Sonos dropping support for most of my stuff

[Katodude]

So I have 3 Sonos Amps that go end of support in May. That means no more updates, and a nebulous they may stop working after that. Not sure what that last part means, but I guess I can go without updates since it does what I want it to do. But if it stops working then I will be a little more angry.

Not sure if I should cut my losses with Sonos and just buy the Amazon Amps which are half the price and move the whole ecosystem to Amazon or Google. Sonos is offering 30% off as a trade in but those amps are still expensive considering I payed around $500 each for the ones I own now.

I know there are lots of Sonos users around here, what are all of you going to do?

 

[bdavis466]

Are yours the Connect Amps? I don't think a lack of updates would be a deal breaker

 

[Chrissykr]

I got the email today. Right now only a play 5 is going bye for us. We have really invested in our Sonos system this year and hubby and I were talking tonight about our direction. I will be watching this thread closely.

 

[ajw22]

I have 5 of my 6 Sonos zones losing support - 3 Connects, 1 Connect Amp, and a Play 5 (Gen 1). I may run it that way for a while and see what problems arise while I look at alternatives. Replacing all of them will cost over $2K.

@jimim what would you suggest?

 

[Tjs011]

I have several Sonos speakers/sound bars throughout my house and was about to purchase more for our new pool/patio. This announcement definitely makes me rethink that! It’s such a great product, but I think this will hurt them badly...

 

[Katodude]

Are yours the Connect Amps? I don't think a lack of updates would be a deal breaker

Yes, I have 3 Connect Amps, that I am losing support for. I also have a couple of Sonos One to supplement that. Like you said in theory if they just did everything they do right now and never stop working then I dont have a problem with that.

But if I lose features or things stop working then I will be unhappy.

In the short term I will stop investing expanding my Sonos infrastructure as I need to determine what my future path is. The Sonos stuff is an order of magnitude more expensive than the competitors. $650 for the amp as opposed to $299 for the Amazon amp.

I would have to consider if I was starting over, would I go with Sonos now or go with the with Amazon. The Amazon stuff is more disposable than the Sonos since it is much cheaper and they innovate much faster. Every year they upgrade the echo devices and make them better. Twice a year at least they go on sale and can be purchased very cheaply. The Sonos app is much better and their integrations to the different music systems is also better, but these days I control most of my sound with voice commands.

I need to look into the google ecosystem and evaluate that as well.

 

[salty87]

Same here, a 5 becoming a 'legacy' product.

This part is more concerning than just losing updates to the 5..."If modern products remain connected to legacy products after May, they also will not receive software updates and new features."

Terrible way to do business as once die-hard Sonos users are forced to consider whether to spend more replacing perfectly fine equipment or abandon the Sonos platform altogether. I hope you're listening Sonos...horrible customer experience and you're cutting your own throat!

I, too, had been considering adding another outdoor zone with a new amp.

 

[setsailsoon]

Wow! I'm not sure I completely understand the AV speak here so I need a little remedial help. We have Sonos speakers around the house inclucing a play bar in the TV room with sub woofer and mid range speakers. Does this "amp" thing affect my speakers?

Chris

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I just checked my vacuum tube amplifier and the tubes are still glowing red so I don’t think my antique radio will be affected .... gee, I really hope they don’t stop updating my favorite AM radio station

I’m so glad I held off on my whole-house AV system project - we were going to pull the trigger on a ton of Sonos hardware last year but had to put the project on hold (the wife wanted the new living room sectional and interior design job first). I think we’ll be reconsidering what platform to use....

 

[woodyp]

It is just plain planned evil that adding one of the "modern" components to an existing "legacy" system will make the new component unable to receive any updates. There is obsolescence----then there's Forced obsolescence. You can't make me believe they can't make that happen if they wanted to.

 

[homegameroom]

I was surprised to get that email as well. I understand that some of my "legacy" products might not update, but it sucks that the whole system will be stuck in a time warp unless everything gets upgraded to a newer component. I love my Sonos stuff and am heavily invested in it, but I'm questioning whether I should check out the other systems as well. I'm an Amazon user, so I'll need to check their stuff out.

I'm also a little disappointed that I can't even play any music on my iPhone on my Sonos (unless I get an apple home kit or whatever). I can't imagine the integration with the different systems will get easier over time.

Sonos was a great system at the time I bought it.

 

[Katodude]

Wow! I'm not sure I completely understand the AV speak here so I need a little remedial help. We have Sonos speakers around the house inclucing a play bar in the TV room with sub woofer and mid range speakers. Does this "amp" thing affect my speakers?

Chris

Chris, if any of you stuff was going EOL you would have gotten an email from Sonos. And from what you are describing that you have it is all some of their latest stuff so you should be good. Its really about the stuff thats around 10 years old or older that they are sun setting.

 

[woodyp]

Why are they only acting support for the older Play 5 and not the older Ones and Threes as well? Got mine mostly at the same time.

 

[setsailsoon]

Chris, if any of you stuff was going EOL you would have gotten an email from Sonos. And from what you are describing that you have it is all some of their latest stuff so you should be good. Its really about the stuff thats around 10 years old or older that they are sun setting.

Kato,

Thanks! I was hoping that was the case. We love the Sonos system. Simple to install/set up and sounds great but certainly not cheap. Hope they see the error of their ways.

Chris

 

[homegameroom]

It looks like you might be able to "seperate" your newer and legacy products.... End of Software Support - Clarifications | Sonos Community It still stinks. :-(

 

[jimim]

Guys loosing updates is no big deal.

My legacy nuvo music port just lost Spotify support because Spotify totally changed how other products talk to them. So Spotify is broke but all my other services still work. And to tell you the truth my new nuvo profile setup has been asking to update for over a year. I only update software when something stops working.
Mao pretty much everything you have in ur home will still work. If u don’t update the software on new pieces that aren’t legacy.

So what we tell customers is be aware of u buy a new unit it might not talk to the legacy stuff. So if u need to add them I got to deal. But if u don’t need to add new pieces everything should keep working until services like Spotify or pandora change how thier apps talk to the system. Updates fix bugs and add features. So if it’s working thier are No bugs and if it does what u want I don’t need new features.

Does that all make sense. We deal with this everyday. It’s tech. It happens. Some companies quicker than others. That’s one of the things u got to look at woth companies. Nuvo’s old system went legacy after 10 years. That’s nice run. Bit it’s now 3 years later and I’m still using it minus Spotify so I hooked up a legacy sonos to it.
Mute system before that one went legacy 20 years ago. We still have at least 50 out there working today I know of.

 

[jimim]

Just don’t hit any update buttons cause that’s how sonos will break ur setup so u have to buy new. Just say no to updates!

 

[woodyp]

I still say if they can SPLIT a system that they can have them coexist on one mesh network. Gonna be a shame if I want one of those new SONOS 10 boxes to add to my other stuff and all happily play together when I win the lottery and build that mansion.

 

[ajw22]

Sounds like Sonos got lots of blowback on their sunset plan...

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 honor that investment for as long as possible. While 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, while legacy products work together and remain in their current state. We’re finalizing details on this plan and will share more in the coming weeks. While 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 program 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

 

[Katodude]

Well the good news is I dont need to panic. Nothing is going to change in the short term. Amazon also releases all their new devices in September and I am sure my current system will hold out until then. However, I wont be expanding with Sonos until I make a decision whether to stay with Sonos or move to another ecosystem.