End of Software Support - Clarifications

I would certainly be contacting Richer Sounds and asking for a refund anyway, they sold you a product that will not function as advertised inside the warranty period. They should atleast give you a “new” version of the amp and then they get the old one and can claim 30% off….(Probably not worth it for them though, as the price they pay for a new one is probably less than 70% of a unit at sonos retail price.)

Honestly, that extension to the analogy sucks just as much. :) 
Yes, I’d be livid. But if my car was out of warranty it wouldn’t be in taken to the authorized service center in the first place, in keeping this hybrid analogy at least somewhat congruous, nor would a firmware change to ECUs affect the climate control if it were in warranty.
(This is fun and all. But I’m legitimately sorry I opened another analogy can o’ worms.)

But in the case of Sonos, there is really no other option than to “take it to the authorized center”.

Also it might be a security recall, this does not only happen on new cars.

BMW has just recalled cars that were produced in the 2000’s.

If the owners did not attend, the insurance would not cover in the event of an accident. In my country a car with an active security recall can not be passed at the MOT testing either.

So yes, the analogy is valid if the update was part of a mandatory security update.

Had it been a tesla, it would not even have to go to the authorised dealer as they just do OTA updates to fix software bugs.

So if your tesla had a mandatory security update pushed, and it disabled the climate control in the same way i described, even if your tesla was 10 years old, you would just shrug your shoulder and say “Hey, it’s a 10 year old car, that’s what to be expected”

@DK_Madsen … The analogies are getting further and further abreast. I prefaced mine by saying it wasn’t useful and I meant it. The questions above are rhetorical. I have to shrug my shoulders at them. 

Stay at them and this if you like (Sonos). I’ve said numerous times I’m not happy with the situation; no one really is. I’ve only determined there are better ways to focus my energy. If whatever comes down the Sonos pipe in May isn’t compelling, I’ll move on; that hasn’t changed. For now, I’m just back to listening to music.

While we want answers sometimes it is impossible for them to give a definitive answer as the answer is not known at this point in time.

For instance, they will provide updates provide the hardware will allow but as they are not aware of when or what change from an external company (streaming) will take place, they will not know what needs doing to resolve it. Therefore they will not know whether there is sufficient memory/storage left to make the changes required to keep it running. Hence, update it for as long as possible,

OK - but I didn’t ask for or want any of those facilities, whereas the functionality (large tablet android controller, desktop controller, lack of enhancement of even basic requirements for streaming my music, disabling support for older controllers) mean that - apart from trueplay - I have only seen a reduction in useful functionality - and Trueplay isn’t that useful to me.

I fully accept that my case may be unusual, but I doubt that it’s unique.

As it stands (for me) I made the decision to upgrade two items. One has been done now and the other a little later.

I was extremely P***ed initially… this has been downgraded to not very happy after time to reflect. At the end of the day, I had the gear since 2007 so 13 years use so far. I don’t / didn’t expect the same longevity as my Naim amps/B&W speakers etc. I accepted it more as tech at the time. Still not chuffed by the way this has turned out. 

1. The connect (zp80) in the living room that was connected to a soundbar. The old soundbar was a bit temperamental so it needed changing… 2 birds one stone?!? Certainly… I now have the Sonos Beam.
2. The ZP100 Amp I have feeding ceiling speakers in the bathroom. This is used but not massively but would miss it all the same. The Sonos 1 in the kitchen will not last for ever (going off the memory/storage chart). I will replace the ZP100 amp with the Sonos Move. This will give me an option to use it occasional in the Bathroom in addition to its main home in the kitchen. The Sonos 1 will be moved to the bedroom as I wouldn’t need it to group with other speakers
3. Changing software to Roon. Roon at this point doesn’t given me everything I’d want. It’s  Missing Amazon Music HD (or Deezer) but the interface and ability to group legacy / modern hardware together is a good safeguard for Sonos equipped rooms. Also, it will allow grouping of Airplay 2 hardware from any manufacture. This will allow me to group other hardware in the house such as the Node 2i or Naim Streamers etc.

The new Sonos hardware has/will have the most memory and storage of all hardware so should be a long time before it ever reaches legacy status. But Roon gives me the security, extra options, to group all hardware together. It also has a really nice interface and features. Will rent it for one year and if I still like, I will buy a lifetime license next year.

For what it’s worth, I see little point selling everything to move to a different provider (frying pan - Fire). They will all have the same issue at some point, although Sonos hasn’t handled it well!

I think Airplay 2 and Roon are key features for my future system. I am no longer tied to any brand and once I have used my zp100 for it’s discount, I will look at all options for future speakers / streamers… I have my eye on B&W speakers so Sonos needs to up their game as I can easily migrate to them now!

Obviously we can’t discuss if we received a survery or not but if we did and there was a net promotor score type question sonos would be getting zero from me.

Someone mentioned in the coments to that article that it’s like going back to Radio Rentals in the UK and they disappeared a long time ago. Renting TVs, washing machines became pointless because the prices dropped. Sonos prices haven’t dropped, but their competitors are much less. It feels like desparation in order to drive more revenue, but ultimately, that ship passed decades ago. As they said in that article, after 30 months, you would’ve paid for them anyway. It doesn’t make business sense in my view. Sonos customers pay premium prices for longevity & until this month’s announcement, that was the mantra from the company also. Their mistake has led to uncertainty both in the legacy and new products. They’re now in a corner and I’m not sure they can get out  unless, they reverse their decision and change their firmware architecture with maybe a new SOnos box to allow the old units to survive for at least another 5 to 10 years.

Your environment sounds like a larger scale reflection of my own and your thinking is right along with mine as well, pretty much across the board. Though personally I can’t stomach the bricking of my legacy’d stuff - If I do decide to purge it (I’m not quite leaning that direction but more toward making legacy work as I don’t find it to be all that terrifying or even that inconvenient) I’ll offer it up in a 2nd hand listing for as cheap as it’ll go - that should easily net 30% savings if not more, and someone else will make use of it.
I’m not really chuffed about using two controllers and have one airplay2 speaker in the mix which certainly solves some future problems. Options are good. Wondering if I’ll add another Bluesound down the road, or just tack on some 2nd-hand additional Sonos. I guess the application and thinking at the time (post May announcements) will push one way or another. Options are good.