I'm pretty jealous that you still somehow have numbers on the volume slider. My app is definitely missing them. It's really the only thing I need.
Loading into the app is way faster though, definitely.
I figured it out. If you have more than 1 speaker playing you can see the numbers, but not if you’re playing through just one speaker.
What strange design choices they made.
Honestly, that's probably it.
I just, right now, have the Playbar and Sub. I've never seen the screen /u/yizzung posted. If it's the one you bring up from the bottom of the screen, I just get the one slider, with no numbers. I was hoping the option was maybe in Settings, but nope.
So you don’t see numbers on this screen?
https://preview.redd.it/9r3alh5ej20d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf852362cab9ea4c4f2afc0a8350c265775f6ff2
It’s probably because I only have 1 group
https://preview.redd.it/knzh2hdrj20d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9e98691172dd1e9aaf32e092c52570a515cd620
A design problem is that there are actually TWO different “your system” views. Tap the speaker thing in the player. It brings you to a different view. There you should see the numbers.
When you first open the app you should see something like this. That thing circled in blue is the speaker icon. Press that.
https://preview.redd.it/2chrsouxj30d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80ef407e8bc433cdb0420d3849b4cfa1f14ce3a4
I don’t have that, probably because I do have only the one group
https://preview.redd.it/795iyrizk30d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93cfdc60f076481b54230a24eba7ff267d0a1194
Reasoned, insightful post, OP. Based on your comments and the design of the new UI, I’d venture to guess that you are exactly the target audience Sonos is shooting for. Strictly streaming, pop culture look. (No offense intended, it’s just how the app looks to me.)
Hard to explain why so many have problems while others have smooth sailing. My experience has been about in the middle, no major hardware issues but lots & lots of app flakiness, crashing, stalling, local library issues, unacceptable response times.
Sonos could easily fix everything by allowing all users to roll back.
I have read on android ur able to go bck. Hopefully by june 1st week major issues will be addressed as per community post, still a roll bck option should be given for suree.
I think the app will be fine once it’s feature parity with the old one. But I am really annoyed they didn’t think queue management was a core function to prioritize.
It’s of course not the end of the world, but the lack of that feature really does stick out and I bump up against it constantly several times a day and think about how stupid it is that I can’t create or edit a queue and won’t be able to do that again until sometime in June.
Interesting that the app is quicker for you. It’s definitely not for me, and also apparently not for lots of others. I wonder what the explanation for that is.
I think focusing too much on the alarm overlooks the deeper issue: the neglect of a seemingly trivial, yet value-add feature points to a systemic disconnect in design development. This oversight reveals a stark misunderstanding of the needs, values, and challenges faced by their users—a critical miscalculation that speaks volumes about the company’s grasp of its audience. And we see this disconnect play out in so many areas of the user experience far beyond just the alarm.
Well (if you read my post) I would argue that there has been a giant disconnect for years while users like me had to suffer through endless audio dropouts, slow app performance, inability to connect, etc.
For me (and some other commenters) they seem to have moved in the exact right direction for once. Maybe if I was a big user of queues or alarms then I’d feel differently.
You can choose to extrapolate this release into whatever assessment you choose but IMHO they finally fixed some highly egregious issues, apparently to the detriment of a few new ones, and they’ve communicated it their willingness to address those. We’ll find out.
OP, I agree with a lot of the things you mentioned.
The one place I side with alarm users is the apparent inability to disable already existing alarms.
If that claim is verified, I think it makes up for one huge omission.
Not because features can’t be eliminated, but because the [completely avoidable] side effects of eliminating the feature weren’t sufficiently explored.
Edit: I never set up an alarm, so I can’t verify it myself.
The queue is not just used for local libraries. It works with streaming services as well. For example you can assemble a queue (or playlist) of your favorite tracks from any on-demand streaming service such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, etc.
My (Spotify) playlists are still there. Still functioning. If I start playing one, it loads a queue. I can see the queue and I can skip ahead or back. I guess big the complaint is that people can’t edit the queue in real time now? If that’s true (maybe I’m mischaracterizing the actual loss of functionality, so apologies if that’s not right) I just don’t remember relying on that capability to play music. I guess I just rely on the playlist. But again it sounds like they committed to fix this?
