Skip to main content
Ryan S
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
January 22, 2020

End of Software Support - Clarifications

End of Software Support - Clarifications

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.

    4256 replies

    Show previous replies
    chicks
    chicks
    January 22, 2020

    Computer based systems? Sonos is selling speakers.

     

    Yes, computer-based speakers.  Every one has a Linux computer inside.

    In your logic its totally ok that if you buy a new car it will not work after few years. 

    There is actually multiple different "computers" inside of new cars but no one will say that okay after May it might stop working.. Dont drive very far away from your home.

    Its totally ok that you will not get all the latest thing to your car but its not okay that if it doesnt work at all. Same thing with the speakers.

     

    Sonos isn’t saying the speakers will stop working, either.  Please read the first post of this thread...

    ocratop
    Lyricist I
    January 22, 2020

    Dear Sonos,

    what a mess - please let your software developers get creative and work extra shifts so that different generations of devices can continue to operate together acceptably in the future. If you're not able to do this, please put an expiration date sticker on your players so we know when they'll become hazardous waste...

      Hank23
      Lyricist I
      January 22, 2020

      A home fully integrated with thousand of dollars spent on system and your now telling us it’s obsolete!  Disgusted with you Sonus.  This is how you treat loyal customers?  30% discount! Never going to spend another penny on Sonus products. Will never again recommend Sonus, done it once, you will do it again to your customers.  Horrendous, damaging decision to your brand.  You have lost loyal customers forever. “Life with Sonus” ….. NOT ANY MORE.

        Pat Cattin
        Lyricist III
        January 22, 2020

        GOOD-BYE

         I thought the genius that invented “New Coke” retired.  
        Fool me once.

          gmoneda
          Lyricist I
          January 22, 2020

          Very poor move by Sonos, the 30% is a joke. I will never purchase a Sonos product again. What a mess and way to sour taste in customers.

            PeteD
            Enthusiast I
            January 22, 2020

            Computer based systems? Sonos is selling speakers.

             

            Yes, computer-based speakers.  Every one has a Linux computer inside.

            In your logic its totally ok that if you buy a new car it will not work after few years. 

            There is actually multiple different "computers" inside of new cars but no one will say that okay after May it might stop working.. Dont drive very far away from your home.

            Its totally ok that you will not get all the latest thing to your car but its not okay that if it doesnt work at all. Same thing with the speakers.

             

            Sonos isn’t saying the speakers will stop working, either.  Please read the first post of this thread...

            That’s exactly what they are saying - maybe not straight away, but in time as streaming services update their software the speakers won’t be updated to make them compatible.

              pveenhof
              Lyricist II
              January 22, 2020

              I will repeat my comments from yesterday (in the now closed thread) - please post reviews on Bestbuy.com, target.com etc etc. Clearly thousands of very loyal customers are extremely angry about this based on all the comments during the last days. Let’s take our responsibility and let’s inform new potential buyers of the risk they take when they invest in the Sonos platform. People need to know this before they buy; for the US especially Bestbuy is a great website to create some visibility for new potential buyers. We should not allow this to happen to them!! Just posted one on BestBuy and one on the Consumer Reports site. Please take a couple of minutes to increase visibility. 

                Beemr
                Lyricist II
                January 22, 2020

                And you are complaining and suing because someone is treating you wrong. Pass it on brother!

                 

                https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/07/technology/sonos-sues-google.html

                  supermax
                  Contributor I
                  January 22, 2020

                  This is a shocking decision. I've been with Sonos for 12 years s but it's time to move on. As well as emailing the CEO to log our frustration at patrick.spence@sonos.com we can use this forum for a better purpose.  If we want to move from Sonos to save this happening to us again, what's the best system to buy now? Yamaha, Bose, someone else? Any opinions? Let's plan our move from this company that doesn't care about us.

                    spydrwebb
                    spydrwebb
                    Prodigy I
                    January 22, 2020

                    I won’t be personally affected by this most recent EOL announcement, but it does stand to reason that I (and countless others) are likely wondering if it’s only a matter of time before the One, Beam, Sub, etc will be obsolete. 

                    For Sonos’ sake, I hope not.

                    Beam, Sub, 2 x P:1 -- 5.1 (video) / 2 x P:3 (music) / 2 x gen1 One (music) ----> ever evolving setup, as they say...
                      Show more replies
                      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement