Visual difference Gen1 vs Gen2 Connect & Amp

It matters enormously if you want to put your whole system into S2 post-June, as only the gen 2 has enough memory to function in S2.  But in the context of an S1 system there will be no need to be concerned in any way about the performance of a gen 1 Connect.

Thanks 106rallye and John B.

You guys really helped. The extra cash it’ll be then on eBay then for the Connect Gen2!  I’ll be able to upgrade to S2 then which honestly I’ve been ignorant of until just looking into it now. Would like a Port of course, but $449 is too tall an order for me on this right now and seems Port is too new to have used market just yet. I can’t find one.

Thanks! 

In case this helps anyone…….

I too was frustrated trying to find the generation of my devices.  When I ran the Sonos S2 app, it told me some devices are incompatible with S2, but not WHICH devices.  I have 4 Connect:AMPs, a Connect, and a Play5 (as well as other “compatible” devices), bought at different times, so I didn’t know what was what.

First, the S2 app was too dumb to realize my devices needed a software update to become “compatible.”  I did a manual update check in the S1 app, it found an update, and installed it.  Then in the S2 app, instead of saying some devices were incompatible, it said an update was required.  I ran the update and now all my devices work in the S2 app.  This is of course just blind luck, as it may not have been the case if I had purchased my first devices a month or two earlier.  I feel bad for anyone who can’t use their existing devices in the new S2 app.  I think this is a huge stain on the Sonos brand, and I don’t think I’ll ever buy another Sonos device unless they fix this.  When are they going to randomly tell me that MY devices are too old to work with my new devices?  This eliminates the main reason I went with Sonos in the first place - expandability.

All that being said, my oldest Connect:AMP has a Play/Pause button and a serial number starting with 1506.  So I guess anything from at least that manufacture date forward will be compatible.  My Connect starts with 1809, so that’s not much help.  My Play5 starts with 1512.

The fact you need to update soem devices before installiung S2 is mentioned on the forums. It is not on the normal S2 pages, probably because those seem to advise you to wait until you are prompted to make the choice for S2 - at which point the updates are probably installed automatically. Where you prompted or did you make the choice yourself?

For users to see that their devices are becoming legacy is a hard thing to swallow. If anything, you can point your finger at Sonos for not stating clearly when this point would be reached for their devices in the past. Now they have: at least five years after stopping production of the device, though Sonos’track record is way better.. 

I use the S1 app daily and hadn’t been prompted to update.  I installed the S2 app after reading an article.  When I first opened the S2 app, it said something like, “Some of your devices are not compatible….you have options...”

1. Open in S1 App
2. Open Options

When I went to options, I had no options to set up a system or anything.  Just to view existing system devices and a couple others.  I don’t remember what all was in there.  But definitely no option to update until I did the update in the S1 app.  So I was obviously not happy with that situation, and later found I was one of the lucky ones.

I have no issue with Sonos putting out new devices and saying older devices can’t run the new software, can’t get new features, etc.  What I do have an issue with is the splitting of systems.  If my Connect:AMPs, Connect and Play:5  just happened to be Gen 1, almost my entire setup would have been unusable with any new devices.  I’m not saying old devices need to be able to decode a Dolby Atmos signal or play in a surround setup with a new Sonos Arc.  Obviously there are hardware limitations to any electronic device.  But to say that I (and I’m speaking for people with older devices) can’t play Spotify on all my devices sync’d (Sonos’s main selling point) is ridiculous.  They obviously took the easy path and thought it was better to piss some people off than to confuse people buying new devices.  But how hard is it to say, “Your living room Play:1 can’t play this.” or “Only these devices can be paired with an ARC”?  Sonos built their company on the backs of a loyal customer base, and now they’re leaving us in the lurch.  I can’t imagine this bodes well for the quality of the product line in the future.

I hear you, but I also understand the choice Sonos had to make. For now I'd advice you to stay on S1 until the user experience really deteriorates. That could be a couple of months or a couple of years from now….

My Connect has the play/pause button and a 1511 date before the serial number.  I updated the software FOR JUST THAT DEVICE on in the Sonos2 app, but the app updated my whole system (playbar, boost,and a bunch of play1s).  I held my breath and prayed.

It worked!  

I am sharing a photo of my older Connect so folks can SEE what it looks like. Good luck--and yes, I wish Sonos would provide a VISUAL table of compatible vs incompatible devices.

I have both, so figured I would send a comparison shot.

i just purchased Connect from eBay as gen 1, but when received it it worked on S2 app without any apparent downgrade or warning messages to my surprise, so i suspected that maybe i have Gen 2

I too have play/pause button but serial number is 1511

I have a gen 1 Sonos connect ( at least sonos system tells me) and it has a mute button.