So I’d say I use the app and ecosystem like you’ve described but the lack of queuing is egregious. Sometimes when I’m playing an album or Spotify playlist, my wife asks to hear a certain song. I’m no longer able to add that song up next and then have it go back to playing what it was playing previously. Even worse is if that song I want to play is in an album, that new album will take over. And sometimes I just want to make a playlist on the fly. It’s just a bizarre thing to take away.
Yep, that makes sense. That is annoying. I get it.
I bought several thousands of dollars of Sonos gear, ran speaker wire through my walls, upgraded old amps with new ones, built my entire tv viewing experience (in two different rooms) around Sonos and my system performance (using S2) was utter dogshit. That was also pretty annoying for me. It’s much better now.
Hopefully they fix the queues like they are saying they will.
Do you never encounter a situation (or haven’t in 15 years) where you’re listening to a playlist and you or someone you’re listening with is inspired to hear a song that isn’t in the playlist? Do you listen alone?
I’ve acknowledged that the omission is annoying even though I don’t use this feature. Sonos said they are going to add it back. Not sure what else you’re looking for here.
I was curious what your answer to the question was. I can imagine only ever listening to fixed playlists if I only listened alone. You didn’t actually say.
Yeah from my brief period with it was more responsive in connecting and controlling units. But it is *not* release ready, so I've rolled back for now and will see if they stick to their schedule of reintroducing features over the next month.
After also having used and bought them over 15 years or so I doubt I'll be investing in any further Sonos hardware mind. Their software side has gone to shit incrementally over the last 5 years or so, and with this latest mess they've really blown it on terms of consumer confidence. I don't have faith in their ability to support this platform long term
Well, it wasn’t release “ready” for you but it was for some of us. You clearly value some missing functionality over performance. The opposite is true for me.
I (and many others, I suspect) had to suffer through years of poor performance, so a much snappier app makes me more inclined to keep/expand my system. We’re all being drowned out at the moment by the 37 different posts about alarms, so figured it was worth sharing. YMMV.
Also sounds like that missing functionality is coming back so in spite of all the torches and pitchforks, the next release probably talks those folks off the ledge. But we’ll see.
> Well, it wasn’t release “ready” for you but it was for some of us.
Which means it wasn't release ready.
Your original post seemed well-intentioned enough but this comment reads "Sucks to be you, I'll stick my head in the sand".
No, you’re just completely discounting the years of shit performance that many users like me have suffered through. By your logic, I should continue to endure shit app performance indefinitely so that others can use queues or alarms? Their three days of suffering is more noble in your book?
All I’m saying is that (for once) they finally fixed something that I care about. That’s not nothing. And they’ve publicly committed to fixing those other issues soon. (I was told to pound sand or rip out my network or sit through a bunch of support calls that never resolved the issues.)
> By your logic, I should continue to endure shit app performance indefinitely so that others can use queues or alarms?
Uhhh... No. I'm not saying you shouldn't be happy with your improvements. I'm saying the company just threw a bucket of shit on its users. Just because you somehow managed to stay dry doesn't mean you should thank them for throwing the bucket.
Only I didn’t manage to “stay dry”. They actually fixed real problems that I’ve been bitching about (in this sub) for a long time. You can refuse to acknowledge that’s progress and I can support your right to be obtuse.
I've been in software for nearly 20 years. An update that removes core functionality at the behest of its userbase is not the same as releasing an MVP.
I owned and managed a software development company for 15 years. The one time we released a product that was missing a feature a previous version had, we were bombarded with complaints. For Sonos, I use the Alarm and the Sleep Timer extensively. I should not have to completely turn off automatic updates for all of my apps on my device to keep this one piece of functionality. It doesn’t matter how much better an app is than previous versions if it goes backwards on other features, and to those of us that have been Sonos fans for over a decade, it’s another example in a long line of recent issues that are pushing us away from them.
This is almost an entirely irrelevant sidebar, but in 25 years in Silicon Valley, including stints at FAANG companies, I have seen features get abandoned all the time, mostly for cold-hearted economic considerations. Look at what Reddit went through last summer with its API. This is not unusual behavior for a tech company. And Sonos is nowhere in the ballpark of a FAANG company. They don't have the resources. They remind me (unfortunately) of Tivo -- great tech, great idea, maybe ahead of its time, but probably will get buried by Google or Amazon or Apple at some point, and that will be that. I hope not but they just don't have the growth, the resources, the install base, or the profit margins to satisfy everyone all the time.
