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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U

user_end_of_lifed

Enthusiast II

I don’t think it’s possible to stop one individual app updating automatically on iOS, it’s all manual or all automatic.

It is…….

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-pragmatic-ways-past-it-6836056/index12.html#post16400653

That’s interesting, thanks. Hopefully if Sonos have any pretence or having the customer in mind they won’t make us do anything that complex.
Since you seem to have looked in to the technical questions behind this - do you know if the Sonos devices get updates from the web directly, or does the controller app distribute the new software to them?

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J

johngolfuk

Enthusiast II

I don’t think it’s possible to stop one individual app updating automatically on iOS, it’s all manual or all automatic.

It is…….

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-pragmatic-ways-past-it-6836056/index12.html#post16400653

That’s interesting, thanks. Hopefully if Sonos have any pretence or having the customer in mind they won’t make us do anything that complex.
Since you seem to have looked in to the technical questions behind this - do you know if the Sonos devices get updates from the web directly, or does the controller app distribute the new software to them?

Sorry, I know nothing about the actual update process - the info I gave was part and parcel of the lock down procedures for those users who want to fix their systems at the current version and prevent any future updates…...

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Ryan SAuthor

Retired Sonos Staff

I don’t think it’s possible to stop one individual app updating automatically on iOS, it’s all manual or all automatic.

It is…….

https://en.community.sonos.com/controllers-software-228995/the-sonos-brexit-and-pragmatic-ways-past-it-6836056/index12.html#post16400653

That’s interesting, thanks. Hopefully if Sonos have any pretence or having the customer in mind they won’t make us do anything that complex.
Since you seem to have looked in to the technical questions behind this - do you know if the Sonos devices get updates from the web directly, or does the controller app distribute the new software to them?

Sorry, I know nothing about the actual update process - the info I gave was part and parcel of the lock down procedures for those users who want to fix their systems at the current version and prevent any future updates…...

The controller tells the players to go out and get the new update and each player goes out to the network, connects to the update servers and downloads the appropriate file.

Also, please keep in mind that once the legacy software comes out in May, you won’t need to turn off updates or lock devices from the Internet, your legacy players won’t be able to update to the wrong software and we’ve worked out a solution for the controllers so you won't wind up being unable to control your system either.

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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.

U

user_end_of_lifed

Enthusiast II

The controller tells the players to go out and get the new update and each player goes out to the network, connects to the update servers and downloads the appropriate file.

Also, please keep in mind that once the legacy software comes out in May, you won’t need to turn off updates or lock devices from the Internet, your legacy players won’t be able to update to the wrong software and we’ve worked out a solution for the controllers so you won't wind up being unable to control your system either.

Thanks Ryan, that’s very helpful. I hope you’re feeling better today.

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Ryan SAuthor

Retired Sonos Staff

The controller tells the players to go out and get the new update and each player goes out to the network, connects to the update servers and downloads the appropriate file.

Also, please keep in mind that once the legacy software comes out in May, you won’t need to turn off updates or lock devices from the Internet, your legacy players won’t be able to update to the wrong software and we’ve worked out a solution for the controllers so you won't wind up being unable to control your system either.

Thanks Ryan, that’s very helpful. I hope you’re feeling better today.

Definitely on the mend. Thanks!

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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.

A

audiophile99

Lyricist III

If definitive action is not quickly taken to solve this brand-erosion action, Sonos may soon become a meme for disposable speakers. The Sonos brand was built on selling ‘future-proof’, integrated, wireless speaker systems. Without this feature set, there is no advantage to investing in the expensive Sonos ecosystem. Based on these stated features, many customers have had them built-in, and/or kept acquiring newer Sonos speakers to expand their supposedly ‘future-proof’ systems.

Sonos’ fatal flaw is the hard-wired integration of obsolescence-prone ‘proprietary technology’ into speakers which are designed to last decades. I hope the Sonos brand can be salvaged… maybe by developing replaceable smart modules that can control playback on all speakers as slave devices?

Also, if there is interest in maintaining a reputation as an eco-responsible company, I hope you will rescind/disable your recent and shockingly wasteful, recycle (brick) mode, trade-up policy.

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M

mrwarped

Lyricist III

Hey Ryan S, just read in the 10.6 update topic that legacy devices will not be able to stream Spotify from May, is this correct and if so which other music streaming services will also be affected?

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jgatie

Hey Ryan S, just read in the 10.6 update topic that legacy devices will not be able to stream Spotify from May, is this correct and if so which other music streaming services will also be affected?

If you keep reading in the thread, Ryan answers this question (the answer is you will be able to stream Spotify after May 20).

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Ryan SAuthor

Retired Sonos Staff

Hey Ryan S, just read in the 10.6 update topic that legacy devices will not be able to stream Spotify from May, is this correct and if so which other music streaming services will also be affected?

If you keep reading in the thread, Ryan answers this question (the answer is you will be able to stream Spotify after May 20).

As jgatie said, legacy devices will stop getting regular updates in May, but they will absolutely be able to stream Spotify and other services after May. From the CEO’s message in the first post:

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.

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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.

A

amun

You used to be able to do it on the PC controller, but it looks like they’ve removed it from the later versions…. On the android controller, it’s under Settings/System/System Updates - there’s a toggle switch for ‘Update Automatically’. You probably also need to stop the apps themselves updating (android and any Apple ones)

Which raises some interesting questions about how Sonos’ ‘just stop updating and stay legacy’ idea will work. I don’t think it’s possible to stop one individual app updating automatically on iOS, it’s all manual or all automatic.

There have been plenty of times in the past when I’ve gone to use the Sonos app and it’s said ‘no Sonos for you until you let me update*’, which I presume is when the iOS app has gotten ahead of the Sonos software.
So is that going to change now?

* = This is very annoying and further evidence that Sonos have no idea how to create standard interfaces that are compatible across software versions.

To be fair to Sonos, my understanding is that Apple have their own rules…. I don’t have any Apple products that work with Sonos any more, so can’t really comment. However, you’re quite right that it has been difficult in the past to pin down everything that could update and mess things up. In some ways, the legacy build (and, presumably, separate supporting android and iOS apps) may make things easier.

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