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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F

FarFromGruntled

Lyricist III

not great. The wording of that clarification, whilst on the face of it seems to try and backtrack...they haven't stated specifically that the units will work fully for as long as you want them. Imagine spending 2k on a HiFi system only to have to replace it in 5 years because the manufacturer deliberately built it of parts that were non replaceable and would only last 5 years. really angry about this.

I was in the proces of acquiring a Sonos SUB for my Playbar + 2 Play 1 “sorround sound”

Come may, i wont even be ABLE to buy that one and incorporate it into my setup, because i will be in legacy mode to keep my Play 5 in the loop, and a new SUB will probably have new firmware out of the box, that can not be downgraded to run in legacy mode.

So they not only angered a lot of current costumers, making them not want to upgrade, they also prevented anyone with a legacy system from buying any new sonos products in the future because the new units can not be enrolled in a legacy system.

How’s that, for a poor “Lets trip ourselves up big time” decision

This isn’t accurate as to my understanding. One thing Sonos has stated is that it will be possible to add a newly purchased modern device to a legacy network. But quite honestly, financially, if you’re in legacy only, purchase Sonos sub from the used market instead.

The only time this would not be possible (in your instance particular) is if you’ve split the network into 1 for legacy devices and 1 for modern devices, your surround system is on legacy and you’re trying to add the sub to the modern system. (Clear as mud?)
Short answer - if you only run a legacy network to keep everything grouped and happy as it is today (which is what I’ll do), it will possible to add a new device to that environment, regardless of the firmware it ships with initially.

If I’ve missed some communication (entirely possible) that directly contradicts this please point to it.

Have they said you can add a New modern item to a legacy system? I had concluded from all the comms that you could not. If legacy and modern have to operate separately, as I think they are saying how would that work?

Any device being added to a network updates its firmware to match the environment its entering at that time. There should be no change to that. If you're adding a new/modern device to a legacy environment, this should still hold true. (I suspect you’ll be a choice as to which you’d like to do at that time.) That’s my understanding
@Ryan S , this would be one time, amidst the fray of this thread, it’d be nice for a quick pop-in.

If you bring modern devices along with legacy devices into a legacy build it’ll still be possible to add all Sonos products currently available for sale to a legacy system. They’ll all update to the correct legacy build.

Whoa Ryan, are you actually saying that a system currently containing Play:5 Gen 1 and Play:3 speakers (i.e. legacy and modern) will continue to work as it does at present even after May? If I understand correctly what you are saying here, I will have one system with a mix of generations. I understand that no further updates will be applied to the Play:5 speakers (and presumably to the Play:3 units as well).

What would I have to do to freeze the software level at that point after May?

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M

macallan18

Enthusiast I

How do you know if a speakers been bricked on the trade in program? I’m tempted to take a punt on another gen1 play 5 secondhand and create a stereo pair, for the money they’re going for I’m reasoning that If I get 1-2 years out of the pair I’m happy by which point I’d be well on with my replacement program from another brand. Ive just received the look from the wife when she seen me eyeing the B&W formation duo (married men will know that look well lol ) so maybe just the wedge for now however a stereo pair of 5s in my study 4mx4m room would sound pretty good I think.

I read the bricking can take a few days, so be careful buying used. EBay does w good job protecting buyers (and occasionally screwing sellers) in my experience.

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Stanley_4

Grand Maestro

How do you know if a speakers been bricked on the trade in program?

Here is my suggestion

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/one-way-to-identify-a-traded-sonos-device-6836301

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D

darranpeters

Lyricist II

About this collaboration with IKEA

“The result of this collaboration is a range of speakers that don’t read as speakers at all but as adaptable pieces of furniture for your home”

With this built in planned obsolescence business model, how is that going to work Swedish IKEA?

I’m not sure they will want their branded furniture to be associated with this model.

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Ryan SAuthor

Retired Sonos Staff

... For some of us who want to just purchase a few newer Connect or Connect Amps so we can get past this May shut-out/forced obsolesce/split system issue, There may be some economical options out there instead of the reduced functionality (and stupid expense) of the Amp and Port or the environmental disaster of the “trade-in” program. Of course Sonos isn’t clear about how much longer their so-called (Modern) units will be supported either...

