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Play:5 (1st gen) stopped working


Hi, my play 5 which I think is about 4 years old now has suddenly stopped working.

Tried hard reset holding mute whilst putting power cord back in. Tried a different power cord. Nothing works, completely unresponsive.

What are my options?

Thanks.
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Best answer by John B 3 May 2019, 12:32

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40 replies

Add my to the list. Very frustrated. Well invested in SONOS. My Play 5 (gen 1) had very little use and has stopped working. Tech support put me through the standard trouble shooting - including the hassle of plugging into router - to no avail. Connection is fine but no sound. I was offered the 30% trade up discount. Still going to be a big out of pocket cost.

 

 

 

*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the community guidelines.*

Userlevel 4
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Yes,I got that,but simply wanted to mention that a one year warrantee doesn’t instill too much confidence in a product…..You’d not be happy with a 2 year warrantee?

Also,referring to the video of the Play 5 Gen 2,a rep of Sonos specifically mentions the speakers were designed to last “ten years or more”!

I know the original poster was speaking of the gen 1,but virtually all Sonos products could use a better warrantee.

Personally,I’d pay a bit more to see the company demonstrate a bit more confidence in what they manufacture and promote.

Btw,I love my Play 5 pair,with the sub!

So far,so good.

You do know the Play:4 Gen 1 in 

I think that,though Sonos does seem to be a caring company and makes a nice product,the one year warrantee does not instill confidence in their product longevity.

Two years would be far more acceptable and I totally understand they might have to raise their prices a bit,to compensate for the extra year.

Still,the number “two” in front of their warrantee looks much better than what they currently offer.

Even the el-cheapo electronics products on the market offer one year!

Also,in the Sonos Video,showing the development of the Play 5(a fabulous speaker,imo)…..

A key Sonos employee specifically says “it was designed to last ten years or more”!

Sheesh!

 

The poster was speaking about the Play:5 Gen 1.  That was last manufactured in 2015, so it was far out of any sensible warranty period,  and 1 vs 2 years doesn’t really apply in this instance. 

Userlevel 4
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I think that,though Sonos does seem to be a caring company and makes a nice product,the one year warrantee does not instill confidence in their product longevity.

Two years would be far more acceptable and I totally understand they might have to raise their prices a bit,to compensate for the extra year.

Still,the number “two” in front of their warrantee looks much better than what they currently offer.

Even the el-cheapo electronics products on the market offer one year!

Also,in the Sonos Video,showing the development of the Play 5(a fabulous speaker,imo)…..

A key Sonos employee specifically says “it was designed to last ten years or more”!

Sheesh!

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I tried a repair I seen on YouTube. Same symptoms as mine. I ordered the parts and repaired. Did not fix the problem. Now my Play 5 is sitting in a box. I have another one that works .

A few says ago i had the same experience.

After my Play 5 Gen. 1 updated it will no loger work without an ethernet cable plugged in.

And i can say 100% that it happened after the update.

 

 

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I have two Gen 1 Play 5’s. One just quit working like so many of yours. I did call Sonos and talk with a Tech. The only thing they could do is give me a discount off a new product. ( 30 % ). I do understand in wear and tear on electrical boards, circuits, rectifiers, etc. I asked for a schematic and they could not provide one. I checked my box ( I have 2 Play 5 boxes ) and no schematic. I replaced the two capacitors, one fuse, and a rectifier . This repair is on Youtube. That did not work either. I have put the Play 5 in a box with all the parts, just incase my other one goes out. Funny, That no repair shop will touch a Sonos for repair. With the 30% off the new product, it may not be worth repairing the Sonos Play 5. I am planning on purchasing a Home Theater Arc System from Sonos.  

So I have a Play 1, Play 3 and Play 5, Sonos Controller ( wireless ) Sonos booster Hub. I want to keep these in play while I have the Home Theater ARC system in play also. My Sonos Controller battery has bit the dust. ( $60.00 for a new one ) If you upgrade to the new Sonos App the old one goes away. Is it possible to have the two App’s on your phone at once ? 

FYI : My Sonos Play 5 stayed in one spot for years and years. Only moved to wipe off or clean. Never dropped, jarred, treated it like family. I am dissapointed that the unit broke down . If I had mistreated it , I could rectify it going out. But I did not. 

I do love the Sonos System, I could control the volume of each speaker and create a surreal sound effect.  


if the surface is matted by the sun, if the button needs to be replaced, or if the sound starts to get a bit worse after a year - I wouldnt have a problem.

end of warranty does not equal end of tecniqual lifetime.

 

are You saying that the products live longer if I buy extra warranty?

 

 

No, I’m saying to expect a replacement for a device that is outside the warranty period requires ignoring the very definition of the word “warranty” (the original point of the thread).  

