5 ms·

I rented an AirBnB filled with a few thousand dollars worth of Sonos speakers. Some issues... 1. I was traveling with an older Android phone (Android 4.4.4). I

I rented an AirBnB filled with a few thousand dollars worth of Sonos speakers. Some issues... 1. I was traveling with an older Android phone (Android 4.4.4). I couldn't install the latest version of the app. I tried installing an older version, but it simply said I needed to upgrade. So, I couldn't play any music from the phone. I checked online and a number of people were complaining they used their older phones and tablets in the house as simply a Sonos remote, and they now had to upgrade all of those devices after support was dropped. 2. I installed the Windows app on my laptop to play music. This worked, but then I noticed the subwoofer wasn't plugged in (likely so people didn't annoy the neighbors). I thought I would briefly test it out to get an idea if Sonos would be a good future purchase for myself. Well, I plugged it in and I needed to do a setup process from the app. Well, apparently that can't be done from the Windows app, and I couldn't install the app on my phone, so the subwoofer just sat there as decoration. 3. My partner came home and she had a newer phone, so I had her install the Sonos app so we could setup the subwoofer. She installed it, I went to the app to configure the subwoofer, and it said it couldn't be done unless I updated the speakers to a newer software version. Well, this wasn't my apartment and the owner lived there when it wasn't rented, so I figured it wasn't my place to update their speakers. In the end, I never got a chance to test out that subwoofer, and I lost interest in Sonos because I felt like for the investment, the rug could be pulled out from under me at any time. I hooked up some of my 15 year "dumb" Klipsch speakers in my new apartment instead. Didn't need a new mobile phone to set them up, didn't need software updates, just plugged them into the wall. It sure felt easy. I can't help but feel like we lost our way a bit in recent years.

