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Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

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Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#351

Post by callmeal »

jakobegger wrote: post #311

I was going to buy a Sonos speaker, but this changed my mind. I'm not buying a device that was built to be bricked. I would have bought a Sonos instead of an Apple Homepod because I thought they were more "open". But if the manufacturer can just make my device useless, I'm not interested. Audio and Hifi gear is extremely versatile and virtually everything is compatible. High end devices easily last for decades. This…

>I was going to buy a Sonos speaker, but this changed my mind. I'm not buying a device that was built to be bricked.

I had a complete sonos setup that I rage donated after moving and accidentally connecting it to the internet at which point sonos wouldn't let me play my music until I "upgraded" the software with alexa enabled. Forget about recycle mode, sonos is one of the most intrusive privacy invading companies that I know off and I'm so happy they're getting all this bad press, because when I went to their forums with my complaints the whole response there was "meh" and "how can you run with old software?".

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#352

Post by TeMPOraL »

emmelaich wrote: post #151
TeMPOraL wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't need it for music. I want to record ultrasound from the environment, and possibly play signals of my own.

And annoy pets? I had some failing electrical gear that produced extremely high frequencies. Drove the dogs a little crazy until I found it.

Not annoy, but learn more about them. The original idea of investigating ultrasound environment came to me when I was taking care of some rats for a few weeks for a friend; I read a short book on them, from which I've learned that they communicate with ultrasound, which made me want to "listen in" on that communication, and perhaps replay some of it.

FWIW, I have a cat myself, and I'm not the kind of person to annoy animals on purpose.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#353

Post by tripzilch »

I experienced a similar thing when I helped a friend install LineageOS on their bootlooped Android phone.

Apparently, this process would have been 10x easier if they had switched on "OEM unlocking" in the Developer Options setting (which you can't do from the boot menu, recovery menu or via adb), which is off by default for a very stupid reason. We were successful in the end, but it was a LOT of hassle.

So, when you switch on "OEM unlocking", you get a warning that it's "for protection against thieves". Like, a thief would steal your phone and it's encrypted and locked, but because "OEM unlocking" is off they can't simply wipe it and reinstall to re-sell, or something. So to them it's a brick and therefore they wouldn't have stolen your phone I guess. Except if they spend some effort they can totally cleanly reinstall the thing, it just takes more steps.

Maybe I'm missing some part here about how this "OEM unlocking" option supposedly protects against theft, but for me it was a simple sum. Number of times my phone got stuck in a boot loop: 3, number of times my phone got stolen: 0. So I set that to unlocked, now I'll have an easier time if I ever mess up my phone again.

The only real reason I can think of is that they WANT your phone to stay bricked/bootlooped when it's bricked, and be unable to fix and repair it. It has nothing to do with theft, it's just a way to make sure the device stays disabled when it's disabled, and to make you buy another new phone.

Additionally, I got nothing but happy comments about LineageOS from my friend. You can really tell in the feel of the entire system the difference between what it means to be a user (normal software) or to be the product (like in Android or any of the Google/Facebook/Apple systems). Just by what options you're given and the fact that applications actually behave at your service instead of nagging you while you're trying to accomplish a task. I'm not really happy about how Android 9 is running on my moto-g6, so I think I'm gonna make that switch soon as well. You don't even need to root the phone to do this, but it's a choice (I think I'm going to root it though).

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#354

Post by starsinspace »

davidjhall wrote: post #181
throwaway100773 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im in the market for sound equipment. I just crossed these guys off my list.

I'm curious what you would recommend instead. Everyone is listing speakers they bought decades ago but what are the latest non-sonos speakers that people like?

Many of the classic Japanese Hi-Fi makers are still around and make good non-smart amplifiers and speakers. Take at look at the offerings of e.g. Onkyo, Yamaha, Denon, TEAC, Sony, Pioneer.

A few years ago I bought a TEAC amp[0] + speakers[1] , still very happy with both.

