Sonos CEO apologizes and promises long-term fixes

Sonos CEO Patrick Spence apologizes for the way the company has communicated the end of support for old Sonos products. The CEO promises that the company will continue to provide bug fixes and security updates for a long time.

Spence responds to customer criticism of ending support for first-generation Sonos products with his apologies. The original Zone Players, the Connect and Connect:Amp, the first generation Play:5, the CR200 and the Bridge, among others, which were introduced between 2006 and 2009, will therefore no longer receive updates. It was unclear whether that also involved bug fixes and security patches, but Sonos reported on Wednesday that it would continue to provide them.

The CEO now reports that he will continue to provide those fixes ‘for as long as possible’, but the products will not get new features. If the company can’t fix important problems, it will offer alternatives, he promises. In addition, according to him, Sonos is working on a way to divide systems. This should ensure that, on the one hand, modern Sonos devices can work together and continue to receive updates, while on the other, outdated products continue to function together. Sonos will announce more about these plans in the near future.

The CEO also responds to criticism of the trade-in program and the ‘Recycle Mode’. With the recycle program, customers can get a 30 percent discount on a new Sonos product if they put products in that mode. That mode disables speakers and after that it is not possible to get them working again. According to Spence, the intention was not to pressure customers to upgrade.