End of Software Support - Clarifications

End of Software Support - Clarifications
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Paul St
Userlevel 3

Just noticed quite a few gen 1 play 5s popping up on Facebook market place, a lot of people are going to get a shock quite soon if they buy these.

M
Userlevel 6
Badge +8

Just noticed quite a few gen 1 play 5s popping up on Facebook market place, a lot of people are going to get a shock quite soon if they buy these.

But not here: https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/certified-refurbished-2

:wink:

 

Ken_Griffiths

Just noticed quite a few gen 1 play 5s popping up on Facebook market place, a lot of people are going to get a shock quite soon if they buy these.

But not here: https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/certified-refurbished-2

:wink:

 

Not even a Black Sonos One (gen1) on the Sonos U.K. site … they’re all sold out. I have been after one since Xmas to match one I have already, but they still have some in the US … wish Sonos would ship a few over here.

I have 'signed up' to be notified when one lands here. A great speaker for only £159… a bargain (I think) ...er ...if you can get them.

User694694
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Just noticed quite a few gen 1 play 5s popping up on Facebook market place, a lot of people are going to get a shock quite soon if they buy these.

Maybe. I guess it depends on how they intend to use them (single speaker to stream their local library and they will probably never be disappointed).  It also largely depends on how Sonos decides to implement its split system, and if Sonos continues to support streaming music services for their legacy devices. Everyone here seems to have their interpretation of what Sonos has said and not said, but there’s certainly no consensus at this point.

A
Userlevel 4
Badge +1

61% of Sonos customers own more than one speaker and made purchases with the explicit guarantee (add on at anytime) of multi-speaker integration.

The back story of the disrupted speaker integration support announcement of 1/21/20:
“Investors are concerned about Sonos' long-term endurance as it gravitates toward producing products with longer shelf lives, which result in longer replacement cycles.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/sonos-fitbit-gopro-ipo-company-shares-dropped-80-percent-2018-8?op=1

This became a problem for Sonos investors because “92% of the products we’ve ever shipped are still in use today.” The solution was to force customers to replace working speakers at an immense goodwill cost of crippling their integrated-speaker-system brand identity.

Sonos share price has lost nearly half of its value ($10.55 on 3/5/20) from its IPO high ($19.91 on 8/2/18).

I hope a course-correction at Sonos is imminent. Great speakers!

https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/sonos-ipo-stock-price-2018-8-1027426964

User694694
Userlevel 5
Badge +4

Maybe Sonos is listening to criticism. Good on them:

https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/05/sonos-kills-its-device-bricking-recycle-mode/

M

Maybe Sonos is listening to criticism. Good on them:

https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/05/sonos-kills-its-device-bricking-recycle-mode/

This is a massive walk back. Good on them for fixing a flawed program. I'm impressed.

K

Maybe Sonos is listening to criticism. Good on them:

https://www.engadget.com/2020/03/05/sonos-kills-its-device-bricking-recycle-mode/

This is a massive walk back. Good on them for fixing a flawed program. I'm impressed.

I agree. Good for them and for the planet, even though some folks here will be upset. This is such a sensible step, that is at least a month late, but better late than never.

K

Further to the above, this, from a Verge report:

The trade-up program still exists, and customers who own eligible legacy products can get the same discount, but they’re no longer required to permanently brick devices that might still work just fine.

With the change, Sonos is now giving customers full control over what happens with the older gadgets they’re “trading” up from. They can choose to keep it, give it to someone, recycle it at a local e-waste facility, or send it to Sonos and let the company handle the responsible recycling part. Sonos quietly removed Recycle Mode from its app last week and replaced it with language asking anyone seeking the discount to call customer service. Within the next few weeks, Sonos will update its website with a new flow for the trade-up program that no longer includes Recycle Mode, and you won’t have to call anybody.

Bolded bits are by me; why this is has to be done silently is a mystery and disappointing as well. This is good news! 

K

A couple of days after the now famous Spence back-pedalling in January, I had sent him an email commending him on that, but suggesting that for the backpedalling to be taken as more than just spin, a step exactly on the lines Sonos has taken today, be also taken. 

When I reported that elsewhere on this site, those that feel compelled to defend just about everything that Sonos does, laughed at me by wishing me luck in getting a response. 

One now hopes that - assuming that the latest reports are not fake news - Sonos does not drag its feet and take weeks to disseminate this decision as the Verge report seems to suggest.

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +10

So it seems it was possible to communicate an effective message with the audience.

The reasonable expectations of the 80% were exactly that, reasonable.

