Sonos Changing Their Privacy Policy and Bricking Devices if you opt out

[greg]

Thoughts?

Episode 126: Sonos wants to brick your speakers

[Glen_King]

glad I never bought the things

[lmosenko]

That is why I have a Google Home and ChromeCasts. And I now can use them as Bluetooth receivers from my VLC Thing. Burn for SONOS! LOL! #POS!

[Core_Phx (Bill S.)]

Technically, they aren’t “bricking” them. Just playing on fears that future updates would render them obsolete. I don’t like Sonos at all (I sold all of mine last year), but to say they are bricking them is inaccurate. The speakers will continue to work, but will not get any future firmware or software updates.

[Glen_King]

so then anyone who does not go along with the program had best ensure they turn off automatic firmware updates, if that’s possible

[Core_Phx (Bill S.)]

It’s not possible, but Sonos wouldn’t risk putting out a firmware update that intentionally bricks devices; It would be marketing suicide.

Most likely, they will continue developing the software app and making it to where future versions of that won’t be backward compatible with older firmware versions. As long as a user can freeze that version, the speaker itself should continue to work, albeit new features won’t.

[greg]

@Core_Phx

I don’t like Sonos at all (I sold all of mine last year), but to say they are bricking them is inaccurate.

Stacy is a pretty legit source. skip to 3:15 of the podcast “cease to function”. Here is another source with the same quote.

Sonos says users must accept new privacy policy or devices may "cease to...

I don’t have an issue if the speakers continue to work but future updates do not. I’ve owned my Sonoi for many years, well before ST and I have definitely gotten my money’s worth. However, if the device “ceases to function” intentionally I would be upset.

[Core_Phx (Bill S.)]

I listened to it. The actual quote from Sonos is what I’m referring to. I’m not saying at all that she wasn’t a legit source.

A spokesperson for the home sound system maker told ZDNet that, “if a customer chooses not to acknowledge the privacy statement, the customer will not be able to update the software on their Sonos system, and over time the functionality of the product will decrease.”

“The customer can choose to acknowledge the policy, or can accept that over time their product may cease to function,” the spokesperson said.

I agree with you. I did get my money’s worth for sure before I sold mine (and even then I got money out of them lol).

[greg]

Mine are the old Play 5’s and a 3. is that what you had? Are you willing to share what you sold yours for?

EDIT - I think mine are actually called S5’s and S3’s. I’ve had them awhile.

[Core_Phx (Bill S.)]

I had 5 Play1s and 2 Play3s.

I sold the Play1s on eBay for $125 each (they were all about a year old) and my Play3s for $250 each. In total, I made about $1,125 and turned around and got a bunch of soundbars (and other speakers) and CC Audios.

Granted, the sound quality was amazing, even from the Play1s, but I wanted more flexibility in where I wanted my speakers to be in the house. For instance, I have a Samsung 2.1 soundbar that was hidden under the couch in my office. Once I got away from Sonos (and Google put out better firmware for the CC Audios), I realized I didn’t miss them as much as I had thought.

Now, I’m working on a project to do in-ceiling speakers routed back to a media closet with small amps and CCAudios.

[kurtsanders]

It is the way that all companies are heading as most all IoT devices are able to send {personal} information about their environment, usage, etc and the companies have decided to market the information for profit. Anyone that has been using Google, Facebook, Paypal, Yahoo, Microsoft, Apple, {SmartThings}, etc have accepted similar privacy statements each time they “click through” the install/update process which has the one sided TOA and links to accepted privacy.

The only way to escape it is to live off the grid, eliminate all forms of payment cards, stay off the internet, tear up your drivers license, don’t file taxes, sell the car and don’t use public transportation. Oh yea, quit walking in most cities, malls, and getting money at the banks, since all the camera systems have facial recognition.

The CEO of Sun Microsystems said it best in 1999, “Consumer privacy issues are a ‘red herring’.”
“You have zero privacy anyway,” Scott McNealy “Privacy, ‘Get Over it’”