I have 20 Sonos products, with 8 ConnectAmps that are impacted. I have recommend Sonos to dozens of people who have went on to buy tons of gear over the years. I have participated in many Betas and even done a USA Today interview at the request of Sonos in the early years.
This new announcement is completely and utterly unacceptable. It must change. Sonos, go back and rethink this terrible strategy.
I was just last night telling my wife i planned to buy another Beam and Sub, clearly that won’t ever happen unless this is corrected.
I’ll echo what Mark Renfrow said above “Everything will work just as it does today, and newer products and features will offer richer experiences and functionality beyond our legacy products.. Please be assured you will always enjoy the values that made your initial decision to buy Sonos a good one, for a lifetime of great listening”.
Be clear, unless you change your approach this community will never stop flaming and attacking you on social media. This will absolutely be the end of your company. You still have time to correct but now is the decision point. You went for a cheap cash grab and didn’t think it thru. Your stock is already dropping today and this is only the beginning. I pre-ordered the first Sonos products you offered before they were even available in 2004. I continued to buy more and more up until this year with the purchase of a Move. Unless you correct this terrible idea, I (and many, many, many others) will never buy another product from you.
What is more bizarre is that they obviously haven’t told retailers as Amazon, amongst others, are still selling kit that will become obsolete.
In addition, you’ve also handed yourself on a silver platter to Apple, Google and Amazon.
So I suspect in May, the big 3 should change their API’s for their streaming services to you. Which then in effect cripple everyone’s legacy products and it won’t work anymore since SONOS says no more updates.
That will probably also get more people to exodus Sonos…..if they can’t stream their services.
Great move Sonos. claps!
The world has gone mad.
I saw so much change in recent times …..Brexit, Johnson, The Trump White House and now this.
Lies and deception seem to be the new world order.
Were did it all go wrong?
Over emotional? I’m sure it is but seriously …. how can lies, lack of loyalty and commercial deception be so tolerated.
Ok let’s get back on topic. But depressing times.
I have gone from shock, to denial, but I am stuck in anger. I spent $10,000 on a full house installation seven years ago and now I am told that it is a “rental” for five years. We all know what “unsupported” and “legacy” means - it will stop being useful.
The website on Trade Up is pathetic: you need to commit to the trade up/recycle BEFORE understanding what the cost will be. I need to upgrade five Connects to Ports at +$1500 with the 30% discount (?!?). Why should I spend $1500 for a “five year support ‘commitment’”? I’m renting for $300/year. I had to replace one controller two years ago (arghhhh) and that one is not eligible for upgrade … what are the chances I will be treated in the same way on that unit in the next months. The dedicated tablet I purchased to run the SONOS system was blown-up after an “upgrade” that did not describe result that tech said was well known. And there are endless updates … SONOS is exhausting and expensive to own.
Where will this end?
SONOS seems to have lost their way and focuses only on new clients and and kicks current customers to the curb. I have gone from enthusiastically supporting SONOS to regret to now loudly telling anyone to stay after from purchasing any SONOS products. SONOS treats clients like fools.
https://www.smarthomeandavguide.com/sonos-vs-yamaha-musiccast/
To quote the conclusion (last year)
“SONOS has been the well-deserved market leader in wireless home audio for a long time, and for very good reason. Their ease of use, software, app, general compatibility and reliability is second to none. The MusicCast app is almost as intuitive and easy to use. However MusicCast has a much broader range of compatible products.”
Musiccast didn’t exist when I bought into Sonos. I guess based on yesterday’s announcement it is not just my speakers that are “legacy products” - Its the whole of Sonos. I’ll continue to use the speakers until they don’t work then replace with product from a Music company rather than a California Tech ripoff.
One point I’ve not noticed being discussed - if you have a “Legacy” speaker after May, you won’t be able to add a new Sonos speaker to your system unless it has exactly the same version of software, so not only are your “modern” products stuck, you won’t be able to add new speakers unless you replace all your old ones.
Closing the original thread to the community who are showing a huge outpouring of negativity is just another failed attempt to distract, censor and mask the sheer number of disgruntled consumers. Shameful, deceitful and shows again how SONOS are out of tune (no pun intended) with the community.
user_end_of_lifed said it best:
Refusing to provide maintenance updates to a product that relies on integrated services for its core function is 100% killing it dead. We just don’t know the exact time of death yet.
You expect me to replace Sonos kit just to keep my system going. Knowing whatever Sonos I buy now will probably be defunct in 5 years. I have spent £3k on Sonos and recommended it to many people over the years. NOT ANYMORE SONOS.
I won’t spend anymore on Sonos and tell anyone thinking of buying to avoid it.
Your marketing strategy is a big gamble, ok you will force some to buy new hardware. But many loyal customers are going to walk away from your system.
I hope the negativity on social media and in the press will make you rethink this poorly thought out strategy.
what would have been better if people could buy a module to go on the back of legacy models to allow them to accept future updates through the module.
How long before my Play 3 and play 1’s (mk1) no longer work?