@kassey22000, I know it’s buried several times in the pages of this thread and others, but we’ve committed to supporting our products with updates for at least five years after they’re no longer sold by us, after they’ve been discontinued. And as you all know, we have a track record of doing so for much longer than that. The 2015 Connect and Connect:Amps are only recently no longer sold, or in some cases still available at very limited stock levels. So you’re looking at at least five years worth of updates from when they were discontinued.

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Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

H

HelterSkelter

Enthusiast II

Any device being added to a network updates its firmware to match the environment its entering at that time. There should be no change to that. If you're adding a new/modern device to a legacy environment, this should still hold true. (I suspect you’ll be a choice as to which you’d like to do at that time.) That’s my understanding
@Ryan S , this would be one time, amidst the fray of this thread, it’d be nice for a quick pop-in.

If you bring modern devices along with legacy devices into a legacy build it will still be possible to add all Sonos products currently available for sale to a legacy system. They’ll all update to the correct legacy build.

That’s really good to hear Ryan, thank you for confirming that info.

Would you need to keep software updates turned on or off, to maintain in that state?

Generally speaking, it’s best to leave updates on, but with a legacy system I wouldn’t expect much in the way of updates. They’ll come only when absolutely needed, and only when possible.

Thank you very much for the update Ryan.
Obviously I’d prefer full updates, but this is better than nothing.

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S

Sparkyboots

Enthusiast I

How do you know if a speakers been bricked on the trade in program? I’m tempted to take a punt on another gen1 play 5 secondhand and create a stereo pair, for the money they’re going for I’m reasoning that If I get 1-2 years out of the pair I’m happy by which point I’d be well on with my replacement program from another brand. Ive just received the look from the wife when she seen me eyeing the B&W formation duo (married men will know that look well lol ) so maybe just the wedge for now however a stereo pair of 5s in my study 4mx4m room would sound pretty good I think.

I read the bricking can take a few days, so be careful buying used. EBay does w good job protecting buyers (and occasionally screwing sellers) in my experience.

How do you know if a speakers been bricked on the trade in program?

Here is my suggestion

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/one-way-to-identify-a-traded-sonos-device-6836301

Thank you gents, it’s eBay I was looking on very little money for decent speakers which paired up in a small room would sound excellent imo

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D

Danos1

Trending Lyricist I

So are we done getting updates till May?

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Ryan SAuthor

Retired Sonos Staff

If you bring modern devices along with legacy devices into a legacy build it’ll still be possible to add all Sonos products currently available for sale to a legacy system. They’ll all update to the correct legacy build.

Whoa Ryan, are you actually saying that a system currently containing Play:5 Gen 1 and Play:3 speakers (i.e. legacy and modern) will continue to work as it does at present even after May? If I understand correctly what you are saying here, I will have one system with a mix of generations. I understand that no further updates will be applied to the Play:5 speakers (and presumably to the Play:3 units as well).

What would I have to do to freeze the software level at that point after May?

@FarFromGruntled, that’s correct. From the original message above:

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.

In May, when the legacy change comes, you’ll be able to set your whole Sonos system on the legacy build (both modern and legacy devices). Any existing modern speakers that come along with your legacy devices onto that build will work exactly as the have been, however the whole system (including the modern devices that move to legacy) won’t regularly update. Any new features that come to Sonos won’t be added to any of those speakers while they’re on legacy software. Over time, some services may require updates to keep going and we’ll do what we can to provide them, but we will be limited to do so by the hardware of those legacy devices.

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Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

J

jwinther

Lyricist III

... For some of us who want to just purchase a few newer Connect or Connect Amps so we can get past this May shut-out/forced obsolesce/split system issue, There may be some economical options out there instead of the reduced functionality (and stupid expense) of the Amp and Port or the environmental disaster of the “trade-in” program. Of course Sonos isn’t clear about how much longer their so-called (Modern) units will be supported either...

@kassey22000, I know it’s buried several times in the pages of this thread and others, but we’ve committed to supporting our products with updates for at least five years after they’re no longer sold by us, after they’ve been discontinued. And as you all know, we have a track record of doing so for much longer than that. The 2015 Connect and Connect:Amps are only recently no longer sold, or in some cases still available at very limited stock levels. So you’re looking at at least five years worth of updates from when they were discontinued.

I still find that it would be a good move to make a list somewhere at your website with all products and their planned retirement date, along with info on what kind of updates and support can be expected before and after that date.

If you want to set a date for the complete shutdown of all support for a device, this should be mentioned there as well.

Such information can help people plan in a reasonable way with necessary maintenance of their systems.

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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)

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