Just so you know I don’t take that as an insult from you.  It’s your choice.  No insults from me. Just an opinion that doesn’t accord with yours.  And if anyone threw any insults it was you I’m afraid by posting a reply which could easily be interpreted by anyone else reading as implying that I had used a profanity in my post that I said had been taken down for some odd reason.  And if you can’t see that then you won’t understand why you come across as a bully either (as someone else here pointed out).  I can accept you probably don’t intend this but why not reflect on it?  It’s not just me who found your responses somewhat ‘off colour’.

And I suppose you don’t see how adressing someones concerns like this is insulting? The phrase ‘The pot calling the kettle black’ comes to mind.

I understand that. But if they can stop supporting my Connect, and make me choose between updating my app and firmware or keeping my Connect, then they can do that to my Play:1s, as well.

I can live with losing one Connect. But losing four great speakers that are performing perfectly would be too much. I think Sonos should be careful about forcing these decisions on its customers, because customer loyalty has been one of its strengths and this policy could quickly destroy that.

Every maker of ‘smart’ devices faces this dilemma. If a device has a CPU and memory, at some point, one or the other won’t be enough to run the software. I can’t use my ‘386 computer with Win10, I can’t run iOS 13 on my original iPhone. It’s not great, but it’s part of what we get with smart / software driven devices. At least Sonos is just freezing the software updates to these devices, and not just bricking them. You can continue to use them. 

...but not as a system?  Becuase all units in the system need to be using the same software…?  Or have I misunderstood?

They need to allow us to keep older devices - perhaps with reduced functionality - on the same network as newer devices with up-to-date functionality. Otherwise, no one will have the confidence to invest in their system.

You have not misunderstood, it is THIS very point that is the real issue.  They could fairly easily freeze the s/w version on ‘legacy’ devices and continue to update the ‘newer’, supported devices.   Many other suppliers to it with all sorts of devices. it’s called maintaining backward compatibility. 

I plan to just continue to use all my ‘legacy’ devices and hopefully it will continue to run for years, one day I’m sure streaming services like spottily will have evolved to thee point that they no longer work with my old sonos s/w - at that stage I will  b left with just my collection of music on a hard drive.  That should run forever!

And, hopefully by that time, some clever so and so will have hacked sonos and made a freeware version of something that gets the streaming services working again.  OR, MAYBE: Sonos will release their ‘legacy’ code into the public domain, so we can progress it ourselves!!

For me it’s a shame.

What about Play 1 in one year? And Play 3?

Will be the same as today with Play 5 gen 1?

Can we trust Sonos in the Future?

My ZP90 (Connect) is also “Not modern” any more. But you can stiil be able to buy it on internet (Not official Sonos).

A shame!

Yes… I was sold a wireless speaker - and their website still headlines with:
Sonos | Wireless Speakers and Home Sound Systems
Sonos is the ultimate wireless home sound system

Not Sonos - a software company which requires constant updates without which your investment is worthless… something which skirts close to not being fit for purpose.

And definitely not… as system where you spend ~£400 on a (mono) speaker that will only be support for 5 years.  If I knew this upfront… I doubt I would have bought as much of their stuff… especially as you need two of these things to get stereo sound!

If there are issues with streaming services, you should still be able use the basic/NAS functionality at least.  

On a sustainability front… I was constantly told how well built the speakers are… if the computer part is getting a bit tired… if well designed… this could be refurbished/updated without chucking the entire speaker (he says typing on his 10 year old Thinkpad, which has has upgraded memory, battery and a few other bits inc. Win 10 and is still going strong). 

Another part of this is Sonos backtracking on their statements… and shows their commitment to sustainability to be undermined by a serious problem of inbuilt redundancy and poor design… and the ability withdraw expensive products with very little notice, and minimal compensation (30% of full retail is not a lot) makes buying in to Sonos a much less attractive proposition.

