Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Support - Clarifications

Dec 8, 2022 11:29 AM UTC
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We announced yesterday that some of our oldest Sonos products will be moving into a legacy mode in May of 2020. Our commitment is to support products with regular software updates for a minimum of five years after we stop selling them, and we have a track record of supporting products far longer.

Here is some public information we’ve shared, gathered into one place to respond to some of your questions in one easy thread, so that people can find the correct information easily.

Beginning in May, software updates and new features from Sonos will only be delivered to systems with only modern products.

After May, systems that include legacy products will continue to work as before - but they will no longer receive software updates or new features.

Sonos will work to maintain the existing experience and conduct bug fixes, but our efforts will ultimately be limited by the lack of memory and processing power of these legacy products.

We don’t expect any immediate impact to your experience, but access to services and overall functionality will eventually be disrupted, particularly as partners evolve their own services and features.

Customers with both legacy and modern products have time to decide what option is best for them. You can continue to use your whole system in legacy mode - in this case, it will stop receiving updates and new features.

You will also be able to separate your legacy products from your modern products, so that the modern products can still receive updates and new features, and legacy products can still be used separately. We’ll have more information on how to do this in May when you can take that action.

Another option available to all customers with legacy products is to take advantage of the Trade Up program, which allows you to upgrade older Sonos products to modern ones with a 30% discount. Trade Up will be open to customers at any time should they decide to upgrade.

We recognize this is new for Sonos owners, just as it is for Sonos. We are committed to help you by making options available to you to support the best decision for your home.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate with asking.

Update 2/22: A message from our CEO

We heard you. We did not get this right from the start. My apologies for that and I wanted to personally assure you of the path forward:

First, rest assured that come May, when we end new software updates for our legacy products, they will continue to work as they do today. We are not bricking them, we are not forcing them into obsolescence, and we are not taking anything away. Many of you have invested heavily in your Sonos systems, and we intend to honor that investment for as long as possible. While legacy Sonos products won’t get new software features, we pledge to keep them updated with bug fixes and security patches for as long as possible. If we run into something core to the experience that can’t be addressed, we’ll work to offer an alternative solution and let you know about any changes you’ll see in your experience.

Secondly, we heard you on the issue of legacy products and modern products not being able to coexist in your home. We are working on a way to split your system so that modern products work together and get the latest features, while legacy products work together and remain in their current state. We’re finalizing details on this plan and will share more in the coming weeks.

While we have a lot of great products and features in the pipeline, we want our customers to upgrade to our latest and greatest products when they’re excited by what the new products offer, not because they feel forced to do so. That’s the intent of the trade up program we launched for our loyal customers.

Thank you for being a Sonos customer. Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. I hope that you’ll forgive our misstep, and let us earn back your trust. Without you, Sonos wouldn’t exist and we’ll work harder than ever to earn your loyalty every single day.

If you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Patrick Spence
CEO, Sonos

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Saucerman

Enthusiast I

I bought Sonos in 2004 and have been buying ever since...I bought it as an easy solution to put music in rooms where I wanted. I bought it as an easy connectivity solution….I bought it as hardware; just like my 20 year B & W’s I have connected to my tv. The TV has changed many times in the past 20 years and not once did I have to update my speakers with some sort software update.

Again I bought Sonos as a hardware solution and they have turned into a software solution and frankly I’m pissed. Just like I was pissed spending $400 on the CR100 and whatever on the CR200 only to have them discontinued as well...but at least they gave you a free app that did the job.

In 2004 Sonos wasn’t cheap….it’s still not. I thought I was paying for a premium product (hardware) like my B&W’s but as we learned yesterday...it is not.

Will I be buying future Sonos products? No never again. Because they just set precedence that any future products are not guaranteed to be obsolete in the future, even that Move you just bought yesterday. I wanted a hardware solution to my music...I didn’t ask for a software solution. So I’ll run wires to my rooms and buy some speakers...you know like in the old days and never have to worry about an update ever again...because you know, they’ll just work.