 

Oh wait, are you talking about S1/S2/legacy/modern?  If so, this is the wrong thread.  But I’ll bite: S1/legacy does not mean “end of tecniqual (sic) lifetime”.  S1 devices run just the same today as they did before S1, and will receive updates for security and bug fixes in the future.  So their technical lifetime goes merrily onward. 


Cant believe im reading this.

if 5 out of million sonos products (out of which 1 is my sonos play 5 1gen) suddenly breaks for No reason (power black out in my case), they should naturally see this an exeption and just replace it.

a world top quality speaker should just work. Period.

 

Buyers agree to a 1 year warranty upon purchase of the product.  So just how long should a 1 year warranty last? 


if the surface is matted by the sun, if the button needs to be replaced, or if the sound starts to get a bit worse after a year - I wouldnt have a problem.

end of warranty does not equal end of tecniqual lifetime.

 

are You saying that the products live longer if I buy extra warranty?

 


Cant believe im reading this.

if 5 out of million sonos products (out of which 1 is my sonos play 5 1gen) suddenly breaks for No reason (power black out in my case), they should naturally see this an exeption and just replace it.

a world top quality speaker should just work. Period.

 

Buyers agree to a 1 year warranty upon purchase of the product.  So just how long should a 1 year warranty last? 

As I said earlier in the thread, the company that makes powered speakers that never go wrong does not exist. An individual's experience tells us nothing. It's like saying 'my grandfather smoked 60 cigarettes a day and lived to be 105. Smoking is safe'.

Between us, my friends, family and I have owned maybe 50 Sonos units for up to 8 years. So far no failures. That doesn't prove anything either, but gives some context.


Cant believe im reading this.

if 5 out of million sonos products (out of which 1 is my sonos play 5 1gen) suddenly breaks for No reason (power black out in my case), they should naturally see this an exeption and just replace it.

a world top quality speaker should just work. Period.

Hello I have split my system. It’s not very graceful to do, but it works. There is no way I’m ditching my Play5 (Gen1)Initially I pulled my legacy speakers off my network. Upgraded my S2 supported speakers. However, my legacy speakers showed up as unsupported with red dots. In the S2 controller my legacy speakers showed up the same way, as unsupported with a red dot. 

I have a Play5 (Gen 1) and a Connect (Gen1) on the S1 controller and they are working perfectly. I had to do a factory reset to get my Play5 to install and setup. First remember to reset your old Sonos application. Otherwise you will just get weird errors and mismatches. 

The S1 controller  will forget, or won’t know about your S2 compatible speakers. Unplug the speaker, hold down the mute button while you plug in in. Once it turns orange let it go and then you can re-install it on the S1 controller. Once you do this the S2 application no longer is bound to the legacy speakers and everything is perfectly clean. I have a room with a Playbar and 2 Ones in one room. A Beam with 2 Ones and a Sub in 5.1 configuration. A Play5(Gen2) in another room. A Connect in another room and finally a Play5 (Gen1) in another room.

They could have rolled this out better where it would not be as confusing and frustrating. I’m in IS Support I get how tough it is if you’re not used to rolling out and communicating big changes.

I thought the same and they replaced my nearly 5 year old gen 1 with a gen 2!

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My play 5 (gen 1) has also died today after updating to S1. On the release of S2… how convenient... 

 

Exactly what are you implying?

I know its likely a coincidence, just frustrated. Play 5 Gen 1) was happy this morning playing the radio and I stupidly updated my whole system to S1, everything upgraded fine, including the Play 5 at first. It showed as OS: S1 in the about screen. I went to play music on all speakers for the first time after the update, all the others played music except the play 5. I went back into the app and the Play 5 had disappeared. Checked the Play 5 and no light on. Switched it off at the wall and switched it back on again and no light at all. So it was working fine seconds before the S1 update and completely dead (no lights) after the update. The cable and fuse are fine as tried it on another speaker. Just really annoying :(

Contact support - I’m not saying you’ll definitely get it replaced, but they did for me

thanks Crawfish - i have called them since and they have been really supportive and helpful. they have asked to send a video which has been done and they said they will see what they can do. im not expecting anything, its 7 years old, but i mean if they do replace it, what amazing customer service that is!

My play 5 (gen 1) has also died today after updating to S1. On the release of S2… how convenient... 

 

Exactly what are you implying?

I know its likely a coincidence, just frustrated. Play 5 Gen 1) was happy this morning playing the radio and I stupidly updated my whole system to S1, everything upgraded fine, including the Play 5 at first. It showed as OS: S1 in the about screen. I went to play music on all speakers for the first time after the update, all the others played music except the play 5. I went back into the app and the Play 5 had disappeared. Checked the Play 5 and no light on. Switched it off at the wall and switched it back on again and no light at all. So it was working fine seconds before the S1 update and completely dead (no lights) after the update. The cable and fuse are fine as tried it on another speaker. Just really annoying :(

Contact support - I’m not saying you’ll definitely get it replaced, but they did for me

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

My play 5 (gen 1) has also died today after updating to S1. On the release of S2… how convenient... 

