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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Beagle

Enthusiast I

What I find extraordinary and shakes my confidence in Sonos is announcing products will be relegated to legacy status in around 16 weeks that are still currently for sale. I cannot think of another example where a company has inflicted such reputational damage on itself so brilliantly. It will probably be used in case studies as examples of how not to do things and alienate your customers present and future.

I do think Sonos are in a bind trying to keep up with audio streams from Netflix and Amazon. I accepted albeit reluctantly that Sonos were making DTS my problem to fix with blu ray displaying an arrogance that companies like Apple are famous for. Saying you’re an audio solution for streaming services is fine so long as you then actually offer the necessary decoding. Their lazy excuses, attitude to HDMI audio and lack of investment in these technologies in general have now come home to roost. To stay relevant they have to use more powerful tech than that built into some of their products, the problem for me is these are decisions that should have been made long ago, weren’t for whatever reason leading to this clumsy almost panicky fiasco.

I’d imagine there are plans for Atmos, DD+ etc that will require a new generation of sound bases and bars that older kit designs can’t connect with probably due to bandwidth limitations. I certainly hope so because without a clear road map in May I will be looking at alternatives for future purchases.

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stuart fleet_1

Contributor I

What an absolutely shoddy way to treat your long standing customers. Haven’t taken up your offer of 30% off a newer product because, well, we both know that all of this is going to happen again in a few years don’t we. Thanks though. I am typing this whilst listening to my new Naim Muso qb….Goodness...The clarity of the sound is remarkable. Bye Sonos.

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Guy_19

Enthusiast II

I buy all my Sonos kit from a company called Smart Home Systems which is an authorised Sonos agent in the UK.

Originally I thought you were saying you had a legacy Connect:Amp, but you don’t. You are good till 2023 or early 2024, at least (maybe longer per Sonos), so this doesn’t impact you now.

... I cant see SONOS ever doing this again, so pretty sure they will work to keep in the 256mb memory footprint….well I hope so. :)

Right up until they decide that they need 1024mb… Strange that the Port only got 512mb?

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7 rooms: One SL Stereo Pair, One SL x 2, Move, Play:5 Gen2 & Port into Arcam AVR with AE floorstanders, Port into Denon microsystem.

N

NeedSleep

Renowned Enthusiast I

I buy all my Sonos kit from a company called Smart Home Systems which is an authorised Sonos agent in the UK.

Originally I thought you were saying you had a legacy Connect:Amp, but you don’t. You are good till 2023 or early 2024, at least (maybe longer per Sonos), so this doesn’t impact you now.

... I cant see SONOS ever doing this again, so pretty sure they will work to keep in the 256mb memory footprint….well I hope so. :)

Right up until they decide that they need 1024mb… Strange that the Port only got 512mb?

Also strange that the one SL only got 512. Possible that since they don't do voice they don't need it, but the amp got 1gb and it doesn't do voice. Strange.

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G

garry_redknap

Lyricist III

I buy all my Sonos kit from a company called Smart Home Systems which is an authorised Sonos agent in the UK.

Originally I thought you were saying you had a legacy Connect:Amp, but you don’t. You are good till 2023 or early 2024, at least (maybe longer per Sonos), so this doesn’t impact you now.

... I cant see SONOS ever doing this again, so pretty sure they will work to keep in the 256mb memory footprint….well I hope so. :)

Right up until they decide that they need 1024mb… Strange that the Port only got 512mb?

Also strange that the one SL only got 512. Possible that since they don't do voice they don't need it, but the amp got 1gb and it doesn't do voice. Strange.

Strange indeed, but £300 for a guarantee my £2500 investment will keep working properly for the next 5 years is a price I begrudgingly paid.

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gaz-103

Contributor I

I’m afraid I’m another customer who’s confidence in Sonos has been shattered.

I starting building my system over 10 years ago and now have 2 x Connects Amps, 2 x Connect, 2 x CR200, a Sonos 5 and Sonos 1. After May only the Sonos One will be supported so at a stroke my whole system will be obsolete. I’ve already got shot of 2 x CR100 which were great waterproof wall mountable controllers.

I will, against my better judgement probably replace the 2 Connects with Amps as to be honest, no one else makes kit like this. However, even with the 30% discount, I’ll being be paying not much less than I paid for my Connect amps, for additional functionality that I neither want or need.

The rest of the system however will get replaced with other solutions as some of the many issues identified by fellow former fans become too frustrating.

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D

DKHNS

Lyricist III

I have a Connect together with Bang & Olufsen speakers - which device will replace the Connect…? Not the “AMP”-version but the one without amplifier.

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SirDigitalKnight

Enthusiast I

I have a Connect together with Bang & Olufsen speakers - which device will replace the Connect…? Not the “AMP”-version but the one without amplifier.

You would need to replace the “Connect” with a “Port”

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NeedSleep

Renowned Enthusiast I

I buy all my Sonos kit from a company called Smart Home Systems which is an authorised Sonos agent in the UK.

Originally I thought you were saying you had a legacy Connect:Amp, but you don’t. You are good till 2023 or early 2024, at least (maybe longer per Sonos), so this doesn’t impact you now.

... I cant see SONOS ever doing this again, so pretty sure they will work to keep in the 256mb memory footprint….well I hope so. :)

Right up until they decide that they need 1024mb… Strange that the Port only got 512mb?

Also strange that the one SL only got 512. Possible that since they don't do voice they don't need it, but the amp got 1gb and it doesn't do voice. Strange.

Strange indeed, but £300 for a guarantee my £2500 investment will keep working properly for the next 5 years is a price I begrudgingly paid.

This is the new Sonos world, better pay attention to the computer specs or you are gonna get screwed sooner or later. I feel bad for anyone buying Play5 gen2 and unaware .....

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V

Valiantjacko

Lyricist I

I'm so disappointed with the announcement about decommissioning legacy products and forcing upgrades. I've invested a lot of money in my Sonos system which covers the whole of a four bedroom house and outside areas - I've even convinced my friends to spend more money than for competition systems and invest in Sonos - you can imagine what they are saying to me now - I live with all the issues of speakers falling off the network, controllers not connecting, etc because I love my Sonos - but the 30 per cent discount is not enough - can the CEO give an assurance that he will work with partners such as Spotify to stop the damage? Otherwise this is the biggest PR disaster in the history if Hifi and could see Sonos go down - who in their right minds stops their loyal customers from accessing the very service they have sold to them?

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