End of Software Support - Clarifications

End of Software Support - Clarifications
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H
Userlevel 6
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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.

 

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?!?!?

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.


So, you would not be able to group speakers from the legacy and modern together?

Would you need two apps running on an iOS or can both systems be controlled by one?

And how do we stop the legacy system from accidentally going into ‘brick’ mode?

N
Userlevel 3
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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.

 

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?!?!?

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.

Why isn’t Sonos providing the necessary hardware to *bridge* these two systems before making the change? We all know that our kit now is going to progressively get sunsetted into the legacy category, Play:3s no doubt in the next 12 months or so, Play:1s a year or so after, so right now we’re looking at this and looking for Sonos to provide us with the confidence that there will be some way to maintain a legacy system of perfectly well functioning quality speakers whilst also having something on the network that can take the weight of processing and the link between those two to allow for multi-room streaming?

I genuinely don’t understand how any answer other than “We’re trying to get people to spend £1000s on upgrading their kit” makes any sense as to the way Sonos have approached this?

S

Just got a mail from Sonos with the sad message the SW upgrading of Play5 gen 1 will stop in May 2020 and that the functionality gradually will deteriorate. Purchased new mid 2014 and replaced under warranty 2016 the life span is very short. 

Now I have a choice between keeping my Play 5 with impact on the functionality of my complete system or get a new gen. 2 with a 30 % discount. Using the discount offer Sonos will stop the function of my gen. 1. Own Also 3 pcs Play 1 and afraid I soon will get a new mail they are also considered obsolete by Sonos!

What about Sonos policy regarding sustainability? Why not offer HW upgrading? 

J
Userlevel 4
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And you are complaining and suing because someone is treating you wrong. Pass it on brother!

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/technology/sonos-sues-google.html

If you can’t read this (behind the NYT paywall) then see here: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/sonos-says-google-amazon-stole-its-speaker-technology-2020-01-15

Looks like there is a reason behind the current madness: Sonos is fighting to cash in as much as possible before being shut down by the big guys. Reminds a lot of the desperate sue-everybody-and-then-some strategy of SCO in their last days.

“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)
S

Sonos - I have purchased 5 separate speakers directly from you, plus a Bridge.  They all work as well or better today than the day I bought them. All 6 devices are now being called “legacy,”  and I can live with not receiving new features.

However, the implied threat not to maintain their functionality with streaming services is just outrageous after taking all my money. But perhaps I misunderstood you; it does seem that your statements about this say both yes and no. Are you committed to maintaining the connectors to Spotify, Amazon Music, etc., or will they go dead the minute there is the slightest tweak to an API?

Thank you for the expected straight answer.

L
Userlevel 4
Badge +3

Would now be a good time for Sonos to explain why the Connect (now Port) is so expensive?

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/benoih/are_there_any_cheaper_alternatives_to_the_sonos/

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

Is that a Play 1?

Sonos from leader to loser in 2020.
chickentender

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...

@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.

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.

I purchased my connect in late December of 2014. There was no distinction EVER made between the two until yesterday. The refreshed, post-2015 version is identical in look/design, identical in pricing, identical in functionality. In my estimation Sonos should send a replacement at no cost. Now that there is more clear information in the wild, many consumers are wishing they’d made more informed purchase decisions, but point of fact, that was not possible at the time.

S
Userlevel 4
Badge +2

Will it be possible to add a Sonos Port or successor purchased in 2023 to a network containing legacy Connects, and be able to have both the Connect and the Port in the same group, playing in sync with each other?

Can Sonos publish a formal support policy for existing not-legacy-yet products so customers who choose to stick with Sonos can budget for future waves of obsolescence?

K
Userlevel 3

This article  title summarized my feelings exactly :  

Sonos Makes It Clear: You No Longer Own The Things You Buy

Modern 'smart' hardware now comes with hidden expiration dates that encourage waste, piss off consumers, and put the entire internet at risk.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3a8dpn/sonos-makes-it-clear-you-no-longer-own-the-things-you-buy

U
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Well I was going to say how disappointed I am at Sonos for this announcement - but it looks like, ahem, over 600 people have beaten me to it.

For me the announcement effectively said that 50% of my Sonos kit (2 x ZP80 and 2 x ZP100) was legacy. 

I’m not going to replace any of it - it’s simply too expensive and I’ve lost trust in Sonos at the moment that anything I do buy could become legacy.

What I do expect Sonos to do from now on is to explain what every software upgrade will and won’t enable me to do on my ‘legacy’ kit and what features I’ll be missing on my non-legacy kit. 

Seriously, Sonos, how to build up such a loyal following (like many I have friends who have bought Sonos based on my recommendation) and then loose us all from one email (and the corporate thinking behind it).

chickentender

This article  title summarized my feelings exactly :  

Sonos Makes It Clear: You No Longer Own The Things You Buy

Modern 'smart' hardware now comes with hidden expiration dates that encourage waste, piss off consumers, and put the entire internet at risk.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3a8dpn/sonos-makes-it-clear-you-no-longer-own-the-things-you-buy

Indeed.
“You No Longer Own The Things You Buy” is a statement that is becoming more and more accurate across multiple markets today, and many consumers are complicit in the transition. Time to stop.

U
Userlevel 1

Thank you so much for announcing this now. I am about to buy a big new TV and I had been going to buy a Sonos sound-bar and sub-woofer to go with it - as I already have eight Sonos devices in the house. Now I realise that I would just be buying something that will become obsolete. I will now be buying a more traditional sound-bar and sub-woofer.

