Retired Sonos Staff

End of Software Support - Clarifications

December 8, 2022 at 11:29 AM
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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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mc4338

Contributor I

My entire house is set up with Sonos and I have been a longtime customer…. and supporter... until now.

Disappointing to have spent the THOUSANDS of dollars on a product only to be told in order to be a valued customer I need to spend more!
The silver lining here is that I literally was going out to get the in-wall speakers and Sonos Amp this weekend to upgrade a theater room. Timely announcement Sonos! You just saved me another $1,400.00.

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hyperlite34

Lyricist III

I like how Sonos deemed the previous thread regarding this subject as a “legacy” (a.k.a. obsolete). I think we’re beginning to see a pattern here. Sonos is a joke.

PREVIOUS THREAD | 1378 replies | 49886 views

https://en.community.sonos.com/announcements-228985/end-of-software-updates-for-legacy-products-6835470

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Nikisixx21

Enthusiast I

You think this thread will survive the morning?

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farside

Lyricist I

I posted on the last thread my outrage. I built my system over the past 4 years and all my 5’s are browning toast. We are now in an age of constant software updates. We need to start leasing our equipment if they can’t last more than a decade at a minimum. Will this insulting 30% discount be available in two years if I can survive that long? One of the biggest corporate marketing blunders of a time. You had rabid loyal fans. EVERYONE IS ANGRY. We won’t get over this.

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dboxmeyer

Lyricist I

Goodbye Sonos. I’ll ride out my Legacy equipment till you kill it off and then sell the remaining gear on Craigslist. Time to find a new provider for a whole home system. This will provide a great opening for another company to take over the market you pioneered.

Given how poorly this was handled, I really doubt you can repair the relationship. It is plain to everyone that it’s possible to have old speakers still sync and play music, even if the new ones have to do the processing and get all the new features. They manage to do it now.

I do feel bad for recommending this company to so many friends and family… lesson learned (the hard way!)

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Ryan Mills

Lyricist I

You guys should be ashamed of yourselves! Grubby and greedy tactics, and the internet is saying NO! This has left a bad taste in everyones mouth and people will just simply trash your brand and stop buying the product. We influenced all our friends and family to buy Sonos, but not anymore. The word of mouth spreads like wildfire. I'm really disappointed as Sonos was such a great brand before you guys did this.

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Casper1742

Lyricist I

My entire house is set up with Sonos and I have been a longtime customer…. and supporter... until now.

Disappointing to have spent the THOUSANDS of dollars on a product only to be told in order to be a valued customer I need to spend more!
The silver lining here is that I literally was going out to get the in-wall speakers and Sonos Amp this weekend to upgrade a theater room. Timely announcement Sonos! You just saved me another $1,400.00.

I am also a long-time customer and have a whole lot of Sonos equipment. I understand that older hardware might lack capability for future features. But Sonos dismissing my investment, neglecting security updates and pushing me into upgrades really undermines my trust in this company.

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mickey.mcelduff

Lyricist I

I am a long time Sonos user and have spent thousands of dollars on your products. I am no longer going to spend a single penny on your products any more.

I don’t even own these ”obsolete” products. I’m just worried now you’re going to do the same thing to the speakers I bought only 4 years ago. I can’t trust any speaker you sell today will become obsolete in a couple of years. I want my system to continue to receive updates and work with older speakers.

What a shame. I felt so much loyalty to Sonos

Same!! I recommended Sonos to so many as well…. never again. 30% off is pathetic…. am guessing that this will be a common theme for all the other sonos products I own as well. so disappointed with you Sonos. :/

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rdegeus67

Contributor I

Dear Ryan,

I would be very interested to see where and when Sonos published your above statement “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.” This means your products are actually consumables and not assets. I would have never purchased anything if I would have know. Sonos surely prices its products as assets!

With the current terrible communication going on, total lack of information and clarity on what exactly is going to work and what not, one can only conclude that this is an over-eager marketing ploy to push sales. Absolutely shocking.

Regards from a past customer.

Reinier

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scottchip

Lyricist I

A long supporter, now just disappointed. I also feel that I’ve misled friends by recommending Sonos. 30%? Insult to injury. Best wishes with your business

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