Sonos May 2024 update

Author
Discussion

sjg

Original Poster:

7,519 posts

271 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
Just as a warning - the "new" (version 80.x on iOS) Sonos app that they've been hyping is terrible and if you've not updated yet, maybe hold off. This isn't like S1/S2, once it updates you can't go back.

It looks to be a complete rebuild but is missing lots of features, and could be a while until some of them come back. Fairly basic features like managing queues, alarms, sleep timers, etc are gone. Performance is bad enough with half a dozen speakers but people with lots are reporting it's horrible. It breaks any screen reader support for the visually impaired too. They seem to have rushed it out in time for their quarterly earnings call but clearly hadn't finished it in time.

Promised timelines for some of the features to come back:

https://support.sonos.com/en-gb/article/the-new-so...

TownIdiot

1,063 posts

5 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
Totally agree with this - unfortunately I updated without having read about the update.

I hadn't realised about the alarms but I have noticed that there is now a considerable delay in starting or pausing anything.


Sonos has a track record of this type of cock up.

I have had their system for years and have enjoyed it but my wife and daughter simply CBA anymore so either use the small google wifi pods/displays or bose bluetooth speaker. I certainly won't be extending it any further.

spitfire-ian

3,884 posts

234 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
I did spend a while yesterday trying to edit my alarm that I have set and only then discovered that it's been missed from the update.


Composer62

1,865 posts

92 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
The app updated automatically on my Android phone and now can't see ANY of my speakers. It's completely unusable. I've complained on the Sonos Forums, along with a lot of other people.

Thankfully the app on my laptop still works so I'm not totally stuck.

I'm not a happy camper though !!!

PushedDover

5,888 posts

59 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
I do not understand how Sonos consistently have a stty laggy App.

I can change the music in my Tesla driving away with someone else at the wheel better than I can the speakers in the room next to me.

Tindersticks

783 posts

6 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
An absolute shambles. Removing alarms is a particularly dim move.

bompey

563 posts

241 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
Tindersticks said:
An absolute shambles. Removing alarms is a particularly dim move.
Yep, as I had an alarm set for an early morning flight and with the upgrade I’m struggling to alter it.

Tindersticks

783 posts

6 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
bompey said:
Yep, as I had an alarm set for an early morning flight and with the upgrade I’m struggling to alter it.
People who don’t have access to the desktop apps are unable turn off or amend alarms and are just unplugging them. Makes you wonder if anyone there actually uses the products.


Mont Blanc

1,239 posts

49 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
TownIdiot said:
<snip>
I have had their system for years and have enjoyed it but my wife and daughter simply CBA anymore so either use the small google wifi pods/displays or bose bluetooth speaker. I certainly won't be extending it any further.
I have 'all house' AirPlay system which is basically 2 x Sonos One SL speakers, and 5 x Bose HomeSpeaker 300 units.

I have an iPad that I play my music or radio stations from (Apple Music) and I simply press play, tap AirPlay, and select all the speakers, or whichever rooms I want. Seems simple... But I have had nothing but problems with the Sonos speakers being glitchy, and I've absolutely had enough of them.

They either refuse to connect and play no matter how many times you tap them in the AirPlay speakers menu, or they glitch when playing, or they keep playing the same track once you've pressed skip to the next track.

Sometimes I try to use the Sonos app to get them back on line, but I just get messages saying the devices cannot be found, and so on.

The Bose speakers, I never have an issue with. I'm binning the Sonos speakers and buying another couple of Bose.

TownIdiot

1,063 posts

5 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
Other issues

They have dropped the option to skip forward and back a few seconds which is handy on books and podcasts. Too slow to use drag the timeline l.

Podcast list isn't updating

Absolute bunch of clowns


Mars

8,973 posts

220 months

Tuesday 14th May
quotequote all
Is it just timers & queues that are faulty?

Mine updated today on both my Android phone and my PC and both seem OK for playing music, grouping speakers and accessing my music library on my NAS. I actually prefer the way you can see your various speakers in one screen on my phone, along with their various volume levels.