Sonos handled this extremely poorly. Most manufactures will continue to provide software updates for at least 5 years after they discontinue a product. I am a Sonos dealer and I received from Sonos my last Connect Amp shipment in January 2019. My last Connect was shipped to me in March 2019. I have customers with systems less than 1 year old that is now obsolete. They should have seen this coming and come out with a Connect Amp and Connect 2.0 years ago to avoid this issue. 

Every product on the legacy list was last manufactured in 2015.

Just spoke to my Sonos rep. It was not abundantly clear in the email that was distributed but only Connects and Connect Amps manufactured before 2015 will no longer be supported. This changes my opinion on how they handled this issue. I understand that hardware will eventually become obsolete and a 5 year support time window is reasonable.

This is a really interesting time capsule with many posters coming close to predicting how this would play out. 

And then there's there is others like this gem above ^^^^^^^^^^

What do you mean by ‘gem’?  Do you think what jgatie stated is incorrect?  It certainly is in regards to the software related statements.  As far as it being a speaker, it certainly can’t be simply compared to passive or active speaker that has no streaming and multiroom capabilities built in.

Leave it be, melvimbe. 

Ive never felt incensed enough to post comments on any forum but the news that Sonos are literally making me dump my 2 gen 1 sonos 5s is to me a company that cares little about there customers and suicide for them as a company why would anyone invest in there products if every few years they stop updating them and just expect the customer to accept it or re invest in Sonos with some half baked 30% duscount scheme good money after bad i say. Over the years we have seen many large companies make serious mistakes financially and reputationaly by underestimating there customers i sincerly hope this IS the case for sonos

Why are Sonos selling refurbished generation one product and stating on the FAQ page for the product that the product will continue to support all current features and more in the future but email me stating that my generation one products will not receive new features and over time likely to suffer a disruption in functionality ??

I was about to invest in installing SONOS ceiling speakers throughout my house - only to receive the legacy product email telling me 4 of my current products will not be supported from May, and if I keep them connected to the rest of my SONOS system, then that will be comprised too! What a bunch of crooks! Pay a premium price and all you get is a 10 year lifespan! You are @&£\*#! Kidding me! I’ll end up spending over £1000 to replace these “legacy” products - even with that token discount. I’ll be sure to tell everyone I know never to buy SONOS and I won’t be doing so again. Lucky I didn’t buy the soundbar and sub either as I would have to write that off in a few years time too! Well done SONOS - you have turned a brand ambassador into a brand detractor. I’ll never buy SONOS again.

Could not agree more. Shameful. 

I did write to the CEO and did get a response from a regional supervisor, so potentially they are considering a shocking mis-judgement.

Perhaps there was a thought that their customer base were premium spenders to match their premium products. In reality we are probably a diverse mix of society with diverse budgets and music preferences and therefore this is where the fatal mistake lies.

Hopefully a solution will follow, or a competitor will gra  the market.....

Hmm They have also said its play 5 gen 1’s as well remember!

One wonders about the motivation behind this move.  Is it due to:

• Genuine difficulty/inability to support older products because of resource constraints?
• Forced obsolescence to encourage hardware purchases -- motivated by profit?
• Forced obsolescence to encourage purchases of voice activated products so Sonos can play in the surveillance capitalist space?

The first two feel unlikely.  If it’s the latter, is it motivated by a fear that competitors such as Google and Amazon already occupy that space?  Or crude greed at the opportunities the surveillance business model promises?   

Considering all the devices designated as legacy have the original 32 MB RAM spec, and all those designated modern (even those with the same name as the 32 MB models - Connect, Connect:Amp) have 64 MB or more RAM, I would say its the first one. 

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  

I’d love to see what Alan Kay would make of that.

Will you continue to be a Sonos dealer?  If I was a customer of yours, I’d be frustrated at you as well as with Sonos.  I was initially turned onto Sonos by my AV expert, and I’m guessing he’s now fielding many questions from frustrated clients.

I also won’t be buying Sonos again unless they retract this new policy.  Can you imagine having Sonos ceiling or wall speakers working perfectly well in the future, only to have Sonos make them obsolete?