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Ryan S
Ryan S
Retired Sonos Staff
January 22, 2020

End of Software Support - Clarifications

  • December 8, 2022 at 11:29 AM
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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

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    4256 replies

    Show previous replies
    Scubadude
    Lyricist I
    January 23, 2020

    I am Disgusted with this, my play 5 is only 5 years old so you are totally screwing me over to buy a new one AFTER 5 BLOODY YEARS, well done sonos well done, my faith in your products has been lost completely.

    Translate
      Engines
      Lyricist I
      January 23, 2020

      Not only will I not buy another sonos product but my advice to all those friends who bought many $K of equipment since 2011 will be the same.

      By all means stop updating the legacy equipment and even better, deploy a stable legacy app that doesn't update every time I use it. But instead you inbred to block what I have. OK, fine, we owners of legacy kit will do what we can to block you sonos. 

      What a great bunch you were when we meet in Amsterdam in 2012 at the launch of play 1. Has greed krept into your culture? 

      Translate
      Nialli
      Contributor I
      January 23, 2020

      Just a matter of hours now before Sonos does the inevitable and declares this forum thread “Legacy” and shuts it down 🙁

      Translate
        iniquity
        Lyricist I
        January 23, 2020

        I have three Play5’s (Gen1), a zone player and a bridge built over many years on the basis of the Sonos reputation, quality, and reliability.

        Today that trust has been destroyed. In a world where we talk about sustainability and concern for the environment Sonos has condemned my flawlessly working system to the scrap heap.  Their concern is only for their profit margins.

        I will never be buying or recommending Sonos ever again.

        Translate
          pcrossl1
          Contributor I
          January 23, 2020

          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.

          I bought my sonos kit 5yrs ago.  Since then I have recommended sonos to very many friends/relaitives.  Not now.  Last week my brother wanted to push ahead and buy some sonos however I had to advise him to not do so.  I cited the built-in obsolescence as a likely major problem for the future.  Sonos seems to be moving away from ‘Hi-Fi’ and more towards cheapo-disposable products but at a premium price.  What a shame

          Translate
            chickentender
            chickentender
            January 23, 2020

             

            this is a good discussion - the presenter has 9 'legacy' products and has said be will not upgrade them because they will just do it again in 5 plus years - 

            "you just killed me as a customer, dead, Sonos" 

            "ill never buy another sonos product again"

             

             

             

            The first sane conversation on the topic as a whole I’ve seen.

            Translate
              bonervz
              Enthusiast II
              January 23, 2020

              It’s not even exactly a true 30% discount. It’s 30% off RRP.

              Not even since the prices went up 12.5% last month. Bastards expect me to upgrade, sure no problem, I will upgrade to another brand.

              Translate
              Sonos from leader to loser in 2020.
                a18041967
                Contributor II
                January 23, 2020

                Agree with the previous comments, the current price on the Sonos website is £499 and with a 30% discount I would still have to find £349 for each of the 3 legacy units I have. I won’t be paying +£1,000 to replace perfectly working products.

                 

                So I predict that the days of Sonos are limited, many cheaper alternatives available and the reason for continuing to buy Sonos products has disappeared. BUT!!!! we have a number of options:

                1. Continue to buy Sonos, NO THANK YOU!!!!
                2. Find alternative solutions
                3. HACK our existing hardware and use alternative open source solutions.

                Option 3, HACK is the most interesting option for us all as it allows us to reuse our exiting investment and at the same time say ‘up yours Sonos’ and probably more damaging for the Sonos business. Is this of interest and do we have people with the correct technical knowledge to explore reuse options?

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                  Ian w.
                  Avid Contributor I
                  January 23, 2020

                  Does anyone know how long other streaming devices will be supported, such as bluesound, as instead of upgrading, I’m looking elsewhere?

                  Translate
                    pcrossl1
                    Contributor I
                    January 23, 2020

                    A few months ago my Samsung S5 became obsolete as a controller (Android 6).  Now this.  I have only had this stuff 5yrs and its all going to be in landfill in a few years.  I will not buy any more Sonos.  I have stopped recommending Sonos.. In fact the reverse - I now advise people to not buy Sonos.

                     

                    What a shame.  5 yrs ago I was so impressed with the kit.  The customer support was second to none.  How can a brand turn its back on its original devotees like this.  Very annoying

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