Is this a violation of US resale rights?
Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
131–140 of 478 posts
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#132So Sonos devices need "activation" via some server on the internet? Why? If I just want to stream audio within my own home, why is internet even necessary? And what happens when Sonos goes out of business and the servers are shut down? I just don't understand why people keep buying such things...
Because they want to stream audio from streaming services, which have APIs that change regularly, and require some level of DRM and subscription management. If you just want to stream audio from a local server, buy a squeezebox device. (They went under a few years back, the demand wasn't there, but they did have exactly the setup you want)
> stream audio from streaming services, which have APIs that change regularly, and require some level of DRM and subscription management
That's a good point and it makes it even more important to push back - abusive, customer-hostile business models don't just affect the direct customers, they spread and infect everything downstream.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#133Earlier quoted context omitted.
I feel bad about it but I rather wish it worked this way for expensive power tools. I don't want permanent drm for tools I just want a one time lock that is forever disabled upon purchase. Perhaps electronically while being purchased.
Why?
So that I would have to chase fewer scumbags who constantly steal to sell tools on craigslist/facebook market/pawn shops to support their drug habits.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#134What’s intensely frustrating about this is that audio equipment is one of the few areas where old high end kit is still absolutely fantastic for current users. I have an NAD 3020 from the 1980s which works perfectly with the same pair of speakers that it was bought with. I can’t say the same about other tech, but audio just doesn’t age at the same speed.
I can’t say the same about other tech, but audio just doesn’t age at the same speed. People's ears have not changed, and the ability to reproduce sound has been nearly perfected. If you're not too picky/audiophillic, like most people, the requirements are even lower.
Literally the only "improvements" that are ever going to happen to audio in your lifetime will be a) internetifying it and b) adding more restrictions to how you use it.
We've hit peak audio (best reproduction, no restrictions on usage) and it's only downhill from here.
I look forward to my 2025 speakers that only work for an hour a day unless I pay for extra time credits.
"Do you wish to play a) music b) music and local radio c) music, local radio and podcasts [BEST VALUE]?"
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
There's "illegal but we'll do it anyway since any penalty is less than what we made because of it" and there's "it's illegal so let's not do it as it puts our CEO in jail". I thought this was obvious.
What would be illegal about it? Plenty of devices have hardware usage tied to software activation so there’s years of precedent of this being acceptable.
That should be illegal.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#136Earlier quoted context omitted.
Screwing over companies that screw over the environment is morally sound.
How is it screwing over Sonos? The credit can only be spent on new Sonos equipment. Or are you talking about the OP's company, who is cashing on people's desire to recycle?
"double dip"; your words, not mine.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
"A lot of luxury goods brands destroy their unsold merchandise" This also happens since probably forever with fruit and vegetables if they're unsold or in overproduction. The reason is to keep prices fixed by artificially reducing the offer.
Fruit and vegetables and other perishable goods will effectively self-destruct if unsold anyway, so I don't see that as being quite as bad as deliberate destruction of product that would otherwise last indefinitely.
If what I remember about the Great Depression from my history lessons is correct, the picture becomes quite different when you have farmers and vendors destroying food to keep the price up next to masses of people starving because they can't afford the food.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#138Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's the reason. A pair of good speakers is the most useful equipment in audio. If I'm a millennial audiophool and want 192 kHz / 32-bit PCM, I'll simply put a new DAC in front of the original Hi-Fi amplifier. I won't throw the perfectly usable system away.
I think this was a sarcastic comment. Obviously "reproducing the ultrasonics" don't actually matter for music reproduction....
Of course it's a sarcastic comment, and I know it when I was comment. It seems that it was you, who are unfamiliar with its background and implication.
"Reproducing the ultrasonics" here is a sarcastic reference to any sampling rate higher than 24 kHz (it actually backs back well before digital music). Audiophiles often prefer it because it's claimed that it has a wider frequency response, a lower quantization noise by oversampling, increased transparency after recording and remixing, while critics believe it's a point of diminishing return, and increases the odds of unwanted distortion that actually decreases the fidelity.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#139Earlier quoted context omitted.
Unfortunately Sonos just seems to work well out of the box. Since we’re here, does someone have a good opensource alternative? Plug and play multi room audio streaming from Spotify et al?
Have you seen volumio.org ? You can do everything from running it on a Raspberry Pi to buying a fully put-together high-end system. Open source software.
I love Volumio. I have a couple of RPis around the house plugged into external powered speakers (PC style Logitech 2.1 sets) and one in my kids room plugged into a little mini speaker.
It can play everything from MP3s to Spotify to Internet Radio, and has a really nice web interface.
It’s such a great project that deserves a lot more attention.
Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
#140IIRC Logitech used to do this with warranty replacements on Harmony remotes—don’t know if they still do. It made purchasing one used risky.
They did this, but the blacklist only prevents the remote from getting updates from the cloud.. it does not brick the device, and it can continue to use its current config. Or at least that's how it used to be.
I have a harmony that I bought in 2009-ish, and the provided "batteries included" exploded in the first few days of ownership and made a huge mess. I wrote them a complaint, and they sent me a new remote. When I activated the new one, the old one stopped taking updates.
Amusingly, there is an open source tool that can pull a config from one harmony and flash it to another. The replacement was actually slightly inferior (mushy keys), and so I'd program the replacement, back up the config, and restore it to the original.