End of Software Support - Clarifications

I have been a SONOS customer since 2011

My SONOS system is in every room of my house a I listen to it every day

My system has 5 zones and I invested 5K$ in your products

I LIKED the SONOS system so much that I recommended it to all my friends and more than 10 have invested in SONOS

Now I’m very embarrassed that I did !!!

I worked for 5 years supporting installers and salesman for SONOS product in a high-end Hi-Fi Audio Store

Following last week email which SONOS declared "legacy" products I was flabbergasted to hear how your loyal customers were treated

The email of January 21st simply demonstrate that your company doesn’t understand the basic rules of "Marketing 101"

The CEO apology note response makes it even worst as it is so obvious that it’s "damage control" operation

From the outside this looks like SONOS wants to make quick money that’s all !!!

On top of this some information circulate about the fact that CEO and his directors have sold a big chunk of their stocks before this announcement...

It smells really bad…and I sure hope the US Government will investigate deeper into the actions of some of SONOS management!!!

Not only I lost TOTAL confidence in the company but I will STOP buying SONOS products for good and will invest in products by another vendor

I have a SONOS #1...2 package of from Costco. I am returning them today and advise on the Costco web page of company decision to discontinue software update and then to no longer support 5 year equipment as well as more potential negative decisions. 

I will recommend DO NOT PURCHASE!

Well intentioned but I, and I suspect many other casual purchasers, don’t read TrustPilot for consumer goods; more effective, but more legwork, to blitz resellers (eg in Uk John Lewis; Curry’s, Richer Sounds etc) with adverse reviews plus on line portals such as Amazon

Great point….I agree!

We are the victims of a scam

“designed at least 10 years ago” - yes, DESIGNED, but sold FAR more recently than that and people have bought legacy products, from proper retailers within the past 5 years.

“They are computers with speakers built into them” - do you know your customers at all? Because I’m pretty sure that most of us see them as speakers with smarts added on. Why do you think there is this backlash - we’re used to our hifi speakers lasting much, much longer.

Thanks for your replies Ryan.  Just referring to the last sentence in the above long exchange.  If, by that, you mean that my 2 old Connects will continue to work as they do today, then that’s all good, because today, they happily group with my Play 5 Gen2 and Play:1s.  If that’s not the case, then I think you may need to be more explicit.

Well, I put a comment on this forum just after the legacy announcement and like most (all?) others was somewhat furious with Sonos. A day later I commented to a friend, whom I had introduced to Sonos, that you were either going to backtrack or go under.

So I should do a follow-up.

I’m glad you decided to backtrack.  However you know, I hope, that you have a tremendous amount to do to regain the trust of your loyal customers, myself included.

I have all the items in the picture on the left behind Patrick (‘Beginning’; image and text from the BBC’s website). I recognise that they cannot be expected to last for ever (and the CR100’s have of course been retired - but their replacement, the Sonos app, is very good and, ahem, free). I don’t know what ‘exciting services’ you have planned for the future but I would like to be able to opt in if I want them and opt out if I don’t. 99% of my Sonos activity is listening to the radio (via TuneIn) and listing to my albums, streamed from a NAS. Simples.

And if that’s all I want the ZP80 / ZP100 to do for a long time then I don’t see that there is any reason for them not to do so. and I certainly don’t expect you to ever take any action to prevent them doing what they have been doing so well for so long.

The Brand is dead. Worst strategic mistake made by a growth tech. Every new purchase will now be BOSE. I can integrate through alexa. Just sadly am not able to pair brands. The CEO needs to do considerably more and i can only assume he and the board are just STUPID to not think this will affect loyalty and SALES. Anyone thinking of buying a new Sonos will be thinking ‘wait my product is redundant in 5 years and not future proof’

One can only hope that the cash hungry board, through their lack of care for loyal customers will be hit hard where it hurts in their dividends and share price. Because this is the only way these types will learn.

Sonos Board have you not heard of ‘competition, consulting customers, consumer choice’ ? wake up and smell the smart speaker market!

My last purchase were 2 Play 5s Gen 2. I love the speakers. 

I wanted to get a sub, but now I know I shouldn't - since they could decide that it will be "legacy" tomorrow.

This is so sad - I am surprised that they haven't engaged with us more and that they have not said anything more forceful; the "backtracking" is no such thing since it really appears we won't be able to group speakers together. Shame. 

Sonos SELL premium products. If they are designed to be replaced after 5 to 10 years, then they’re not premium. Might as well as spend a lot less to get the same functionality and replace every 5 to 10 years. If I was buying 1 product, fine, but most buy 5, 10, 20 or more units. You can’t expect customers to suddenly replace half of their large investments in just a few months and at a paltry 30% discount. The products have gone up in price and the dollar has become very strong. Two factors they probably didn’t consider or more worringly, they can’t adapt to lower their prices or offer larger discounts.

They obviously expected a backlash, but I think even this has surprised them. The damage is done. Only a solution that allows the current system to coexist with the newer products while allowing grouping as it was designed, will repair some of the damage. We don’t need the latest technology to run on legacy equipment. We want it to work as is. If it doesn’t in the future, they should either offer a very large discount OR offer a Sonos box that allows the legacy to work in a mixed system. However, when the next batch like Play 1 & 3’s go into legacy, they must have a solution for that. So plan ahead and tell us how you’re going to deal with this soon. For a technology company with very intelligent and technical people to NOT have a proposed solution in the works before making an announcement on legacy equipment, IS beyond a joke. 

The Board must either think we’re naive or were totally unprepared. Based on the statement from the CEO, it seems both. They need to clarify with DETAIL within a few weeks, otherwise, the longer it goes on, the harder it will hit their bottom line and as a public company, that will get a reaction both in the share price and from their investors.

Sonos units AREN’T computers with speakers added! They are foremost speakers with technology to stream music and radio. We don’t use them to browse the internet, buy clothes, send email. We just need the basics AS designed.

Sonos are at a crossroads and if they make the wrong turn, they’ll suffer and at best they’ll be bought out. To try and make customers think this is just about technology moving forward, is the kind of thing politicians do. We know it’s not the complete truth and there are underlying reasons why this is being done. But, imho, you’ve messed up big time. You’ve alienated your core customer base who also act as ambassadors for your brand and help sell new units. Now that has stopped!!

Read, listen, think and then do the RIGHT thing. You have a great chance to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Sonos has placed so much doubt in me as a customer, I’m not sure if I trust them anymore. Can the company survive on this new approach? So maybe buying more Sonos in the future will be a bad investment? As for most of us, this has opened our eyes and we’re looking at what the market is offering and in 2020, there are a lot more options than when I jumped in to Sonos and at a price that is very attractive.

One more chance Sonos, just one more and you have to hit the nail on the head. It’s amazing how one week can totally change one’s perspective on a company that was viewed so positively and had a brand loyalty that others would die for. 

You know what to do. So as Nike says. JUST DO IT!