Well, so Sonos decides the best way to handle this is to close a 55 page thread!? Who’s handling damage control at Sonos? They should be fired. @Ryan, I’ve always enjoyed your input, but now you’re just a lying hack for Sonos. Great job! I’ve posted at Amazon, Costco and Best Buy to NOT buy Sonos products. I suggest everyone else do the same.
OK...one more time since the original thread was shut down. I have 6 Play 5’s, 1 Connect, 1 Bridge, plus a multitude of Play 1’s (who knows how long they have until Sonos deems them obsolete) in my house. I was an early adopter of the system. As friends and family experienced my system, five other household systems were later spawned by them... I feel betrayed.
Original post on the previous thread that was shut down:
”Thousands of dollars invested in the system. Why should I buy/commit to further Sonos products if they will be deemed obsolete and no longer supported in 10 years or less? Sorry Sonos, you’ve lost me as a supporter.”
Wow, so tons of people voice their concerns and the thread gets shut down?
Apart from anything else this new thread still doesn’t address the issue of what is being done where people own components where there AREN’T any options which we can “Tradeup” to!
I rely on the “Bridge” to fill the gaps in their woeful built-in wifi, and the “Connect” to be able to integrate Sonos with my livingroom Surround Sound setup.
Neither of these two products has a replacement which I can see, and even if they did it would cost me hundreds of pounds to simply carry on as I am.
Congratulations on the mother of PR disasters. One look at the worldwide news networks will show just how much damage has been done by this.
I have spent thousands of dollars on Sonos products (which I thought at the time were over-priced, but believed that the extra dollars were going for long-lasting and high-quality products). It is claimed that Sonos has supported these products for ten years, but the fact is that I bought some of these products less than five years ago. It is claimed that the older products don’t have the capability to be updated to modern standards. How do we know this is true? Has Sonos tried all the technological fixes (Including several mentioned in this and prior threads)? What were the results of those efforts? Also, isn’t it totally environmentally irresponsible to require an owner to basically brick their unit (and require ultimate landfill disposal) in order to trade up, rather than accepting the old product back and reselling it for whatever it can be used for?
The bottom line: Is Sonos motivated here by an honest and irresolvable engineering problem? Or is Sonos motivated by a desire to boost sales for new products? Those new products’ high prices are actually much higher, when you take into account their limited life expectancy.
Here is my solution: When it is time to throw away the thousands of dollars I have invested in Sonos products that no longer work, I will make this pledge: I will never ever buy another Sonos product, and I will urge everyone I know to do likewise.
Given that the other thread was closed, I thought I would reiterate my comment and request for the code base when you stop supporting “legacy” components.
The more I think about this the more disappointed I am becoming.
There are many approaches that could have been taken and they seem to have taken one that is easiest on them (simply not worry about “legacy” devices any longer and let the chips fall were they may) instead of continuing to support “legacy” devices with the understanding that their functionality will not be expanded beyond their current capabilities due to hardware limitations.
If the limitation is indeed processor and memory based then you could provide functionality in the app – or, perish the thought, the desktop application – that allows users to load on only the features they use and want. I personally use a local library, Tunein, and Spotify. I do not need every music service loaded to every component. I would understand that such functionality may need to be at the network level so that all speakers have consistent functionality.
I do not believe that any of the people writing here would have objected to this. I do not need airplay or Chromecast in my existing speakers and I would understand having to purchase new equipment to make use of this new technology. What I do not understand is Sonos saying that they will simply stop updating those products and let them die off.
If the current position is maintained then I ask that you provide access to the code base for the products that you will no longer support as I feel confident that there would be a community of developers that would gladly take up keeping this equipment functional for years to come.
A wee box like a raspberry pi with loadsa memory, networking, wifi and some ethernet sockets should be able to run the extra processes sonos claim is behind their bricking blackmail scam. This could deal with decades of updated software vfor 50 quid. Or put a sonos badge on it and charge 200! LOL lol ha ha ha.
In this day and age of introducing longevity into electrical equipment rather than fast obsolescence what on earth are you doing? I’ve always recommended your products and been very pleased to this but think that I should have spent my money elsewhere. Wake up. I won’t be recommending Sonos again. If you sell on build quality and then withdraw support what are you saying about yourselves?
Yup, I understand that at some point the old players would hinder progress. I am disappointed with the value of the current players for trade in and the bricking of perfectly usable product and the attitude of Sonos to get it out of circulation.
Sonos has always refused to relinquish control of the Software/Firmware delivery platform and hence has kept control over the lifespan of the equipment. The Trade up program sells us new equipment at cost, then bricks the legacy hardware They refuse to give ANYBODY the ability to reload/reuse the hardware/software.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, develop a local software loading procedure for the final legacy firmware so users can continue to use the equipment they purchased as is. ALLOW US TO ADD LEGACY EQUIPMENT TO OUR LEGACY SYSTEM INSTEAD OF ADDING THIS EQUIPMENT PREMATURELY TO THE RECYCLE SITES. GIVE US CONTROL OF OUR FUTURE.
Sonos has decided to walk away from the older hardware, that is fine. Just give us some tools to keep this stuff working until the HARDWARE fails.
A local software loading system. Firmware 8.4 and final 10.x would keep many people happily using their equipment until it dies.