And it’s a solid call by Sonos. It will (as said many times) restore confidence in the high price paying user base.

It will make zero difference to the evangelists and the frustrated folk may still be frustrated. But for the rest of us, it’s a very solid call.

I can now go ahead and ‘buy more Sonos stuff’ …. life is simple.

That was all that was needed.

Now we can wait till May for the details, the nuances, the bland tech detail etc.

So, so simple and CE marketing 1-0-1.

And none of this was technical, it was business, Simple. But good news. 

Let’s keep this new straight line Sonos. And lets factor the clear feeling from the buying public going forward into product positioning.

 

K

 

The reasonable expectations of the 80% were exactly that, reasonable.

I can now go ahead and ‘buy more Sonos stuff’ …. life is simple.

 

 

Erm..not quite that simple. Modern products and legacy ones will still need to be on split systems for the former to get the updates paid for and included in their price. But I don't see that changing, unfortunately; that seems to be a technical limitation. Of course if you have line in jacks in both systems, you could still have them play music in perfect sync across all via a couple of Echo Dots wired to a line in jack in each system, by grouping the two Dots.

S

The back pedalling by that Spence bloke is I fear too little too late.

The way sonos has treated it’s loyal customers is a joke.

Share price has dropped by about 35% since January’s announcement and I’m sure will only drop further as large shareholders (who are only in it to make money) realise what a complete mess the sonos board has made of this.

Time for heads to roll or a takeover I think.

What a shame!

Connect Amp x 3, Connect x 1, Sub x 2, Playbar x 2, Beam x 1, Play 1 x 4, Play 3 x 1, Play 5 x 2, Boost x 1, Symfonisk x 2
A
Userlevel 6
Badge +10

 

The reasonable expectations of the 80% were exactly that, reasonable.

I can now go ahead and ‘buy more Sonos stuff’ …. life is simple.

 

 

Erm..not quite that simple. Modern products and legacy ones will still need to be on split systems for the former to get the updates paid for and included in their price. But I don't see that changing, unfortunately; that seems to be a technical limitation. Of course if you have line in jacks in both systems, you could still have them play music in perfect sync across all via a couple of Echo Dots wired to a line in jack in each system, by grouping the two Dots.

Sure, agree that of course … it’s not a 100% solution but it is enough to allow potential buyers to have enough data to make a decision …. buy more stuff, walk and go elsewhere. 

It at least shows some listening and commercial common sense and environmental decency. 

No the tech stuff about split systems etc I can accept a little wait and see. 

But no, entirely accept the point that it’s not addressing the split system discussion. That certainly remains open, alive and well and with high expectation for the May solution.

K

It at least shows some listening and commercial common sense and environmental decency. 

But no, entirely accept the point that it’s not addressing the split system discussion. That certainly remains open, alive and well and with high expectation for the May solution.

To the first: agreed, and it shows more listening than from some Sonos defenders on this thread.

To the second: if the May solution addresses this it will be a very pleasant surprise. To an extent to think that keeping it secret till May will have cost Sonos significantly, because with that solution in place there are no real issues left attached to this event.

K

The back pedalling by that Spence bloke is I fear too little too late.

What a shame!

I have to say I agree; this was just a business decision that could just as easily have been taken more than a month ago, by someone with some smarts and vision.

It is still a good thing to have done, but a company as small as Sonos is expected to be more agile.

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +10

It at least shows some listening and commercial common sense and environmental decency. 

But no, entirely accept the point that it’s not addressing the split system discussion. That certainly remains open, alive and well and with high expectation for the May solution.

To the first: agreed, and it shows more listening than from some Sonos defenders on this thread.

To the second: if the May solution addresses this it will be a very pleasant surprise. To an extent to think that keeping it secret till May will have cost Sonos significantly, because with that solution in place there are no real issues left attached to this event.

Again 100% agree that sentiment.

I’m now 3 weeks into playing and buying Roon and Tidal. And I can see a very happy co-existence with Sonos and potential new boxes whereas it would have been a pure ‘white box world’ previously.

It may still end up that way if as you say, May’s solution is compelling and robust.

Is still time turn this tanker round.

K

I’m now 3 weeks into playing and buying Roon and Tidal. And I can see a very happy co-existence with Sonos and potential new boxes whereas it would have been a pure ‘white box world’ previously.

 

On that too I agree; I am a week into using - for the first time in my life - a raspberry Pi that supplies music from a local NAS with album art to a voice commanded Echo Show 5, with sound via Sonos Connect Amp+speakers. Or from a play 1 pair using a Connect I got for free from my daughter who has no need for it now she has Echo Dots in her home.

