Trade up scheme

“Personally, I would have more sympathy with them if they made it easier for people to run whichever versions of the software they choose, but that hasn’t happened, either. “

BINGO!!!! They are still acting like a startup IMO.

Not exactly true. Both the Ankarsrum mixer and the Kitchen Aid have had an endless number attachments made for them over the years. SONOS did a commendably good job of ‘future proofing” their gear but like a mixer made in the 1950’s it doesn't mean it can't perform the basic task prescribed to it then as to today. It’s just an insane way of thinking about loyalty IMO.

“Basically, the complaints about “bricking” a working product comes down to personal greed. You want the 30% discount; but you want it for FREE!  So essentially you want to double dip...get the 30% off new Sonos and in some cases sell your old Sonos.”

Not even close to what I’m worried about.  I don’t want bricking OR a discount - I want the stuff I have to just keep working with no unnecessary forced obsolescence.  Why is that sooooooo much to ask?  I’ve got a ZP100, a ZP80 and a Connect.  Even after a discount that’s more than a grand to replace if Sonos up decides to brick them in an update next year.  That’s what this coupon program has us worried about, not some perceived desire to double-dip. 

Geez, the fanboyism in this thread and forum is getting ridiculous.  All the same people that jump up and defend Sonos no matter what they do is nothing more than tribalism.  (This is from someone with 7 sonos players, not some one and done sh***tposter.)  We can love the product and still point out things that look like mistakes or can be seen as not consumer friendly.

As far as “fighting back” is concerned, I have better things to do with my time.  That may change when Sonos bricks one of my products, but I’m not going to put any effort into worrying about it now.  As always, YMMV.  Good luck in whatever you decide to do.  

The analogy of Sonos to a toaster doesn’t really make sense due to the obvious differences.  A toaster is effectively  a static device with minimal interaction with other technologies.  Sonos devices are hardware and software integrated with other devices.  Even without considering new features, a level of support needs/should be provided in order to make sure your devices continue to work as originally designed, in coordination with other devices and remaining secure.  It seems quite fair to me that support of device need to have a set life since there is no revenue from supporting older units. 

  Your windows server surely doesn’t have support from Mircosoft or any of the hardware manufacturers at this point.   What we seem to be assuming is that Sonos is going to drop support of older speakers (which they have not done or said they will do) and will update the software so that these device can’t be used any more (which they have done or said they will do).  The whole argument is based on speculation.  Yes, the trade up program  and Sonos history with the CR100 and dock are fueling these assumptions, but we do not know at this point.

I personally don’t mind my older units going away, not because I have infinite money or anything like that.  I’ve appreciated Sonos new features and have upgraded accordingly when I thought it was good value to me.  I’m sure that’s viewed by some as being unwise with my money, but to each their own.  So I’m not really at risk.  If I were though, my level of worry about this would not be that high.  I’d read the suggestions on how to block upgrades and be prepared to implement them when the time comes.

I don’t get the comments in bold. 

@melvimbe 

“Yes, the trade up program  and Sonos history with the CR100 and dock are fueling these assumptions, but we do not know at this point.”

No - but past experience makes it a fairly good bet, though, surely? We already know that Sonos are quite happy to brick kit that they’ve sold (Dock, CR100) and take the customer flack, and I can see no logical reason why they won’t do the same with older devices when it suits them.

I do agree that the user has the option to lock things off, but that needs some level of expertise and certain facilities being available on their router - which are not common. IMV Sonos should have a single switch on a controller to turn off any possibility of the system being accidentally updated.

Which is not easy to do, because if you accidentally update your App on your mobile device, it will immediately demand you update your speakers and do nothing else until you do.  This is the annoying aspect of Sonos, which almost no other update system employs.  I’d happily just not update, but Sonos makes it unnecessarily difficult to not update.

If they made it easy, they would be acting in a proactive way, and they’d have to support it.  Unfortunately, that is not technically (in the case of iOS) or financially possible.  On top of that, by the very definition, Sonos users locked at one release are eventually going to have a useless system (except possibly local libraries) and are very unlikely to ever purchase again.  

-ios could roll back through iTunes. Sonos supports different things on different controls, this could be another just another in the long list of differences.  so to say they can't is narrow sighted and inward thinking. As a fan, you should look outside your box

- financially possible? You aren't identified as an employee, so you know jack

- Useless system? Talk about tribal hyperbole. It's called choice. I see lots of posts of owners  happily locked down and lots of posts of angry owners who now need to buy new control hardware because of an incremental update.

Hope that isn't too antagonistic and doesn't hurt anyone.

Just chiming in here again to throw back to my posts on the first page.

I posted about my opinion regarding the trade up program from a sustainability perspective, saying that I personally disagree with bricking a perfectly functional device. I've seen some good arguments for trade up since, still not convinced, but I acknowledge that everyone should do as they see fit.

Seeing how this thread has unfolded, I feel compelled to state, for clarification, that although I'm skeptical about Trade Up for other reasons, I don't subscribe to the conspiracy theories about forced obsolescence. Neither do I feel inclined to compare Sonos to a toaster or some other unrelated product to make a convoluted point about longevity. I think I most agree with Bruce's statement that Sonos is most like a smartphone or a personal computer. Like it or not, eventually these products will lose support or will no longer be able to keep up with the ecosystem, and Sonos should be commended for how long they've managed not to obsolete any Player. If and when that happens to some of my Sonos units, I may consider Trade Up, but until then I see no need to recycle my Gen1 Play 5s.