I only own play 5 gen 1 speakers but now I can’t use them on the S1 app as it keeps asking for S2 to be downloaded and you can’t skip past it. Does this mean that all my speakers are now scrap? If this is the case this is the last I buy any of yourequipment it you treat customers this way. I have red all the articles about a split system but if you can’t close the update screen it’s pointless just like my £1000’s worth of equipment I now have.
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Remove the S1 app, re-download, and then choose "Connect to an existing system". Make sure you do not have the S2 app on your device.
And PS, you can't buy any new Sonos products if you are running S1, so you have leveled the idlest of idle threats.
A play 5 (Gen1) will of course only work on S1. What’s not clear from your post is if you also have other devices in the system that you have upgraded their firmware to run on S2 - if you have and you chose to do that, then there are two possible routes you can take.
- Split the devices into S1/S2 Households - if you choose this route, I would certainly go onto reset the S1 part of the system and set it up in a brand new setup with a different Household ID.
- Keep all on an S1 Household by wiring the Play:5 (Gen1) to the router temporarily and removing the S2 App and power off/reset the devices you want to downgrade to S1 and add those back to the S1 HH.
Note a Sonos One SL that has been upgraded to S2 cannot be downgraded. There are new Sonos products that are not compatible with S1. See this link for compatibility:
https://support.sonos.com/s/article/4786
Hope that information assists. 
As per my original question, I only have gen 1 play 5’s no other devices. The app will not allow me to do anything other than update which is blackmail in my eyes. Might as well throw away these devices if they are now incompatible with the new system.
Welcome to the forum. There is no requirement to upgrade to S2. You are either mistaken or trolling. Nobody is being blackmailed.
Please follow the guidance already given on this thread or contact Sonos Support.
Happy New Year
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