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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castalla

Local Superstar

Yamaha’s MusicCast seems to be a viable alternative as I plan on moving on from SONOS. The big advantage is that it has bluetooth built in, so streaming anything is possible to the Yamaha’s even if they decide to stop supporting their “legacy” products.

This website explains how to simply create a whole house audio network out of just bluetooth products and control them all.

While I also like BlueSound, they are pricey. Yamaha’s RX-485 (a five channel 115 watt amplifier AVR), which has multiple inputs for sources, a stand alone remote should they stop supporting the app, can actually get OTA radio, and is network ready, can be had on Best Buys eBay website for $280 (free shipping). Considering the SONOS AMP is $455 (yes, that’s AFTER the 30% discount), the Yamaha is looking like an amazing deal.

Here’s a link to see what the MusicCast app looks like.

Any BlueSound advocates that would like to let me know its advantages over MusicCast, please chime in. I’m making the switch in a week because I just put my $6,700 worth of SONOS equipment on eBay.

Check the Yamaha wifi pe4formance. I’ve found it to be a bit flaky …

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It's the courageous bee's knees - all 6 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝. - - - - - Make Sonos Great Again - - - - -

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Tobytoby

Lyricist I

PATRICK SPENCE I HOPE YOU ARE READING THESE COMMENTS.

I have used Sonos for 15 years and having moved to a bigger house just spent US$2,500 buying new equipment so it would tie in with my old(er) Sonos equipment. I would not have spent this if I had known what they were about to do. Does anyone know if this is legal - is there any chance of class action? Unbelievable decision and I seriously hope Sonos goes under the control of a management team that understands customers. I also feel like an idiot for recommending Sonos to so many friends over the years. “as long as possible” - THAT IS PATHETIC.

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Tobytoby

Lyricist I

And in other news, Airbus clarifies its comments on discontinuing support for A380’s saying airlines will be able to continue operating A380’s as long as they are not part of the rest of their fleet. Oh of course this magnanimity is only “for as long as possible”.

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Chris_183

Enthusiast II

I propose Sonos change tack:

Step 1 - revoke the May “LEGACY” deadline. Admit it was a mistake. Make the case that Sonos needs to grow to continue supporting its customers.

I entirely agree that SONOS screwed up, but I think they painted themselves into a corner and can’t even do step 1, because they are adamant that older SONOS products don’t have the memory or processing power. What are they going to do, say “We just fired our head engineer because he didn’t know that the legacy units are more than adequate for future updates.”?

When I first bought my SONOS products (some as many as 13 years ago and some just last year), I was shocked that they kept updating them without any additional charges. I thought there would at least be some type of recurring revenue stream to pay for the programming, say 50¢ per unit you own per month. OR I thought, why do they add services like DEEZER without getting money from DEEZER (yes, you can look through their financial statements now that they’ve gone public, and they get no money from streaming services, even though those companies are making $10-25 / monthly off of SONOS owners).

I think SONOS had a great idea and never thought about recurring revenues to handle costs. This CEO is still stuck in the “new hardware sales” mindset. Reminds me of IBM in the 1980’s as Microsoft ate their lunch.

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pwt

Virtuoso

So the CEO says they will bug fix for as long as possible, after Sonos themselves have already claimed that these devices are too underpowered for that same thing.

Defect fixes and other minor changes can be implemented with no increase in software footprint. New features cannot.

You’re preaching to the choir. I know that. Most of the people who’ve posted on the now 128 pages of complaints on this forum know that.

I doubt it, but one never knows.

The party claiming that old products cannot be patched, at the same feature set and level of capability, to keep them working is Sonos. I literally quoted the statement from the Sonos representative on this forum, and I’ll quote it again:

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.

Note that that sentence is not on the subject of new features, it’s specifically about the ability to maintain the ‘experience’ that we have now.

They’re alluding to scenarios such as Spotify (for example) fundamentally changing the way that its streamed music is served.

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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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OCTO

Contributor I

Ah….Patrick, Patrick, Patrick…..what an absolute muppet! :wink:

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Tobytoby

Lyricist I

Also so cynical to do this so soon after Christmas sales. Consumer facing businesses acting with impunity - never ends well.

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LBDE

Lyricist I

People are funny….

There are a lot off used Connect:Amp's coming for sale now in the Netherlands (40 x since yesterday) for around € 275,00 - 350,00 !!!!

“Hardly ever used, perfect condition, like new!” But no word about legacy products…..

Wenn asked about it, they tell you it is working perfectly and critical updates will be available. So they all know but are trying to get rid of their legacy product for big money :rolling_eyes:

This is also bad pr for the Sonos brand! you have to be a “specialist” before buying second hand Sonos products. It is becoming an even bigger risk now…..

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user_end_of_lifed

Enthusiast II

The party claiming that old products cannot be patched, at the same feature set and level of capability, to keep them working is Sonos. I literally quoted the statement from the Sonos representative on this forum, and I’ll quote it again:

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.

Note that that sentence is not on the subject of new features, it’s specifically about the ability to maintain the ‘experience’ that we have now.

They’re alluding to scenarios such as Spotify (for example) fundamentally changing the way that its streamed music is served.

That's a big assumption that you’re able to make precisely because the CEO statement is so wooly, and I believe this takes us back to the point I made in my first reply to you - Sonos have done nothing to justify the benefit of the doubt in anything they say at this point.

Unless they make a concrete commitment to something specific then it is naivety to assume they’re planning to deliver more than the minimum they can get away with to make this fuss die down.

For example - they’re still saying you need to split your system in to two! This is complete, total gibberish. The functionality to play synchronised multi-room audio is the most core of all of Sonos’ features - everything they've ever sold can do this, and the problem hasn't got any more complex in the mean time.

Let's say that Spotify make the hypothetical fundamental change you refer to. So what? So one of my more capable units has to decode the stream and I have to group my older kit with it to be able to play it. No problem with that AT ALL. If that's what they’d announced nobody would have raised more than a grumble.

Note - THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY ALREADY DO FOR THE AIRPLAY/NON-AIRPLAY UNITS.

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luvlylou

Lyricist III

Look at reviews on places like trustpilot - this is deservedly playing very badly…

pages of negative comment on this forum from deeply upset former giant fans of the company and their products- like me

yet no response -Absolute silence - from Sonos...

They need to step in quickly to stop this self inflicted damage destroying what was once a great brand...

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