Compare and contrast with Tado, the smart heating control system that subsequently added a subscription model:

https://www.newhometricks.com/blog/2018/10/4/is-tado-still-worth-it

Take note Sonos:

• I was happy with my Honeywell EvoHome system before I moved house last year. But I didn’t rush to buy the same for my new house because it’s now five years old and I don’t know when they’ll release a new one/end support for the old.
• I did consider Tado for the new house, but it seemed they’d sold people the system and then introduced a subscription model. I don’t mind paying the subscription in principle but:
  • It’s very expensive for updating a piece of software with such a narrow focus - once it works, it works. There are only so many ways you can turn on and off the heating.
  • It made me wonder if I can trust the company.

Result: I am in no hurry to invest in a smart heating system for my new home. And thanks to the actions of Sonos, I am even more nervous.

Same with smart lighting. I bought a few LifX bulbs for lamps (they’re brighter than Philips Hue) but left the main ceiling lights intact. I guess I had a sense that the smart home business model is a ticking time bomb, albeit a problem that can be easily solved with clear, honest, up-front communication and listening to customers instead of shareholders.

Before I purchase any new smart heating system, or light bulbs, I will write to the company and ask them “will you do a Sonos?” They’ll know what I mean.

Never buying another Sonos product - and neither will any of my friends or family if I have any say in it. This is a horrible decision that will abandon your core customer base and will eventually crater your business. I’ve spent over $3k on Sonos products over the years but will never spend another dime.

The resale market for used Sonos products is tanking meaning we’ll all get stuck and Sonos will never go that low.  Besides all of that, there simply aren’t replacement components yet for some of the legacy gear.  Shortsighted businessmen strike again and the consumer is screwed.  Time to get govt. agencies, social media, resellers, and more involved. 

And wouldn’t you know it they dropped this bomb right after CES as tech pubs would have been all over this debacle! 

I am finding this a bit confusing. I have a Connect that I only bought less than a year ago. When I login into sonos.com it shows this as a ‘modern product’. So will this change in May to be shown as a Legacy product? Perhaps Sonos could provide the serial numbers of products that are either currently obsolete or will be obsolete in May please. 

I get that old products get out of date but I think the answer is just to provide a better discount for people in this situation. Offering a product at cost price and keeping a loyal customer would be the best business decision surely...

Dress it up however you like, the fact remains that as a company Sonos is unwilling to do the work required to keep our systems viable. To make it all worse, anyone who gives in to their “nice system, shame if something happened to it” extortion scheme is bricking their devices, turning them into so much high tech landfill. It takes a particular corporate vision to trash both existing customers and the planet in one fell swoop, so kudos for that.

It’s a shameful approach and effectively unforgivable from my standpoint. You’ll never get another dollar from me. 

This is appalling. I emailed support yesterday and had a response from Mikey today as follows:

Thank you for contacting Sonos. My name is Mikey.

You don't have to purchase new items, we just want you to be aware that the existing items you have will not be able to support new software features & functions after May, you can continue to use them However unfortunately the products that have been in market for 10+ years have reached the limit of their microprocessor & memory capabilities. 

You can continue to use them with the existing software OR you can choose to trade up to our newer ones the choice is yours.

The initial communication received by all of us yesterday stated that by continuing to use legacy products not allow new products to receive updates. Has this view now changed? If so, what is it going to look like? Why wasn’t this thought through fully before antagonising your loyal customers?

i find the communication I received to be arrogant and patronising. My response (by email and reproduced here for information) was as follows:

I am appalled and highly stressed by the arrogance of your reply and lack of appreciation of a loyal customer.

 So, you expect me to pay another £700 to maintain the currency my Sonos system?

There is nothing wrong with the performance of my Play5’s and I would like to maintain it that way. Do you appreciate what a big investment I have made in Sonos? Approximately £2,500 over the past 7 years. Can you understand that I feel it is perfectly reasonable to expect the system to last beyond 7 years and that I am affronted by the high handed attitude shown by Sonos.  I thought that I had bought the best, had a high level of brand loyalty, sadly this is not matched by the Sonos loyalty to their customers.

I have new Sonos products which also will not be updated - therefore my whole system will suffer over time if I do not upgrade, spending another £700! It seems that Sonos is holding a gun the the heads of their long time customers. It is simply not acceptable.

Please find a better solution to the challenge and demonstrate your loyalty to your customers.

I have sent this also to Mr Spence, CEO and President of Sonos. I hope that he reads this and the responses of many customers.

