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

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

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F

Finn1000

Enthusiast I

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J

jwinther

Lyricist III

Had my play3 & play5 (gen 2) less than 2 years.

Although I’m not affected by these changes at the moment, l feel Sonos have cheapened the brand with this announcement & in turn broken all trust in the Sonos brand.

They may or may not be interested in the fact there are a lot of very pissed off Sonos owners,

I for one will be watching closely what they do next .

If it is not resolved satisfactorily, I am done with Sonos & all streaming speakers that can be so easily be trashed by manufacturers .

It is quite obvious that Sonos is not very interested in what is being discussed in this forum:

So far there has been plenty of opportunities to bid in with something that would explain, repair, compensate, or perhaps just show some compassion. But nothing really appeared.
Some indications have been given that Sonos sometimes does show a a lot of or at least some interest in those customers who write to their support, but that doesn’t cover “a lot of...owners”.
Rumours tell that they all are fully occupied with this matter, but they are clearly simultaneously maintaining a stiff upper lip in combination with radio silence.

Seems like “watching closely” will be as exciting as watching a silent pantomime version of the Blair Witch Project.

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“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)

D

Danos1

Trending Lyricist I

Had my play3 & play5 (gen 2) less than 2 years.

Although I’m not affected by these changes at the moment, l feel Sonos have cheapened the brand with this announcement & in turn broken all trust in the Sonos brand.

They may or may not be interested in the fact there are a lot of very pissed off Sonos owners,

I for one will be watching closely what they do next .

If it is not resolved satisfactorily, I am done with Sonos & all streaming speakers that can be so easily be trashed by manufacturers .

It is quite obvious that Sonos is not very interested in what is being discussed in this forum:

So far there has been plenty of opportunities to bid in with something that would explain, repair, compensate, or perhaps just show some compassion. But nothing really appeared.
Some indications have been given that Sonos sometimes does show a a lot of or at least some interest in those customers who write to their support, but that doesn’t cover “a lot of...owners”.
Rumours tell that they all are fully occupied with this matter, but they are clearly simultaneously maintaining a stiff upper lip in combination with radio silence.

Seems like “watching closely” will be as exciting as watching a silent pantomime version of the Blair Witch Project.

I would give them till the end of the business week to make another response about what they are doing based off customer feedback. If they sit it out all of this week then I’d say they’ve made up their mind and will still move forward with their currently plan.

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L

laudi

Lyricist III

Sounds like Sonos customers without registered legacy sets did not get sent the email or the ‘clarification’ and otherwise have no idea that Sonos just buried themselves last week.

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M

MikeOinToronto

Lyricist III

Sounds like Sonos customers without registered legacy sets did not get sent the email or the ‘clarification’ and otherwise have no idea that Sonos just buried themselves last week.

Yes. I did not receive the notices as all my products are modern. Had i not seen some youtube videos i would be completely unaware of what is going on. I guess we can look at this two ways. One, they didnt want to unnecessarily worry unaffected customers. Two, they would rather keep the issue hidden from new customers. I guess which one we believe is closely related to whether we believe management actually cares about their customers or not.

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S

Sean69

Trending Lyricist I

To say I’m disappointed is an understatement to be honest. I to have spent well in excess of over £2500 over the last 4 years adding to my Sonos system thinking that this will be supported for many years to come unlike others that have tried to compete with your products and now you turn round and say my Play 5 is no longer going to be supported (bare in mind it was replaced only in 2017 because of a fault so is basically just over 2 years old) and you offer a measly 30% discount!!!!!! I expected a lot more from you Sonos to be perfectly honest, I’m loosing faith in your products but what do you care……..you have my money now 🤬🤬🤬🤬

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B

billiejoe87

Chromatic Producer I

As of right now if I was looking at buying any Sonos speaker new or 2nd hand I would avoid any Sonos speaker that doesn’t have Airplay 2 compatibility. The fact the current Playbar and only recently discontinued Play 3 and Play 1 units don’t have Airplay means they are likely running close to their potential already.

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1 x Arc, 1 x Beam Gen 2, 1 x Amp, 2 x Sonos In Ceiling Speakers, 2 x Sub, 4 x Sonos Ones, 2 x Sonos Era 100, 5 x Symfonisk Lamp (Gen 2)

S

snpanago

Lyricist III

I’ve read through most of the 4,000 posts from the closed thread in addition to this one; you have to wonder if anyone but Ryan from Sonos has. Consequently, it’s unlikely I’m going to add anything new with this post, but here goes.

What really burns is that many who defend or sympathize with Sonos’ position, analogize their products as computer hardware with audio components rather than as speakers with technological components allowing them to stream audio sources and sync with one another. This difference isn’t (wasn't) obvious to me and probably most Sonos owners until the May Doomsday email. As many have replied, the “legacy” Sonos devices are not cellphones, laptops, streaming boxes for tv, routers, etc. that need replacement or upgrades as a result of needed or wanted increased speed, resolution, or bandwidth. And as has been stated before, Sonos buyers typically have numerous devices to play audio throughout their homes; how many cellphones, laptops, etc. does one typically own?

The Play 5 was priced higher than the 3 and the 1 because of the improved audio components and sound quality, not because the tech among the 3 devices was vastly different. Why would the average consumer think that their devices would stop doing what they’ve always done? It’s unreasonable for most owners to have thought that streaming audio would become so advanced that they’d have to upgrade “speakers” that still work and sound great. Especially when the company never issued the disclaimer on their products, advertisements, or terms of service that updates or support will end in 5 years from their introduction. I guess they hid that from me and I was fooled, mislead, naive, tech challenged, or just plain dumb. I do know that I’m disappointed and disillusioned barring a change of heart and course from Sonos.

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K

Kumar

I’ve read through most of the 4,000 posts from the closed thread in addition to this one; you have to wonder if anyone but Ryan from Sonos has.

@snpanago :I am willing to give good odds that it is just Ryan and you. I have probably managed 10-20%.

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J

john at poulton

Enthusiast I

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/01/sonos-to-stop-updating-old-products---what-you-need-to-know/?utm_source=MSE_Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=28-Jan-20-50592799-1379&utm_campaign=nt-moneysavingnews&utm_content=2

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