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Sonos Eliminates Unpopular 'Recycle Mode' That Bricked Older Hardware
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Correct! It’s sad when great products are forced into mediocrity by folks who have nothing to do with the vision for the products themselves.
Right? I don't have faith in them knowing they have the capability to mess with your hardware over software downloads
You cannot serve food on a broken plate. And if your SONOS was actually broken, I agree with you.
But they were bricking functional units that could have been used if you didn't need the features provided by the latest software. Most people accept a reduced feature set and lack of support on older equipment in exchange for the device working as originally intended.
For example, my 8 year old ATV 3s are still valid AirPlay devices on my network. I cannot include them in a group or use other features that Airplay 2 provides. I'm ok with that because they are in rooms that are not used frequently and are not worth the upgrade to a newer ATV.
I'm sure SONOS devices were the same - the old equipment would be relegated to a room not often used, or used by someone that didn't care about the new features. These older devices were cutting into new sales and the reason SONOS wanted to remove them from the used market.
SONOS isn't alone in doing this. Most companies just hide destroying functional devices with a shipping box and a promise to recycle.
Reduce, reuse, repurpose > recycle. Especially when it still works.
This isn’t an environmental initiative
This isn’t an environmental initiative
either way too little too late. The damage is done. The worstof it is all this functionality beyond typical wireless speakers, like the HomePod, where it (Play:5) can connect to analog audio sources like turntables as an argument for longevity went out the window with recycle mode.
again the reason I own a HomePod and was fully done with Sonos (even after a 2020 1wk brief stint).
Apple has proven to me they stand behind their products eith updates and no “kill” switching.
7 yr vintage on laptops and desktops
5yr updates of iOS on iPhones and iPads.
One thing that you are missing and it is important is that you are trading it in. I have never known a company to allow you to trade something in without physically returning the product. It was a clever idea that did not work. It was very generous though the trade-in amount was not. Still I used it with my Connect.
The other thing that so many people are missing is that the only way it bricks your product is if you authorize it.
It's hardly a representative sample size, but of all my mates who own Sonos not a single one has said they'll continue to give them money. Everyone has said they won't buy another Sonos.
I have three Sonos device and one HomePod. I have a desire for two more devices, but after they showed their contempt for me, I'm done.
Despite their back tracking, the fact is I no longer trust Sonos. I'll continue to use my existing speakers, but I will not be buying another Sonos product.
Yeah, it's kind of like saying, "We've stopped murdering babies!" And people praising them for that.
I was really looking forward to purchasing a Sonos Move but the recent behaviour of this company has convinced me not to. You can’t trust a company that has attempted to force older products into obsolescence with such arrogance. It is unfortunate that Apple appear to be taking similar steps, albeit less overtly.
True but rather than bricking it they could have just marked the serial number as no longer eligible for trade-up. Then the speaker can be repurposed.
If they're just going to destroy the speaker, what's the point of trading it in? Just make it an upgrade discount. And the plus side is the old speaker can end up in the hands of potential new customers who may buy their own Sonos products in the future.
I couldn’t agree with you more. However 20/20 hindsight is beautiful.
Some of the other posts in which we will not reply to directly are just ridiculous. How do you not trust the company that did nothing to you. They gave you an option and you chose not to use it.
I hope you don’t mind me adding this to my reply to you. Your posts of been very well written.
I think they successfully managed to destroy a valuable brand. It was much better they sold the company to Apple or google instead. They basically lost the trust of their most loyal customers (me included). I have 10+ sonos speakers in my home. Last week I needed to purchase a soundbar for an additional TV set I installed. Guess what, it would have made a lot of sense to go sonos but I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a product that will become obsolete in five years. Worst of all, it appears that the problem is storage and ram. To do what? Music files are the same as before, same space, same bitrate etc. the hardware was not enough to add features related to amazon Alexa and google assistant. An equivalent device can be found for less than 20$. It’s propostrous
It’s called cutting off your nose to spite your face. Your choice. Giving up fantastic features and a 10 speaker system because you’re mad at them. I have a 12 speaker system.
i did not give up the system. I just have a different soundbar that it would have been a sonos soundbar if they didn’t pull this greedy stunt. The other ten speakers are still working but five are going out of support in May. We will see what happens but even if they reverse course, the trust is lost
Tax. Because they "bought" the old speaker back, the trade-in value is now a deductible expense. Otherwise it would be a mere discount. Any future liabilities or unrecognized revenue, say for software updates, is wiped off.
