If you’re the proud owner of a Sonos speaker that was launched between 2006 and 2009 – sorry.

Your high-tech piece of audio equipment is about to start its journey towards becoming a very expensive paperweight.

Fresh off releasing its first wireless charging speaker, the company has announced that it will no longer be providing software updates for some of their older models.

As Reuters points out, this wasn’t going to go down well with customers, and it didn’t.

People have been losing it on social media.

Hours after the company made the announcement here on Tuesday, customers went on Twitter using the trending hashtag #SonosBoycott and tagging the company’s chief executive officer, Patrick Spence, with their questions.

“@Patrick_Spence would you like to buy my 3 yr old @Sonos equipment? I guess you know how to use it as a doorstop soon,” one Twitter user, @itnopred, asked the CEO.

…“This is nothing more than a big rip off by a company that just went public … I will never purchase their products again. I hope they go bankrupt,” Facebook user Stephen Salay posted in a private group for Sonos users.

Hold up, there’s a private Facebook group for people who own the same speakers?

I needed to take a second for that one.

Anyway, customers found out about the changes when they received an email from the company saying that models launched between 2006 and 2009 will not be upgraded from May.

Sonos gave customers the option to either continue using the products without any new updates and features in the future or buy a new Sonos product with a 30% credit for each product replaced.

“Is this some kind of sick joke? … How to kill a brand 101. Your discount is a joke,” @Ben_Willee tweeted.

I wonder if we’ll start seeing DIY videos for upcycling your Sonos on BuzzFeed in a few years time.

Here’s the thing, though. Sonos outlined its reasons for discontinuing updates when it issued an apology to everyone losing their minds online.

“As this is the first time we’ve had to end software updates for any music player, we recognize this is new for Sonos owners, just as it is for Sonos,” a Sonos spokesman said in a statement.

“We’ve now come to the point where our oldest products have been stretched to their technical limits in terms of memory and processing power.”

Ah, okay, that makes sense.

Most of us who grew up with those old, beautiful speakers, aren’t used to them bombing out. I inherited a set from the 70s that are attached to my record player, and that still produce incredible sound.

While they’re great in terms of sound quality and longevity, those speakers come with some complications. They’re not easy to attach, the wiring is tricky, and if they do need to be fixed, it’s a mission to find a place that can do it. Don’t get me started on the hassle that comes with trying to use them with my phone, iPod, or iPad.

So while it might feel like your Sonos speakers are now going the same way as an old cellphone or laptop, the lifespan of which is usually roughly three years max, it’s important to remember that these are very advanced wireless products.

If we want decent sound in 2020, we’re just going to have to get used to that.

[source:reuters]