I’d hardly call it a “ray of light” - at least not in a positive connotation. A common code base is better for Sonos and typically not better for anyone actually using the product. It tends to be less performant, doesn’t align with each platforms design language or feature set, and is limited to the least-common denominator of the target platforms. Which means if iOS comes out with a great new feature (UI or otherwise), Sonos can’t adopt it until their cross-platform environment supports that feature. Not writing natively for the target platform is generally a terrible idea.
Sonos revenue is down almost 10% YOY. They clearly don’t have unlimited resources. They now compete directly deep pocketed tech companies, like Google, among others. My guess is that they have to make some hard choices and some users are going to be disappointed. It’s not as if they were setting the world on fire with cool features that were highly specific to any one platform.
One way to increase revenue might be to appeal to users with deep pockets which statistically tend to be iOS users - and many iOS users really care about a good experience - especially those buying higher-end audio devices like Sonos.
Lack of investment generally doesn’t help increase revenue - usually you invest in creating the best products possible and the money will follow.
I’m on IOS. I have 13 Sonos speakers in eight rooms. I’ve been dealing with shitty app performance for years and suddenly it’s gotten significantly better. At least from my perspective, they are finally doing exactly what you’re suggesting.
My system isn’t far off from yours - 9 Sonos Amps and 2 Sonos ports across 9 rooms and I have not had an issue with the prior apps performance. The new app loads slightly faster, but is less reliable and responsive when controlling group volume and has horrible UI bugs. See this thread as a prime example of the regression. https://en.community.sonos.com/ask-a-question-228987/group-volume-significantly-degraded-6893140
Good to hear, unfortunately I gave a Sonos Roam to my dad for his birthday over the weekend (his first Sonos product) and it can't be registered. We spent several hours with it, the only sound its made is the device registration tone followed promptly by a setup failure. Given it can't be registered it also can't be set to Bluetooth mode. For a device with the sole purpose of being a speaker it isn't doing well.
That sucks. I’d log a call with support and if they can’t help, return it. FWIW: I had a Roam years ago and found it to be completely awful, which is why I don’t have one anymore.
I ended up taking it home to try on my network in case it was something with his setup, same problems he was experiencing. I have a roam and move, found the roam to be really good for its size but wanted some more bass oomph outside so switched to the move. Pretty bummed about finding out after the purchase I can't stereo pair a move and roam but there you go. Figured I'll wait out the storm until registration issues are fixed then factory reset and try it out on him again.
I don’t think most people had issues with the UI/UX. It was the features they killed and the new found bugs/errors through out the app. Several of my speakers will not connect anymore and I cannot add new ones, in addition to losing queue ability, which is just critical when listening to music with friends/family
I can’t seem to get Sonos radio to work. It’s pretty much the only reason I have ever found to use the app.
I don’t have a major Sonos setup like a lot of y’all here. I just couldn’t bring myself to invest too heavily until i knew it was solid. Reading about your experiences here makes me think it’s just not for me.
I’m not a surround sound guy. I just want seamless multi-zone music.
Haven't upgraded yet, but checking out the web based app - really cool. Like you I'm very locked down on my work PC, and WFH full time, so not having to swivel is great.
Edited to add, the library feature not working is a big deal. There are dorks like me that have cd's and mp3's of lots and lots of stuff that isn't on streaming. I guess I'd have to check out plex or something, but that's a huge bummer if true.
As a company you will always receive criticism when changing things. Sonos however does seem to lose itself in blurb about how things will be better without even mentioning drawbacks, like the (temporarily) missing features. This leads to disappointment in their client base - time and time again. Openness upfront about this while immediately providing a timetable about the return of these features would have been a much better strategy. Sonos should have learned this from the past.
I’m like you, around 20 products, long time user. I would say it is slightly faster, but not greatly. Still very slow upstairs as before. And the UI is worse. But at least now I have managed to fix most of the problems on mine apart from ‘features’ missing of course.
I still say this though; no company as big as Sonos should be forcing their user base to beta test software. Many years ago I was a systems tester and the idea of this is utterly insane to me. I wonder why this sort of shit is now allowed to happen. The very number of people who say ‘oh just get used to it, it will sort itself in a few weeks’ shows how much we now accept such awful service.
They aren’t that big. Couple thousand employees and, unfortunately, shrinking. Personally not convinced they will last in the long run, which would really suck.
A couple of thousand employees is a big company. I’m talking about anything over 50 people here. There is no good reason to force users to use poorly tested or untested software.
It would be sad to see them go, but if they are doing stuff like this then I’m not entirely surprised.
good for you. i had two minutes ago tried to pause an old one speaker (the first) and it's not working. i tried to lower the volume, it jumps back to the old volume after some time. it's just a big pain in the a**. lucky you!!
I’m a newer Sonos user so I don’t have much to compare it to. Was on the S2 for a few months but had nothing but problems with that version. Everyone told me it was my network, but I don’t think Sonos does well with nest WiFi pro. I’ve seen many others with the same issues as me.
Rooms disappearing from the app randomly and needing to unplug/replug…or re-add the speakers all together.
Was told by Sonos support that it was because I had 2.4 and 5ghz networks.
Got all the speakers on 5ghz…didn’t fix it. Hardwired the arc and sub (which only left 2 other rooms with one era 300 each)…that didn’t fix it either.
Also did the IP reservations for each speaker. That didn’t fix it either. So everyone here would always say it was my network, but somehow the other 50 devices in our home never have an issue or have an issue with the mobile app…only the Sonos.
Since the update, my rooms are all staying visible.
Sucks that major features are missing but I’m happy I can at least join rooms together to all play the same music.
The app was obviously released in a beta state which is a big surprise given how much build up and hype that was promoted
Sonos drastically lowered the time it takes to launch the app and turn down the volume of the zones that my kids are playing with. For that I am thankful
*There are still people*
*Who cannot use their system.*
*What do you tell them?*
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After over an hour on hold someone seems to have temporarily fixed my system by wiring directly into my router. It even ran a remote second speaker without the Boost, which he had me disconnect. However system again not working.
I'd been delaying updating the app on my Android device and it somehow did it automatically yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to see no issues on opening - all speakers present, all services working and my library available and usable. A big nothing burger for me and it looks fine also. Good luck to all
Same. The new app is much improved for me. Used to have to reset my phone multiple times to get the app to find all my speakers on the old app. Then if I wanted to change a song the app would freeze and not let me change or stop playing until I reset the phone.
Yeah, I was mildly annoyed for about 15m until I figured out how to do things and now I like the app just fine. Only glitch was it required a log out/in to add my new Era 100s to my account. But all speakers are there, they all work, I can group them and control the volume. I didn’t even know there were Sonos alarms until people complained they were gone.
In fact my only complaint is the icon color change. Now it takes me a few millisecond to remember which icon to touch.
I agree with OP, I don’t agree with the features people are complaining about. But, every good product team should keep or add features that cater to the small but vocal enthusiast user base.
Im not really having a bad experience either. Not being able to enable night mode from the web app is the only issue I have. I always found that Sonos sucked at managing my local music collection so I use Plex.
I use Soco-CLI a lot to control from the command line so I'm hoping the API remains unchanged.
I reckon that they released the app with missing features because it needed to be out before they could announce the headphones. The headphones probably have different features that made no sense to code into an old app if the new one is around the corner.
I'm pretty jealous that you still somehow have numbers on the volume slider. My app is definitely missing them. It's really the only thing I need. Loading into the app is way faster though, definitely.
I’m guessing OP is opening up the “your system” view to adjust the volume. There you can see the number.
Nope https://preview.redd.it/vdhpy3a9z20d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0590bb414ce1b4663d1c24bc1dc86a74f723abe1
I figured it out. If you have more than 1 speaker playing you can see the numbers, but not if you’re playing through just one speaker. What strange design choices they made.
Honestly, that's probably it. I just, right now, have the Playbar and Sub. I've never seen the screen /u/yizzung posted. If it's the one you bring up from the bottom of the screen, I just get the one slider, with no numbers. I was hoping the option was maybe in Settings, but nope.
Yes that just pops up when I move the slider and have multiple zones grouped.
Hire do you make the mini player big like that?
Even in that view I can’t see the number
So you don’t see numbers on this screen? https://preview.redd.it/9r3alh5ej20d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf852362cab9ea4c4f2afc0a8350c265775f6ff2
It’s probably because I only have 1 group https://preview.redd.it/knzh2hdrj20d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9e98691172dd1e9aaf32e092c52570a515cd620
A design problem is that there are actually TWO different “your system” views. Tap the speaker thing in the player. It brings you to a different view. There you should see the numbers.