This quite common in trade-ups of enterprise hardware, e.g. Cisco equipment. You sign a document that certifies you transferred the title back to Cisco and then destroyed it on behalf of the manufacturers. Cisco of course would blacklist the serial number for any future support.
Companies prefer or even require this because they retain physical control of the hardware until destruction, which may be required by data protection regulation or security policy.
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I have a very high end stereo system which cost as much as a new cheap compact car. I listen to high-resolution tracks. The Port currently does not support streaming high resolution. It is hinted that they will in the near future. That is the main reason for the software change. They cannot move forward by supporting all speakers. They said they will come up with a solution to keep your non-support speakers in your system. I suspect that it won’t work in party mode. People have been begging for higher resolution for a number of years. They can’t do it without the hardware upgrades that have been filtered in over the last few years. I had to buy a separate solution to play the high-resolution streaming music. If and when the Port supports it I will switch to that device.
Now that they’re making the change they’re called greedy. If they didn’t make the change they’d be accused of not listening to their customer’s needs.
please... the reason they wanted to cease support of the old speakers is also that they don’t want to maintain too many versions of the firmware.
Moreover your case is beyond niche. If you have a system that costs thousands it’s crazy to run it through sonos, just change hardware
I always find it amazing that large numbers of people are willing to believe in conspiracy theories over simple answers.
What’s the conspiracy theory? That sonos is greedy? Is it more likely that sonos did this to earn more money or for the benefit of the five users who need to process high resolution audio?
Btw, it has been scientifically proven that 90% of the earth population is not able to distinguish between lossy and lossless audio in a double blind test. I wonder how many are able to distinguish between lossless and high resolution. Oh wait, distinguish between lossless and high resolution while there are other sonos speakers playing the same music on different speakers in the home. Are you really sure that so many people need to pair up their compact-car-cost system with a bunch of sonos speakers?
Btw, it has been scientifically proven that 90% of the earth population is not able to distinguish between lossy and lossless audio in a double blind test. I wonder how many are able to distinguish between lossless and high resolution. Oh wait, distinguish between lossless and high resolution while there are other sonos speakers playing the same music on different speakers in the home. Are you really sure that so many people need to pair up their compact-car-cost system with a bunch of sonos speakers?
Except in this case it’s leads to disposal of potentially perfectly working hardware. I have many items that get pulled out of storage and reused after years. That’s less likely to happen if it needs to get reactivated. And less likely to get sold because there’s usually the lure of discounted new hardware with a monthly commitment. This wasn’t about the environment.
but this is not a subscription model. I wouldn’t have liked it but I would have been ok if sonos said honestly: look, we can’t sustain this and we need to start charging a (modest) yearly fee.
What they did is completely different. They lured people who love music with the promise of a multi room system that could be expanded over time. After some time they told us we should throw away perfectly functioning speakers. I have to play 5s 1st gen that I purchased in a shop four years ago.
This is the stunt of some low IQ marketing/finances guy for which sonos is going to pay a high price
I'm a bit baffled by what some people think happened here. I don't see a problem with the recycle program at all, but to EOL a five year old speaker is a pretty terrible move. I could understand if it were some piece of bluetooth garbage, but not something that might well be professionally installed around the home.
Its the way of things to come though, all those smart TVs, smart fridges and smart toothbrushes. Any of them can be shut down at any moment. Ultimately, I think we will end up with hardware subscriptions (which is pretty much what Amazon hardware is, you just don't notice how much you're paying for it.)
[automerge]1583533338[/automerge]
I take back my previous comment. Seems like they are being pretty reasonable (now). This was posted over a month ago...
All Sonos products will continue to work past May
Published Jan 23, 2020
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.
Its the way of things to come though, all those smart TVs, smart fridges and smart toothbrushes. Any of them can be shut down at any moment. Ultimately, I think we will end up with hardware subscriptions (which is pretty much what Amazon hardware is, you just don't notice how much you're paying for it.)
[automerge]1583533338[/automerge]
I take back my previous comment. Seems like they are being pretty reasonable (now). This was posted over a month ago...
All Sonos products will continue to work past May
Published Jan 23, 2020
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.
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Everyone I know with quality speakers has them for decades. If they don’t remain the primary system they’re used as secondary.
Bluetooth support may end much earlier but there should remain a wired option. Treating speakers as disposable counteracts my reasoning for spending lots of money on them in the first place.
Bluetooth support may end much earlier but there should remain a wired option. Treating speakers as disposable counteracts my reasoning for spending lots of money on them in the first place.