Sonos Borks Big Software Launch

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hinduclient

hinduclient

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  • #1
    Sonos' highly anticipated new software launch on 5/7 appears to be not well received. Widespread reaction to missing alarms, sleep timers and unbelievably - users are unable to connect to their local library - has ranged from disappointed to rabidly p*ssed. I've drank the Sonos kool-aid and bought the t shirt with systems through the house. I love it, but part of my love affair is learning to forgive their unbeta-tested software releases.

    All controls are set to NOT automatically install new versions. I'll wait for when better reviews emerge in coming months. Posts on reddit and sonos forums suggest music library support may not return til July.
     
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    Uragan

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  • #5
    There is a way to access the local media library via the new web app. (I haven't uninstalled the Windows app yet.) I haven't tested the mobile app to see if there's an easy way to navigate to the same thing though.

    That said, searching the local media library is hosed across the board.

    And I still have problems playing FLAC from my Plex server, despite it being fixed in the beta earlier this year.
     
    hinduclient

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  • #6
    Knowing that Sonos is on the verge of a big new hardware reveal, what possible reason would they have to look incompetent or just plain dumb?

    Plus, their PR folks are asleep at the wheel declaring " it takes courage to do this." Any experienced PR person would admit the error and tell the truth and ask for user patience while they unbork the software.
     
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  • #8
    So sounds like I shouldn't plan to upgrade my software any time soon then since I only play music from my local library. Granted I rarely perform the updates as is since more often than not they don't seem to work or take doing it multiple times that I really have stopped caring about them. And so far it hasn't seem to impact my ability to use the system even when it will complain about limiting functionality until I perform the update what I need has always worked.

    I do wonder if at some point they'll end support for the speakers I have since I have a mix of gen 1 Play 1s and 3s and have no plans to expand my system any time soon.
     
    rodalpho

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  • #9
    This is exclusively a S2 app update, it doesn't include any firmware updates. Eventually of course there will be firmware updates that break compatibility with the older S2 app version, but I expect they'll fix the bugs and add missing features by then. Definitely skip the update for now if you listen to local media or use Sonos for alarms.

    I have Play:1's used as surrounds myself. Nothing lasts forever but they made it through the S1->S2 migration so I'm not particularly concerned.
     
    hinduclient

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  • #10
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    ramases

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  • #11
    1.5 half month fix time to be able to update wifi settings on a wifi-based product? That's a bold move, Cotton.

    Borked launch doesn't begin to cover it. I don't envy the poor sods in engineering who have to clean up a mess they probably know went off half-baked, and probably also advised against, and where a straight-forward solution actually exists: Just rollback the S2 app, release the new app as S3 and try again once your new app doesn't create hard vacuum.
     
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  • #13
    Welp, even though I didn't ask for the update it seems like my system still got it and I lost access to my local music. Though I did find something that got it working again even with the update. Go to the folder where you have your music, right click and select Properties. Then change to the Sharing tab and click the Share... button. Using the dropdown select "Sonos Wireless HiFi System" and add it with read permissions. Finally go back into Sonos and add the music folder again. Granted I am doing this through the Windows app and not the mobile one, but it at least got my music working again.
     
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    thedarkhalf

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  • #14
    I have to wonder why Ars isn't covering this. My entire system is bricked. I have the speakers added fine but trying to "re-attach" my music library nets me a (913 error). So I have a ton of speakers that can't play a damn thing. Tons of people on reddit and in sonos's own forums confirm this issue. I mean, god forbid I store my music on a network share or (in my case) an external hard drive. (MacMini M2, Sonoma, Connected external HDD).

    For something that worked fine just a month ago, they royally fucked this up. I mean it's not like I used it daily to.. Utter trash company. Who the hell signed off on this?

    /rant
     
    hinduclient

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  • #15
    I read the response from the Sonos "Ask Me Anything" session. The project managers dodged questions and actually defended the move and were kind of pissy about it. That Sonos continues to push the new brick-my-system software update is beyond belief. I've actually looked at Blusound stuff out of curiosity. Since Sonos is killing the desktop versions and moving those commands to the cloud - that will essentially take away ALL local control and put it in the cloud. Read the article on the front page today about the folly of giving up local control to the cloud. As far as I can tell "the cloud" is just someone elses computer. Nope. Fuck you Sonos - and your new headphones. Sonos management may go beyond a funky software launch - and launch me into a new system. As much as I deplore ebay, I'll kill Sonos if their poor management and lack of concern for customers continues. It's got me wondering: what can we do to tank their stock share price? That, and only that will get their attention.
     
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    jwbaker

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  • #16
    Definitely not a big fan of the new software, but even the old software has been getting steadily worse lately. It has been taking 5-10s for the Android app to see the system every time I pick up the phone, which means it takes seemingly ages to change the volume or skip a track. I might as well walk across the house to press the buttons. It is all a pale shadow of how well the original SonosNet CR100 worked.
     
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    ohhowhappy

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  • #23
    Suffering sonos user here. It has been gratifying to go to the forum to complain and realize I can't possibly add anything to the tsunami of shit. The first thread I parked in began with a complaint, then a toadie responded by saying "It's your fault, you knew what you were doing when you agreed to the beta," at which point the toadie was defenestrated by a mob screaming they hadn't signed up for a beta. I was in the mood for a riot, fun stuff.
     
    Uragan

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  • #24
    GaitherBill said:
    It’s rather odd. They could have simply waited the 3 months until the new app was finished.

    I rarely use the app myself for my Sonos speakers. Just for setup.

    I take advantage of the Airplay 2 support and use that for streaming from Apple Music.