Regardless of what Sonos does henceforth, I see no need to add to my dozen or so Sonos bits of kit in future, now that I have my eyes opened to what is possible outside the closed world of white boxes. And Sonos have only themselves to blame for this expanding of my horizons.

Indeed, I am also grateful to this Sonos disruption because it has allowed me to get another Pi for my seven year old granddaughter, to introduce her to the world of Scratch programme/play. And using computers, in general, that do not have touch screens but terminals.

G
Userlevel 6
Badge +4

I’m now 3 weeks into playing and buying Roon and Tidal. And I can see a very happy co-existence with Sonos and potential new boxes whereas it would have been a pure ‘white box world’ previously.

 

On that too I agree; I am a week into using - for the first time in my life - a raspberry Pi that supplies music from a local NAS with album art to a voice commanded Echo Show 5, with sound via Sonos Connect Amp+speakers. Or from a play 1 pair using a Connect I got for free from my daughter who has no need for it now she has Echo Dots in her home.

Regardless of what Sonos does henceforth, I see no need to add to my dozen or so Sonos bits of kit in future, now that I have my eyes opened to what is possible outside the closed world of white boxes. And Sonos have only themselves to blame for this expanding of my horizons.

Indeed, I am also grateful to this Sonos disruption because it has allowed me to get another Pi for my seven year old granddaughter, to introduce her to the world of Scratch programme/play. And using computers, in general, that do not have touch screens but terminals.

Can I ask what software installation you went with on the pi?

K

Can I ask what software installation you went with on the pi?

mymedia for alexa; details are in

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-pragmatic-ways-past-it-6836056/index22.html

towards the last couple of pages on the thread. With many thanks to @castalla for the handholding support.

G
Userlevel 6
Badge +4

Can I ask what software installation you went with on the pi?

mymedia for alexa; details are in

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-pragmatic-ways-past-it-6836056/index22.html

towards the last couple of pages on the thread. With many thanks to @castalla for the handholding support.

thanks

A
Userlevel 6
Badge +10

I’m now 3 weeks into playing and buying Roon and Tidal. And I can see a very happy co-existence with Sonos and potential new boxes whereas it would have been a pure ‘white box world’ previously.

 

On that too I agree; I am a week into using - for the first time in my life - a raspberry Pi that supplies music from a local NAS with album art to a voice commanded Echo Show 5, with sound via Sonos Connect Amp+speakers. Or from a play 1 pair using a Connect I got for free from my daughter who has no need for it now she has Echo Dots in her home.

Regardless of what Sonos does henceforth, I see no need to add to my dozen or so Sonos bits of kit in future, now that I have my eyes opened to what is possible outside the closed world of white boxes. And Sonos have only themselves to blame for this expanding of my horizons.

Indeed, I am also grateful to this Sonos disruption because it has allowed me to get another Pi for my seven year old granddaughter, to introduce her to the world of Scratch programme/play. And using computers, in general, that do not have touch screens but terminals.

And I think Kumar that that is what the evangelists are not getting.

It’s not that I have any disaffection with Sonos, far from it. I want to maintain my relationship with the product.

But as you say, you had your eyes opened. Me too and I suspect a lot of other folks as well. Reasonable, middle of the road folks.

This is what will be of damage. Sonos have as you perfectly say, expanded horizons. 

There is a famous study showing how folks who were Mercedes or Volvo or A N Other car loyalists who after hiring a car, have changed many years worth of purchasing behaviour in an instant. Why? Because they were dissatisfied? Not necessarily. But because they experienced change. They had no intention to do so and behaved like Teutonic buying robots until blinkers were ‘inadvertently’ lifted. 

There are loads of similar stories over the years.

New knowledge aside, I still hope the May announcement are compelling and robust so that even the frustrated can have the option to change their mind.

 

A

But as you say, you had your eyes opened.

Quite…. I was already part way down that road, but it has focused my mind on the undesirability of mixing smart tech and expensive electronics… So any future scenario in our home will be very cautious about mixing the two...

K

This is getting to be like the world of fashion where things move in a cycle - from bundled consoles/ radiograms, people moved to stereo separates then back to all in one bundled boxes like Sonos and now back to separates?

S
Userlevel 7
Badge +15

It's great that Sonos have seen sense and decided you no longer had to throw away perfectly functioning devices.  The people tirelessly defending the incentive will now think its the right thing too now presumably.

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