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Ryan S
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
Jan 22, 2020 3:20 PM UTC

End of Software Support - Clarifications

  • Dec 8, 2022 11:29 AM UTC
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End of Software Support - Clarifications

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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    4256 replies

    Show previous replies
    SDMac
    Lyricist I
    Jan 23, 2020 10:10 PM UTC

    Sonos really dropped the ball yesterday!  Suggesting that a 30% discount on new products to replace thousands of dollars that we (your previously loyal customers) have spent supporting/buying your product.  Nice of you to answer the thousands of outraged clients with a dulled down version of yesterdays announcement.  I can’t be the only one looking at ways to protect my investment in a whole house system after it become very clear that Sonos did not engineer with very much forward thinking.   Clearly not much thought was even put into sending out the announcement yesterday.  :disappointed:

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      robinm0
      robinm0
      Enthusiast I
      Jan 23, 2020 10:10 PM UTC

      Dear Patrick Spence and the Board.

      Too little, too late. I and many others don’t want to split the system we have into 2. We like it the way it is now. 

      Yours,

      Former Sonos customers.

      Translate
        IDC
        Lyricist I
        Jan 23, 2020 10:10 PM UTC

        Hugely disappointed about the CEO response. More about how do I keep ltip stock options positive 

        rather than how do I keep loyal customers and brand advocates on side. I’ll stick with vinyl and trusty Wharfdale speakers from now on…

        is that what Sonos really wants?

        Translate
          G0csteve
          Contributor I
          Jan 23, 2020 10:11 PM UTC

          The email does little for me…. you have already made your intentions known,…. you want me to spend money all over again and I’m not interested!  I am suspending any future purchases of Sonos gear (was going to buy a Move soon) till this company recognizes the investment many of us have made in this large zone whole house audio system and supports us like the good paying customers we are.  in other words 30% doesnt cut it!

          Translate
            Thumbpicker
            Enthusiast II
            Jan 23, 2020 10:11 PM UTC

            Yes I had the old ZP80’s and ZP100’s and I still love them + only one month ago I bought a Sonos Beam and now they may not integrate well.

            Translate
            Rob NYC1
            Enthusiast II
            Jan 23, 2020 10:12 PM UTC

            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

            Patrick - no one believes you when you state that legacy products can’t continue to work together with newer products.   In fact, we’re all pretty certain that your actual goal is to create a short product life-cycle so your sucker-customer-base constantly upgrades with new SONOS gear.  People are willing to upgrade expensive gear when the gear actually gets better; examples of this are cell phones, cars and computers.  But sound systems simply don’t fit into that description.   There is absolutely no technological reason that older components and newer components won’t be able to produce sound that is sync’d up.  You should resign.  You’re an embarrassment. 

            Translate
              smm4567223
              Lyricist I
              Jan 23, 2020 10:12 PM UTC

              I have a TON of money invested in SONOS.  Until yesterday my equipment was not “legacy”, it is only a few years old.  Certainly was not expecting it to become obsolete.  That is a short lifespan for stereo equipment.  Was planning on adding more equipment for some additional rooms. No reason to do that now knowing that it is just throwing good money after bad.  I will invest in a different centralized system like I had before.  Speakers should not become “legacy” after 2-3 years.

               

              The 30% trade in is a joke...

               

              I LOVED SONOS, recommended it to everyone -- This sucks!

              Translate
                rwrgeo
                Renowned Enthusiast II
                Jan 23, 2020 10:13 PM UTC

                There’s a new message posted from Patrick today that will help answer many of the questions we’ve seen. You can see it above in the top post, or on our blog here ‘A Letter from our CEO’.

                Wow that message from your CEO is just gonna wind people up even more.


                Another slap in the face.


                Agreed, it reenforces some important points (speakers not bricked on day one, splitting network means new products get updates, concession of bug fixes for legacy products which I guess includes modern products in a legacy network?) but the majority of it could have been written days or weeks ago - its essentially still the same plan. 

                I get that this was going to happen one day given the reliance on computing power in these products but they’ve managed this terribly so far. I’ve seen people on here say they now want Sonos to fail - I don’t want that, that would probably mean ALL Sonos products would quickly lose features or be vulnerable.
                 

                I can’t believe this is the same Sonos who put a replaceable battery in the Move to maintain that product’s useful life. I want to go back to that Sonos. 

                Translate
                  jwinther
                  Lyricist III
                  Jan 23, 2020 10:14 PM UTC

                  There’s a new message posted from Patrick today that will help answer many of the questions we’ve seen. You can see it above in the top post, or on our blog here ‘A Letter from our CEO’.

                  Link doesn’t work but here is an article containing the letter:

                  https://www.droid-life.com/2020/01/23/sonos-backpedals-on-legacy-product-futures/

                  Translate
                  “This is a chance now to come up with a system that doesn’t cause massive planetary damage in exchange for disposable stuff,” Proctor said. (https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3a8dpn/sonos-makes-it-clear-you-no-longer-own-the-things-you-buy)
                  sm75382
                  Enthusiast II
                  Jan 23, 2020 10:14 PM UTC

                  here is the head of sustainability @markheintz1

                  who i guess is ok with their recycle program? 

                   

                  Translate
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