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Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
August 20, 2019

'On this iPhone or iPad' No Longer Available

Related content:Software
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:
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Streaming the catalog from a music service. There are more than 100 music services available on Sonos, many with several millions of songs.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
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    353 replies

    106rallye
    June 24, 2021

    Built in redundancy is a choice. Not equipping the Play:1 with Airplay and stopping play “from this iPhone” where (at least that's Sonos’ explanation) based on technical possibilities/impossibilities.

    Playing from a device is still possible, I believe. You could try storing you music on an Android tablet and playing from that.

    Listener
    August 9, 2021

    9to5Mac found that Apple has also removed almost all references to the Apple TV Remote app, suggesting that the company has in fact discontinued it. A 9to5Mac reader told us that he contacted Apple support to ask about the app, but not even the support agent could explain what happened. dll error fix

    106rallye
    August 22, 2021

    For Play:5 (Gen 1) or Connect (Gen 1) owners thatwant to play from their iPhone or iPad: https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-SoundForm-Connect-AirPlay-Receiver-Streaming-3-5mm-Speaker-Other-AirPlay-Enabled/dp/B094LGLJB9

    Lyricist III
    January 24, 2022

    I have been away for a little bit, but I recently found a solution that works albeit requiring a PC/Mac on the network.  Using AirConnect running as a service on my PC, I am now able to AirPlay to the Play:1.  As I mentioned before the removal of a feature from a purchased product was not right on Sonos’ part.  I will never buy another Sonos or recommend it to anyone.

    jgatie
    January 24, 2022

    I have been away for a little bit, but I recently found a solution that works albeit requiring a PC/Mac on the network.  Using AirConnect running as a service on my PC, I am now able to AirPlay to the Play:1.  As I mentioned before the removal of a feature from a purchased product was not right on Sonos’ part.  I will never buy another Sonos or recommend it to anyone.

    Sonos didn’t remove it, Apple did.  As proof, I offer the removal of the same feature from Bluesound devices at the exact same time it started to show problems on Sonos. 

    So, are you now giving up on buying Apple products?

    Lyricist III
    January 24, 2022

    Sonos didn’t remove it, Apple did.  As proof, I offer the removal of the same feature from Bluesound devices at the exact same time it started to show problems on Sonos. 

    So, are you now giving up on buying Apple products?

     

    I think I responded to this argument before.  I bought a product from Sonos not Apple.  That seems hard to understand for some reason. If Sonos’ product changed features AFTER being bought and the reason given was that [insert anyone/thing in here other than Sonos] makes it impossible now to offer that product, then Sonos needs to make it right.  Their worldview is an ego centric one. “Hey it’s not us, its them.”.  Look up the work accountable (and then customer satisfaction  and brand loyalty).  Sonos has not done the right thing.  As a result I am out and will never buy their product.  They can do the SAME EXACT thing with AirPlay:2 tomorrow with the newer products.  Something changes and it’s “It’s not us, it’s them. And you are screwed.  Have a good one.”  I say screw that.  Buyer beware.

    January 24, 2022

    Yawn

    jgatie
    January 24, 2022

     

    I think I responded to this argument before.  I bought a product from Sonos not Apple.  That seems hard to understand for some reason. If Sonos’ product changed features AFTER being bought and the reason given was that [insert anyone/thing in here other than Sonos] makes it impossible now to offer that product, then Sonos needs to make it right.  Their worldview is an ego centric one. “Hey it’s not us, its them.”.  Look up the work accountable (and then customer satisfaction  and brand loyalty).  Sonos has not done the right thing.  As a result I am out and will never buy their product.  They can do the SAME EXACT thing with AirPlay:2 tomorrow with the newer products.  Something changes and it’s “It’s not us, it’s them. And you are screwed.  Have a good one.”  I say screw that.  Buyer beware.

     

    I don’t need to look up jack squat.  It is you who need to look up EULA law.  Here, I’ll give you the TL;DR version - You only buy the hardware, you have a license to use the software, which includes the provision that features may change due to forces out of the company’s control.  Period.  

    melvimbe
    January 24, 2022

    Sonos didn’t remove it, Apple did.  As proof, I offer the removal of the same feature from Bluesound devices at the exact same time it started to show problems on Sonos. 

    So, are you now giving up on buying Apple products?

     

    I think I responded to this argument before.  I bought a product from Sonos not Apple.

     

     

    You didn’t buy an iphone? 

     

      That seems hard to understand for some reason. If Sonos’ product changed features AFTER being bought and the reason given was that [insert anyone/thing in here other than Sonos] makes it impossible now to offer that product, then Sonos needs to make it right.

     

     

    How could Sonos provide a feature that’s been blocked by the OS?  Did you want them to sue Apple or something.  Provide you with an android phone?  discount code?  cash?

     

     

      Their worldview is an ego centric one. “Hey it’s not us, its them.”. 

     

     

    It’s not a view, it’s reality.

     

    Look up the work accountable (and then customer satisfaction  and brand loyalty).  Sonos has not done the right thing.  As a result I am out and will never buy their product.  They can do the SAME EXACT thing with AirPlay:2 tomorrow with the newer products.  Something changes and it’s “It’s not us, it’s them. And you are screwed.  Have a good one.”  I say screw that.  Buyer beware.

     

    If Apple decides to cancel airplay 2 tommorow, there is nothing Sonos can do about it.  This is the reality that requires integration between two different products.  If one of them changes, it doesn’t work anymore.  You would have a point if Sonos just cancelled airplay and Apple was still providing it, but that is not the case.

    Danny
    January 24, 2022

    They can do the SAME EXACT thing with AirPlay:2 tomorrow with the newer products.  

    This definitely wins the prize for the dumbest comment of the year so far on this forum, perhaps any forum.