Sonos ends 'Recycle Mode' for legacy products after consumer backlash
Sonos' Trade Up program will continue to offer discounts to customers with older wireless speakers from the company, but won't require customers to brick their products to participate.
The first generation Sonos Play:5
Sonos is ending support for some of its oldest products in May. In an attempt to keep customers, the company has been attempting to encourage legacy product owners to participate in its Trade Up program.
Initially, the Trade Up program required users to put their devices in "Recycle Mode," a mode that permanently bricked the devices so they could not connect to a home network or other Sonos gear.
Sonos has now changed the requirements for the program. Customers will no longer need to brick their devices and to participate in the Trade Up program, according to Engadget.
The company will continue to honor the 30% off discount for any customer who validates a legacy product's serial number. Afterward, they're free to do whatever they want with the devices, including keeping them for years to come.
Sonos had also announced that while legacy products won't be getting new features, the company would continue to provide bug fixing and security patches for "as long as possible."
The legacy products affected are the original Zone Players, Connect, and Connect:Amp (launched in 2006; includes versions sold until 2015), first-generation Play:5 (launched 2009), CR200 (launched 2009), and Bridge (launched 2007).
Sonos is also working on a solution to split user devices into two groups, "modern" and "legacy," so that both can coexist in the home. Modern products will work together and receive the latest software features, while older products are separated into their own group but remain "in their current state."
The first generation Sonos Play:5
Sonos is ending support for some of its oldest products in May. In an attempt to keep customers, the company has been attempting to encourage legacy product owners to participate in its Trade Up program.
Initially, the Trade Up program required users to put their devices in "Recycle Mode," a mode that permanently bricked the devices so they could not connect to a home network or other Sonos gear.
Sonos has now changed the requirements for the program. Customers will no longer need to brick their devices and to participate in the Trade Up program, according to Engadget.
The company will continue to honor the 30% off discount for any customer who validates a legacy product's serial number. Afterward, they're free to do whatever they want with the devices, including keeping them for years to come.
Sonos had also announced that while legacy products won't be getting new features, the company would continue to provide bug fixing and security patches for "as long as possible."
The legacy products affected are the original Zone Players, Connect, and Connect:Amp (launched in 2006; includes versions sold until 2015), first-generation Play:5 (launched 2009), CR200 (launched 2009), and Bridge (launched 2007).
Sonos is also working on a solution to split user devices into two groups, "modern" and "legacy," so that both can coexist in the home. Modern products will work together and receive the latest software features, while older products are separated into their own group but remain "in their current state."
Comments
Sonos is a trash company.
The point is that they WERE demanding it of customers. The policy was made. Some executives at Sonos thought it was an acceptable policy. They’re paying some kind of negative PR price for this now, as they should. This kind of abusive capitalism needs to be regulated out of existence.
An utterly environmentally offensive, and utterly unethical business policy. This kind of abusive BS is why we need to regulate capitalism and corporations.
You don’t have to. Why would you if the software you use now meets your needs?
Our oldest hardware can no longer run our newest software. Good news, if you are happy with how your system works today, it will continue to work with the current software perpetually. However, if you want to follow where Sonos is going in the future, we will offer a 30% upgrade discount (one-per-serial-number) and you are free to sell or recycle your older device—even continue using it in legacy software mode if that would be useful.
What if Apple started offering 30% off a new iPhone if you still used one that no longer received iOS updates?
Bricking the old device was still a dumb idea and that requirement has been removed, but the 30% discount is still in effect.
"regulation" was successful. The market spoke and the policy was reversed. Problem solved.
You can choose to hold a grudge if you like.
I prefer to read this reversal as evidence that they have seen the light and won't attempt something as dumb as the "recycle mode" again.
If you look a bit more objectively at Sonos, they are the biggest, most accessible whole-home audio provider that doesn't require you to hire a certified installer. Sonos isn't owned by one of the major consumer electronics companies, they happily work with all hardware (phones, computers), digital assistant (Alexa, Google, of course, Apple won't let them at Siri) and streaming platforms (seriously, check out all the services they support, many I've never even heard of). They are a standard bearer for neutrality, when every other system I can think of wants to lock you in somehow.
Let's not throw the baby out with the bathwater. "Recycle mode" was dumb. It was a mistake. But it never even happened before it was reversed. All the other things I love about Sonos have been built up over years and these attributes carry a lot more weight in my assessment.
I own two of these obsolete Sonos devices myself. They are quite functional (with today's software, of course).
These are not mutually exclusive attributes. Many things I use everyday are obsolete, yet fully functional.
No one is coming for your Amps & Connects! You can keep them as long as you like. You just can't put new software on them and if you want to get a current device that will run the latest software, Sonos will give you 30% off on top of whatever you can get by selling the functional, obsolete device.
/s
Just to throw out a few things the new devices can do that yours (and mine) cannot:
- AirPlay 2
- HDMI ARC (for using with a TV)
- 4.1 surround modes using either conventional speakers of Sonos Speakers/subs
- Automation (switching inputs of connected 3rd party devices)
- Run future Sonos software
I'd speculate there are other improvement that will only become apparent when new software the is released of the burden of backward compatibility becomes available. Some guesses:- High Bitrate audio rendering
- More robust networking
I'm not suggesting you want or need any of these things. Neither do I...Except maybe the AirPlay 2. I have a Beam and a Sonos One that have AirPlay 2 and it is pretty sweet!His comment about getting 30% off a new iPhone for simply allowing one that is stuck on outdated version of iOS to be bricked and recycled help illuminate the scenario for me. I absolutely would do that and I would imagine that most others here would too, along with championing Apple's devotion to recycling and customer support as a result.
As Polymnia also points out, Sonos botched this brilliant idea. He's clearly not supporting the way they went about explaining what was going on to customers.
The only part of his comments that I'd take umbrage with is the term "truly obsolete" if it can still able to be used in its original manner for its original intention. With how slowly many update their HEC, an older Sonos on an older TV with an older sound system may still be a perfect fit. Now, Polymnia did qualify his term to include "truly obsolete product" which I could argue is different from device, as a product is from the seller's PoV and device is from their owner's, but in this case I'd have needed that to be elaborated on to take his side on that one specific point.
To re-ask his question: What if Apple started offering 30% off a new iPhone if you still used one that no longer received iOS updates?