Sonos CEO says the old app can't be rereleased
Sonos’s claim that it cannot roll back to its older S2 app has triggered anger from users who say a recent software overhaul has made previously reliable, high‑quality speakers unstable and hard to set up. Commenters point to a technical rewrite—from a mature UPnP-based local protocol to a heavier mDNS/HTTP/WebSocket plus cloud architecture—as a key source of fragile networking, latency, and baffling UX failures, especially on more complex home networks. Many are now vowing to abandon Sonos for “dumb” speakers plus open or simpler streaming solutions, tying the episode to a broader backlash against smart-home products that require accounts, constant updates, and data-sharing to perform basic functions.
Overall sentiment
- Strongly negative overall. Many praise Sonos hardware performance and sound quality but describe the UX, app, setup, and networking as among the worst they’ve ever used.
- Several long‑time customers say this release turned them from brand loyalists into people who will never buy Sonos again.
Hardware vs. software
- Hardware is widely regarded as solid, good‑value, and capable of excellent sound.
- Software and UX are called opaque, fragile, and arbitrary. Non‑technical family members often refuse to use the app, relying on AirPlay instead.
- Some suspect Sonos is intentionally making systems complex/fragile, increasing sunk‑cost lock‑in once users finally get everything working.
New app and protocol stack
- Linked technical analysis: the old, robust UPnP/SOAP stack was replaced by mDNS + HTTP + WebSockets with Sonos’s cloud in the loop for third‑party services.
- Commenters say this rewrite is more fragile, heavier on older hardware, and far more dependent on cloud availability and latency, even for local actions.
- Many concrete bug reports: disappearing speakers/systems, toggles that don’t work or revert silently, “unregistered” devices with dead “Fix it” buttons, NFC pairing paths that hang, setup flows that never complete.
- Some invoke the classic advice against total rewrites and criticize shipping a forced upgrade without feature parity or a rollback path.
Networking and SonosNet problems
- Detailed reports describe SonosNet forming STP loops, tunneling over Wi‑Fi and Ethernet, congesting networks, and even taking entire Unifi deployments down.
- Best‑practice workarounds include wiring all speakers, isolating Sonos in its own VLAN/broadcast domain, and treating devices as “hostile guests.”
- Existence of official Unifi “how to survive Sonos” docs is cited as evidence of systemic networking flaws.
Accounts, cloud reliance, and data
- Many see mandatory accounts and cloud control as needless for speakers, comparing to Hue and other smart‑home gear that now require logins “for security.”
- Others argue that advanced features and remote access legitimately require accounts and think criticism is overblown.
- Broader frustration with post‑sale updates: seen as adding unwanted features, data collection, and bugs, not value.
Alternatives and coping strategies
- Several users abandon Sonos or vow to only buy “dumb” speakers plus swappable streamers (Wiim, Chromecast Audio, Squeezebox/LMS, Music Assistant, DIY Raspberry Pi setups).
- AirPlay 2 multi‑room, Bluetooth speakers + Spotify Connect dongles, and other open/home‑server solutions are favored to avoid lock‑in and future “enshittification.”