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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jgatie

I get that, and changes to the protocol may impact bandwidth, especially sound coordination at high bitrates, etc. But making them simply not communicate would be poor design. Wireless standards (which Sonos still uses a common wireless spectrum with billions of other devices) haven't changed. Saying that they cant technically make the devices group at the least common denominator is a business decision, not a technical one.

WIthout intimate knowledge of the code and underlying design, you have no way of knowing that. And you most certainly should not be critiquing an underlying design when you have no knowledge of its inner workings.

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User484363

Lyricist III

I get that, and changes to the protocol may impact bandwidth, especially sound coordination at high bitrates, etc. But making them simply not communicate would be poor design. Wireless standards (which Sonos still uses a common wireless spectrum with billions of other devices) haven't changed. Saying that they cant technically make the devices group at the least common denominator is a business decision, not a technical one.

WIthout intimate knowledge of the code and underlying design, you have no way of knowing that. And you most certainly should not be critiquing an underlying design when you have no knowledge of its inner workings.

Thats a fair point. I cant critique the difficulty. My point stands - If they changed the protocol so much that they cant coordinate playback between the devices anymore, then I’d argue they designed to not account for their base use case.

It’s a moot point though. The decision is made. I probably shouldn't be complaining on a message board anyways. It’s just frustrating to know I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place on future Sonos purchases. I may be at a point in a few years where I have to make a decision - replace all of the 700 dollar pieces of equipment at once if one fails (Or, I want an upgraded feature in one room), or switch to something that can accomplish my base case of room grouping much much more cost effectively at that time since I’m doing a full swap.

To be clear: I love this product, I love the interface, I love the design. The flexibility is amazing, and I love that they add new features. I dont need Dolby Atmos on my patio though. Bottom line. Make me a 300 dollar amp that supports S2 - do something to give me options here.

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Arkka

Lyricist III

I’m good with the business model - and your point is spot on. I respect that they have to make money and they are pressured to create reoccurring revenue. That being said, there are things that are table stakes in a platform. IMHO, throwing a bone to something as basic as grouping is the Sonos base value prop. My 8 year old laptop can still connect to Wifi. It may be a bit slower, the websites wont look as good, the graphics wont be as sharp - but it still fundamentally works. I think this is one of the key things that has everyone so blatantly angry. If my AMP dies, and I replace it, It may not work with my other products. Id I want to add a sound bar, it may not work with my other products, for something that I bought SONOS for as a basic function: the same music coming from each device at the same time. Cant add new music services? fine. Cant support higher bitrate or lossless protocols? get it. Cant make a Atmos 5.1 or 7.1 grouped system? Get it. Breaking grouping is an obvious statement: we are forcing obsolescence to make you upgrade functioning hardware that you paid a 500% premium for - which we new we were paying for that going in.

Totally agree with all your points. They’ve created a fair amount of uncertainty for owners going forward and broken some trust IMO. But let’s see what June and beyond bring us. I’m optimistic that S2 products will get some good software upgrades before they roll out S3 in a few years.

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melvimbe

I’m good with the business model - and your point is spot on. I respect that they have to make money and they are pressured to create reoccurring revenue. That being said, there are things that are table stakes in a platform. IMHO, throwing a bone to something as basic as grouping is the Sonos base value prop. My 8 year old laptop can still connect to Wifi. It may be a bit slower, the websites wont look as good, the graphics wont be as sharp - but it still fundamentally works.

It’s an apples to oranges comparison. While it may be good for your laptop to be be a bit slower, that’s not going to work when you need all the devices to be able to work at the same speed, play audio in sync. The whole platform has to be upgraded, and some devices won’t be able to keep up.

I think this is one of the key things that has everyone so blatantly angry. If my AMP dies, and I replace it, It may not work with my other products. Id I want to add a sound bar, it may not work with my other products, for something that I bought SONOS for as a basic function: the same music coming from each device at the same time. Cant add new music services? fine. Cant support higher bitrate or lossless protocols? get it. Cant make a Atmos 5.1 or 7.1 grouped system? Get it.

If you aren’t interested in the new features S2 brings that remain on S1 till there’s a reason to upgrade. You can add new products, just not the 3 newest products.

Breaking grouping is an obvious statement: we are forcing obsolescence to make you upgrade functioning hardware that you paid a 500% premium for - which we new we were paying for that going in.

You aren’t forced to upgrade anything.

I get that, and changes to the protocol may impact bandwidth, especially sound coordination at high bitrates, etc. But making them simply not communicate would be poor design. Wireless standards (which Sonos still uses a common wireless spectrum with billions of other devices) haven't changed. Saying that they cant technically make the devices group at the least common denominator is a business decision, not a technical one.

So Sonos should be able to always get speakers to play in sync, regardless of hardware limitations and feature improvements to the system, because wireless standards haven’t changed?

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Danny

melvimbe

Thats a fair point. I cant critique the difficulty. My point stands - If they changed the protocol so much that they cant coordinate playback between the devices anymore, then I’d argue they designed to not account for their base use case.

I think the argument holds water for platforms/protocols that were recently introduced. There does need to be an expectation of flexible expansion built into the design. However, this platform was built a long time ago, before even the iphone existed, back when no one was even streaming audio.

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Danny

Invinoveritasty

Trending Lyricist I

When the Port came out, I got an email offering me a 30% discount to trade up. I read the email and wondered, why should I do that? So, I called Sonos to ask that very question: “Why should I do that; what has changed?” The response I got made little sense to upgrade at the time, and I was told that the trade up could always be done later if I decided it worthwhile. So I forgot about it. Well, now I know the real reason -- Sonos is moving to a new OS -- S2 -- and future compatibility requires its devices to have more under the hood. So, now that I am considering upgrading, the 30% offer is gone! Apparently, Sonos decided my Connect is strong enough to squeak by for a time; and so Sonos has cancelled its offer to me: the 30% offer just disappeared (I still have the original email - it just goes to an expired webpage -- and I have no upgrade option on my System page next to my “modern” Connect. I have spent a small fortune on Sonos -- ten pieces in total, five of which are Play 5. I emailed Sonos to find out why my trade up disappeared. Not sure why I should spend another penny on Sonos. It is relatively expensive to being with. This is no way to treat loyal customers.

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106rallye

d Though I agree it seems strange to retract an offer that wasn’t limited in time (and I’m curious about Sonos’ reaction) I do not understand your disappointment in your “modern” Connect. Sonos expects this has no problem with S2, so you will not have a problem moving to the new software. Where did you get the idea that it wil just “squeak by”?

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John B

You are disappointed that you don't have to spend any money to enjoy the full benefits of S2?

Strange......

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Invinoveritasty

Trending Lyricist I

You are disappointed that you don't have to spend any money to enjoy the full benefits of S2?

Strange......

I don’t particularly enjoy planned obsolescence. But to each, his own. Cheers.

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John B

You are disappointed that you don't have to spend any money to enjoy the full benefits of S2?

Strange......

I don’t particularly enjoy planned obsolescence. But to each, his own. Cheers.

Even stranger you should say that given that your Connect isn't obsolete. Your Play:5s, if gen1, were designed 11 years ago. Planned obsolescence? Have you understood anything here?

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