intopieces 7y ago
I have a system from Sonos. Their app to set-up the wireless speakers adaptive sound feature didn’t (at the time - not sure now) work with the latest iPhone. I dug an iPhone SE out of a drawer to set it up.
CoolGuySteve 7y ago
I plugged a $15 Bluetooth receiver into my 11 year old stereo receiver and it works pretty well. The 30-pin iPod connector built into it is not seeing much use these days however.
- ryall 7y ago
  I've got this tiny device that plugs into those 30-pin connectors to make them Bluetooth, really nice solution to utilise redundant tech (originally bought it for a 2015 Maserati that couldn't play music through its Bluetooth sigh talk about shitty consumer experiences). But yeah, I'm a massive believer in keeping things un-integrated. Need a feature, but a component and plug it in
SilasX 7y ago
>I was traveling with an older Android phone (Android 4.4.4). I couldn't install the latest version of the app. I tried installing an older version, but it simply said I needed to upgrade. So, I couldn't play any music from the phone. I checked online and a number of people were complaining they used their older phones and tablets in the house as simply a Sonos remote, and they now had to upgrade all of those devices after support was dropped. Reminds me of a similar frustration with OS X. In December 2017 I was trying to use bluetooth headphones with a MacBook that was still on Mavericks or Yosemite (10.9 or 10.10, latest version at the time 10.13), so yeah, a little behind the times. But when I tried to connect, it said I had to upgrade the OS to use bluetooth with those headphones. What? I'd connected to my phone with it with no problems, and the protocols for the connection are like 10 years old, and almost certainly existed in that version of the OS.
gombosg 7y ago
Good bet. See recent criticism here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21895086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21895086 "Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused" Fuck this kind of masquerading profit hunger as environmental responsibility. Just buy some wired, maybe simple Bluetooth speakers for cheaper (eg. Sennheiser, Audio-Technika or JBL) and enjoy their fine sound.
- Karunamon 7y ago
  "Recycle mode" is intended for devices that people are trading up to newer devices. In return for enabling it, you get a 30% discount on any newer hardware, the idea being that you either ship the item back to them, or take it to an e-waste recycler. Nobody is forced to do this. You're more than welcome to sell/give/etc your speakers to someone else.
  - monocasa 7y ago
    The thing is that e waste recyclers generally try to re sell working electronics and have come out hard against Sonos's recycle mode. There's a reason why the saying is "reduce, reuse, recycle" in that order. They also don't verify that you recycled it, practically it only makes sure that the otherwise working speaker is removed from the market so that Sonos isn't competing with itself. I'd imagine that a lot of these just end up in the garbage.
  - detaro 7y ago
    They promote it as a sustainability initiative. Turning functional devices into e-waste is anything but that, and rightfully criticized and mocked.
    - Groxx 7y ago
      Yea. This is very clearly an attempt to cut into the second-hand market, certainly not recycling.
  - gombosg 7y ago
    Sorry for the late reply, I agree with the others. If this truly was an environmental initiative, Sonos would rather take a proof of receipt of you giving your previous speaker to an e-waste recycler or even giving away to some place like Goodwill where it'll get reused. They could just make sure that you were nice and gave away your device for free and/or charity purposes, instead of bricking it forever.
mhh__ 7y ago
> thousand dollars worth So that must be at least, what, 3 of them?
bcrosby95 7y ago
Controlling your home solely from your phone is overrated. I installed a smart home system and one of the first things I did was buy a cheap tablet that could control everything. I always have my phone on me for work but I don't want to pull it out everytime I need to do something. And when the in-laws are over they need to be able to do stuff. So does my 5 year old that obviously doesn't have a smart phone.
- lostlogin 7y ago
  One exception: Turning the coffee machine on so that it’s how when you get home.
- wildmusings 7y ago
  I have a Denon receiver. It has some nice connected features, like Spotify Connect and Airplay, but it’s also a completely functional dumb receiver that will work with equipment, input and output, from decades past and future. I buy my own speakers and plug them into it. It also supports some Denon wireless speaker standard that lets it hook up to other Denon receivers and/or any speakers with the special adapters attached. But the crucial thing is that at the end of the day, all that fancy pants crap can stop working and you still have a bunch of bog standard speakers and receivers that can be hooked up any other way. Now I’ll concede that maybe I’m ignorant or misinformed or a grumpy stubborn old man, but I’m not sure why anyone technically competent would buy a Sonos or Bose system with their crazy lock-in. It wasn’t so long ago that Sonos made you use Spotify through their awful reimplemented UI. It seems they have relented on that front and now allow use of Spotify Connect, but why would you want to be at someone else’s whim like that? Bose uses non-standard wiring and electrical specs to make sure that you can’t use their speakers with standard receivers. You either have to trash the speakers or keep buying Bose receivers when you want new features (4K, 8k, Atmos, HDR, etc.) Even when money is no object, I feel like a sucker when I buy artificially locked-in products like that. Maybe others don’t feel the same way? For the not-so-tech-savvy, I concede that home audio gear is still a little difficult to set up. The common practice of making your own banana plugs is ridiculous and pre-made audio cables should be the norm instead. The receiver UIs leave a lot to be desired, even when they are ultimately good enough once configured. Shopping for speakers is like choosing fad diets: you have to sift through outrageous amounts of bullshit to find any useful advice. I’d like to understand some more of the sociology and economics of why Denon and Yamaha and such can’t get their act together to produce something as user friendly as Sonos but that degrades nicely into standard A/V equipment when desired. If anyone with industry insight sees this comment, please fill me in.

intopieces 7y ago

I have a system from Sonos. Their app to set-up the wireless speakers adaptive sound feature didn’t (at the time - not sure now) work with the latest iPhone. I dug an iPhone SE out of a drawer to set it up.

CoolGuySteve 7y ago

I plugged a $15 Bluetooth receiver into my 11 year old stereo receiver and it works pretty well. The 30-pin iPod connector built into it is not seeing much use these days however.

ryall 7y ago
I've got this tiny device that plugs into those 30-pin connectors to make them Bluetooth, really nice solution to utilise redundant tech (originally bought it for a 2015 Maserati that couldn't play music through its Bluetooth sigh talk about shitty consumer experiences). But yeah, I'm a massive believer in keeping things un-integrated. Need a feature, but a component and plug it in

SilasX 7y ago

>I was traveling with an older Android phone (Android 4.4.4). I couldn't install the latest version of the app. I tried installing an older version, but it simply said I needed to upgrade. So, I couldn't play any music from the phone. I checked online and a number of people were complaining they used their older phones and tablets in the house as simply a Sonos remote, and they now had to upgrade all of those devices after support was dropped. Reminds me of a similar frustration with OS X. In December 2017 I was trying to use bluetooth headphones with a MacBook that was still on Mavericks or Yosemite (10.9 or 10.10, latest version at the time 10.13), so yeah, a little behind the times. But when I tried to connect, it said I had to upgrade the OS to use bluetooth with those headphones. What? I'd connected to my phone with it with no problems, and the protocols for the connection are like 10 years old, and almost certainly existed in that version of the OS.

gombosg 7y ago

Good bet. See recent criticism here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21895086 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21895086 "Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused" Fuck this kind of masquerading profit hunger as environmental responsibility. Just buy some wired, maybe simple Bluetooth speakers for cheaper (eg. Sennheiser, Audio-Technika or JBL) and enjoy their fine sound.

