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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Show previous replies

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edamame

Trending Lyricist I

The new CEO letter does not really change much does it.

The thing that screamed out at me was that he did not address the 5 year support of products issue. So I assume they are continuing with this policy….5 years from product release and the clock starts ticking….so why would people continue to invest in Sonos if they only get a promised 5 years from new equipment. And please note that we were not aware of this when we originally bought our gear.

As well, he says ‘we intend to honor that investment for as long as possible’. As long as possible can mean alot of things. I have absolutely no trust for this company anymore so that does not mean much to me.

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no_info_oz

Lyricist I

hi Patrick Spence - thanks on behalf of your huge number of Sonos fans for backing down and ensuring that legacy products will still work for many more years!

Your email blast earlier this week was ill considered and I am personally glad you have ‘seen the light’!

Note to your management team. The real cost of selling premium products is that they come with premium expectations.

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laudi

Lyricist III

Incredibly disappointing. Nothing new here.

One star reviews for CEO follow up email, Sonos integrity and credibility.

My perfectly awesome and expensive whole home speaker system will be dead soon.

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Erina

Contributor II

I bought my Play 5 in Oct 2017 - barely 28 months ago. No-one said anything about it being a generation 1 or old stock and now i get told it is “obsolute”?
not at all happy!

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Flyingfish

Lyricist I

“We heard you.”

I don't think so Patrick. Otherwise you would not just restate exactly what your original email said.

“We will offer you an alternate solution”

You already did offer an alternative solution yesterday and it is unacceptable!

We want assurance that the multi thousand dollar Sonos systems we own will function for the long term. Prorate our investment over 20 years. If the functionality is less than that for any of the products, offer an equivalent credit on new equipment or a cash refund. That would be a fair offer.

Also - It is fine to have to update one piece of the system every once in a while (every 10 years?) if that maintains functionality but we don’t want to have an separate old system that won’t talk to a new system - that’s crazy!

I don’t think you have weeks to figure out what you are going to do Patrick. If that’s what it takes, you would be better off spending your time updating your resume...I am sure there are still a few people out there that have not heard about the mess you have created.

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Cisume

Enthusiast II

Does this actually change anything or just a bit of spin ?

Spin !

There is no reason why any speaker should stop working with the current sound file formats

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mjmcg

Lyricist III

The CEO message is a good start. It’s nice to know we’ve been heard, but he’s not clear on THE most important detail.

Will legacy and modern devices be able to be grouped together to play the same music at the same time?

If the answer to that is yes, I think this would be a non-issue.

I think it’s fine if you only have legacy devices in your system, you won’t get new software features. If you want those, you need at least one modern device in your system. If modern and legacy exist as completely separate systems that can’t be grouped for playback, then Sonos has broken it’s core value prop which is synchronized multi-room audio.

I’ve been a big fan and invested in Sonos since it’s beginning. Like others, I have many $1,000s of dollars of Sonos gear. I’ve gotten my family and friends into them as well. I want them to succeed. I hope the answer to my question above is yes.

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Paul000000

Lyricist III

“...There is a lesson in all this and it extends beyond Sonos. Many of us have “invested” heavily on Sonos and other smart products like lighting. The truth is that buying Sonos and other smart products is not an investment, it’s spending on disposable goods. What’s happening will continue to happen and it is causing me to rethink my approach. Less is more, and all I really want is to listen to music across my home in a pain free way. I once needed Sonos for that, but that is no longer the case. With a little work I can build a new system that works the way I need and doesn’t put me at the mercy of any one company.”

My sentiments exactly. Said another way: “Buying smart speakers is DUMB!”

Funny, tonight I was looking at our house and had a chat with my wife, ”honey...I’m going to the garage to dust off the Onkyo and get my drill and some wire….we don’t need Sonos”.

Maybe the blame is not on Sonos as much as my own decision. I am turning 50 this year and come from an upbringing that 10 years is not considered a lifespan of a speaker. I ‘thought’ Sonos was something that would be there longer….but maybe that’s just me…..

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dhartman72

Lyricist I

This is very unfortunate. Like many others, I spent a considerable amount of time researching products that would suit my needs. I chose Sonos after hearing a co-worker’s system. I felt that I made a wise investment decision, especially after my first sonic experience in my house after I bought my first pair of Play:1 speakers.

$4000 dollars later, I read a story about Sonos ending support on some of my products.

I chose Sonos and remained loyal. Sonos craps on their customer base by choosing larger profits and damaging the environment. Why am I not surprised?

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John V

Enthusiast I

If I was on the Sonos board of directors I would be asking for Patricks resignation as a step to restoring the trust back to the Sonos brand. Make no mistake this irresponsible act has caused a great deal of anxiety for those loyal long term customers from losing thousands of dollars. This is such a unique event. The most loyal customers are the ones who pay the heaviest price.

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