Sonos Issues App is TERRIBLE

Based on the most recent post by the CEO it will take some time for all users to get the experience we expect and had before the May 2024 update.

Sonos replaced an app and firmware that had been tweaked and modified over years to resolve issues seen in the field with one that worked in their lab using an “ideal” setup. The result was that the system “optimised” for the vast array of real world scenarios was replaced by one that worked for some and not for others. Factor in the the UI change and the arbitrary removal of featured and you end up where we are today.

The old codebase, which was no doubt difficult to maintain, would of included code that fixed real world idiosyncrasies as they were encountered. Suddenly we were all exposed to all of them and that is why it was so bad last May and they should have rolled back to the previous version.

Some of us still have unresolved idiosyncrasies, that is why Sonos support can get things working for a while by tweaking our network, but the truth is that while they fix the current code to address all of the real world idiosyncrasies problems will persist albeit for a reducing number of users.

The old Sonos “just worked” because it was developed in and for the real world. The new Sonos will get there, I’m sure of that, but they are dealing with a self inflicted flood of issues that the old version resolved as a trickle.

​@Rich Kawas, I am also a long time Sonos user with 9 speakers. My first speaker was the ZonePlayer S5, the became the Play 5 Gen 1. I did peak at 12 speakers in my home, and i am gradually swapping out older speakers for newer models as I am able to.

One thing I can say with my system is that there was just one instance where I had connection issues. That was when I tried to use powerlines to connect a speaker to my network. There are requirements for using Sonos, and while some may say that everything else works… Sonos does NOT work like everything else that simply calls home. See those requirements here:

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-system-requirements

Look in the “Unsupported network setups and devices“ section.. Sometimes it can be your network...

You see, what has worked flawless for me, is to have a couple main speakers hardwired… like my Arc, leaving the Sub and surrounds wirelessly connected to the Arc’s private WIFI. And before you say it, yes, Sonos is marketed as a wireless audio solution. But they have included ethernet ports on all devices until the Eras.

For me, even if it called for an unsightly cable ran across the floor temporarily for troubleshooting purposes, if it solved my issues

As is the new one.

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/1kiqk2b/an_indepth_interview_with_sonos_interim_ceo_tom/

https://www.reddit.com/r/sonos/comments/1kl50g0/special_edition_rsonos_office_hours_feat_tom/

Tom Conrad said “ I think the third mistake was one that we just didn’t understand. And that was that, obviously, in the real world, the product had material performance and reliability issues.”

From https://www.theverge.com/speakers/664329/sonos-ceo-tom-conrad-interview-app-speakers-subscriptions

The new app and firmware were designed in a lab and are being adapted to the real world. This was obvious a year ago but in true Sonos fashion they failed to admit it until much later. 

Where do you think software is developed, outdoors?

Open my links, Tom Conrad partakes in both.

​@Smilja read the links but the fact is that Tom Conrad said “I think the third mistake was one that we just didn’t understand. And that was that, obviously, in the real world, the product had material performance and reliability issues.”

He admits they made mistakes and the third was that they did not understand the real world. If you go back a year you’ll actually see that the reality is that they ignored the real world feed back from beta testers and pushed ahead with the release anyway.

Before I retired I was a software product manager, I know the importance of developing in a “lab” but I also understand that if the lab does not reflect the “real world” then the software that is delivered will fail for the users. The Sonos lab did not reflect the user’s world and Tom Conrad acknowledges this.

I think that the point you are missing is that in May last year for some reason Sonos were operating in an “ivory tower” and now, after lots of pain for them and the users, they are back closer to the real world. But the last 12 months of pain could have been avoided, and Tom Conrad acknowledges this in the interview I shared a link to, if they had released the new app and firmware in an optional “preview”. Sadly, because they did not understand the real world they dumped the update on all of us.

I hope that Tom Conrad gets the permanent CEO job because he seems to understand the problem. If he had said this 12 months ago things may have been a lot better for both Sonos and the users. But of course we’ll never know. 

​@Gaham, Wanna sign up for betatesting?

https://beta.sonos.com/enter/

Yes, the new app went through a “real world” beta before its release.

[...] if they had released the new app and firmware in an optional “preview”.

Sonos does not conduct public betas.

The public beta of Spotify Connect was a big mess.

Moderator edit: Removed reference to deleted post.

Sonos admitted there were beta testing issues “The statement went on to explain that the company would increase the stringency of pre-launch testing phases. The Sonos beta testing program will now include more types of customers and more diverse setups for a longer testing period. This will allow Sonos to find, diagnose and solve customer concerns more quickly before going to market.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2024/10/01/sonos-apologises-and-commits-to-new-quality-and-customer-experiences/

There were also plenty of comments from beta users saying their comments about the readiness of the app were ignored last year when this all happened. 

