I wonder why people buy Sonos kit.

Sonos today announced a series of new commitments that are meant to demonstrate the company’s “renewed focus” on software quality and customer experience. … Recent reports have suggested that Sonos employees raised an alarm prior to when the redesigned Sonos app launched in May. The app was an immediate disappointment to customers because it was riddled with bugs and missing many key Sonos features, and there was significant outcry over the downgrade. Sonos was not able to roll back the changes, and has spent 2024 trying to fix the app. – Juli Clover, MacRumors

I read that as Sonos being sad that they didn’t do what they should have done, sad if customers feel Sonos didn’t do the right thing in making their stuff work badly, and maybe following basic development protocols is the way for everyone to not be so sad. One of those protocols, in software and IT and networking and a bunch of other industries, is to be able to back out if it doesn’t go well. We called it “Last Known Good State” or something like that at one job.

I used to be all in on Sonos. My 1st disappointment was when I ordered my second pair of speakers & the day they arrived Audible was no longer available. Then the Play:5 was shipped with a bad wifi module. Support suggested I used ethernet (not practical for where it was placed) or ship it back for a credit for a future purchase. They didn’t even offer a replacement unit after the return period. Then my various Sonos speakers would lose their mind and stop working without a hard reset. Then Sonos threatened to brick some of the units I had.

Luckily I was leaving Japan at that point and the market there was hot for Sonos. Even with all of my warnings there was a bidding war for my kit. They were welcome to it. I swore I would never wade in to “smart” speakers again … and then in the pandemic I bought OG HomePods. As they die I’ll likely return to a simpler wired and Bluetooth (non-subscription, non-proprietary) setup.

And I feel I need to add this: if Sonos repeatedly treats its customers poorly as they’ve done for years, they’re unlikely to change. Maybe don’t buy their kit.