Skip to main content

Sonos users are furious over plans to drop support for legacy products

 

Sonos hasn’t been having a good 2020 so far. In early January, the company announced that it felt obliged to take Google to court over allegations that Google had stolen its intellectual property and patented tech. Now, it faces a fierce and growing backlash from its normally very loyal customers over the news that it will end support for some of its older products in May 2020.

Recommended Videos

The decision to cease providing software updates for three major components (Sonos Connect, Sonos Connect:Amp, and Sonos Play:5 Gen 1) — some of which were sold to customers as recently as 2015 — was reported on Tuesday, January 21, but Sonos also sent out emails to all customers who own one or more of the affected products.

https://twitter.com/joemfbrown/status/1219661056131436544

It was this email that seems to have provoked the biggest response as angry customers took to Twitter and Sonos’ own user forums to complain about the decision. Their fury stems from two aspects of the announcement. First, they’re annoyed that the affected products (which currently work with all Sonos features), will eventually stop working completely after a period of reduced functionality, ultimately requiring that they are disposed of.

Many have expressed legitimate concerns around how these devices will be recycled, or worse yet, disposed of in a landfill. Although it may not have received much attention, Sonos offers a take-back option for those who do not have access to a responsible way of recycling their legacy gear.

Second, many feel that five years (the shortest amount of time some of these products have been owned) is simply too short for a product to go from supported to unsupported.

https://twitter.com/CharleeSays/status/1219667333876273152

Many are calling on Sonos to provide some kind of alternative that would extend the usable life of these devices, even if it meant losing out on more advanced features down the road. For its part, Sonos has not provided a firm time frame for when the affected products will cease working. It has, however, indicated that newer devices that share a Sonos system with legacy devices will also be prevented from receiving software updates. Sonos says all its devices in a single system must use the same version of its software.

Sonos indicated that it is possible to run its legacy products on a separate system from the newer products, but this would defeat the core benefit of owning Sonos gear — the ability to control all of the speakers in your home as a group, without needing to flip between systems to change settings.

This situation has many loyal Sonos users asking what was once an unthinkable question: Which other whole-home audio system should I buy? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer.

Software is what makes a system like Sonos so powerful, so flexible, and so easy to use. But software is also the reason why the company is faced with the need to cut off support to its older products. It’s hard to imagine that any other software-driven whole-home audio product will be immune to a similar fate.

Digital Trends reached out to Sonos for comment on these user concerns, but a spokesperson declined a statement.

Simon Cohen
Contributing Editor, A/V
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
Sonos CEO: ‘Stay tuned,’ newest product will launch in March
Sonos Speaker Logo

During the company's 2021 Q1 earnings call with analysts, Sonos CEO, Patrick Spence revealed that the brand's fans won't have to wait much longer to see its next product.

"We are excited to introduce our newest product next month," Spence said after touting the company's impressive 15-year stretch of sustained revenue growth. "Stay tuned for details."

Read more
Our best budget headphones are even more affordable for Prime Day at 20% off
Side view of the 1More SonoFlow.

Amazon's Prime Day is finally here, bringing with it huge discounts for headphone deals. For a budget-friendly option that's even more affordable for the shopping event, check out the 1More SonoFlow. From their sticker price of $75, they're down to only $60 for $15 in savings, but there's no time to waste if you're interested because the offer may not last until the end of Prime Day. Push through with your purchase as soon as possible to get these headphones at 20% off.

Buy Now

Read more
Marshall Middleton Bluetooth speaker is 44% off for Prime Day, but not for long
The Marshall Middleton Bluetooth speaker on a bookshelf.

Bluetooth speaker deals are always popular during Amazon's Prime Day, and this year is no exception. We've found a lot of interesting offers, and this one is among our favorites -- the Marshall Middleton at 44% off, slashing its price to just $180 from $320 originally. We're not sure if this offer will stay online until the end of the shopping event, so if you want to take advantage of this $140 discount, you're going to have to complete your purchase as soon as you can.

$180 at Amazon

Read more