Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Support - Clarifications

Dec 8, 2022 11:29 AM UTC
4256 replies
270537 views
Translate All

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.

Show previous replies

melvimbe

Since I just purchased a brand new (and pretty powerful) router for under $300, there is absolutely no reason why Sonos couldn’t have -at the very least- introduced a product at that price point (or less) that would have acted as a router/bridge that would have allowed older Sonos products to work with newer ones. Sonos didn’t do that. And it’s pretty obvious why. There is no reason to buy Sonos products going forward. There are other options.

Who ever is creating this router has a much larger market to sell to than Sonos does. Only people who have legacy products that aren’t interested in upgrading and are interested in paying for a such a device. That could very well mean the price per device to produce is much higher than what you’re expecting. All that is assuming that such a device would actually work, and without knowing the internal details of how it all works, that’s hard to say.

If Google can create a small dongle that can do video streams and multi-room audio for only £30; Why can’t Sonos create a dongle that plugs into the network socket of these “legacy” speakers to handle the processing and pass through a simple music stream……..The answer is they could, they just think they can make more money sending them to landfill.

Absolutely 100% agree, I figured a £50 'bridge' unit would be the solution but apparently not. That's how we know this is all about sales and not processing power

Google and other tech giants can create products for cheap because they do not need to make money from product sales, their goal is to get you into their ecosystems to sell you services and other products. And to repeat the same point above, the market for a dongle that makes legacy products compatible with a modern system has a much smaller market than Google products.

Translate

Danny

minty

Contributor I

This is a re-post since the original thread was closed moments after I posted this:

With six of my Sonos devices now considered legacy, I will largely abandon Sonos and reconfigure my system in a more centralized way - like I had before Sonos. Fortunately, many of my “common” rooms have ceiling speakers wired to a closet. If I use Sonos to drive these, I will probably just have one unit as a source for a third party multi-zone amp. For the rooms that have Sonos speakers (mostly bedrooms), I will replace Sonos with less expensive alternatives. I have no need for these to be part of a central system since the bedrooms are rarely grouped with other zones.

There is a lesson in all this and it extends beyond Sonos. Many of us have “invested” heavily on Sonos and other smart products like lighting. The truth is that buying Sonos and other smart products is not an investment, it’s spending on disposable goods. What’s happening will continue to happen and it is causing me to rethink my approach. Less is more, and all I really want is to listen to music across my home in a pain free way. I once needed Sonos for that, but that is no longer the case. With a little work I can build a new system that works the way I need and doesn’t put me at the mercy of any one company.

I now look forward to the thousands I’ve spent in HUE lighting and other smart devices to be rendered obsolete. Good times.

Yeah you’ve expressed that exactly how I feel. This is the thing, it’s not just Sonos, basically any company that you buy into which provides updates etc. makes you vulnerable. Our entire house is lit with LIFX and Hue, Sonos in nearly every room including 4 of the original ZP players. Say LIFX went belly up, no app support, in our case we’d be forced to replace every LIFX light as we built with no actual light switches, entirely dependant on app, voice control, etc. People here worried about no updates for legacy products, what if the actual company went bankrupt and closed? I’d be thinking that over time none of our Sonos products would function properly.

Translate

N

Nick M

Lyricist II

Since I just purchased a brand new (and pretty powerful) router for under $300, there is absolutely no reason why Sonos couldn’t have -at the very least- introduced a product at that price point (or less) that would have acted as a router/bridge that would have allowed older Sonos products to work with newer ones. Sonos didn’t do that. And it’s pretty obvious why. There is no reason to buy Sonos products going forward. There are other options.

Who ever is creating this router has a much larger market to sell to than Sonos does. Only people who have legacy products that aren’t interested in upgrading and are interested in paying for a such a device. That could very well mean the price per device to produce is much higher than what you’re expecting. All that is assuming that such a device would actually work, and without knowing the internal details of how it all works, that’s hard to say.

If Google can create a small dongle that can do video streams and multi-room audio for only £30; Why can’t Sonos create a dongle that plugs into the network socket of these “legacy” speakers to handle the processing and pass through a simple music stream……..The answer is they could, they just think they can make more money sending them to landfill.

