Sonos app issues – sorry and a commitment to fix it all real soon (AV)

Sonos app issues from its new app released in May have been widely and often sensationally reported. They stem from Sonos trying to do too much too quickly. Quite unlike its determined and considered product rollouts, which ensure that products are perfect before they hit the shelves.

I have been using Sonos speakers for nearly a decade

I chose Sonos for many reasons—the least of which was cost (it is not cheap). My initial selection was because it was among the few that supported multi-room audio over Wi-Fi.

My initial investment was a pair of Sonos One Gen 2 and One SL – the backbone of the Sonos sound system (now superseded by Sonos Era 100 – the versatile speaker). These are brilliant bookshelf room speakers supporting Google Assistant (at that time). They became a stereo pair in the lounge room, but we moved home and needed more expansive sound.

Enter a pair of Sonos Five – superb Hi-Fi over Wi-Fi. These have the sweetest sound I have ever heard (in my open-plan lounge room). They have AUX-in and support turntables and external sound sources.

I had a Pioneer 5.1 surround sound system with Jamo speakers on my main TV. After reviewing the Sonos Beam Gen 2 – quality Dolby Atmos compatible soundbar (5.1 with Mini-Sub), I had to have it. The old Ones became dedicated rears, giving me 7.1. I was happy with realistic surround sound because Dolby Atmos was still a reach too far.

Sometime later, after reviewing the Sonos Arc 5.1.2 (with Sub-woofer), I was blown away by the incredible immersiveness of Dolby Atmos. The old Ones became dedicated rears, giving me 7.1.2. Sonos Arc Dolby Atmos soundbar with optional Sub and surrounds.

I reviewed a pair of Sonos Era 300, each 5.0.1 Dolby Atmos speaker as rears to the Arc and was doubly blown away. They added the missing DA experience to the Arc and Ones. Sonos Era 300 as rears to the Sonos Arc – superb Dolby Atmos 7.1.4.

I was a Sonos convert

Beam 2 and Ones (later replaced by Erra 100) went to the bedroom. The Arc and Era 300s went to the TV room.

I also invested in a Sonos Move and Sonos Roam for travelling and outdoor use.

The point of this monologue is that few (if any) other brands could have offered this ecosystem flexibility. It is all about the ability to mix and match, upgrade, and repurpose. If you have the budget, it is a no-brainer.

Major changes to the S2 app were not well-received

For the record, Sonos users who simply use the app to set up a system had no significant issues. The flack came from Sonos devotees who felt the changes were not in their interests. The app went from hardware support to a content focus, and a few features did not work. Certain media sensationally reported this as a tsunami of Sonos users abandoning their equipment.

However, the fact remains that taking one significant step forward resulted in two more giant steps back.

Update on the Sonos app October 2024

Since the app’s May launch, the Sonos team has been releasing software updates approximately every two weeks.

More than 80% of the app’s missing features are back. We expect to restore almost 100% in the coming weeks. The app’s reliability and speed have improved with each release.

Sonos CEO responds

Sonos CEO Patrick Spense has issued a heartfelt apology for the raft of issues with its new app.

Our priority since its release has been – and continues to be – fixing the app. There were missteps, and we first went deep to understand how we got here. We then moved to convert those learnings into action,”

We commit to making changes to get us back to being the brand people love by offering the best audio system for the home and beyond. We must always do right by our customers, and I am confident that, with these commitments, we will.”

To ensure that we always deliver a superior customer experience, we are making these commitments, which fall into two categories: addressing the root causes of the app release problems and regaining our customers’ trust.

Sonos commits to:

Unwavering focus on the customer experience. We will establish ambitious quality benchmarks at the outset of product development. Products will not launch before meeting these criteria. We will also enhance the tools necessary to measure the quality of the customer experience to ensure that we maintain the standards our customers expect.

Increase the stringency of our pre-launch testing phases. Our beta testing program will include more types of customers and more diverse setups for a longer testing period. This will allow us to find, diagnose and solve customer concerns more quickly before going to market.

Demonstrate humility when introducing changes. In contrast to the all-at-once automated app release we issued in May, any major change will be released gradually. This will allow customers to adjust and provide feedback before it becomes the default. For new smaller-in-scope features, we will have an opt-in experimental features option in the app for interested customers to test them.

Appoint a Quality Ombudsperson. This new role will ensure our employees have a clear path to escalate any concerns about quality and customer experience. Executive leadership will consult this person throughout the development process and before product launches. The ombudsperson will guarantee transparency, publish a report to management and employees twice per year, and present regularly to the Sonos board of directors.

Sonos also commits to regaining the trust of our customers:

Extend our home speaker warranties. We strongly believe in the quality of our products. We will extend the manufacturer’s warranty by one year for all home theatre and plug-in speaker products currently under warranty.

Relentlessly improve the app experience with regular software upgrades. We will roll out new mobile software versions every 2-4 weeks to optimise and enhance the software experience.

Establish a Customer Advisory Board. This board will provide feedback and insights from a customer perspective to help shape and improve our software and products.

CyberShack’s view – I am sticking with Sonos

I am confident the App issues will all be resolved soon. It does not change the fact that Sonos hardware is unique and fills the Wi-Fi multi-room speaker void so well. Add its new Sonos Ace – Superior over-the-ear, BT, ANC headphones for Sonos lovers are excellent, and the app changes will integrate these more fully into the Sonos ecosystem,

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