Nice way to treat your customers, Sonos!

wolfytom

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Sonos trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons...
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Got the same email. I only have one Play:5, but have a load of Play:3 & 1.

Its utter rubbish. Was contemplating getting a beam, now thinking about how I can get rid of it all.
 
Fairly common unfortunately. I've yet to own any A/V kit that received an update after 3 or 4 years or so. Even ones that could easily have had upgrades.

Frustrating, but that's the way it is for the majority of mainstream manufacturers.
 
I have three Play:5s, along with a sound bar, bass unit and around eight other speakers. I have recommended Sonos to friends in the past and I know several have bough Sonos kit as a result. I feel badly let down by this notice, which comes as a slap in the face. I can understand older units no longer getting software updates but I am being told I need, in effect, to discontinue using my expensive kit or risk being unable to get best use out of all the other Sonos products I've bought more recently. I shan't be buying any more Sonos kit and I won't be recommending it to anyone in future.
 
I understand that software needs to be updated to keep up with MacOs, windows and android etc. But I’ve noticed no performance improvements in Sonos performance in the many years since buying a play5 so why do they have to “create” legacy equipment. The 30% “discount” being offered only reduces the price to what the devices are worth. The recent offers indicate difficulties with sales so this Sonos move can only be attributed to their business model. From other users I have spoken to it seems that Sonos have alienated their reducing customer base.
 
I believe that they (SONOS) will be shortly facilitating the ability to run (quarantine) legacy kit on a separate network so they can still be used, not much better though as who wants to run multiple sonos networks what I would like to see is the ability to choose whether or not you want to upgrade software rather than being forced into having to use new features that you may not even want.
 
Your scenario would be fine but would not solve Sonos’s issue of diminishing sales.
 
Got the same email from Sonos. I will NOT be upgrading any of my older equipment and will also not recommend Sonos to friends. I also have Bluesound products and that's where my money will go.

Not cool Sonos.
 
What happens when they make the Play 1 redundant. The community will go berserk as there must be 100,000's out there.
It makes me think we should decouple the "smart" from the speaker in exactly the way you can put a Roku on a TV. Throw away the Roku every 3-5 years which is fine as it cost £50. What you don't want to do is throw 4 Sonos 1's away as it cost you nearly £800 when they are working fine for what you want.
So should we be buying active speakers (expensive but is never obsolete) and using products such as the echo input or echo dot (cheap) to drive them?
You could even get a passive speakers (much bigger choice) and use a small class D amp (SMSL SA50 etc) to drive them taking input from an echo (or some other smart audio choice).
 
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It makes me think we should decouple the "smart" from the speaker in exactly the way you can put a Roku on a TV
But with Sonos you're still looking at £399 just for their Port ( no amps/no speakers ) , it seems way overpriced for just the streaming element, you can get a 55" inch TV with builtin speakers/netflix/spotify etc for less than that, or a 7.2 AV amp with all sorts of streaming options.
 
But with Sonos you're still looking at £399 just for their Port ( no amps/no speakers ) , it seems way overpriced for just the streaming element, you can get a 55" inch TV with builtin speakers/netflix/spotify etc for less than that, or a 7.2 AV amp with all sorts of streaming options.
I agree - just as the Connect was, the Port is a crazy price.
 
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So looking into this a bit further it seems that any legacy products affected will still work as they did before the May cut off but will not be capable of receiving software updates for new services/functionality, further if you keep any newer (non legacy) components on the same network as your legacy components they will also not get access to software upgrades but will still work as before, newer components will only have the ability of software upgrade if they are on a separate network. If you split your components to separate networks for legacy/non legacy then you also lose the ability to pair/group components between the networks.
 
I wonder what they mean by a seperate network.
They make their own network with only one zone needing to be plugged into the actual network. Or will it be something like a setting in the app eg channel numbers per zone , so legacy on one channel , new on the other, and just switch networks in the app.
If they need to be on a different actual network/router won't we have to swap our phones between those networks too to be able so see them as well as need a second router/wifi.
I'm not an expert at this so that might all be gobbledygook :)
Edit: I think subnet what I'm referring to , will they need to be on two different subnets, or can all the zones run on the same subnet but be divided into two groups somehow. I think when you start the app it can only see any Sonos running on the same subnet ( or at least the one zone that is hardwired )
 
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I would foresee they will allow you to run 2 Sonos systems (Legacy and Current) on the same WiFi network and the app will allow you to select which you are controlling. Anything else will be beyond most users and home networks.
 