Absolutely 100% agree, I figured a £50 'bridge' unit would be the solution but apparently not. That's how we know this is all about sales and not processing power

Google and other tech giants can create products for cheap because they do not need to make money from product sales, their goal is to get you into their ecosystems to sell you services and other products. And to repeat the same point above, the market for a dongle that makes legacy products compatible with a modern system has a much smaller market than Google products.

Which is why I say £50 for a simple bridge as opposed to just £30 for a full AV dongle.

Translate

R

Rob NYC1

Enthusiast II

Since I just purchased a brand new (and pretty powerful) router for under $300, there is absolutely no reason why Sonos couldn’t have -at the very least- introduced a product at that price point (or less) that would have acted as a router/bridge that would have allowed older Sonos products to work with newer ones. Sonos didn’t do that. And it’s pretty obvious why. There is no reason to buy Sonos products going forward. There are other options.

Who ever is creating this router has a much larger market to sell to than Sonos does. Only people who have legacy products that aren’t interested in upgrading and are interested in paying for a such a device. That could very well mean the price per device to produce is much higher than what you’re expecting. All that is assuming that such a device would actually work, and without knowing the internal details of how it all works, that’s hard to say.

If Google can create a small dongle that can do video streams and multi-room audio for only £30; Why can’t Sonos create a dongle that plugs into the network socket of these “legacy” speakers to handle the processing and pass through a simple music stream……..The answer is they could, they just think they can make more money sending them to landfill.

Absolutely 100% agree, I figured a £50 'bridge' unit would be the solution but apparently not. That's how we know this is all about sales and not processing power

Google and other tech giants can create products for cheap because they do not need to make money from product sales, their goal is to get you into their ecosystems to sell you services and other products. And to repeat the same point above, the market for a dongle that makes legacy products compatible with a modern system has a much smaller market than Google products.

Which is why I say £50 for a simple bridge as opposed to just £30 for a full AV dongle.

I have legacy products and while I might have purchased more Sonos devices, I didn’t want to get ride of my old devices

Translate

minty

Contributor I

I do not think second hand values will be good.

I will keep the system until it does not work.

Then I will change system.

Anyone that’s done an ounce of research wouldn’t touch Sonos let alone the legacy products. Only existing owners would be interested and they will only pay a fraction of the new price cost. So you are correct. Better to run the system until it’s completely obsolete, then throw it in the bin and go with whatever new system there is in the future.

And let’s not forget that right at this moment in time every Sonos product works, and will for the immediate future. It’s still the best system for streaming music and ease of use, be happy folks.

Translate

G

Goodbye Sonos

Enthusiast II

I do not think second hand values will be good.

I will keep the system until it does not work.

Then I will change system.

Anyone that’s done an ounce of research wouldn’t touch Sonos let alone the legacy products. Only existing owners would be interested and they will only pay a fraction of the new price cost. So you are correct. Better to run the system until it’s completely obsolete, then throw it in the bin and go with whatever new system there is in the future.

And let’s not forget that right at this moment in time every Sonos product works, and will for the immediate future. It’s still the best system for streaming music and ease of use, be happy folks.

There’s a lot of truth in this

Translate

F

FormerFan

Lyricist I

Hi there.

Thank you for contacting Sonos Customer Care. My name is Bailey and I'll be happy to assist you.

At this time we are still working on the configuration of how Legacy and Modern products will work together. When more updates become available you will be notified.

Thanks again for contacting Sonos Customer Care.

Best regards,

Bailey W.

Translate

S

sm75382

Enthusiast II

I do not think second hand values will be good.

I will keep the system until it does not work.

Then I will change system.

it might be (from may) if you need a legacy unit to swap out a modern unit...

perhaps a cottage industry demand for legacy / discontinued units!

Translate

S

sm75382

Enthusiast II

Sonos Reports Record First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

https://investors.sonos.com/news-and-events/investor-news/latest-news/2020/Sonos-Reports-Record-First-Quarter-Fiscal-2020-Financial-Results/default.aspx

Translate

Paul St

Lyricist III

Just had a quick flick though the report. Not a mention of the mess they have just created, unless I missed it. .Just continued talk about growth, I think the next quarter report may show a decline not an increase, as I’m sure most will not be buying any new products, until the mess they have created is sorted out.

Translate

Show more replies

Sonos Reports Record First Quarter Fiscal 2020 Financial Results

Sign up

Login to the community