I was a Sonos early-adopter and have always been an evangelist for the brand.

No longer

M
Userlevel 4
Badge +6

So my 2 year old Amp is now going to become a legacy product and won’t work with my system any longer ? What an absolute joke. How long before the play 1s I use in the kitchen and as surround speakers in the lounge will be classed as legacy ? There is no way I will spend any more of my hard earned money on Sonos products. What an absolute joke, shafting your loyal customers, and forcing them to trade up to maintain their systems. 30% trade in is an absolute insult. 

M
Userlevel 4
Badge

 

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.

 

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?!?!?

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.

 

This is the part that’s making everyone so upset. We purchased Sonos as a whole home audio system, and now we’ll have to bifurcate it into two separate systems that can’t be grouped together. That’s not whole home audio.

There needs to be real explanation as to why Sonos can’t offer an inexpensive bridge device so we can continue to group our legacy and modern devices together.

As it stands, it feels like a forced upgrade to drive a replacement cycle.

J
Userlevel 1

My 2 cents as a very disappointed early adopter. I used to work for Tweeter a now defunct New England based a/v specialty retailer that had stores across the country and we were the FIRST nationwide retailer to sell Sonos when it first launched. There was no Spotify or Iphones for that matter and even Sirius or XM (pre-merger) wasn’t available on Sonos yet. Many of us sales people were fortunate enough to win Sonos products for free in sales contests, the logic being there’d be more sales if sales people had it at home. They were right. I and many other sales people sold the crap out of Sonos so we could have it too. If we sold 5 systems (in those days it was 1 ZP100, 1 ZP80 and 1 CR100 controller) we’d win the same for ourselves. This contest ran twice so many of us won two 2room systems.  We gushed about how ground breaking, flexible and expandable they were. I sold Sonos to countless customers for years and if I were still in the biz would be very reluctant to do so in the future. This new “legacy” crap will affect 4 of my zones and to add insult to injury I’d have to buy TWO products to replace what my trusty ZP100 does in ONE box. I use my ZP100 to feed my receiver based surround system through the RCA outs and use the speaker outs to feed outdoor speakers on my balcony. All I have to do is switch the volume in that zone from “fixed” to “variable”. I won’t be able to DO that now because the “AMP” doesn’t have analog outs so NOW I need an “AMP” AND a “PORT” to do what ONE ZP100 did. Not to mention that the “AMP” AND the “PORT” are BOTH MORE money than their predecessors were with the same (or in the case of the “AMP”) LESS functionality. A 30% discount on a “trade-up” is a slap in the face not just for all the customers who’ve spent thousands on your products, but it’s slap to all of us sales people (current and former) who f***ing BUILT YOUR COMPANY. You should be ASHAMED. FIX THIS and treat your long time customers BETTER than a “sale” price,. 30% is BULLS**. I guess I’ll be looking at Yamaha Music Cast in the future.They’re LESS money with MORE connections……..and THEY support REAL hi-res 192/24 audio files as well. 

 

A
Userlevel 1

I am really disappointed to receive an email saying that my system will be invalid for updates and that even though it will still be ‘usable’, it will only be for an unspecified period of time and the service will deteriorate. I bought a Sonos 5. When I was sold my Sonos I was told that it was ‘built to last’ and I would only ever need to buy other speakers for different rooms. I was told there would be a ‘lifetime of updates' and Sonos look after their customers really well. I feel I was mis sold my Sonos by Sonos staff. Sonos should replace fully all products they cannot support as promised at point of sale. I cannot afford 70% of a new product. I feel this will keep happening every few years and great products will be ‘binned’. This has happened already with some mobile phone companies. Sonos can never sell their products again with a cast iron guarantee as I was sold more mine. No one will believe them when told ‘they are built to last'

J

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

Is that a Play 1?

I suppose it might be a Play:1 five years from now, but not before. 

R
Userlevel 5
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It is really is a damn shame.  I was just about to pull the trigger on adding to my current system.  And after having given a couple of sets of speakers for Christmas, I feel completely cheated and like a fool for giving a gift that will expire!

 

Sonos you have lost a long time customer and proponent of your products.

 

Good luck!

L

What a huge waste of my hard earned money.   
I am disgusted in your decision to stop supporting so called legacy products. 
won’t buy squat from you now.  

F

Why do Sonos believe that we should pay the price for their inability to future proof their systems. I will be really interested in what they do next , as they are now in the world of service recovery.i have no intention of spending any more money on upgrades or the likes when We have busted our arse to save and invest in the system which could be obsolete in a couple of years… No pressure Sonos but I expect you to do the right thing now.

K
Userlevel 5
Badge +2

Would now be a good time for Sonos to explain why the Connect (now Port) is so expensive?

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/benoih/are_there_any_cheaper_alternatives_to_the_sonos/


I have never understood why it’s so incredibly expensive! It must super cheap to make. 

S
Userlevel 5
Badge +5

 

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.

 

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?!?!?

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.

 

Ryan’s comment above seems to confirm that there will be not be any grouping or synchronicity between the legacy and modern systems.

Which is the nail in the coffin I needed.  No more purchases or recommendation from me.  I’m out.

S
Userlevel 2

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

Is that a Play 1?

I suppose it might be a Play:1 five years from now, but not before. 

If we all band together, we could use our devices to build new homes as Sonos seems to be a world leader in brick manufacture now!

 

I

Typical American marketting con! 

I WAS a huge Sonos fan and love my equipment, but will never spend a cent with you again. Nor will I recommend to my friends. What a disgrace for a so-called upper end product supplier.

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