Just want to express my displeasure with the rest of you!
I own 6 units that are soon obsolete. This is the wrong decision that contributes to climate change.
I don't want to have to throw away fully functioning things.
I thought Sonos was built to last! This is at least what your marketing has got me to Believe:
"An ecosystem that you can grow year after year ..."
I urge SONOS to reconsider and the rest of you to spread your thoughts on this everywhere.
A falling stock price might do the trick.
Shame on you!
Wow. This is shocking. I have spent thousands on 9 Connect:Amps that will now become obsolete. 30% off to upgrade? That is a joke. I would need 75% off to stick with Sonos. Like many others I will abandon Sonos for a longer term solution. Sonos wake up! Right now hundreds of millions of dollars of Goodwill is evaporating in front of your eyes. Textbook disaster. This is the beginning of the end of Sonos - makes me sad.
Sonos needs a new Public Relations department, what Bonehead would let an Email like I received go out? Did you really think I’m spending another +$1000.00 on more potential future bricks? Your supposed to be Software kings, just individualize the software updates for Legacy/Non-Legacy. Then when my Legacy dies, I’ll take the 30% discount and upgrade. Recycle? Let me ask “Greta” about that at Davos. Oh and for the shareholders like me; “You are cordially invited to attend the 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Annual Meeting”) of Sonos, Inc. The Annual Meeting will be held at 614 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101 on February 27, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.”
Maybe Sonos should do like Adobe and start a rental service instead?
This new thread didn’t clarify the most important points I had read in the previous thread. Answer these please...
- Will future controller apps and pc based software continue to work with legacy systems? (with existing functionality)
- Can Legacy and Modern speakers be grouped together?
- Will legacy systems allow other legacy speakers to be added after May?
- Will you allow hardware with various versions of Sonos OS to work side by side on a single Sonos network?
- I mainly use a NAS with my Sonos and rarely use streaming services. Will I still be able to do this after May?
Sonos do not delete the other thread.
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.
You missed out a vital point, does this mean the legacy and modern will be interoperable? Or completely seperate? I am fine with my legacy speakers not getting updates, but I want my modern speakers to get updates and new features. I then EXEPCT to be still able to group music between legacy and modern.
This is the main issue on the table! I have 26 SONOS devices, 16 of which are “legacy”. If you tell me I have to separate them out, then you gave failed in your mission, and why I purchased $10k of equipment from you… to have Whole House Audio.
@David_366 and @morgan4x4, these legacy devices are stretched to the limits of their hardware already. Where possible, we will work to maintain the existing experience and conduct bug fixes on the legacy devices where the computing hardware will allow.
@Ryan S ^^^ this is the biggest issue. It’s why I’m in the “Not one more dime to Sonos” camp, and (with no small measure of embarrassment) vocally and actively retracting my recommendations to friends and family.
The fact that the basic (although I know that’s a simplification) and core (not an overstatement at all) ability to simultaneously broadcast music across multiple speakers is being blocked on older devices is ridiculous.
From a technical perspective, there has to be some way to maintain that core functionality across these devices, even if that’s when and only when they’re grouped with modern, more powerful devices, or even a new “hub” of some sort that handles more powerful computing and simply “shares” the digital bits (music) to older, legacy devices.
Given such a model, failing to update legacy devices (except, perhaps, for security issues) would be fine. But the fact that I can’t even stream music to them and newer devices at the same time?
Nope.
Apart from anything else this new thread still doesn’t address the issue of what is being done where people own components where there AREN’T any options which we can “Tradeup” to!
I rely on the “Bridge” to fill the gaps in their woeful built-in wifi, and the “Connect” to be able to integrate Sonos with my livingroom Surround Sound setup.
The Boost is the new version of the Bridge, and the Port is the new version of the Connect (but isn’t as good).
This new thread didn’t clarify the most important points I had read in the previous thread. Answer these please...
- Will future controller apps and pc based software continue to work with legacy systems? (with existing functionality)
- Can Legacy and Modern speakers be grouped together?
- Will legacy systems allow other legacy speakers to be added after May?
- Will you allow hardware with various versions of Sonos OS to work side by side on a single Sonos network?
- I mainly use a NAS with my Sonos and rarely use streaming services. Will I still be able to do this after May?
Sonos do not delete the other thread.
Mirrors my concerns although do also use streaming
How is the solution to tell people for every $1,000 of Sonos Legacy equipment, an additional $700 will keep you good for an undetermined period of time? Who came up with that plan? Our investment in legacy products built your company.
There are folks who have spent $10,000 on Sonos Equipment in here that you’re telling to go spend $7,000 now to keep using their equipment? How is this considered acceptable? Who is going to recommend your products? Again, I bought my Connect in 2017. I had no idea to check the manufactured date. Now I need a Port at 70% of the retail cost? I’ll have spent over $700 on a Connect and Port in 2 years. That’s ludicrous.
That Sonos. is the sound of screeching brakes on all new purchases from legacy owners. I’ll wait and see how this all pans out before buying any more and begin to shop for a new “system” while I wait.
If I am going to have two incompatible systems anyway, i’ll find a better company for my second one.