Yes I agree also however reading an answer to that very same question from sonos support on their forums they did say it would be advisable to split the lan and use different subnets for the two systems but failed to enlarge on their response other than to say all will be revealed end of May
 
Interesting. Well I think Sonos is losing it (even more...) if they think most users are prepared/able to run a routed network at home just for Sonos.
I await the time when Sonos say the Play 1 is legacy - then the brown stuff will really hit the fan.
 
This confirms Bryn1’s comment.
We heard you. We did not get this right from the start. My apologies for that and I wanted to personally assure you of the path forward:

First, rest assured that come May, when we end new software updates for our legacy products, they will continue to work just as they do today.We are not bricking them, we are not forcing them into obsolescence, and we are not taking anything away. Many of you have invested heavily in your Sonos systems, and we intend to honour that investment for as long as possible. Whilst legacy Sonos products won’t get new software features, we pledge to keep them updated with bug fixes and security patches for as long as possible. If we run into something core to the experience that can’t be addressed, we’ll work to offer an alternative solution and let you know about any changes you’ll see in your experience.

Secondly, we heard you on the issue of legacy products and modern products not being able to coexist in your home. We are working on a way to split your system so that modern products work together and get the latest features, whilst legacy products work together and remain in their current state. We’re finalising details on this plan and will share more in the coming weeks.

Whilst we have a lot of great products and features in the pipeline, we want our customers to upgrade to our latest and greatest products when they’re excited by what the new products offer, not because they feel forced to do so. That’s the intent of the Trade Up programme we launched for our loyal customers.

Thank you for being a Sonos customer. Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback. I hope that you’ll forgive our misstep and let us earn back your trust. Without you, Sonos wouldn't exist and we’ll work harder than ever to earn your loyalty every single day.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.​
Sincerely,
Patrick

Patrick Spence
CEO, Sonos​
 
This is disingenuous clap trap from Spence. Sonos have always marketed and sold their products (at high prices) as audio products which work seamlessly together as part of an integrated whole house sound system. The recent announcements hole this model beneath the waterline.
Legacy products will no longer integrate with non legacy, and their inability to receive software updates means that it is highly unlikely that they will able to operate streaming services once those services update their software. Furthermore, products can be declared as legacy from 5 years after launch, which means that unsuspecting customers have bought, and are continuing to buy, products which are either now legacy or could become so very quickly. This is appallingly deceitful behaviour from Sonos, as is their continuing marketing of their products as audio products rather than software products wrapped in limited lifespan, throw-away hardware.
It’s no wonder that senior execs sold shares just before the recent announcements, they knew what was coming. As for Spence, well he screwed up Blackberry and will do the same to Sonos. How do these charlatans keep getting the top jobs?
 
Ive had Sonos and Squeezbox units for years , and have never used the actual Sonos Software because of the stupid track count limit.
I Use Jriver for everything.
Sonos units are upnp compatible so work fine with Jriver , they always have and as this "cutoff" from Sonos only involves their units used in conjuction with the Sonos software , then for me its a non issue.

You have options people , the Sonos Software was never and has never been the best option for feeding these units with music. That software is only good for updates , and updates on these units are rarely necessary in any case.
Even their own user manuals recommend using Plex.
 
Fair enough Andy, but my post was really calling out Sonos’s gross product misrepresentation. It’s a speaker brand not a computer or software brand and has always marketed its speaker products as components of an integrated audio system which was "future proof" and expandable over time (just like wired speakers). Customers invested in the system on the basis that it had longevity (like all audio products carrying a hefty price tag). At a stroke, Sonos has moved to being another Apple-type company where the product is seen as disposable and the customer is merely someone to be regularly fleeced and forced into a short-term product replacement cycle. Or to renting the product via monthly repayments which after a short period will dwarf the amount paid upfront for the same product.
I’ve never heard of Jriver but I‘d like to understand how this will enable legacy and non legacy products to be able to integrate with one another. Or enable streaming services to continue to work when updates to those services can’t be accommodated on Sonos legacy products.
 

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