    Do a lot of people rely on the Sonos app for content?
    Click to expand...
    Actually I do. I stream from my Plex server and listen to foreign radio stations through TuneIn. Frankly, the app does work for me.
     
    Auguste_Fivaz

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  • #25
    Jonathon

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  • #26
    The Roam 2 can be a dumb Bluetooth speaker out of the box without the app, but you'll need the app (and wifi) for any additional functionality (EQ, playback controls, streaming music, etc.).

    I don't know why you'd buy the Roam 2 to only use it on Bluetooth; its advantage over its competitors is the Sonos ecosystem integration. Or, at least, it was, before they broke their app. :judge:

    (To be fair, the app is, at least, getting better-- but it's still not to 100% feature parity with the old version. And it's still slow.)
     
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    Uragan

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  • #27
    Jonathon said:
    The Roam 2 can be a dumb Bluetooth speaker out of the box without the app, but you'll need the app (and wifi) for any additional functionality (EQ, playback controls, streaming music, etc.).

    I don't know why you'd buy the Roam 2 to only use it on Bluetooth; its advantage over its competitors is the Sonos ecosystem integration. Or, at least, it was, before they broke their app. :judge:

    (To be fair, the app is, at least, getting better-- but it's still not to 100% feature parity with the old version. And it's still slow.)
    Click to expand...
    To be fair, if they want to play via Plex itself while at home, they can do that with a Roam, but if all they would be doing is using Plexamp as a bridge, then any old Bluetooth speaker is more than adequate for their needs, as you rightly pointed out.
     
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    hinduclient

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  • #28
    I'm still running the app from March. Sonos works. Any word when we'll be able to use our local library (mine's on a NAS) in a meaningful way; that is the ability to run imported playlists and search the library?

    Since they're at it, wish they could fix the 2-3 minute stutter when changing local tracks trying to play more than two zones at once.

    That said, Sonos hardware is really pretty darn good, if only they could hire decent software project managers. I suspect the coders are good, management not so much.
     
    Uragan

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  • #29
    hinduclient said:
    I'm still running the app from March. Sonos works. Any word when we'll be able to use our local library (mine's on a NAS) in a meaningful way; that is the ability to run imported playlists and search the library?
    Click to expand...
    You mean with the updated app? I'd honestly say keep using the version you have now. There's a timeline, but I don't know if they're going to actually hit those deadlines or not.

    hinduclient said:
    Since they're at it, wish they could fix the 2-3 minute stutter when changing local tracks trying to play more than two zones at once.

    That said, Sonos hardware is really pretty darn good, if only they could hire decent software project managers. I suspect the coders are good, management not so much.
    Click to expand...
    To be fair, the PC application is pretty sad looking and isn't the best at what Sonos wants it to do, so I get why they would want to refresh it. I just think they kind of leapt before they looked, as it were.
     
    Uragan

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  • #30
    Auguste_Fivaz said:
    I was looking for advice on Sonos, wasn't hard to find.
    I'm considering a Sonos Roam 2, looking to simply use some app on my android phone like PLEXAMP to stream music to the Roam 2.
    Is this device capable of doing that or does it require their app? If the app, not sure I'll go for it.

    Click to expand...
    I guess the other thing I'd want to know is... are you willing to jump into the Sonos ecosystem as a whole?

    I have speakers in most of my major rooms in my apartment, and it's nice to have music filling my whole living space. And I also have their home theater setup as well, which works quite nicely too.

    But if all you're wanting (or willing) to get is the Roam and use it to play music off of your phone, I'll still say that a "dumb" Bluetooth speaker would suit your needs perfectly.
     
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  • #32
    hinduclient said:
    I'm still running the app from March. Sonos works. Any word when we'll be able to use our local library (mine's on a NAS) in a meaningful way; that is the ability to run imported playlists and search the library?
    Click to expand...
    I believe I had that app upgraded pushed down to me, even though I didn't want it, and lost access to my local library. I was able to workaround it and get it to read my local files (though stored on the PC and not a NAS) allowing me to search and bring in my playlists that I created outside of Sonos. The steps in my post here as what I did to restore access to the local files. Granted this was using the PC app as I rarely, if ever, use the mobile one. Might work for your NAS set-up but not sure. I can't remember what I used for the search to find that, but believe it was just sonos <error message that appears trying to add a local library> and it was in one of the top results. I think there might have been something about doing it for a NAS as well but not sure.
     
    hinduclient

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  • #33
    Here's a more recent update to when we can sorta/kinda expect legacy features to return to our Sonos systems:
    • Continued improvements to navigation for visually-impaired customers: mid-June
    • Playback controls including mute and volume numbers: June
    • Local music library search and playback: mid-June
    • Improved playback settings including Play Now: July
    • Create and edit local music library: July
    • Improved Autoplay settings: July
    • Improved Sub audio settings with Amp: July
    • Snooze alarms: TBD

    Anyone know whether the local library works? I'm stuck on the March OS til further notice.
     
    Uragan

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  • #34
    hinduclient said:
    Here's a more recent update to when we can sorta/kinda expect legacy features to return to our Sonos systems:
    • Continued improvements to navigation for visually-impaired customers: mid-June
    • Playback controls including mute and volume numbers: June
    • Local music library search and playback: mid-June
    • Improved playback settings including Play Now: July
    • Create and edit local music library: July
    • Improved Autoplay settings: July
    • Improved Sub audio settings with Amp: July
    • Snooze alarms: TBD

    Anyone know whether the local library works? I'm stuck on the March OS til further notice.
    Click to expand...
    Once the new update hits, I'll give it a try and report back.
     
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