Sonos Is Canning Its Speaker-Killing 'Recycle Mode'

PC Hardware Studio Shoot - September 2011
Back in January, high-end speaker manufacturer Sonos announced it would no longer be providing software updates to any hardware that was released prior to 2011, beginning as soon as May. The company told customers that they could trade up for a new device at 30 percent off, but first would have to put the devices into a controversial "Recycle Mode" that would effectively brick the speakers.


Last week, the company reversed course, quietly removing the wildly unpopular "Recycle Mode" feature from its mobile app. While Sonos is still planning to move forward with the end of software updates for legacy devices, this change means that customers will have a say in what happens to their old speakers—they can keep them, gift them, or take them to their own e-waste recycling facility of choice, or let Sonos handle it.
This change-of-heart follows Sonos CEO Patrick Spence's January 23 apology post to customers. He stated that the company "did not get this right from the start" and noted that the company was not bricking the speakers or planning intentional obsolescence. "While legacy Sonos products won’t get new software features, we pledge to keep them updated with bug fixes and security patches for as long as possible," he said.

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