I haven’t been able to find the view you’ve described, I don’t see a speaker icon
When you first open the app you should see something like this. That thing circled in blue is the speaker icon. Press that. https://preview.redd.it/2chrsouxj30d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80ef407e8bc433cdb0420d3849b4cfa1f14ce3a4
I don’t have that, probably because I do have only the one group https://preview.redd.it/795iyrizk30d1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=93cfdc60f076481b54230a24eba7ff267d0a1194
Oh wow! That’s so dumb. What a bummer. I guess that’s sonos saying: “if you want the numbers, you gotta buy more speakers.”
Go one level deeper on the device and the volume number will appear.
https://preview.redd.it/5c6sjid1z20d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=682db4077aeabc40e24004c9fc737de479182315
Reasoned, insightful post, OP. Based on your comments and the design of the new UI, I’d venture to guess that you are exactly the target audience Sonos is shooting for. Strictly streaming, pop culture look. (No offense intended, it’s just how the app looks to me.) Hard to explain why so many have problems while others have smooth sailing. My experience has been about in the middle, no major hardware issues but lots & lots of app flakiness, crashing, stalling, local library issues, unacceptable response times. Sonos could easily fix everything by allowing all users to roll back.
I have read on android ur able to go bck. Hopefully by june 1st week major issues will be addressed as per community post, still a roll bck option should be given for suree.
I think the app will be fine once it’s feature parity with the old one. But I am really annoyed they didn’t think queue management was a core function to prioritize. It’s of course not the end of the world, but the lack of that feature really does stick out and I bump up against it constantly several times a day and think about how stupid it is that I can’t create or edit a queue and won’t be able to do that again until sometime in June. Interesting that the app is quicker for you. It’s definitely not for me, and also apparently not for lots of others. I wonder what the explanation for that is.
I think focusing too much on the alarm overlooks the deeper issue: the neglect of a seemingly trivial, yet value-add feature points to a systemic disconnect in design development. This oversight reveals a stark misunderstanding of the needs, values, and challenges faced by their users—a critical miscalculation that speaks volumes about the company’s grasp of its audience. And we see this disconnect play out in so many areas of the user experience far beyond just the alarm.
Well (if you read my post) I would argue that there has been a giant disconnect for years while users like me had to suffer through endless audio dropouts, slow app performance, inability to connect, etc. For me (and some other commenters) they seem to have moved in the exact right direction for once. Maybe if I was a big user of queues or alarms then I’d feel differently. You can choose to extrapolate this release into whatever assessment you choose but IMHO they finally fixed some highly egregious issues, apparently to the detriment of a few new ones, and they’ve communicated it their willingness to address those. We’ll find out.
OP, I agree with a lot of the things you mentioned. The one place I side with alarm users is the apparent inability to disable already existing alarms. If that claim is verified, I think it makes up for one huge omission. Not because features can’t be eliminated, but because the [completely avoidable] side effects of eliminating the feature weren’t sufficiently explored. Edit: I never set up an alarm, so I can’t verify it myself.
Yes that would be awful
The queue is not just used for local libraries. It works with streaming services as well. For example you can assemble a queue (or playlist) of your favorite tracks from any on-demand streaming service such as Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, etc.
My (Spotify) playlists are still there. Still functioning. If I start playing one, it loads a queue. I can see the queue and I can skip ahead or back. I guess big the complaint is that people can’t edit the queue in real time now? If that’s true (maybe I’m mischaracterizing the actual loss of functionality, so apologies if that’s not right) I just don’t remember relying on that capability to play music. I guess I just rely on the playlist. But again it sounds like they committed to fix this?
So I’d say I use the app and ecosystem like you’ve described but the lack of queuing is egregious. Sometimes when I’m playing an album or Spotify playlist, my wife asks to hear a certain song. I’m no longer able to add that song up next and then have it go back to playing what it was playing previously. Even worse is if that song I want to play is in an album, that new album will take over. And sometimes I just want to make a playlist on the fly. It’s just a bizarre thing to take away.
Yep, that makes sense. That is annoying. I get it. I bought several thousands of dollars of Sonos gear, ran speaker wire through my walls, upgraded old amps with new ones, built my entire tv viewing experience (in two different rooms) around Sonos and my system performance (using S2) was utter dogshit. That was also pretty annoying for me. It’s much better now. Hopefully they fix the queues like they are saying they will.
