When setting up My Sonos home theater systemI ran into a persistent problem. I was trying to add a Sonos wireless subwoofer to my network, but according to the Sonos mobile app, the subwoofer was nowhere to be found. The app would either return an “Unable to connect” message or, even stranger, tell me that I was trying to connect a gray box labeled “product” with a serial number that had nothing to do with anything.
“I thought the smart home was supposed to make your life easier. Easiermy husband commented quietly, as he watched me reset the Sub multiple times, turn my phone on and off, turn on Bluetooth, switch phones, and finally bang my head against a wall and cry before calling Sonos tech support.
As we all know, I am far from the only one having problems with The new Sonos app; the company rolled out a radical overhaul in May that broke a number of key features, such as the ability to change volume on some of its speaker systems, angering countless longtime Sonos fans.
Now, more than two months after the controversial redesign, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has finally acknowledged widespread customer disappointment in a lengthy note posted on the company’s website. Instagram account“Since launch, we’ve encountered a number of issues,” he wrote in a hilariously tongue-in-cheek tone. Spence apologized for the frustration the update caused and stressed that fixing the broken app remains Sonos’ “number one priority.”
The message refers customers to the detailed list of Sonos Software Updates that have already been released and lays out a roadmap for further improvements to the disabled app. Here are some of the issues Sonos promises to address in the coming months:
- Implementation of music library configuration, navigation, search and playback (in July and August)
- Improved volume responsiveness (in August)
- Improve the consistency and reliability of alarms (in September)
- Restoration of edit mode for playlists (in September and October)
It’s a short list, and perhaps too short. The number of improvements the company needs to make is — no point beating around the bush here — absurd. I’m struggling to think of an app update fiasco big enough to compare to this one, because as a consumer technology journalist and editor, I can’t think of another software update that has removed users’ ability to control the volume.
Additionally, I can’t think of another update that removed users’ ability to control volume and then did not immediately resolve this issue. For months! I contacted Sonos to ask why Spence’s repair time is so long. The company has yet to respond.
It’s worth noting here that Sonos’ hardware remains the gold standard in the world of high-end consumer audio. My colleague Parker Hall calls the Era 100 a new standard for smart speakers; Ace wireless earbuds got a score of 8/10 and a WIRED Recommends badge. When I finally set up my Sonos home theater system, I was blown away by the richness and depth of the jungle sounds. Land of Evil. (Bomb, boom!)
And yet, this feeling of frustrating disappointment is strangely familiar to me. My family used to be an all-Sonos household, with Play speakers scattered throughout the house and even my husband’s workshop. I ditched the Play system in 2020 because I could no longer stomach the company’s decision to split its control software into two separate Sonos appsone for the new speakers and one for the old speakers. Why do I have to do mental math to remember which app controls which speaker every time I want to change music?
And yet here I am again, trapped by hardware, locked in by software, unable to edit my Sonos playlists until September. Maybe I’m just another beautiful, dumb dreamer. At least my Roku TV still works.
