Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Support - Clarifications

December 8, 2022 at 11:29 AM
4256 replies
269590 views

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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B

bonervz

Enthusiast II

For Sale: Complete Sonos Syestem, Works great! ….. for now.

Sonos from leader to loser in 2020.

G

gtfincher

Lyricist I

To the FOOLS @Sonos who thought that abandoning a dedicated existing customer base w/forced obsolescence was a good business decision, #FAIL Like others, I have $1000’s of dollars invested in a system that you now tell me is obsolete & might as well be bricked. I have “evangelized” Sonos for MANY years, have systems all over my house, & its likely the most used of any technology, except our phones, in our house.

I will NOT “trade-up” NOR purchase another Sonos product & will now proceed to ditch every last one of these bricks while I can get some $$ on eBay or other site. Perhaps some other SPEAKER company will take my $$$ w/o killing the hardware I already own.

Goodbye, Sonos.

S

stuart fleet_1

Contributor I

Sonos customer for seven years. I have spent a lot on a Gen1 Play 5, a Connect, a Connect Amp - all of which are being abandoned by Sonos - but only one of which I can trade up. I also recently bought a Beam and a couple of surround speakers. They are going to be dropped too if I don’t spend hundreds more updating the Play 5 and unplugging the Connects. This is a very shoddy way to treat your customers, and you should be ashamed of yourselves Sonos. I am not stupid though. This is going to keep happening isn’t it? Just ordered a Naim Muso qb Gen2 (thought I would stretch to the Gen 2, but I could have ordered the Gen1 as Naim … get this… still support their legacy products). Will keep the Beam, because it’s providing the sound for my tv. It will be the last Sonos product I ever own though. It’s goodbye from me.

S

schoondoggy

Collaborator II

Answers to these questions would be appreciated:

I understand if I have a mixed system of legacy and modern, after the May update it will no longer receive updates and future features will not be supported. After the May update can I still add new products to my legacy/mixed system, like a Move? Would the Move software roll back to my May software?

If I have a legacy system after the May update can I add more legacy devices without issue?

If I have a mixed system after the May update can I split it into two separate systems, legacy and modern, or do I need to do that before the May update?

If I have a mixed system after the May update, can I remove a modern device and add it to a modern system without issue.

If I have separate modern and legacy systems in my home I assume they will use separate versions of the app. Will there be any conflict running two different app versions on the same mobile device?

J

Johnnydot

Enthusiast I

Have Sonos closed the other thread to stop the negative feedback? They clearly do not know who to deal with customers. I am yet to come across a customer who thinks this is a good idea.

Sonos has some of the loyalist consumers you will find I imagine as we buy products to extend our current system without giving much of a thought to other manufacturers. For me that will change and almost ten years of loyalty to Sonos has ended and I will look to replace my “legacy” Play:5 device with something non sonos and leave the rest of my “Modern” Sonos system intact.

Hey, Johnny,

Who's gonna buy your play5 for 100quid when you can get a brick to do the same job for less than one pound?

I've got two of the effin paperweights.

Shame on sonos. Shame on Patrick Spence, CEO of sonos.

K

Kirk33

Collaborator II

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.

LOL no, that would have in big bold capital letters if they were gonna let you do that. You will be able to have 2 separate Sonos setups that won’t group together

A

attacama40

Headliner I

Have to say a new thread with direction and answers is appreciated and what was requested.

Shutting off a strong message by simply closing a thread is pouring petrol over a firework box! Why on earth would you?

My input to date has been measured. At this point I’m about to join the **** You tribe.

Really? Is this the way to do business? This is mutually assured destruction on a commercial scale I’ve never seen.

On every level possible totally mis-managed.

baardog

Avid Contributor III

My product has not reached the end of it’s useful life.
Do you even care about the environment? This stinks...

A

AllanWhoops

Lyricist I

Given I have QUAD equipment from the 1950’s (22 and IIs) and that they still support it by way of repair at a reasonable cost, I don’t expect all my SONOS kit to become redundant after 10 years or less. In addition QUAD has been owned by a Chinese company for a number of years but still support legacy kit.

Quick question: even with a 30% discount, who in their right mind would replace redundant SONOS kit with new SONOS kit????

S

svksnd

Contributor II

Remember, SONOS is now a public company (SONO). It’s got shareholders to answer to which makes it a very different company than the one I bought my legacy products from.

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