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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jwinther

Lyricist III

One more (positive) thing: At least Sonos have told about their plan (or lack) although they probably did not mean to or thought we another one of their ‘products’. We know what to do now:

Do not buy any else from Sonos
Return any recently purchased products
Write a review on every product you own on as many sites as you can
Revise any reviews you have written in the past - just did on Amazon
Tell your friends - those you told to buy Sonos and warn those who were thinking about it
Find the CEO’s email address and send him a personal message

Sorry for picking exactly your message, as there are a number of similar ones to choose from, but what I want to point out is that I do not understand the purpose of all this destruction. Who would benefit from negative reviews everywhere, and why? What to write to the CEO and for what purpose?

I understand the idea of returning products if you no longer feel that they were the right choice for you, but that will then be a personal thing between you and the seller.

We are not at war - a company has communicated badly about a decision we do not like, but the logical reaction to this would then be to either wait and see or to run away. Starting some kind of demolision project for the company doesn’t seem to solve any problems. Or did I miss an important detail here?

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“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)

pwt

Virtuoso

One more (positive) thing: At least Sonos have told about their plan (or lack) although they probably did not mean to or thought we another one of their ‘products’. We know what to do now:

Do not buy any else from Sonos
Return any recently purchased products
Write a review on every product you own on as many sites as you can
Revise any reviews you have written in the past - just did on Amazon
Tell your friends - those you told to buy Sonos and warn those who were thinking about it
Find the CEO’s email address and send him a personal message

Sorry for picking exactly your message, as there are a number of similar ones to choose from, but what I want to point out is that I do not understand the purpose of all this destruction. Who would benefit from negative reviews everywhere, and why? What to write to the CEO and for what purpose?

I understand the idea of returning products if you no longer feel that they were the right choice for you, but that will then be a personal thing between you and the seller.

We are not at war - a company has communicated badly about a decision we do not like, but the logical reaction to this would then be to either wait and see or to run away. Starting some kind of demolision project for the company doesn’t seem to solve any problems. Or did I miss an important detail here?

It’s leverage to apply pressure to revisit the decision, which has already happened to some extent with the revised statement that some software updates will still be provided. This was a change in position that would not have happened without the backlash.

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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

P

Paul Nicolay

Contributor I

Update 2/22: A message from our CEO

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.

Patrick Spence
CEO, Sonos

It’s a bit funny to see such a comment from the CEO while even the new devices don’t get the proper security fixes like SMBv2 support !

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N

Niaccurshi

Lyricist III

We are not at war - a company has communicated badly about a decision we do not like, but the logical reaction to this would then be to either wait and see or to run away. Starting some kind of demolision project for the company doesn’t seem to solve any problems. Or did I miss an important detail here?

People could do with remembering this. Until a couple of weeks ago we were broadly very, very happy with our systems. I still am very happy with my system. The only way I start to be unhappy with my system is if it no longer functions in the manner it does today, as it has done for nearly 10 years.

Sonos being dragged doesn’t help in my system continuing to function. Sonos being brought down by negative reviews and impacting their future earnings doesn’t help us ensure that legacy devices are kept as up to date as they are able.

We customers have to be able to work with Sonos, and that means not making Sonos feel like they have no reason to backtrack, compromise or otherwise listen to and implement our feedback. No-one benefits from any situation where we wish collapse upon Sonos...I understand emotions running high, but maybe those that feel so inclined to come here wishing death upon a company might like to take a step back and process those emotions first and understand that our products don’t have much of a future without Sonos, and at that point it doesn’t matter what you’ve invested, what discount you demand, you’ve basically just bricked everything and made it worthless.

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user_end_of_lifed

Enthusiast II

you’ve basically just bricked everything and made it worthless.

Pretty sure it’s not us that’s doing that.