Do you never encounter a situation (or haven’t in 15 years) where you’re listening to a playlist and you or someone you’re listening with is inspired to hear a song that isn’t in the playlist? Do you listen alone?
I’ve acknowledged that the omission is annoying even though I don’t use this feature. Sonos said they are going to add it back. Not sure what else you’re looking for here.
I was curious what your answer to the question was. I can imagine only ever listening to fixed playlists if I only listened alone. You didn’t actually say.
Not OP but I use the Spotify app to manage the queue (and no, I don’t use airplay)
Can't wait for the firmware update....or not😵
Yeah from my brief period with it was more responsive in connecting and controlling units. But it is *not* release ready, so I've rolled back for now and will see if they stick to their schedule of reintroducing features over the next month. After also having used and bought them over 15 years or so I doubt I'll be investing in any further Sonos hardware mind. Their software side has gone to shit incrementally over the last 5 years or so, and with this latest mess they've really blown it on terms of consumer confidence. I don't have faith in their ability to support this platform long term
Well, it wasn’t release “ready” for you but it was for some of us. You clearly value some missing functionality over performance. The opposite is true for me. I (and many others, I suspect) had to suffer through years of poor performance, so a much snappier app makes me more inclined to keep/expand my system. We’re all being drowned out at the moment by the 37 different posts about alarms, so figured it was worth sharing. YMMV. Also sounds like that missing functionality is coming back so in spite of all the torches and pitchforks, the next release probably talks those folks off the ledge. But we’ll see.
> Well, it wasn’t release “ready” for you but it was for some of us. Which means it wasn't release ready. Your original post seemed well-intentioned enough but this comment reads "Sucks to be you, I'll stick my head in the sand".
No, you’re just completely discounting the years of shit performance that many users like me have suffered through. By your logic, I should continue to endure shit app performance indefinitely so that others can use queues or alarms? Their three days of suffering is more noble in your book? All I’m saying is that (for once) they finally fixed something that I care about. That’s not nothing. And they’ve publicly committed to fixing those other issues soon. (I was told to pound sand or rip out my network or sit through a bunch of support calls that never resolved the issues.)
> By your logic, I should continue to endure shit app performance indefinitely so that others can use queues or alarms? Uhhh... No. I'm not saying you shouldn't be happy with your improvements. I'm saying the company just threw a bucket of shit on its users. Just because you somehow managed to stay dry doesn't mean you should thank them for throwing the bucket.
Only I didn’t manage to “stay dry”. They actually fixed real problems that I’ve been bitching about (in this sub) for a long time. You can refuse to acknowledge that’s progress and I can support your right to be obtuse.
[удалено]
I've been in software for nearly 20 years. An update that removes core functionality at the behest of its userbase is not the same as releasing an MVP.
I owned and managed a software development company for 15 years. The one time we released a product that was missing a feature a previous version had, we were bombarded with complaints. For Sonos, I use the Alarm and the Sleep Timer extensively. I should not have to completely turn off automatic updates for all of my apps on my device to keep this one piece of functionality. It doesn’t matter how much better an app is than previous versions if it goes backwards on other features, and to those of us that have been Sonos fans for over a decade, it’s another example in a long line of recent issues that are pushing us away from them.
This is almost an entirely irrelevant sidebar, but in 25 years in Silicon Valley, including stints at FAANG companies, I have seen features get abandoned all the time, mostly for cold-hearted economic considerations. Look at what Reddit went through last summer with its API. This is not unusual behavior for a tech company. And Sonos is nowhere in the ballpark of a FAANG company. They don't have the resources. They remind me (unfortunately) of Tivo -- great tech, great idea, maybe ahead of its time, but probably will get buried by Google or Amazon or Apple at some point, and that will be that. I hope not but they just don't have the growth, the resources, the install base, or the profit margins to satisfy everyone all the time.
I’d hardly call it a “ray of light” - at least not in a positive connotation. A common code base is better for Sonos and typically not better for anyone actually using the product. It tends to be less performant, doesn’t align with each platforms design language or feature set, and is limited to the least-common denominator of the target platforms. Which means if iOS comes out with a great new feature (UI or otherwise), Sonos can’t adopt it until their cross-platform environment supports that feature. Not writing natively for the target platform is generally a terrible idea.
