End of Software Support - Clarifications

End of Software Support - Clarifications
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A
Userlevel 2

I invested heavily in Sonos,  3 Connect Amps, Play 5, Playbar etc etc and now I am being told that most of what I have is obsolete.   I bough my last connect amp 2 years ago….   it cost a ridiculous amount of money and it’s obsolete.  

If Sonos don’t reverse this decision, I will never buy a Sonos device again.

Whoever made this decision is quite frankly stupid.  The share price is down 1% today, and when people understand the re-percussions of destroying brand value, it will fall much much further.   

Sonos Executives,   ever heard of New Coke….  well you are about to re-live that kind of mistake. Sonos is not that much different to Apple,  it relies on customers brand loyalty.   I have encouraged lots of people to buy Sonos over the years.  I will never do so again.

 

Bad Move Sonos…..   Fix it and Fix it quick !  Or like most of your customers, we will just boycott Sonos and go elsewhere

 

S
Userlevel 2

You probably HAD the most loyal customer base in home-electronic equipment. Customers who assisted in spreading the word and convinced non-tech friends and family to jump into streaming.

And then you f… it all up by pulling the legs of all your oldest customers by asking them to throw well-functioning equipment out and invest in new, with the same basic functionality - stream music.

Is this a result of an internal brainstorming exercise or did external consultants deliver scenarios showcasing the huge revenue this marketing stunt (in theory) would create?

You guys lost a brand today, and it will take years to win it back… if ever.

K
Userlevel 3

The level of pain scales with the degree ownership.    I don’t care hearing that there is no room left in  Legacy devices for future fixes.  Apparently there was room to add registration, and usage metrics, and more. If you have not seen Your Data Collected have a look here.  None of that was there when I purchased those Legacy devices and I never wanted any of it.  Sonos has seen fit to change the functionally of my purchased hardware as they please.  Remove all the garbage code you’ve added to these devices and open up some space to leave room for fixes for another 5 years.   Give us a runway longer than June and stop raising prices and we might stick around.   

Long Live AirPlay 2 - it may be my path out of this mess. 

 

 

I’m with googull on this one.   And wow - People should take a look at the analytics in their profile.   Thanks Sonos for tracking my data in ways that In no way assist support and are useless to me, but tailored to be sold to streaming providers.   

S

What a ridiculous way to kill a business!

Technically there is no reason why different components in any “system” cannot be upgraded separately. Each component has a unique identifier which the software downloaded can use to condition the specific update for that component. 
It’s bad enough that Sonos try to extort money out of their customers but to imagine they are ignorant of systems design just adds insult to injury.

My only involvement with Sonos in future will be to try and explain to as many people as possible what a bunch of cowboys they are!

Disgusting.

P
Userlevel 3
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I’ve done all my ranting and believe they are set in their ways and will not change so…

My personal solution:

I’ve now decided to build a new Wi-Fi network that will not be connected to the internet.

Local network files such as mp3 and FLAC (as long as not 24bit) will continue to play OK.

Plugged into my 4 year old ’Legacy’ Sonos Connect (which sounds amazing btw through a Benchmark DAC, Naim 42.5/110 and AE1’s)

A new PC with digital output could achieve Internet radio and Spotify (whatever floats your boat) being accessed by a Remote Desktop client on my phone. A bit more clunky than the Sonos App but wouldn’t change every week.

Most importantly, would be cheaper and last longer than 5 years (now known as Sonos years).

 

I’d love some ideas on how to improve this concept if anyone has any.

I’ll start with just a 2nd SSID on a separate network but may have to have a 3rd VLAN.

 

You used to be so good Sonos, what happened? ☹️

Similar approach could be taken using an AV receiver - connect to a line in on a 5, or optical on a play bar/base, then connect an internet enabled device to the AV receiver to stream content.  Less than ideal, but a way to protect the hardware from forced bricking.

V

I have over $4,000 in Sonos equipment, almost all of which was bought new in 2014-2015, and just announced to be now obsolete after barely 5 years. 

I was an early adopter of Sonos despite their sky-high pricing, and had been a huge supporter and beta tester for them since the beginning.  However, learning that Sonos is leaving their earliest, most devoted customers like me out in the cold is maddening.  Sonos had a rabid cult following which is why it thrived despite so much competition in their market, and they just kicked that rabid following squarely in the nuts.

I guess the bright side is that since my whole system is being obsoleted simultaneously, that will make the decision to switch to a whole different ecosystem like Bose or Amazon much easier.  

S

Happy to add my fury to this, over £1,500 of kit will be “useless” in May!!