 

Exactly what are you implying?

I know its likely a coincidence, just frustrated. Play 5 Gen 1) was happy this morning playing the radio and I updated my whole system to S1, everything upgraded fine, including the Play 5 at first. It showed as OS: S1 in the about screen. I went to play music on all speakers for the first time after the update, all the others played music except the play 5. I went back into the app and the Play 5 had disappeared. Checked the Play 5 and no light on. Switched it off at the wall and switched it back on again and no light at all. So it was working fine seconds before the S1 update and completely dead (no lights) after the update. The cable and fuse are fine as tried it on another speaker. Just really annoying :(

My play 5 (gen 1) has also died today after updating to S1. On the release of S2… how convenient... 

 

Exactly what are you implying?

Userlevel 7
Badge +1

My play 5 (gen 1) has also died today after updating to S1. On the release of S2… how convenient... 

I’ve just had a notification that a new Play5 is on its way and should be here Monday. The item number is ‘PL5G2UK2’ which sounds like a Gen2 to me which is awesome!

It's definitely worth touching base with support. I emailed them yesterday and they came straight back asking for a video of the unit being plugged in and turned on, which I did straight away.

Today they have come back saying they'll replace it, so I'm boxing it up right now!

Praying they replace it with a gen 2 just so I can get the software update but even if they don't, that's pretty bloody good service - thank you Sonos, you keep me as a customer!

I am sorry you have had a problem  Gen 1 Play:5s are now between 5 and 11 years old.  Given that Sonos probably shipped tens (hundreds?) of thousands of these the number of posts on here reporting failures is remarkably low.  On the whole, people do not come on here to say, ‘hey, my gen 1 Play:5 is still working fine’.

As the Play:5 gen 1 is a ‘legacy’ speaker you can use your failed unit to get 30% off a speaker or speaker bundle of your choice.

As i say, sorry you have had a problem, but the suggestion that there is a wider manufacturing issue (or might have been a long time ago) is not supported by the evidence.

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Yet another Play 5 (Gen 1) failed!


I accept that yes failures occur from time to time but the amount of posts on here suggests a bigger quality issue here.

Mine blew the 5A fuse and tripped the circuit RCD. I replaced the fuse and checked the power cord and the socket all of which are fine.

The only conclusion here is an inherent fault with these units. 
 

It’s very disappointing as I have invested heavily in SONOS products under the perception they are quality units that are tested lasting a long long time. As another post said speakers should last a very long time. 

2 x Play 1’s

2 x Play 3’s

2 x playbars in

1x Sub

1 x Move

1 x Amp 
I guess I’ll get the offer of giving them more money for another one. 😞
A disappointed customer. 

Hi all, this is a sad thread! I've just joined the "my 4 year old Play 5 is dead" club. We use(d) our speaker frequently but it was well cared for, in an out of the way location where it doesn't get knocked or bashed and has given us many happy hours of listening. Unfortunately, today it just isn't working - no lights, no power and not registering in the app. I've tested the power cable which is fine. Over the last few months Spotify playback has kept stopping and starting but I wrote it off as the bandwidth restrictions that have been going on due to lockdown.

I have to echo other people's thoughts on this being very disappointing and totally unacceptable - a £500 speaker useless after less than 5 years. Sure tech goes wrong but this sounds like too many units with identical symptoms all dying around the same time.

 

Would be great to get some official investigation and response from Sonos.

My story is similar to Josh_1’s, I have a Play 5 gen 1.  App shows speaker is connected and music is playing but sound volume controls must be all the way up just to get very low volume (so the wifi is working).  Headphone plug works too.  I will reach out to customer support but after reading the experience other people have had I have little hope of reasonable solution.  I had been considering purchasing other speakers for the house but now not so much.

Me too - or at least similar. I have a Play 5 Gen 1 that refuses to stay connected to the rest of the system over the last couple of months and won’t even accept line-in input from my i-Pod except if I power it down and back-up, then plays about 2.5 tracks before stopping again. As others have said, it has become a very expensive and power-consuming paper-weight.

 

Casting my mind back to 21st Jan I had an email (as did all other Gen 1 kit owners) advising that this and other Gen 1 devices would no longer be updated or supported after May 2020. This was shortly followed by another e-mail on 25th Jan from the Sonos CEO, Patrick Spence, doing a U-turn on the first email due to the outcry from customers. How strange that within days of that my Play 5 began to refuse to work………………

 

Overall, I’m not impressed with Sonos. All I want is a system that plays music without interruption or delay, and without the need for constant attention and `fixing’. Instead I have spent countless hours setting-up and trying to get this Sonos system working, endured periods where tracks get interrupted and skipped part-way through, devices that drop-off the system and other periods when the entire system will not work at-all. If Sonos cannot come-up with a system that is plug ‘n’ play, consistently reliable and that lasts longer than a few years, then I am not willing to throw more good money after bad.