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Sonos Can't Release Old App for Customers Unhappy With Design Changes

I get this is an unpopular take, but I rather like the fact that Sonos is talking about this issue openly and publicly.

Most companies would just hide behind empty PR platitudes.

Hopefully Sonos get this fixed soon.
 
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this is a really weak response but that’s to be expected by now.

I imagine the reason they can’t roll everything back is because they’ve since released their Ace headphones presumably need the new app.

Having sold those headphones, they can’t remove the software to support them.

So they’ve got themselves into a complete pickle. They’ve got a new version of their entire software stack out that is needed to support their latest product. But it ruins their legacy products.

Going back to their S2 era of their entire software stack would lose support for Ace headphones.

Just shows how terribly managed this was.

They should never have launched the new software at the same time as new hardware. Absolutely basic stuff because it means they cannot roll back.
 
Col4bin said:
Really? iTunes existed way before Beats Music.
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According to Eddy Cue at the time, Apple loved Beats "for three reasons: talent, headphones and the Beats Music subscription service."

iTunes may have existed before, but Apple had no music streaming service and that was where the industry was headed.

Beats Music essentially got fused together with the iTunes UX to become Apple Music.
 
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icanhazmac said:
So glad I never jumped on this brand, it seems to be a dumpster fire lately.

Edit: This is also why I won't buy into any "smart" speakers, from any manufacturer. The software can get pulled from you at any time and the "smarts" of the speaker will be useless long before the speaker itself dies.
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I always like to call them "smart microphones" ;)
 
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JackNL said:
I always like to call them "smart microphones" ;)
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You do know that they have products without microphones or microphones that can be turned off?
I have exactly one speaker (Roam) that has a microphone and this one mostly sits in my bathroom.
 
my sonos speakers work perfectly. have RARELY used the sonos app (apart from set up, like 10 years ago). you dont need to. Spotify does everything you need.
 
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wanha said:
I get this is an unpopular take, but I rather like the fact that Sonos is talking about this issue rather openly and publicly.

Most companies would just hide behind empty PR platitudes. Hopefully they get this fixed soon.
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That is a very good take, I think. The kind of «yeah, we messed this up, but we're on it» is good transparent crisis communication not often seen in tech.
 
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Plus, I think that companies that produce hardware are terrible, terrible, terrible with Software. They outsource it, they don't think as Devs do... . I have a Yamaha Soundbar and the App is a nightmare, Denon is known for its terrible App, B&O. And don't get me started on automotive Apps and their «support». They all want to go digital, but aren't in any way creative or talented enough to come up with good user experience design and some idea what the software could actually add to the product.
 
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I find it interesting that I'm running the old S2 app on an Android phone and don't have any issues with it. On all iOS devices in the household, with the newest app, it's not possible to access alarms or to play my favourite radio station. SonoPhone doesn't have the latter issue but alarms (an essential feature) are Android-only at the moment.
 
Nermal said:
Who apparently can't restore a backup. Or have they thrown away the source code for the previous versions of the firmware and cloud services?
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Its more than likely they don't have a full test environment available for this and the engineering staff made whomever said going back to the old app aware of the difficulties and risks of switching back.

The fact their CEO and the engineering side are so out of step with each other isn't very surprising, but it shows how out of line the CEO is with the day to day. Before any big upgrade like this occurred, there had to have been discussions about what was occurring and that there wasn't an easy roll back plan. The bugs make it pretty clear that they don't have a test environment worth anything either.
 
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ric22 said:
I've had endless problems with my HomePods, enough to discourage me from buying more wireless speakers for at least the next decade. Meanwhile I can still hook my laptop to the speakers I was gifted in the 1980s and everything works effortlessly.
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@ikir Why the downvote on this?
 
knirirr said:
I find it interesting that I'm running the old S2 app on an Android phone and don't have any issues with it. On all iOS devices in the household, with the newest app, it's not possible to access alarms or to play my favourite radio station. SonoPhone doesn't have the latter issue but alarms (an essential feature) are Android-only at the moment.
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Thanks, I was looking for someone who didn't upgrade the app yet and confirms weather or not that still works flawlessly.

I have no Sonos Speakers but have auto updates on apps disabled. Figured some people may act the same.
 
icanhazmac said:
So glad I never jumped on this brand, it seems to be a dumpster fire lately.

Edit: This is also why I won't buy into any "smart" speakers, from any manufacturer. The software can get pulled from you at any time and the "smarts" of the speaker will be useless long before the speaker itself dies.
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Unfortunately, many manufacturers today have adopted a 'take it or leave it' attitude, offering limited choices and often forcing consumers into subscription-based models. This shift away from consumer satisfaction is becoming increasingly prevalent.
 
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And someday you figure hardwiring speakers to an A/V receiver that doesn't connect to the internet has been the best solution all along.
 
I have an old 5 and it’s still on the first version of their app. Anything beyond that has been poopoo in one way or another (especially if you have a mixed household. I managed to brick a newer One) and I’m lucky that I never got forced into the upgrade for the 5. I’m not sure if I’d take one of their devices for free at this point unless it’s one of their oldest.
 
mcilwraith said:
my sonos speakers work perfectly. have RARELY used the sonos app (apart from set up, like 10 years ago). you dont need to. Spotify does everything you need.
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That's the thing, though. I almost never use the app; I almost exclusively use either Spotify or Apple Music. With that said, there are a few times I've *HAD* to use the app (set up Trueplay; adjust EQ; and so on).

I never - and I mean *NEVER* - had issues with my voice being recognized prior to the updates. My system was stable as hell. Literally the only thing that has changed is the update to Sonos...and yet I've seen the app forget my entire system; I've had to re-set up Trueplay out of nowhere for no reason; the speakers cut out all the time. (And I'm an IT guy so believe me when I say I've tweaked my network/systems for maximum connectivity.)

I have a pretty low bar for them to clear, but I'm already @ the point where any new speakers will likely be Homepods.
 
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Nermal said:
Who apparently can't restore a backup. Or have they thrown away the source code for the previous versions of the firmware and cloud services?
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More likely it is because the new app came with support for their new hardware (the Sonos Ace and upcoming Sonos Arc). Rolling back would likely be extremely complicated and break their newer products. It could also require downgrading firmware for every single Sonos device which would be impossible. It is not as simple as rolling back updates to their app or cloud infrastructure.
 
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I have two IKEA branded Sonos bookshelf speakers. I bought them in early 2020, and was able to use them with my iPhone via Airplay, without any problem. In the last year, they were suddenly no longer able to connect. I finally got one of the speakers to connect by updating the app and starting over, but the other one just tries to connect, and goes in an endless loop. Both versions of the Sonos App (old and new) don't work properly. I kept getting error messages, and it took a couple of hours to get even one of the speakers to work again. Sonos absolutely sucks!!!! They deserve all of the abuse they are getting. I will never understand why so many companies take something that works, and just mess it up. Can anybody code anymore?

This rant also applies to other companies, such as Microsoft, with what you have done to the Windows 10 to Windows 11 transition!!!!!! Don't get me started on that. Lets just say that I have a perfectly good well-performing high-end Windows laptop with a 7th Generation Intel i7 processor installed, and October 2025 is looming. And finally, don't get me started on another rant about everybody wanting to "sell" (or should I say rent?) their software via subscriptions.
 
Rychiar said:
Don’t ya just airplay to these things? What’s their software do?
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That's what I'm wondering. I've been interested in getting a Roam 2, but I'd probably only ever use AirPlay with it at home. Does AirPlay not work reliably with Sonos hardware these days? I have no plans to fill my apartment with Sonos speakers; I just want one that works reliably.
 
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