Sonos stops controversial Recycle Mode for disabling old speakers

Sonos is ending Recycle Mode, part of its Trade-Up program that entitles customers to discounts on new products if they broke down their old Sonos products to send them in for recycling.

Sonos has quietly removed Recycle Mode from its app, The Verge notes. The audio equipment manufacturer refers customers who wish to take advantage of the discount scheme to customer service. According to The Verge, Sonos only recommends that customers who are going to recycle old speakers from now on return them to the factory settings. The Recycle Mode website is still active at the time of writing.

At the end of last year there was a fuss about this mode. Sonos was offering customers a 30 percent discount on new speakers as part of its Trade-Up program, if they put their old speakers into Recycle Mode via the app. This mode deactivated the speakers after 21 days, after which they could no longer be connected to a Sonos system, an action that could not be undone.

Following that, Sonos ended support for the first generation of Sonos products. 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 new functionality, but will still receive bug fixes and security patches. The Sonos CEO apologized for the lack of communication and said Recycle Mode was not intended to pressure customers to upgrade. The goal was to make sure no personal data was left behind, the company said.