No, Apple’s change to iOS is certainly not a joke. However, your account shows that you have a PLAY:5 gen 2, which in these several threads has been noted that it is a valid AirPlay 2 target, so you can continue to use your iOS devices without issue, playing your iTunes playlists. Or, if you also store this music on a hard drive somewhere, you could just point your a Sonos software at that location, and not even use AirPlay 2.

Your post is a bit confusing, given that this change was forced by Apple over three months ago. 

No, it is not true.

. 
 

That would be store.  :-)

Excellent point. Changed the post ;)

I would love to figure this out without having to replace this equipment, so please walk me through it,

--- Not sure what your records show, but I own 3 Sonos speakers.  A larger speaker in the LR, and two smaller speakers, one in the MB and one in the den/office.  These were all purchased separately.  I am happy to povide photos of each unit if this is in question.

--- These worked great with the iTunes playlist from my phone until several months ago.  I have continued to try to get the speakers to connect to my phone, unsuccessfully (I tried again after reading your reply).

--- I do not know what “airplay” or “valid airplay target” means.  I do know when I purchased these devices, those are words that never came up as operation was described by the person who sold them to me.  I also know that with no knowledge of those words or their meaning, the speakers worked nearly perfectly (other than dropping songs in the middle of playback occaisionally) for several months.

--- If my note seems confusing, I guess I’m a good communicator, becaused confused is exactly what I am.  I’ll be a lot less confused when I can use these expensive speakers gain.  Very willing to learn what I need to do different than what worked so well initially.

Please tell us what Apple device you’re using to control the Sonos speakers, where your music is stored, what version of iOS it is running, and whether your PLAY:5 is a gen 1 or gen 2, which can easily distinguished by the kind of buttons it has for volume. Physical buttons are gen 1, smooth touch buttons are gen 2. 

Keep in mind you are talking to other Sonos users and we have no clue about your system until you tell us about it.

There are Sonos staff folks that visit the forums, they are clearly identified in their user name field.

You can contact Sonos support, see the contact page. Some options are 24x7 but you might prefer the talk to a human doirectly option of the phone lines once they open.

A tip, get it sorted before black Friday or the phones will be busy with new users.

Thank you both for your help.  I use an iPhone 8, running version 13.13.  My iTunes playlist is stored on my computer, a 10 year old MacBook Pro, which is running 10.13.6.  My Play 5 (as well as the smaller speakers) all have a manual rocker/toggle type volume button, so Gen 1?

Stanley, thanks for your comment about who you guys are. I assumed I was working with Sonos staff.  I am no tech guy, so when I things go askew (I lost my support when my kids left the nest) I feel powerless to get them up and running again.  As caregiver for my wife (early Alzheimers), the music on my playlist helps calm her AND me when things get crazy.  Thank you again for trying to help with this frustration.

Love that comment about your tech support leaving the nest - so true for us old folks!

The way Sonos setups work, as I understand it, is that your phone is only working as a controller. The speakers themselves do the clever stuff - there is a computer, wifi/network card and stuff as well as the amplifier/speaker itself in every speaker. They need to know where to go to “get” your music and playlists. This music, you say, is stored on your Macbook. You need to tell the Sonos system the location - the name of the MacBook, and the path to it on the hard drive. This setup only needs doing once; the speakers will store the info you give it when you use your phone to control the setup process.

Take a look at  https://support.sonos.com/s/article/257?language=en_US and have a go: any problems, come back to us fellow users (who’ve gone through a similar learning curve!).

Hi. I think where we are is that you have iTunes, including your playlists, stored on a Mac.  But you haven’t been playing the tracks from there to your Sonos speakers.  Instead, the iTunes was synced to your phone and you played the music stored on your phone.  But you have not been able to do that for some months.

Please correct that if it is wrong, but I’ll proceed on that basis provisionally.

You will need to set up your Sonos Music Library, which will enable you to play the playlists stored on your Mac.  Note - this does not mean you have to control from the Mac - it is just where the music is stored.  You will still use the Sonos mobile app to control everything.

This link explains what to do.  If you have any problems I am sure there will be people on here happy to help.  

https://support.sonos.com/s/article/257?language=en_US

@nik9669a just beat me to it!

Aren’t we a loving, caring, helpful lot! 

Don’t forget the OP could still also use AirPlay too… so if he plays his songs from an App, like Apple Music, then he just needs to hit the AirPlay icon on the ‘Now Playing' screen and switch the playing audio to one of his compatible Sonos speakers. Here’s a couple of document links from Sonos/Apple to help explain...

Using AirPlay with Sonos

How to AirPlay Audio

The OP's profile suggests he has Airplay compatible speakers. His responses suggest otherwise, so the jury is out on whether Airplay is an option. I must admit I was going by responses and had not looked at profile.

I think several of us went by the Profile info first. The reply above confirmed “rocker switches” indicating Gen1 speakers and so no Airplay. (It would have been easier...)

To Alpine, I say: ignore all our banter on here, try to set up your Music Library per my and John B’s posts above, and let us know how it goes.

I just read 3 ”different” speakers in his opening line, so the chances are that one (or more) might possibly be AirPlay compatible, but nevertheless there is plenty of help and options provided here by the community to allow him to continue to play his music, so that’s the main thing, I guess.

Awesome help from all of you.  I am going to follow the provided link and then get back to this thread if I remain flummoxed.  Thank you!

Hey!  You guys rock.  Followed the link, followed the instructions, and everything is working perfectly!  Thank you for your help and hope you all have a great Thanksgiving.