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Biscuit_42

Lyricist II

One more (positive) thing: At least Sonos have told about their plan (or lack) although they probably did not mean to or thought we another one of their ‘products’. We know what to do now:

Do not buy any else from Sonos
Return any recently purchased products
Write a review on every product you own on as many sites as you can
Revise any reviews you have written in the past - just did on Amazon
Tell your friends - those you told to buy Sonos and warn those who were thinking about it
Find the CEO’s email address and send him a personal message

Sorry for picking exactly your message, as there are a number of similar ones to choose from, but what I want to point out is that I do not understand the purpose of all this destruction. Who would benefit from negative reviews everywhere, and why? What to write to the CEO and for what purpose?

I understand the idea of returning products if you no longer feel that they were the right choice for you, but that will then be a personal thing between you and the seller.

We are not at war - a company has communicated badly about a decision we do not like, but the logical reaction to this would then be to either wait and see or to run away. Starting some kind of demolision project for the company doesn’t seem to solve any problems. Or did I miss an important detail here?

My last post on the matter - but at a guess I would say that the majority of folk on this forum are trying to use whatever means they have, i.e. their buying power and goodwill to try to persuade the company to change its mind. My ‘investment’ in Sonos has been significant and continuous and I do not wish to see it devalued by the decisions the company plans to make, nor do I wish to send perfectly good equipment to landfill.

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C

CGW911

Lyricist I

Dear Patrick Spence I just want to give you some feedback. I have been a loyal Sonos user for years both while living in the UK and the US. My house is full of Sonos stuff. I have advocated Sonos to friends & family based on my own, historical, experience. The fact that you have decided not to support older products is not, in itself, the issue - after all we’ve seen this happen with other tech companies such as Apple. But my system, built up over ~7-8 years, comprises older ‘legacy’ Sonos products and also much newer items. It is the fact that you announce that ANY system with ‘legacy’ products in it, no matter how new the newest component is, will no longer be supported, is a total disgrace and the most appalling customer service. Hang your head in shame. I will not be getting rid of my Sonos products in the short term, as they are all over my house. But any new item i buy will not be a Sonos product as you, and Sonos the company, clearly have no integrity and cannot be trusted.

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Chickenslippers

Lyricist I

You total w@@@@@s I've recommended your system for so long but never again. Talk about turning off so many of your customers in one go. I'm struggling to put into words how pissed off I am. F@#k@#g w@#k@#s

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Para

Lyricist II

Hi all employees and the CEO at SONOS, the past days has been turmoilf us and for you, CEO has halfway withdrawn the statement made earlier in the week and I have felt resentment to SONOS, totally losing trust in you.

What SONOS must do in order to earn back the trust is to prove words with rock solid actions and promises, not a single vague reservation will be accepted by your customers anymore, your wording will be analyzed and interpreted by us all.

All of us have and still enjoy your products, you thought that you could make us accept the first message and you have with your anlysis late 2019 shown that such statements would damage your brand and still you went along instead of finding an better option. This falls on all the management and employees that has been involved in this mess.

I’am looking into my options and currently I have no intention of expanding my current SONOS stable with further products from you, until you prove to me that you deserve to get my money again.

So prove yourself to me and the other customers with real promises and actions, you probably need to show the roadmap for us in this matter (and for your competition) in order to acheive this.

You have envisioned yourself as a premium brand-being one of the more expensive solutions, that leads the market, continue to behave as such and in this you need to consider that your speakers are speakers not computers, your tech platform must always be ocmpliant to that so your customers continue to buy your products.

If you choose a tech platform solution that is inferior from cost perspective ( I mean 4 GB of memory wasn’t unobtainable when you started building your units-costwise, lessons of memory need has bee around since the 90s), then you need to have another track for upgrading that tech platform than you have today.

Do anything else and I can promise you failure

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J

John B

I imagine everyone was involved in the decision. We don't know which would have been more suicidal: upsetting some customers and some bad brand publicity, or having competitive developments held back by older gear.

I don't know if Sonos has made the right decision but it isn't all pros one way and cons the other. It never is.

One thing we agree on. The discount should be bigger.

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