This isn’t why I invested lots of hard earned money with Sonos - did I read the company was sold on last year due to the high level of commitment of customers who carry on buying new product.  How long until the Sub, Play3 or Soundbar are “legacy”? Well this customer won't buy any more Sonos products and I will happily advise any who ask and those who don’t not to touch Sonos with a barge pole.

davidsjones76
Badge

Hello to Sonos and their community.

I haven’t read every single comment on this thread, but it would seem that a lot of people are unhappy. My comment, for what it’s worth, is that I bear no animosity towards Sonos. It is inevitable that this will happen to every “smart” device at some point. Sonos, are just the first to do it. To name a few, we have had Bose, Yamaha, Denon, and B&O speakers over the last couple of years. We were in search of superior sound and only found it in Sonos. Where Bose is concerned, they do have a relatively good sound, but the software and services that are included in both their SoundTouch, and Smart devices, is incredibly limited. We had many negative experiences, with every device, until we bought Sonos. Yes, their “legacy” announcement was a shock, but it is not going to be the only company to do this. Sonos are just the first to do it. The hardware in their “legacy” devices, has simply reached its limit and can no longer be “confidently” updated. If Sonos are to remain ahead of their competitors, in a saturated market, then they have to make controversial and difficult decisions such as this.

S

What a disgrace.  I’ve purchased and love a lot of your products.  I didn’t mind the higher price compared to the MANY options available because yours just plain old works every time.  Now however, you’ve decided to take away the one true reason for the premium price for me.  30% off?!  Thanks for the coupon.  Please reconsider and maintain your premium status to us, your loyal customers.

W

This is insane, how to turn me off a brand. I have 2x subs, 4 x 5’s, 2x 3’s, 4x 1’s, 2x Amps, 2x connects, 1x beam, 1x playbar, 1x playbase and offering me only 30% for a trade up. Sorry Sonos you just lost me.

 

Shame on you!

C
Userlevel 2

I’m here to register my disappointment for the second time since the first thread has been closed.  I had thought about adding a move to my system and it would have been conveniently located close to two legacy play 5 units.  Very reluctant now if they won’t work together.

:angry:

 

H
Userlevel 6
Badge +3

I notice @Ryan S seems to have gone home, either that or there is a serious brainstorming meeting going on at head office, on how to get out of this mess.

R

I’ve never posted to a site but am so frustrated by this move that I want to leave my feedback. 

 

I have a Bose surround system but decided to migrate to Sonos and purchased three play 5’s knowing that down the road I’d replace my entire Bose system with Sonos.  I won’t be doing that.  Instead, I regret the Sonos equipment purchase.  Wish I had stuck with Bose and have now decided to replace Sonos instead.  The fact that Sonos will no longer support my two “older” play 5’s results in my entire system not being able to accept updates is not acceptable and I feel like I wasted my $1,500 buying the three speakers.  Not only will I not be replacing my surround theater with Sonos, I will now instead be replacing my Sonos speakers with Bose.

S

I like many others have recommended Sonos to others. I can’t do that again. Some of my friends are non-technical and what do I tell them now they have to spend 70% of the cost again for new kit. I have 12 speakers, my kids have Sonos and we are all now wondering “when are we next”. I have an internet radio from 2005 that still works just fine, I have a Linn hi-fi from 1995 that still sounds fantastic, perhaps cheaper devices, regular hi-fi and Bluetooth are the future. I am now in the “maybe that’s enough investment in expensive Sonos” group. 

Someone else suggested Sonos need to think about branching their codebase into those that want updates but have “legacy” products and that code base maintain support for what we have and a separate branch for those that only have new products. 

 

In the end, the “contract” people made with Sonos was we would pay massively over typical speak pricing, but Sonos would look after us, the equipment and future-proofing our (substantial) investment. Perhaps they should try a 70% trade-up discount, rather than 30%. 

R
Userlevel 2

When I walk through my home and notice one of my Sonos devices, I get angry all over again. I have 18 devices. They’re in almost every room. Even my bathroom. Awesome.

M
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Hello to Sonos and their community.

I haven’t read every single comment on this thread, but it would seem that a lot of people are unhappy. My comment, for what it’s worth, is that I bear no animosity towards Sonos. It is inevitable that this will happen to every “smart” device at some point. Sonos, are just the first to do it. To name a few, we have had Bose, Yamaha, Denon, and B&O speakers over the last couple of years. We were in search of superior sound and only found it in Sonos. Where Bose is concerned, they do have a relatively good sound, but the software and services that are included in both their SoundTouch, and Smart devices, is incredibly limited. We had many negative experiences, with every device, until we bought Sonos. Yes, their “legacy” announcement was a shock, but it is not going to be the only company to do this. Sonos are just the first to do it. The hardware in their “legacy” devices, has simply reached its limit and can no longer be “confidently” updated. If Sonos are to remain ahead of their competitors, in a saturated market, then they have to make controversial and difficult decisions such as this.