[0] https://www.teac-audio.eu/en/products/ai-301da-117088.html

[1] https://www.teac-audio.eu/en/products/ls-301-117096.html

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#355

Post by bostik »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #98
reeddavid wrote: post #23

What a total waste. Apparel companies are starting to participate in the secondary market for their used gear, why can't Sonos do something similar? Examples: - Patagonia Worn Wear ( https://wornwear.patagonia.com ) - REI Used Gear ( https://www.rei.com/used/shop/gear ) - Arc'teryx Rock Solid ( https://rocksolid.arcteryx.com ) As it stands, Sonos is effectively buying their old speakers and then throwing them away. C…

Wonder how long these apparel companies will keep it up. I remember reading not so long ago that some well-known clothes companies realized that people are interested in buying used high-quality clothes, and so they started manufacturing new clothes using worse materials and process but to the same design as quality ones, and then sell these fake-used clothes as "worn".

Stone-washed jeans have been a thing since at least 1980's, from around the same time that "worn in" look became fashionable.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#356

Post by NeedMoreTea »

davidjhall wrote: post #181
throwaway100773 wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im in the market for sound equipment. I just crossed these guys off my list.

I'm curious what you would recommend instead. Everyone is listing speakers they bought decades ago but what are the latest non-sonos speakers that people like?

Thing is some of those ancient speakers are still made and rated. As one example the BBC LS3/5a[1] was a published spec for a monitor speaker the Beeb put out in the seventies. Someone has been making a speaker that meets the spec ever since, and it's had a glowing reputation for a small monitor class speaker for decades.

Wharfdale Diamonds are much changed and developed, but still a well thought of small bookshelf speaker, though the range now includes floor standing and 7.1 multimedia systems.

In short, look to the budget hifi makes rather than smart or tech gimmicks. Many of the Japanese brands make speakers for the home market, but use Wharfdale, Tannoy or one of the other Western makes selling systems here. The Denon compact system I bought 30 years ago came with a pair of Wharfdale Diamonds, with a Denon badge. Technics used to ship badged Tannoy speakers -- not sure if they still do. When I had to replace it a year or two ago, the comparable modern Denon compact system had no option for included speakers. Mine now uses those 30 year old Denon badged Diamonds.

[1] https://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/ls3-5a-full-bbc-specificat...

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#357

Post by jdnenej »

jstanley wrote: post #313
Hackbraten wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. Electric toothbrushes need to be 100 % waterproof to be usable safely. If I were a toothbrush manufacturer, I’d at least look into making the brush self-destruct when opened, for safety reasons (and safety reasons alone).

What about an electric toothbrush is unsafe if it is not 100% waterproof?

You might feel a minor tingle on your tongue if the battery connects to it somehow

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#358

Post by jdnenej »

tripzilch wrote: post #353

I experienced a similar thing when I helped a friend install LineageOS on their bootlooped Android phone. Apparently, this process would have been 10x easier if they had switched on "OEM unlocking" in the Developer Options setting (which you can't do from the boot menu, recovery menu or via adb), which is off by default for a very stupid reason. We were successful in the end, but it was a LOT of hassle. So, when you…

I got hit by this same issue. We had a few spare phones at work in a draw and I wanted to give them to friends in need of a phone. Had permission from the company but no one knew who owned them or what the password was. I did the manual factory reset from the recovery but was hit by this "security" feature.

I eventually managed to track down the original owner and had them unlock the devices. If I hadn't, these phones would be ewaste.

What bothers me is the solution is simple, when a manual factory reset is done, have the phone ping google and start a 1 week countdown. Google can then email the original owner and ask if they have had their phone stolen. If they reply yes then the phone is locked. If they reply no or have no response then the phone unlocks.

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#359

Post by [deleted] »

shock wrote: post #44
starsinspace wrote: post #19

So 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...

I recently bought a couple of Netgear Managed Switches (for Business)⁰ and in their datasheet they list "Local-only management" as a feature. Only after they arrived we discovered that you only get limited functionality in the Local-only management mode, you have to register the switches to your Netgear Cloud account to get access to the full functionality. Reading up on it, this was achieved only after a community o…

[deleted]

Re: Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused

#360

Post by squarefoot »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #137
userbinator wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

That was my point. It still happens everywhere, which I find disgusting.
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