offence. Certainly was not my intention. I love my Sonos. I was really excited to get it for a present. I just can’t use it to the full and I wanted to see how I could remedy that situation. I can read the irritation with my comment in your comment. I thought it was ok to just put your thoughts on a forum. I’ll gracefully retire from commenting and there was no ulterior motive. I mentioned the other make simply because my sister has one and she just uses her tablet or phone wirelessly to make it work. And it seems nice and not too expensive. I think cheaper than the airplay ones. I thought I could get one of those and use them together but apparently they won’t work as a pair either. So I think the technology has developed very quickly and left the Play 1 behind. Just a shame as I am Emotionally attached to the speaker as it was a present. So reluctant to swap it for anything really. Hope this clears up any idea there was anything other than a genuine comment. And i wasn’t really blaming anybody. Tech changes all the time. Built in redundancy I guess.

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