Edited by Mars on Wednesday 15th May 00:00

TownIdiot

1,063 posts

5 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Mars said:
Is it just timers & queues that are faulty?

Mine updated today on both my Android phone and my PC and both seem OK for playing music, grouping speakers and accessing my music library on my NAS. I actually prefer the way you can see your various speakers in one screen on my phone, along with their various volume levels.

Edited by Mars on Wednesday 15th May 00:00
The biggest issue for me is the delay in pause / start and volume changes

Really irritating

Tindersticks

783 posts

6 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Sounds like their AMA was a large bunfight

https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/14/24156703/sonos-...

Alarms are apparently back but you’ll need to perform a system update first.

NDA

22,181 posts

231 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
sjg said:
Just as a warning - the "new" (version 80.x on iOS) Sonos app that they've been hyping is terrible and if you've not updated yet, maybe hold off. This isn't like S1/S2, once it updates you can't go back.
Thanks - that's a handy post.... I was wondering about updating. I won't,

As it happens, I generally control my two Sonos zones via Roon - which is a much more solid connection in my house.

I have gone from being a Sonos advocate to someone who would never buy another product from them - I have Sonos products gathering dust as I've gradually replaced them.

Puggit

48,763 posts

254 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Their social media team is remaining upbeat and getting a complete battering as a result. Not an ounce of self-reflection.

They've announced that alarms are back - well they aren't in my Android app. However I have now lost 5 devices, including one half of pair - leaving me with 3. How do they do it?

Mont Blanc

1,239 posts

49 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
NDA said:
Thanks - that's a handy post.... I was wondering about updating. I won't,

As it happens, I generally control my two Sonos zones via Roon - which is a much more solid connection in my house.

I have gone from being a Sonos advocate to someone who would never buy another product from them - I have Sonos products gathering dust as I've gradually replaced them.
The bit in bold got me thinking.

Is there any App (for iOS) that allows for easier AirPlay playback on all speakers at once when selecting a track/playlist from Apple Music? The Bose app allows for grouping of speakers into one entity, but does not allow you to choose music from Apple within the app (only Spotify etc)

At present, if I want to play Apple Music to play on all speakers around the house, I open Music, press play, then press Airplay, then tap all the AirPlay speakers individually until they are all ticked, then adjust the volume on them.

Is there an easier way to do this? a one-tap kind of solution?

troc

3,849 posts

181 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Puggit said:
Their social media team is remaining upbeat and getting a complete battering as a result. Not an ounce of self-reflection.

They've announced that alarms are back - well they aren't in my Android app. However I have now lost 5 devices, including one half of pair - leaving me with 3. How do they do it?
No alarms in my (updated today) iOS app either. The new app is really poor. I’ve also ‘lost’ a couple of Sonos devices from my system and the inability to edit a queue is seriously frustrating.

JimbobVFR

2,722 posts

150 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
Composer62 said:
The app updated automatically on my Android phone and now can't see ANY of my speakers. It's completely unusable. I've complained on the Sonos Forums, along with a lot of other people.

Thankfully the app on my laptop still works so I'm not totally stuck.

I'm not a happy camper though !!!
On Android it's possible to go back by deleting the app and manually installing the APK file of the previous version.

Tindersticks

783 posts

6 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
troc said:
No alarms in my (updated today) iOS app either. The new app is really poor. I’ve also ‘lost’ a couple of Sonos devices from my system and the inability to edit a queue is seriously frustrating.
If you've only updated the app they won't show - you'll need to also run a system update on the speakers.

TownIdiot

1,063 posts

5 months

Wednesday 15th May
quotequote all
JimbobVFR said:
On Android it's possible to go back by deleting the app and manually installing the APK file of the previous version.
Good idea.

This is just another example of Sonos being useless - the underlying problem is that for the last few years their app has been unreliable and just generally not great to use.

As a result I have a system throughout the house that only I use as my wife and daughter can't be arsed.