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

End of Software Support - Clarifications

  • December 8, 2022 at 11:29 AM
  • 4256 replies
  • 270056 views
  • Translate All
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
    Rob NYC1
    Enthusiast II
    January 23, 2020

    Quote from Sonos Annual Report: Our product roadmap is largely focused on delivering products with voice control.

    Might be a nice to have, but not what I bought into Sonos for and not something I’m particularly bothered about. And still not a reason legacy products should stop working - no-one expects them to miraculously become voice-controllable. 

    Strange, I’ve not seen any announcement that a legacy product will suddenly stop working. Just no more updates for them, post May 2020. 

    It seems a rather classic case here of that popular game called “Chinese Whispers”, me thinks.

     

    “me thinks” that the issue is not whether the system will suddenly cease to function.  The issue is whether there are truly technological hurdles or economic burdens that prevent legacy products from being supported.   This decision seems to be Sonos trying to spur product sales and has nothing to do with an any actual issue in supporting legacy components.

     

    Translate
      David_366
      Enthusiast I
      January 23, 2020

      My Sonos family is in tatters!

      I’m still not sure how I'm going to have this awkward conversation with my 6 month old Beam that it’s not going to be supported or updated whilst its older sibling Play 5 (Gen 1) is still living in the house and I haven’t chucked it out or worse... killed it yet!

      I think my Playbar is coming to terms with it - that it might be next!

      My beam is really too young to understand and my play 1s are still so small.

      The Sub on the other hand is gobsmacked! :O

      Translate
        user_end_of_lifed
        Enthusiast II
        January 23, 2020

        Strange, I’ve not seen any announcement that a legacy product will suddenly stop working. Just no more updates for them, post May 2020. 

        It seems a rather classic case here of that popular game called “Chinese Whispers”, me thinks.

        ​​​​​​

        May 1st: Sonos stop distributing updates for my Play 5. 
        May 2nd: Apple make a small but breaking change to their streaming interface. 
        May 3rd: Sonos release an update that keeps their products working. Except not to me, because I do not want to accept their kind offer to pay them again for the same thing I already have. My entire Sonos installation is unable to update. My entire Sonos installation STOPS WORKING. 

        Translate
          rAndison
          Enthusiast I
          January 23, 2020

          Quote from Sonos Annual Report: Our product roadmap is largely focused on delivering products with voice control.

          Might be a nice to have, but not what I bought into Sonos for and not something I’m particularly bothered about. And still not a reason legacy products should stop working - no-one expects them to miraculously become voice-controllable. 

          Strange, I’ve not seen any announcement that a legacy product will suddenly stop working. Just no more updates for them, post May 2020. 

          It seems a rather classic case here of that popular game called “Chinese Whispers”, me thinks.

           

           

          After May 2020 they’ve confirmed

          1. The system can remain integrated but this means no updates for legacy and modern (new) devices.
          2. Create two separate systems but lose whole of house coverage. The whole idea of Sonos in the first place.
          3. Systems not being updated will continue to work until, changes are made by external  sources that may result in losing some elements of the service or the service entirely.

          Any systems not receiving updates, either features, bugs or SECURITY updates will then be exposed to changes from external suppliers… i.e. Streaming companies such as Deezer, Apple and Amazon. These companies change features, services etc that result in changes to their API. These changes will not reach any equipment that no longer receives updates. This effectively will kill the service/use of the device.

          Secondly there is the security issue. As the system ages (legacy) with no updates and hackers expose holes in their system, these will not be correct/repaired as they longer receive updates and therefore expose your entire network. 

           

          Translate
            HelterSkelter
            Enthusiast II
            January 23, 2020

            Quote from Sonos Annual Report: Our product roadmap is largely focused on delivering products with voice control.

            Might be a nice to have, but not what I bought into Sonos for and not something I’m particularly bothered about. And still not a reason legacy products should stop working - no-one expects them to miraculously become voice-controllable. 

            Strange, I’ve not seen any announcement that a legacy product will suddenly stop working. Just no more updates for them, post May 2020. 

            It seems a rather classic case here of that popular game called “Chinese Whispers”, me thinks.

             


            You’ve not looked very well then!

            I had this in an email from Sonos ...

            “Your entire system will still work after May, it just won't update anymore. As time goes on there may be services that stop working”

             

            Translate
              SonosManu
              Enthusiast II
              January 23, 2020

              Sonos, did you mean 70% discount to trade in our obsolete devices? #sonostradein70discount

              Should everybody ask for 70% discount?

              Translate
                Hansito
                Lyricist I
                January 23, 2020

                In my opinion SONOS walked the wrong way. Voice-controlled Systems - which propably need the extended calculation power - are only good for disabled persons, who - for example - are blind.

                Why don’t you keep it simple? Create your own music-streaming-service and lock Amazon, Apple, Google out. The big players in music business can change their software so offen, that the SONOS equipment that is today called “modern” also gets obsolet in no time.

                Translate
                  rmhw4
                  Contributor I
                  January 23, 2020

                  But you are still listing the connect as a last chance!

                  1. If I buy one will it be obsolete in May
                  2. If not why is my current connect being made obsolete?

                  Thanks,

                   

                  Rob

                  Translate
                  SonosManu
                  Enthusiast II
                  January 23, 2020

                  I stared another thread to get 70% discount from Sonos

                  #sonostradein70discount

                  https://en.community.sonos.com/community-feedback-229090/did-sonos-mean-70-discount-to-trade-in-your-obsolete-devices-sonostradein70discount-6836092#post16396110

                  Translate
                    castalla
                    Local Superstar
                    January 23, 2020

                    No point investing in a company that does not respect its customers particularly at the price point they sell their equipment. How do we know they will not cash in again in 5 years time? 

                    They never wanted to add Bluetooth, they never want to add Atmos, they never want to add HDMI. and for what. So we are lock-in and now they stop supporting it and making our investment useless

                    We need to boycott this money-making driven company and find an alternative. Bring back John MacFarlane ( Sonos founder and former CEO) He had principles to loyal customers

                    Best alternatives to Sonos

                    https://usa.inquirer.net/18732/the-best-sonos-alternative-for-a-wireless-home-sound-system

                    Hmm  … all proprietary systems.  Good luck with that. 

                    Translate
                    It's the courageous bee's knees - all 6 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝. - - - - - Make Sonos Great Again - - - - -
                      Show more replies
                      Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement