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Skibum_1
Trending Lyricist I
April 8, 2020
Answered

Visual difference Gen1 vs Gen2 Connect & Amp

Hi...is there a visual way to determine a Gen 2 Connect & Amp from a Gen 1? I have heard that the Gen2 has the Pause/Play button on the front rather than the Mute button, but have been unable to verify this….I am looking to buy some Gen2 Connects. 

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Ryan S
Ryan SAnswer
Retired Sonos Staff
April 9, 2020

The mute button is a pretty good way to check. I believe that the hardware change of the button was at the same time as the other hardware changes, but I’m not 100% certain on that. The timing is about right. On top of that, you could ask for a picture of the first half of the serial number, the four digits at the beginning, before the 00:0E:58, B8:E9:37, or other Sonos MAC identifiers is the date of production, in the format YYMM.

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23 replies

Chris
Chris
Lead Maestro
April 8, 2020

I don’t know when the change of button happened - I don’t think it happened right at the same time.

You can call sonos with serial number I’m sure they can tell you

 

Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)
    Skibum_1Author
    Trending Lyricist I
    April 8, 2020

    Looking to buy Gen2’s on eBay etc, so was trying to find out if there was an easy way to determine this. Looking for a cheaper way to get all of my devices compliant with S2.

    John B
    April 8, 2020

    I don’t know when the change of button happened - I don’t think it happened right at the same time.

    You can call sonos with serial number I’m sure they can tell you

     

    I am sure you are correct, Chris.  The change happened across the existing products at that time, and I think it was in 2013.  The Connect ‘gen 2’ (as we now call it, although we didn’t know it at the time) started in 2015.  So we can say that if it has the mute symbol it is definitely gen1.  If it has the play symbol, it could be gen 1 or gen 2.

      Skibum_1Author
      Trending Lyricist I
      April 9, 2020

      So it appears there is no easy way to visually confirm a Gen1 v Gen2 Product….I have a long term investment in Sonos and 6 out of my 12 boxes are Gen1, so was looking at a cheaper way (than just the 30% deal) to replace them.

      Ryan S
      Ryan SAnswer
      Retired Sonos Staff
      April 9, 2020

      The mute button is a pretty good way to check. I believe that the hardware change of the button was at the same time as the other hardware changes, but I’m not 100% certain on that. The timing is about right. On top of that, you could ask for a picture of the first half of the serial number, the four digits at the beginning, before the 00:0E:58, B8:E9:37, or other Sonos MAC identifiers is the date of production, in the format YYMM.

      Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.
        John B
        April 10, 2020

        I think the change to the operation of the mute button was rather earlier, around September / October 2013.  I imagine that new devices from pretty soon after that would have had the new play/pause symbol, but it may not have been immediate.  So a mute symbol is pretty much a guarantee it is gen 1.  Most with a play/pause symbol will be gen 2, but you can’t be certain of that.

          106rallye
          106rallye
          April 10, 2020

          Ask the seller to e-mail you a print screen of his account details, showing the serial number of the device he is selling you. If it’s a legacy device the print will say so.

            Rickstream
            Contributor I
            May 27, 2020

            I see the discussion on the mute vs. the pause button, but does anyone know the OTHER hardware changes that took place between Gen 1 and Gen 2?  Any sound, processing, wifi performance or anything else we’d really care about?  I have a Gen 2 Connect on 1 legacy system and several sonos speakers, but don’t want any lag or other issues if I pop a Gen1 Connect on my other legacy stereo system.  Does it matter? 

            Thanks.

            106rallye
            106rallye
            May 28, 2020

            The only other change I know of is that the Gen 2 has more memory. For a (future) S1 system a Gen 1 Connect will function as it does now - that's why Sonos will keep it on S1 from june…..

            John B
            May 28, 2020

            I think the change to the operation of the mute button was rather earlier, around September / October 2013.  I imagine that new devices from pretty soon after that would have had the new play/pause symbol, but it may not have been immediate.  So a mute symbol is pretty much a guarantee it is gen 1.  Most with a play/pause symbol will be gen 2, but you can’t be certain of that.

            It appears that the software change in late 2013 was NOT immediately followed by a change in the button from mute to play/pause on new units, and that the physical change was about the same time as the memory increased, i.e. gen 1 to gen 2.  There has been evidence on other threads of units classed as ‘modern’ with serial numbers starting 1502 (i.e. Feb 2015) and 1504 (i.e. April 2015).  I obviously cannot guarantee the validity of these, I am just reporting what has been said.

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