Karunamon 7y ago
"Recycle mode" is intended for devices that people are trading up to newer devices. In return for enabling it, you get a 30% discount on any newer hardware, the idea being that you either ship the item back to them, or take it to an e-waste recycler. Nobody is forced to do this. You're more than welcome to sell/give/etc your speakers to someone else.
- monocasa 7y ago
  The thing is that e waste recyclers generally try to re sell working electronics and have come out hard against Sonos's recycle mode. There's a reason why the saying is "reduce, reuse, recycle" in that order. They also don't verify that you recycled it, practically it only makes sure that the otherwise working speaker is removed from the market so that Sonos isn't competing with itself. I'd imagine that a lot of these just end up in the garbage.
- detaro 7y ago
  They promote it as a sustainability initiative. Turning functional devices into e-waste is anything but that, and rightfully criticized and mocked.
  - Groxx 7y ago
    Yea. This is very clearly an attempt to cut into the second-hand market, certainly not recycling.
- gombosg 7y ago
  Sorry for the late reply, I agree with the others. If this truly was an environmental initiative, Sonos would rather take a proof of receipt of you giving your previous speaker to an e-waste recycler or even giving away to some place like Goodwill where it'll get reused. They could just make sure that you were nice and gave away your device for free and/or charity purposes, instead of bricking it forever.

mhh__ 7y ago

> thousand dollars worth So that must be at least, what, 3 of them?

bcrosby95 7y ago

Controlling your home solely from your phone is overrated. I installed a smart home system and one of the first things I did was buy a cheap tablet that could control everything. I always have my phone on me for work but I don't want to pull it out everytime I need to do something. And when the in-laws are over they need to be able to do stuff. So does my 5 year old that obviously doesn't have a smart phone.

lostlogin 7y ago
One exception: Turning the coffee machine on so that it’s how when you get home.
wildmusings 7y ago
I have a Denon receiver. It has some nice connected features, like Spotify Connect and Airplay, but it’s also a completely functional dumb receiver that will work with equipment, input and output, from decades past and future. I buy my own speakers and plug them into it. It also supports some Denon wireless speaker standard that lets it hook up to other Denon receivers and/or any speakers with the special adapters attached. But the crucial thing is that at the end of the day, all that fancy pants crap can stop working and you still have a bunch of bog standard speakers and receivers that can be hooked up any other way. Now I’ll concede that maybe I’m ignorant or misinformed or a grumpy stubborn old man, but I’m not sure why anyone technically competent would buy a Sonos or Bose system with their crazy lock-in. It wasn’t so long ago that Sonos made you use Spotify through their awful reimplemented UI. It seems they have relented on that front and now allow use of Spotify Connect, but why would you want to be at someone else’s whim like that? Bose uses non-standard wiring and electrical specs to make sure that you can’t use their speakers with standard receivers. You either have to trash the speakers or keep buying Bose receivers when you want new features (4K, 8k, Atmos, HDR, etc.) Even when money is no object, I feel like a sucker when I buy artificially locked-in products like that. Maybe others don’t feel the same way? For the not-so-tech-savvy, I concede that home audio gear is still a little difficult to set up. The common practice of making your own banana plugs is ridiculous and pre-made audio cables should be the norm instead. The receiver UIs leave a lot to be desired, even when they are ultimately good enough once configured. Shopping for speakers is like choosing fad diets: you have to sift through outrageous amounts of bullshit to find any useful advice. I’d like to understand some more of the sociology and economics of why Denon and Yamaha and such can’t get their act together to produce something as user friendly as Sonos but that degrades nicely into standard A/V equipment when desired. If anyone with industry insight sees this comment, please fill me in.