Come on Mr Spence, show some loyalty to us, your customers.

So I need to find AUD 8,000 to keep my system working … spend it on Sonos upgrades or take my money elsewhere … hmmm ???

Will this remove the ability to group old and new products together. Will this prevent the ability to stream music across all products in sync if you own a mixture of old and new ones?!?!?

this all makes me really sad. I feel silly for investing so much in products that are now worthless. audio formats have not substantially evolved in the last few years so I’m said my setup needs pulling. what are the non-sonos alternatives?

@Chris Morgs, your Connect is a newer device with better hardware than the older version of the Connect. If it’s a Connect made after 2015 it is not a legacy device and in May it will continue on as a Modern device. It’s the older version of the Connect (previously named the ZP90 or ZP80) which won’t be getting updates after May.

Yep… that’s my problem too

I responded to your other thread, too, but yes, you would have two systems on your network, a modern system and a legacy system. They’d be separate.

I shall now be returning my recent SONOS soundbar purchase and look to invest in a different system that will last longer than 3 years. I have spent hundreds of pounds on SONOS but no more. I am now an EX CUSTOMER 
Very bad form SONOS and most disappointing. I actually quite liked your product as well. 

Yeah, agreed, it does indeed make the whole smart home concept look silly, and very fragile, Sonos have opened a Pandora’s box.

I would think the whole of the smart market will be watching the Sonos story closely to see how it pans out.

For me it’s definitely an eye opener, as now I’ll be looking at every piece of tech and thinking what’s the life span likely to be. Not just in terms of how well is it made, how robust is the support, or even how trustworthy is the company. Sonos has proven in the last 48 hours that none of those things are relevant.

I’ll be spending significantly less on tech in the future. Stand alone devices is a definite, and certainly not an eco system. 
 

Thanks for clarifying Ryan (so quickly). At first read of the announcement it seemed that all Connects were becoming legacy devices so this is clearly not the case.

Well that’s brilliant then… 

100% loss of basic functionality from day #1 of linking speakers together in a group.

The basic function of the system no longer works!

And you think this is acceptable to your customers!!!!

Just updated your product description for you.

 

 

*** I know the Play:1 is still receiving updates at the moment! ***

But I don’t think it’s being sold on the sonos web site any more as already pointed out.  Just checked and they are only in ‘Refurbished’ and currently out-of-stock: https://www.sonos.com/en-us/shop/play1-b-stock.html You may be able to get them in NZ, but how long before ‘legacy’?; I thought this was a term for what happens to infrastructure and public health campaigns after the Olympic games, but we are all learning a new definition today!

This is so upsetting.

I spent a lot of money in just two years and now 2 of my products not only will become legacy, but also will compromise the other ones which will not receive updates and will probably became legacy as well in the next months.

30% in an insult, if you compromise my system because you are not able to maintain your software on 2 years old hardware you should provide a 70% discount.

i will stop increasing my system ( right now I have 3 play1, 2 play3, 1 play5, 1 playbar, 1 subwoofer, 1 move and 1 connect ), look for an alternative (open for community suggestions), sell everything and of course stop being a sonos evangelist.

simone

We have a tado system installed and what wasn't reported much is they offered existing customers a deal of pay a one off £12 to move over to the new app without subscription that's over a year ago now and still going strong working well. 

More useful and a better shelf life than my Play 5 Gen 1…...

Great, another option I thought when you mentioned bluesound.  Until I checked them out and yes all their devices have a similar massive premium to sonos and even their sound bar only supports dolby digital. They might as well be called sonos lol. 

Like many here I’ve been using Sonos for over 10 years and have invested heavily, adding products along the way (the most recent two in the last month). 

So I’m now told that I need to rebuy expensive components that are working just fine, for replacement components that support features I simply don’t want or use.  If I don’t do that the rest of my equipment will be crippled.  I’m simply not going to do that.

I’ve always recommended Sonos to family and friends but this arrogance and lack of customer care means that I’d rather write off my current investment than give Sonos any more of my hard earned cash.

Such a shame.

Wires are dependable.

I have never experienced a brand that I love go from hero to zero in 24 hours like this. it is not a nice feeling at all.

it kind of feels like they are self harming. 

4% off the share price in two days and I see that doubling before the week is out.

Shame on you Sonos, I fear this may the start of the end . We had something good and you blew it.

2 x Play 5’s on death row.

15 x Play 1’s knowing they haven’t got long!