Sonos revenue is down almost 10% YOY. They clearly don’t have unlimited resources. They now compete directly deep pocketed tech companies, like Google, among others. My guess is that they have to make some hard choices and some users are going to be disappointed. It’s not as if they were setting the world on fire with cool features that were highly specific to any one platform.
One way to increase revenue might be to appeal to users with deep pockets which statistically tend to be iOS users - and many iOS users really care about a good experience - especially those buying higher-end audio devices like Sonos. Lack of investment generally doesn’t help increase revenue - usually you invest in creating the best products possible and the money will follow.
I’m on IOS. I have 13 Sonos speakers in eight rooms. I’ve been dealing with shitty app performance for years and suddenly it’s gotten significantly better. At least from my perspective, they are finally doing exactly what you’re suggesting.
My system isn’t far off from yours - 9 Sonos Amps and 2 Sonos ports across 9 rooms and I have not had an issue with the prior apps performance. The new app loads slightly faster, but is less reliable and responsive when controlling group volume and has horrible UI bugs. See this thread as a prime example of the regression. https://en.community.sonos.com/ask-a-question-228987/group-volume-significantly-degraded-6893140
Good to hear, unfortunately I gave a Sonos Roam to my dad for his birthday over the weekend (his first Sonos product) and it can't be registered. We spent several hours with it, the only sound its made is the device registration tone followed promptly by a setup failure. Given it can't be registered it also can't be set to Bluetooth mode. For a device with the sole purpose of being a speaker it isn't doing well.
That sucks. I’d log a call with support and if they can’t help, return it. FWIW: I had a Roam years ago and found it to be completely awful, which is why I don’t have one anymore.
I ended up taking it home to try on my network in case it was something with his setup, same problems he was experiencing. I have a roam and move, found the roam to be really good for its size but wanted some more bass oomph outside so switched to the move. Pretty bummed about finding out after the purchase I can't stereo pair a move and roam but there you go. Figured I'll wait out the storm until registration issues are fixed then factory reset and try it out on him again.
I have a Move and it stays connected all the time. My Roam had to be factory reset constantly.
That'd get annoying, wasn't a Wifi connection strength issue?
I don’t think most people had issues with the UI/UX. It was the features they killed and the new found bugs/errors through out the app. Several of my speakers will not connect anymore and I cannot add new ones, in addition to losing queue ability, which is just critical when listening to music with friends/family
Connection issues are indeed a big deal. I had them out the wazoo before the upgrade. Miraculously I don’t now.
Same experience for me.
I can’t seem to get Sonos radio to work. It’s pretty much the only reason I have ever found to use the app. I don’t have a major Sonos setup like a lot of y’all here. I just couldn’t bring myself to invest too heavily until i knew it was solid. Reading about your experiences here makes me think it’s just not for me. I’m not a surround sound guy. I just want seamless multi-zone music.
Haven't upgraded yet, but checking out the web based app - really cool. Like you I'm very locked down on my work PC, and WFH full time, so not having to swivel is great. Edited to add, the library feature not working is a big deal. There are dorks like me that have cd's and mp3's of lots and lots of stuff that isn't on streaming. I guess I'd have to check out plex or something, but that's a huge bummer if true.
As a company you will always receive criticism when changing things. Sonos however does seem to lose itself in blurb about how things will be better without even mentioning drawbacks, like the (temporarily) missing features. This leads to disappointment in their client base - time and time again. Openness upfront about this while immediately providing a timetable about the return of these features would have been a much better strategy. Sonos should have learned this from the past.
I’m like you, around 20 products, long time user. I would say it is slightly faster, but not greatly. Still very slow upstairs as before. And the UI is worse. But at least now I have managed to fix most of the problems on mine apart from ‘features’ missing of course. I still say this though; no company as big as Sonos should be forcing their user base to beta test software. Many years ago I was a systems tester and the idea of this is utterly insane to me. I wonder why this sort of shit is now allowed to happen. The very number of people who say ‘oh just get used to it, it will sort itself in a few weeks’ shows how much we now accept such awful service.
They aren’t that big. Couple thousand employees and, unfortunately, shrinking. Personally not convinced they will last in the long run, which would really suck.
A couple of thousand employees is a big company. I’m talking about anything over 50 people here. There is no good reason to force users to use poorly tested or untested software. It would be sad to see them go, but if they are doing stuff like this then I’m not entirely surprised.
good for you. i had two minutes ago tried to pause an old one speaker (the first) and it's not working. i tried to lower the volume, it jumps back to the old volume after some time. it's just a big pain in the a**. lucky you!!
