Trade up scheme

I notice that Engadget are trying to make a fuss about this scheme and even the BBC News app is too. 

I think this is a decent scheme for those who want to take it up, similar to the car scrappage scheme that is sometimes run here in the UK.

It’s good for some, not good for others, which is fine. There’s no requirement I’m aware of for a company to satisfy only one person’s desires. I’d probably feel much differently if it was a required upgrade, i.e. your hardware is going to stop working, but we’ll give you a 30% discount to replace gear that’s not going to work next week.

I can understand what Sonos is trying to do. I’m pleased that they’re at least getting a commitment from the trade in process to recycle the old equipment, rather than just giving the discount and forcing people to throw the items away. I’m also pleased that there’s no requirement to upgrade existing equipment, it’s purely an option for those who want to avail themselves.

Everyone has the option of doing it if they so desire, and not doing it if they don’t. I’ve seen several posts from people who have gotten more than the 30% by reselling their equipment without trading it in for the discount, good for them. Passing on the equipment is great. Recycling the equipment is good, too. Simply tossing it in the trash is bad.

This controversy has blown up in other places as well - Business Insider has a story.

Also in that story is this gem, which no doubt will be poo-pooed by the sycophants here 

"The reality is that these older products lack the processing power and memory to support modern Sonos experiences," it told The Verge. "Over time, technology will progress in ways these products are not able to accommodate."

If you own something on the trade up list, be prepared for a forced brick this year.  
 

Flame away, disingenuous die-hards.

I’m not convinced that it will be that quick, but the answer is to take control of your system and lock it off… It’s yours - you paid for it - it runs on your network. If you must have streaming access then they’ll find a way of messing you up eventually (or let’s hope not), but you can hold off updates for some while, I’d have thought...

How do you lock it down when the controller app will force you to update eventually? Get rid of my phone?

Download the app version you want and keep it stored away. If you accidentally update your phone’s copy uninstall and reload the old version?

As @Stanley_4 has aid, you need to keep a copy of the old .apk and sideload it if it gets overwritten.

There’s a document here :-

http://www.amun.org.uk/Sonos/Sonos%20Lock%20Down%20Procedures.pdf

which a kind contributor here put together to tackle an earlier problem, but the basic principles still hold.

I don’t use the radio or streaming, so block everything off, but as long as you block the update process then you should be OK - unless Sonos change the way that they handle updates, of course ;-)

NB - Sonos do not support this approach, so make sure that your system is working reliably before doing it...

I have posted some comments in another thread, but the above summary seems eminently sensible. And, if it is correct, is why I can't understand the furore over the Sonos offer which is just another option to consider based on the realities of the vintage of one’s kit.

There’s a couple of reasons in my opinion why a fuss is being created..

1. A lot of websites write articles to be deliberately controversial in order to get hits and feedback from people. They also word things in a way that can easily be misinterpreted.
2. Many people who frequent the internet never read things properly. They see a headline, read a bit of it, see comments from others and then join in the ‘fury and disgust’ without actually reading the article and so not understanding what is actually going on in the real World!

A good commentary on the general state of our social media driven world today.