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lawhhh

Lyricist III

Does anyone remember seeing a little sticker on the bottom of the Sonos box when they saw it on the shelf at Dixons, Richer Sounds, Bestbuy or B&H ?

If so, did the label say, in the tiniest of fonts say:

“Warning: This product will only work for 5 years then be deactivated by Sonos” ?

I guess I should have read the small print...

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Saucerman

Enthusiast I

Interesting that with all the furore ongoing there’s no hint of crisis management PR getting involved. Leaves the impression that this reaction has been factored in and doesn’t require any additional handling.

So I think that it’s just a case of them being fully prepared to lose a few legacy customers - who are no longer buying much anyway….

what about the new customers who see this….would you now buy into a solution that might be obsolete within a few years. I think Sonos doesn’t realize is most people see them as a hardware company. Would you go out and buy hardwired speakers for your entertainment system knowing in 5 years they might not work with your existing setup?

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user666

Lyricist I

This is only the beginning of the end of Sonos, I really loved my Treo phone too, but it had to die, as well as Sonos with their “hundry” decisions.

When a brand, such as this, decides to “kidnap” ans expect a ransom from their loyal customers,specially when such brand may not be the only one, it is only asking to be in the back drawers of innovators. GREAT JOB Sonos, my money will go somewhere else

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smstnitc

Lyricist III

I see the smart speaker thing as just a fad… but they feel they need to chase that carrot instead of concentrate on the customers that made them grow. They would have done better just getting the other smart speaker products to work WITH Sonos, instead of trying to compete. But google has their own expensive less capable speaker, so who knows *shrug*

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Tarkus

Contributor I

I USED to be a huge advocate of Sonos. I’ve gotten numerous friends into the Sonos family and now this?!?!?!?? Absolutely pathetic!!!! The 30% discount is like a slap in the face to existing loyal customers.

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pwt

Virtuoso

Interesting that with all the furore ongoing there’s no hint of crisis management PR getting involved. Leaves the impression that this reaction has been factored in and doesn’t require any additional handling.

So I think that it’s just a case of them being fully prepared to lose a few legacy customers - who are no longer buying much anyway….

what about the new customers who see this….would you now buy into a solution that might be obsolete within a few years. I think Sonos doesn’t realize is most people see them as a hardware company. Would you go out and buy hardwired speakers for your entertainment system knowing in 5 years they might not work with your existing setup?

Exactly this. The Sonos brand will be fundamentally repositioned in consumers’ minds.

Also breaks two of the key value propositions Sonos asserts: ‘whole house music’ (not if you have to create separate groups of devices), and ‘add to your system over time’ (not if the newer equipment does not interoperate with the older).

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4 x P:5 | Sub | 4 x P:1 | 3 x Connect | 2 x Boost | Connect:Amp | 2 x One | Amp | Move | Port | Era 300

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lawhhh

Lyricist III

I USED to be a huge advocate of Sonos. I’ve gotten numerous friends into the Sonos family and now this?!?!?!?? Absolutely pathetic!!!! The 30% discount is like a slap in the face to existing loyal customers.

Same here, I feel guilty for recommending this to friends and family, they will lose money because of my bad advice. I have huge regret.

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amun

Interesting that with all the furore ongoing there’s no hint of crisis management PR getting involved. Leaves the impression that this reaction has been factored in and doesn’t require any additional handling.

It seems clear from the SEC filing that they were expecting considerable flak about this announcement, and have factored it in to their business plan. So I think that it’s just a case of them being fully prepared to lose a few legacy customers - who are no longer buying much anyway….

it may have been factored in but I’m fairly sure not at this level, and now the media outlets are starting to show interest this is rather embarrassing for sonos

So far, maybe a couple of thousand disgruntled people - but how many customers do they actually have?

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amun

…..I could have bought decent 'dumb' gear and used cheaper network gear to provide the 'smart' connectivity. I will never buy sonos gear again.

A very sensible approach, IMHO….

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