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Ryan S
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
Jan 22, 2020 3:20 PM UTC

End of Software Support - Clarifications

  • Dec 8, 2022 11:29 AM UTC
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End of Software Support - Clarifications

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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    andy_120
    Enthusiast II
    Jan 26, 2020 11:03 AM UTC

    A cricket century  of pages now and it goes on.

    the sonos decision has far more reaching consequences than a product brand dying. Sonos has highlighted to me that this can happen to any of these type of systems and many alternatives have been suggested. Sonos should really get together with all the major streaming services and devise a standard where software updates would only be needed to fix system bugs and stop playing catchup with the streaming services. It's in the intrest of these services as well because if the buying public sees the pitfalls of buying such devices to stream there music and that device becomes obsolete and does not run that streaming service again, the streaming service revenue will fall and the whole industry will most likely fail because the paying public will see the whole streaming concept as a flawed concept. Even before this has happened vynal is making a come back as well as cassette tape even. I'm sure the record industry would be affected as well as lost revenue in record sale as someone streaming will be more likely to listen to something different as opposed to actually taking a risk to buy the physical one.

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      DK_Madsen
      Enthusiast II
      Jan 26, 2020 11:07 AM UTC

       

      what about those stuck with play 1 & 3 s 

       

      Should consider themselves warned and not happy that they have been left out of the cull; seeing the memory of just 64Mb in them, there is no place for them too in the Sonos Brave New World.

      Those in the cull are actually the fortunate ones, they have line in jacks...but then there are those that succumbed to the Trade up stunt that used the 30% to get non line in products. But that is also not bad, those have 5 plus years left in them, perhaps even 10. Except for the financial hit they have incurred, but there is decent value received. Which would have been even better, if the recycled bricking nonsense had not been there as a condition for the discount. 


      From what i have seen, the electronics inside the IKEA Symfonisk is exactly the same as inside the Play 1, with the only difference being that the Symfonisk has 256Mbyte instead of 64Mbyte

      So if you can operate a screwdriver, you should in theory be able to upgrade your play 1’s to still work as “modern” products, even if they are obsoleted by Sonos.

      This upgrade will cost one Symfonisk at about $100 instead of the $199 retail price for a Play one. (With 30% deal for the Play 1, it will still mean saving $40).

      Another advantage of the Symfonisk over the Play one is that the symfonisk does not have the spy-microphone.

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      Keithmac
      Virtuoso
      Jan 26, 2020 11:18 AM UTC

      I think it goes against the grain but anyone planning a Legacy system should have at least one Airplay 2 device in there for futureproofing connections.

      A Sonos One would be cheapest way.

      That's if you could stomach giving Sonos any more money.

       

      Another thing, it seems the consensus that Sonos customers have a lot of expendable income, that's not the case for some.

      Ours was bought as an investment and was a significant cost to the household, for a product that I thought would last 15 years at least if I'm honest..

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        user_end_of_lifed
        Enthusiast II
        Jan 26, 2020 11:21 AM UTC


        From what i have seen, the electronics inside the IKEA Symfonisk is exactly the same as inside the Play 1, with the only difference being that the Symfonisk has 256Mbyte instead of 64Mbyte

        The Symfonisk is essentially identical to a play 1 inside, apparently.

         

        Translate
        Coen D
        Lyricist I
        Jan 26, 2020 11:26 AM UTC

        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

        I am with the crowd that is really upset with this announcement.  I too am an early adopter of Sonos.  This “change” means that thousands of dollars of investment in a great sound system was foolishly spent. 

        In addition after spending over $2000 on Play:5s, you are telling me for another $1400 I can replace my Play:5s with lower quality Sonos Moves?!?!   How does that even make sense!   At least your upgrade program should be like for like!  And a discount for more the 30% would be better.

        I am soooo mad that I am considering ditching my whole Sonos installations.

