Sonos CEO: No plans for rollback despite glitchy redesigned app

Sonos users have been riding a rollercoaster ever since the company rolled out its redesigned app, and the ride just took another twist. Despite initial hints that a rollback to the older version might be the solution to the many headaches the new app caused, Sonos CEO Patrick Spence has just dropped a bombshell — it’s not going to happen.

During the latest Reddit AMA episode, Spence shared some disappointing news. He admitted that although he was initially hopeful about bringing back the older app (S2) as an alternative for frustrated users, extensive testing revealed that this would actually make things worse. The problem isn’t just with the app itself; it’s intertwined with the software running on your speakers and in the cloud. In short, Sonos has moved on, and the old app is now considered less reliable and stable than it once was.

Everything has been on the table in terms of finding the fastest path to fixing your systems. In fact, until very recently I’d been hopeful that we could re-release the old app (S2) as an alternative for those of you that are having issues that we’ve not yet resolved.

For those who have been struggling with the new app’s bugs, missing features, and overall clunkiness, this news might feel like a punch in the gut. Some users have already voiced their frustrations, arguing that the issues go deeper than just the app’s interface and should involve a reevaluation of the entire software stack.

The trick of course is that Sonos is not just the mobile app, but software that runs on your speakers and in the cloud too. In the months since the new mobile app launched we’ve been updating the software that runs on our speakers and in the cloud to the point where today S2 is less reliable & less stable then what you remember. After doing extensive testing we’ve reluctantly concluded that re-releasing S2 would make the problems worse, not better. I’m sure this is disappointing. It was disappointing to me.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Spence assured users that Sonos is fully focused on making the new software work seamlessly in your home. However, this may not be much comfort to those who feel like they’ve been left with a glitchy app that impacts not just their user experience but also their trust in the company.

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s that we are fully focused on getting the new software running successfully in your home.

And let’s not forget, the CEO recently acknowledged that the glitchy app might even take a toll on Sonos’ financial performance. It’s clear that this situation is far from ideal, and it has some users questioning why third-party apps can deliver a better experience than Sonos’ official app.

For now, it seems like Sonos users will have to hang tight and hope that the company’s efforts to fix the issues will bear fruit soon. But one thing’s for sure: the trust between Sonos and its users has been shaken, and it may take more than just software updates to restore it.