Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Support - Clarifications

Dec 8, 2022 11:29 AM UTC
4256 replies
270363 views
Translate All

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

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

Show previous replies

A

andyd1302

Enthusiast II

How anyone can’t see the CEO ‘statement’ (if it was him who wrote it) as nothing more than a half-hearted damage limitation exercise with equally vague assurances is in for a shock.

It’s a cynical ‘holding exercise’ to keep the wolves at bay.

How come then the Chief Product Officer sold 1/3 his shares before the announcement?

Now that does speak volumes.

https://en.community.sonos.com/music-culture-the-industry-228997/interesting-interview-with-main-product-guy-millington-maybe-sheds-light-on-recent-events-6836018

Don’t fall for it.

**SONOS DOES NOT HEAR US!**

Translate

W

Worcester

Lyricist II

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.

Fair comment John, however to only offer 30% discount on replacement products is the real issue here (and the one causing anger), as I’m sure they would not be ‘out of pocket’ by offering a much more palatable 70% discount (I know the ‘typical’ margins these companies work to) - retaining customer loyalty and retention. They just didn’t think it through - absolute madness.

Never happen. The management long term incentives will be tied to turnover and profit targets. Overpaid execs never care for customers only maximising their own short-term financial gains.

Translate

E

ewolkoff

Enthusiast II

One data point that probably won’t make anyone feel better, but since receiving notice this week, I got rid of 3 legacy Connect:Amps and a legacy Connect. My system is definitely running noticeably better now - less lag, and the rooms are all recognized faster in the app. So, at least there is a performance boost. Additionally, I realized that the Connect Amp/Connects with mute buttons are the legacy ones. The play/pause button indicates a modern one. Hopefully that helps people who may want to swap their Connect Amp or Connect for a modern one through eBay (saving a bunch of money versus a new Amp).

I know Sonos won’t comment on it, but I wonder if this is a prelude to adding DTS, high quality audio streams, or Dolby Atmos support. Maybe they plan to add features this summer that really require more than 32mb of memory.

Translate

J

johnb74

Lyricist I

As somebody who always boasted about Sonos I am beyond disappointed about the decision on this!! If they were serious about keeping CURRENT customers happy they would offered more of a discount as incentive. 30% is BS...as someone who has 6 Legacy devices it is not practical for me to upgrade! I am beyond heartbroken and disappointed!

John-Boston MA

Translate

C

Cchris

Enthusiast II

The only thing at this point that will change the mind of sonos is what the share price does as a result of this.

Make no mistake investors will be reading all these sorts of comments and taking a view on what this decision means for Sonos revenue.

Market opens in a couple of hours - watch this space.

I wish but the share price only dropped by 0.6% yesterday so I don’t think that investors are that worry about the whole thing.

It wasnt the media sh*tstorm while the markets were open that it is today. Its also gathering pace with articles and threads on reddit discussing how the “hardware limitation” line, is BS.

Lets not forget the original xbox had 64mb of ram, so devices with just 32 should be more than capable of playing streamed audio. This is a combination of lazy programming and a company wanting to adopt the Apple forced obsoletion of devices. Audio devices, and specifically whole home multi thousand pound/dollar set ups are not throw away in five year hardware.

It would be technically possible for Sonos to offer aproduct that is a man in the middle to retain harmony over a muti device system that contains both “legacy” and current hardware. Given they simply act as tcp clients and stream, Sonos could choose not to make products legacy for a longer period of time. This is a smash and grab on existing customer base good will. They even knew it would be seen as such last year.

Translate

B

bonervz

Enthusiast II

Every single SCAMOS owner I have spoken with states they will never buy or recommend SCAMOS product. Brand loyalty at it’s finest.

Translate

Sonos from leader to loser in 2020.

J

John V

Enthusiast I

Soon to be.

SONOS

a Google company

Translate

M

Mel_L

Avid Contributor I

I bought my Sonos system in 2019 - Boost, Connect:Amp, and 8xPlay1 speakers. How can this be a “legacy” system when it’s only a year old. This month I added a Move to the system. It’s working well - how do change the system so I get no more updates that might break it in the future. I will never ever buy another Sonos product.

Translate

L

lawhhh

Lyricist III

Soon to be.

SONOS

a Google company

Sonos would hope for that so their personal share options would make them money, there is no good reason for Google to buy except for a few million customer base extra which is small fry compared to their chromecast customer base I suspect.

Sonos is also a tainted brand, Google would be interested in buying a reputable brand, not a dogs dinner of a brand.

Google certaintainly dont need Sonos technology as most of it is off the shelf or OS nowadays. Arguably Google already do it it better, its integrated in most of the worlds phones, many TVs and countless other home products.

Translate

B

bonervz

Enthusiast II

Soon to be.

SONOS

a Google company

Already is, kinda. Are they not suing Googly for stealing their technology, which they blindly handed over so Googly could incorporate Assistant into it? Funny how things go.

Translate

Sonos from leader to loser in 2020.

Show more replies

SONOS DOES *NOT* HEAR US!

Sign up

Login to the community

**SONOS DOES NOT HEAR US!**