        Sonos you really need to take better care of your early loyal customers as they are the ones who keep buying more speakers to expand their systems. (like me)

         

        Best

        I have been a loyal support from the beginning - this is the point where I exit - very disapp

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          pompadi
          Lyricist I
          Jan 26, 2020 11:27 AM UTC

          Got this today…!!

          Marketing department must be living in cave ..

          maybe it should now read:

          FILL SOME ROOMS WITH INCREDIBLE SOUND 

          BTW switched off auto updates until I know what we’re getting..🤔

           

          Translate
            DK_Madsen
            Enthusiast II
            Jan 26, 2020 11:29 AM UTC


            From what i have seen, the electronics inside the IKEA Symfonisk is exactly the same as inside the Play 1, with the only difference being that the Symfonisk has 256Mbyte instead of 64Mbyte

            The Symfonisk is essentially identical to a play 1 inside, apparently.

             

            Yes, the Symfonisk is the same PCB but with added ram and rom

            Should be an easy retrofit when the Play 1 is obsoleted in a couple of years….If they have not changed the PCB in the Symfonisk or stopped selling it.

            Translate
            Coen D
            Lyricist I
            Jan 26, 2020 11:32 AM UTC

            Sonos is nothing without the loyal following of all of us … 

            Translate
              jms001
              Contributor I
              Jan 26, 2020 11:34 AM UTC

              10 years ago I initially invested over £2500 in the so called Legacy 3 x Sonos Player 5’s, 3 x Connect Amps, 1 x Connect, 1 x Bridge and 2 x CR200 controllers. Further to this I invested further into 3 x Player 3’s and 6 x Player 1’s and most recently 2 x Moves. The latter of which I have barely removed from the box, then the bombshell email arrives. Wow how to totally destroy a brand and it’s reputation in one short swipe. Totally gutted and disgusted with this marketing strategy.

              As a loyal Sonos consumer and promoter of the Sonos brand, I am left speechless by this announcement from Sonos.
              Furthermore when I receive the email to upgrade, I acted swiftly and somewhat foolishly and have now ordered 3 x Player 5’s, and 2 x Amps and 1 x Port for a staggering £2500 with the 30% trade up discount applied. (My initial investment outlaid again in 10 years). Then I receive the next bombshell email stating that Sonos have made a mistake and that they listened!, and that they will now continue to bug fix legacy products as well as allow them to coexist with newer products. A bit frickin late now!.

              All of my legacy products are now on a 21 day end of life countdown which will then place perfectly good and very presentable products into landfill waste. Unbelievable.

              why had you not thought this through earlier and made an announcement to inform legacy products would only receive future bug fixes etc., however they would still coexists with newer products and the 30% discount could be applied at any time to upgrade in the future, allowing legacy owners to retain the original usable working products, but also upgrade to newer products over time. This would allow old to work with new, whilst also allowing the loyal Sonos user to slowly upgrade without having to take a massive hit with only 3 Months notice.

              I now feel like I have been screwed twice and will seriously consider other wireless music options in the future. No more Sonos recommendations from me.

              Translate
                DK_Madsen
                Enthusiast II
                Jan 26, 2020 11:35 AM UTC

                I think it goes against the grain but anyone planning a Legacy system should have at least one Airplay 2 device in there for futureproofing connections.

                A Sonos One would be cheapest way.

                That's if you could stomach giving Sonos any more money.

                 

                Another thing, it seems the consensus that Sonos customers have a lot of expendable income, that's not the case for some.

                Ours was bought as an investment and was a significant cost to the household, for a product that I thought would last 15 years at least if I'm honest..

                I dont own a single apple product, why would i care about Airplay 2 support ?

                 

                Also if you want sonos products in the future, i would hold of a bit, i guess the second hand market will be flooded in the near future. I know of atleast a couple of people that has already put their entire system for sale, because they want to recoup some of their money before the next products will be targeted by sonos, so i expect there to be a lot of Sonos units for sale, pushing down the price of a second hand sonos product.

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