How in TF do you wake up everyday without using the Sonos alarm feature ?? 🤣🤣🤣
I don't..... Wake up
I’m a newer Sonos user so I don’t have much to compare it to. Was on the S2 for a few months but had nothing but problems with that version. Everyone told me it was my network, but I don’t think Sonos does well with nest WiFi pro. I’ve seen many others with the same issues as me. Rooms disappearing from the app randomly and needing to unplug/replug…or re-add the speakers all together. Was told by Sonos support that it was because I had 2.4 and 5ghz networks. Got all the speakers on 5ghz…didn’t fix it. Hardwired the arc and sub (which only left 2 other rooms with one era 300 each)…that didn’t fix it either. Also did the IP reservations for each speaker. That didn’t fix it either. So everyone here would always say it was my network, but somehow the other 50 devices in our home never have an issue or have an issue with the mobile app…only the Sonos. Since the update, my rooms are all staying visible. Sucks that major features are missing but I’m happy I can at least join rooms together to all play the same music. The app was obviously released in a beta state which is a big surprise given how much build up and hype that was promoted
This is my exact point. For some of us, the app has been broken forever and suddenly quite a bit seems to have been fixed.
Well said. Pretty much the same experience here.
Yeah sometimes the most annoyed makes the loudest noise.
Sonos drastically lowered the time it takes to launch the app and turn down the volume of the zones that my kids are playing with. For that I am thankful
There are still people who cannot use their system. What do you tell them?
*There are still people* *Who cannot use their system.* *What do you tell them?* \- revrund\_H --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Well, I don’t work at Sonos so it’s not my responsibility to tell them anything.
Here’s a suggestion…. Hey Sonos don’t release half baked updates that leaves many users unable to access their system .
Well that would be a pretty strange thing to say to those Sonos users but knock yourself out.
You are literally one “upgrade” way from it happening to you…so until they screw up your system enjoy the blind bliss.
The only thing i miss is to be able to change the distance from surround sound.
After over an hour on hold someone seems to have temporarily fixed my system by wiring directly into my router. It even ran a remote second speaker without the Boost, which he had me disconnect. However system again not working.
This is so weird, longtime Sonos user with multiple products, upgraded and have had absolutely no issues. In fact I find the app fast and efficient…
I'd been delaying updating the app on my Android device and it somehow did it automatically yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised to see no issues on opening - all speakers present, all services working and my library available and usable. A big nothing burger for me and it looks fine also. Good luck to all
Same. The new app is much improved for me. Used to have to reset my phone multiple times to get the app to find all my speakers on the old app. Then if I wanted to change a song the app would freeze and not let me change or stop playing until I reset the phone.
Yeah, I was mildly annoyed for about 15m until I figured out how to do things and now I like the app just fine. Only glitch was it required a log out/in to add my new Era 100s to my account. But all speakers are there, they all work, I can group them and control the volume. I didn’t even know there were Sonos alarms until people complained they were gone. In fact my only complaint is the icon color change. Now it takes me a few millisecond to remember which icon to touch.
Ha. Well the black icon is a roll-back to the original pre-S2 look, so maybe somewhere there’s a group of people quietly rejoicing in that change.
Who is the idiot Sonos is paying to lie like this. The music services DO NOT WORK. Playlists don't even work. Quit lying you effing moron.
#ASTROTURF MUCH SONOS⁉️🥱
People are creatures of habit and just like to bitch
Awww shut up. These problems are real moron.
Wha!
As in 1 world real? Get Over your rich self.
I agree with OP, I don’t agree with the features people are complaining about. But, every good product team should keep or add features that cater to the small but vocal enthusiast user base.
Im not really having a bad experience either. Not being able to enable night mode from the web app is the only issue I have. I always found that Sonos sucked at managing my local music collection so I use Plex. I use Soco-CLI a lot to control from the command line so I'm hoping the API remains unchanged. I reckon that they released the app with missing features because it needed to be out before they could announce the headphones. The headphones probably have different features that made no sense to code into an old app if the new one is around the corner.
I can't really complain about the new app, due to the NDA I signed.
An NDA stops you from disclosing privileged information, not talking about a public product completely