Preview does not have to be a public beta the S2 that worked was released as a preview and allowed us to stay on S1 until we were ready.

I have been part of the Sonos beta testing program since 7th May 2024, without signing up, they just call it the production release.

Sonos messed up big time last year, they were slow to acknowledge this, they have been slow fixing things and the default position today is to blame the user network.

I bought my first Sonos product because my IT illiterate gadget obsessed brother in law bought isome and they just worked. It was literally the only computer related thing he ever bought that my son or I did not have to get working for him. That was their USP. He filled his house with them and so did I. Today my network is faster and I have more bandwidth but Sonos is less reliable. They are still great speakers but they no longer “just work”.

Don't shoot the messenger: According to your profile you’ve got Playbar, Play:1/Play:3. These units have been challenged by S2 since May 2024. Being 13 years old, they are unable to cope with the elevated requirements of the new app.

I’m not sure what point you are trying to make here. Sonos shipped the updated S2 app to me knowing what hardware I have so if some of my speakers are “challenged” why on earth did they do it and why would anyone defend them? 

This is just more evidence that the problems that a number of us are experiencing are down to the historic and current incompetence of Sonos. 

The Linux OS running on the old units is outdated and cannot be updated due to hardware limitations. Hence the split into S1/S2 five years ago. Downgrading these items to S1 reforges the status quo ante May 2024.

Here’s a rundown of the Sonos’ product history.

Sonos - Wikiwand

I don't think that they were aware that the oldest of the S2-capable items would surrender to the new condition(s). They know it by now, of course; according to a statement on Reddit, they are trying to rectify the situation by firmware updates.

Isn’t all modern consumer software/services in a perpetual beta, as the vendors add new functions and features on a regular basis, ie the ‘product’ is never finished, it evolves?

Kind of shoots a hole in the argument that they had done “real world” testing before the 7th May 2024 release. Lot’s of us in the real world have a mix of new and old.

What is odd though is that my older devices actually seem to be my most reliable. The Play:3 in the study is rock solid. The PlayBar too but 90% of the time that is used for the TV. The Era 100s play up the most, they are linked to the Beam with a Sub Mini, and they ironically show a strong connection.

The “real world” statement is pure CYA bull.  There have been numerous accounts that the beta testing uncovered all of the bugs and missing functions, and the beta testers were beating the doors down with complaints.  The developers passed these on by “yelling and screaming” at meetings but they were overridden by the promise to the investors that that the headphones would be out by end of FY24.

So stop trying to parse that statement looking for gotchas when it is obviously BS in the first place. 

If the development process is not properly managed then sadly the answer is yes.

But it should be beta tested before it gets to us.

For the 100th time - IT WAS BETA TESTED!!!  Within days of the initial release, there were posts here and all over reddit saying it was beta tested.  Posts by people who actually participated in the beta!  Bottom line: Beta testing was done, and test results were ignored!!!!

You already rebooted Beam → Sub → left Era 100 → right Era 100?

Reduce wireless interference | Sonos

I rolled back to the S1 controller several months ago. All my stuff works great now except my Sub which I cannot downgrade back to S1 for some reason. So its sitting on the floor waiting.

I was wonder if the S2 issues had been fixed so I could “upgrade” back to S2 and get my sub back. It would appear no is the answer. 

I’ll check back in 6 months. 

Not all generations of the Sub are compatible with S1.

https://support.sonos.com/en-us/article/sonos-app-version-compatibility

This is app is STILL extremely frustrating.  I’m about to leave SONOS - long term customer but I can’t stand it any more.  Goes in/out, can’t turn on can’t turn off, volume not working a lot of the time takes so long to respond to turn up/down….unfortunately just about had it too bad!

Did you contact Sonos?

Sure sounds like a network issue. Once I’ve connected to my system, which takes around a second, I don’t have any delays with volume, or other commands.

Have you tried a network refresh, by unplugging all Sonos devices, then rebooting your router? Once the router comes back up, wait two minutes before plugging in your Sonos. Wait another two minutes for everything to ‘settle’, then test. 

As a note, if this changes things, and I think it will, I would encourage you to set up reserved IP addresses in your router. Check the router’s manual for how to do that, it will go a long way to help keep this issue from happening again.

Alternately, you could submit a system diagnostic within 10 minutes of experiencing this problem, and call Sonos Support to discuss it. Don’t post the resulting diagnostic number here, they get sensitive about GDPR.

There may be information included in the diagnostic that will help Sonos pinpoint the issue and help you find a solution.

When you speak directly to the Support staff, they have tools at their disposal that will allow them to give you advice specific to your network and Sonos system.

Ok thank you I appreciate you taking the time to answer. I didn’t know anything about this but I’m not a techie either.  It all started happening around the time of the upgraded controller last year.  I did not contact SONOS but I will try the items you suggested. Thanks again.