Perhaps you are right… but for me it requires a new investment of $5,500 to modernize 16 components in order to get full use out of the 10 more recent ones. 
 

as a long term Sonos advocate don’t you think they would have a better solution for folks like myself rather than alienating us?

 

Right now I am screaming from the rooftops about how this is a company profiteering off the backs of people that helped make them successful. 
 

 

W
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Everyone needs to go to trust pilot.com, and every review site they can think of, and let Sonos know how they feel!

M

I have spent about £2000 on Sonos products and I am disgusted that this is happening. I also wish that I had not recommended this company to friends and family . I will not be giving Sonos any more of my money or recommending them in the future . Not exactly an environmentally friendly company asking you to scrap your perfectly serviceable speakers so they can sell more product . Sonos management have a PR disaster on their hands and are alienating loyal existing customers.

M
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

When I walk through my home and notice one of my Sonos devices, I get angry all over again. I have 18 devices. They’re in almost every room. Even my bathroom. Awesome.

26 devices here in two homes. So angry. 

B
Userlevel 1

SONOS, I think you might be getting the sense you’ve let down your loyal customers in a big way here.  Your products are EXCELLENT and justify the premium price through the sound quality and durability that they possess.  I (and many others) have been loyal to your products and personally I have lost count of the number of friends and associates that I have convinced to install SONOS products in their homes.  Good quality audio equipment isn’t like a smartphone… where you replace it after 5 years.  It lasts for a long time if you take care of it.

This announcement concerns me a lot and has damaged my opinion to the extent that I would hesitate to invest in any further SONOS products based on the new ‘lifespan’ that you have implied.  The competitive landscape has changed from when you introduced your products.  There are alternatives that (while they may also have a support lifespan) are much less expensive, and can be more logically depreciated over a 5 year life cycle.

While the older SONOS products may be limited in their processor capacity, please consider reversing your decision, and continue to support them.  It is understandable that some of the third party products may eventually not work on the old SONOS units.  We get that.  But please don’t declare your own products obsolete!  You risk losing a large and powerful virtual sales force, in the form of your loyal users!  Don’t forget to work that into your business case.

C
Userlevel 1

Echo everything said and have posted my feelings already. What I don’t understand is why they don’t build a legacy bridge that passes music to the legacy products. That device could have decent processing power and memory to say cater for 10 devices and be used to pass spotify/tidal/etc to the legacy devices. 

 

Give a loyalty discount to purchase the device for people affected and you would keep everyone happy.

 

I have a play 5 to support my turntable and a bit of Tidal but I am very wary of buying a Sub/Soundbar setup now due to the same thing could happen in future. 

S
Userlevel 1

Urgent Warning to Sonos Shareholders:

SELL - SELL - SELL!!

Sonos just destroyed the brand.

I will never buy Sonos again.

M
Userlevel 7
Badge +4

Everyone needs to go to trust pilot.com, and every review site they can think of, and let Sonos know how they feel!

I’m about ready to start a campaign to get every disgruntled Sonos customer to go to Amazon and rate every device 1 star.  It won’t take long to knock them into the 3 star range.  that will hit sales BIG TIME. 

G

Disgraceful, you should offer at least 50% to your loyal customer base, 30% is a joke, brand ruined in a day, well done!

J
Userlevel 3
Badge

“What we have here is a failure to communicate..”

 

I’m affected by this to the tune of 3 Play:5’s and 3 Connect’s, so I’m not a disinterested bystander.

 

Trying to take a step back and look at this - I think the fundamental mistake Sonos have made here is that they thought they were an electronics device company. But they are selling devices that allow people to connect to *music*. That makes things different to a phone or a TV, which are essentially seen as replacable and upgradable objects.

 

Music is different. Music affects people on a deep emotional level. The best audio brand names get this. They sell an *experience*, not hardware.

 

I think Sonos used to get this, but maybe the upper management have changed to people who thought they were in the electronics business. They are not, and they are about to discover this fact very painfully. I doubt the company will survive this. People are perceiving this, rightly or wrongly, as Sonos trying to take their music away (I know that is my gut reaction too).

 

They should have hired ex-Apple execs. Apple would never have made this mistake. They understand what they sell and it’s not hardware.

 

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