Update on the Sonos App from Patrick Spence

Exactly. Shareholders (the owners of the company) don't like what's going on at Sonos.

There seem to be some Sonos positive guys hanging around this thread and some not so positive. I’m interested in both sides as I’ve got a decision to make as I’m in the process of upgrading my system.

I’ve been a Sonos user almost since the beginning and generally happy enough. I know it will never be as good as the audiophile stuff I used to have but I made the jump due to the flexibility it offers and because I simply couldn’t afford multi room set ups using Sonos Faber speakers etc...

I use it for multi-room audio - for a large music library not streaming services - and sound bars, surrounds, sub for home cinema etc…

During that time I’ve had to learn more about wifi etc..than I’d like but always been able to figure out issues.  

I’ve never liked the app - I much prefer Apple Music although it has its limitations. 

The new app has wasted endless hours of my time, removed my core functionality and the response from the company has been frustrating to say the least.  I’m one of the majority of users who doesn’t want to play about with wifi networks, learning about SMB etc… - I know actually getting the kit to work is fun for some of you - but not me. I want true plug and play.

Pre-May I bought a new Arc, Era 300, Sub etc.. I’ve had no issue with the home cinema set up and as it’s new it stays.

I’ve got a Move and a Roam and I can bluetooth them which I do most of the time anyway as they’re travel speakers - they stay.

I now have eight rooms that have various stereo two speaker set ups that I need to upgrade - currently Play 1, Play 3.  The original plan was to use Era 300s.

I’m now considering other options simply because this fiasco has highlighted a number of things.

1. A wired SONOSnet is dead - a feature I valued - now like any other system you connect to wifi and as ERA100, 300 don’t work with a wired solution you're forced off any legacy setup instantly rendering my Boost redundant - although this wasn’t exactly communicated clearly. So with the exception of playing different music in multiple rooms, (without getting Apple Music), Airplay 2 now does everything I need as well as SONOS does.  
2. The company refuses to follow basic UAT procedures and will always be prone to periodically killing the system. This is a mentality thing - you're either a shop that gambles or cynically releases kit you know isn’t ready or you are not.  SONOS will do this again, it’s a strategic approach that will only change with a wholesale revision of their culture.  Always happens when the voice of the shareholder drowns out the voice of the customer.
3. The company has not invested enough in its support and communication has been very poor.  As they are likely to take an almighty financial hit on this I can’t see this being rectified.
4. SONOS no longer has an identity and it has burned its goodwill - it’s alienated its loyal affluent user base owning multiple products, chasing short term revenue - it simply cannot be considered premium now.  Owning the speakers is an embarrassment not something to boast about.
5. So given an Airplay set up, using Music as a controller works pretty much the same as SONOS, having gone from a company that provides solutions, it is now a maker of decent speakers with lousy software and support.

So the question is now rather than blindly remaining loyal to SONOS - and forfeiting different music in multiple rooms - is there any reason not to simply shop around for Airplay speakers, of which SONOS speakers are one option?  I can’t see any and there are some decent looking bits of kit out there now.  Views appreciated - genuinely - can someone more tech savvy sell it to me?

If you have pots of money then go for it.

Otherwise hang in there, sonos always sorts most of it over time (except DTS).

Ceo has postponed 2 new products and re-routed manpower into support and development of app.

Just sit tight, why do you need to change?

Plex might be a solution for your local music, then just connecting to sonos like any other service.

Unfortunately both app can’t find my soundbar, so I’am very limited with option. 
hope they fix the issue ASAP. 
 

Hi @R999, I think you are onto something: separating “front-end software” from “back-end speakers” has real value by allowing you to optimize those separately. If you want a sterling music software experience, there are options that very likely meet your personal user experience better than any vendor-specific bundled software. Said another way, if you want great software it makes sense to go with a software product.

Now you get what you pay for … and great software costs money! Roon Labs gets mentioned from time to time, but most folks gasp when they see the subscription cost. Audirvana is my personal favorite, less spendy than Roon at $70 per year.

If even the Sonophone app can’t find the soundbar, then it’s less likely to be an app issue and more an issue local to your Arc. Without scrolling back through the thread, can you/did you confirm that you can access either the Windows or Mac desktop app (https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/downloads), and have tried to access the system from there? If anything there works, you could try to run a system update to see if there is one ready to be installed. This could in turn then help the Sonos app or the Sonophone app to work...

Failing that, I think you will need to call Sonos to have them investigate this - they have the tools to look at your devices to see what is going on/wrong...

First off, I DESPISE the arrogant app that killed my system!  There is simply no way to completely control my speakers. (Example : late night if i want softly play music I cannot because this now ignorant app has taken control and will no longer let me have total control and if I do try IT decides the volume and which speakers and when it will pause or stop playback.

If this app won’t do the job correctly then all the regression back to 16.2 because at least, IT WORKED!!!

from what I have sonos has actively tried to block users from going back which makes no sense and really borders on arrogance

Sonos says it hears it’s customers but do they really?  I simply will buy no future sonos products unless I see that sonos will give up this new app and regress the app and work on this non functioning in your own labs instead of making us all suffer!

@nyghtwolf 

Old app = not coming back

New app = being fixed

You = wasting your time

After a generation of enjoying and recommending your products and services, I’ve put a hard stop on purchase of all Sonos products for myself and my clients. I seek nothing less than the immediate ouster of Patrick Spence, immediate restoration of previous functionality, and the delivery of a meaningful credit to restore your customers’ good faith. Short of this, I will begin to implement replacement for 37+ Sonos hardware pieces in my own residences and many dozens more in client installations. The disastrous waste of this community’s resources, the disregard evidenced in management’s initial response and slow turnaround, is utterly unacceptable. These are the consequences of your choices.

If the CEO was to be ousted it would have been yesterday when the quarterly earnings were announced. But he appears to have the full support of the board in his plans to fix the app. The transcript of the earnings call is available.

He also won’t be that concerned about the 37 products you’re getting rid of as Sonos will already have received your money for those.