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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

#81

Post by ipsum2 »

cissou wrote: post #49

Am I misunderstanding something? Once in recycle mode you're supposed to send them back so that Sonos can actually recycle (or even reuse, nothing stops them from refurbishing) the old device. Recycle mode seems to simply be a convenience so that people can get the 30% rebate immediately once they've shown they're serious about sending back the device. What sucks is that you have to trade up to recycle, if they offer…

The point of the tweetstorm is that Reuse > Recycling, and by rendering them functionally useless is a waste of resources.

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

#82

Post by blacksmith_tb »

walrus01 wrote: post #48
baybal2 wrote: post #7

Well, this is where the industry is going. The latest buzzword we hear in the industry is called "product as a service" — you buy a product, but still don't own it. You have to keep paying them for using your own property or else they remotely brick the device. First gen Ipods were a prime example, but now everybody seem to want to do the same. We recently had a prospective client who had an idea of very cheap intern…

> Well, this is where the industry is going. The latest buzzword we hear in the industry is called "product as a service" — you buy a product, but still don't own it, and have to keep your subscription going so the seller don't remotely brick your device. This is exactly what Cisco has done in the small/medium sized business market with their acquisition of Meraki. Pay forever or your router and wifi stops working. I…

It's certainly unappealing to me as an individual, but I am sure plenty of businesses wouldn't even blink at paying an ongoing charge like that (as long as the router in question was getting timely patches etc.)

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

#83

Post by xp84 »

baybal2 wrote: post #57
Angostura wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> First gen Ipods were a prime example Eh what?

On early Ipods music was effectively "glued" to the individual player with a primitive DRM/scambling system. So, you were dead in the water without Itunes that kept the fairplay key for that particular player

Yeah so you could lose music, but you could just restore the iPod and put new music on it. It didn't become a brick at any point unless it literally broke.

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

#84

Post by aidos »

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...

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?

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

#85

Post by CamperBob2 »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #52

About 8(?) years ago my wife tasked me to get a whole-house audio system that was simple to use. After reading a lot, sonos was the clear choice, though pricey. We started with two play:3's, then added a play:5 and two more play:3's. And things were good. But for the past year the system has been a mess. Music stutters, some units can't be found, some units fail to upgrade through multiple retries/reboots. I've waste…

Honestly, it sounds like you have some kind of local 2.4 GHz interference problem. Try unplugging unnecessary wireless devices or moving them well out of range while troubleshooting, don't run microwave ovens until you've ruled them out, and keep your phones and other gadgets well away from the affected hardware. See if you can make friends with someone who owns a spectrum analyzer.

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

#86

Post by chiefalchemist »

windexh8er wrote: post #73
kristianc wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You buy a product, but still don't own it, and have to keep your subscription going so the seller don't remotely brick your device. That’s absolutely not what’s happening here. I paid £169 for my Play:1 five years ago, and it’s still working as well as the day I bought it. I haven’t paid them a penny since. This eco trade in may be a bit sketchy but absolutely no one’s device is being bricked without their consent.

Sure, today. But what happens when Sonos decides they "don't want to support your Play:1"? Maybe because it's a "security issue" and they place your Play:1 in "recycle" mode for you and give you so many months to replace it? Think about this from a longer term point of view - this is just an A/B test by Sonos. They can brick your device from remote, so there's no guarantee that at some point they won't.

Worse. If Sonos can do it, eventually so can a hacker. Nothing is unhackable. Sooner or later a consumer(s) or Sonos will be taken hostage.

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

#87

Post by smacktoward »

walrus01 wrote: post #48
baybal2 wrote: post #7

Well, this is where the industry is going. The latest buzzword we hear in the industry is called "product as a service" — you buy a product, but still don't own it. You have to keep paying them for using your own property or else they remotely brick the device. First gen Ipods were a prime example, but now everybody seem to want to do the same. We recently had a prospective client who had an idea of very cheap intern…

> Well, this is where the industry is going. The latest buzzword we hear in the industry is called "product as a service" — you buy a product, but still don't own it, and have to keep your subscription going so the seller don't remotely brick your device. This is exactly what Cisco has done in the small/medium sized business market with their acquisition of Meraki. Pay forever or your router and wifi stops working. I…

It's also the direction Microsoft has been slowly moving Windows. You think it'd be bad if your router stopped working when you stopped paying, imagine the same scenario for your operating system.

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

#88

Post by gok »

bathtub365 wrote: post #50
gok wrote: post #5

> Someone recycled five of these Sonos Play:5 speakers. They're worth $250 each, used, and these are in good condition. They could easily be reused. Then the owner should have sold (given?) them as-is, rather than trying to double dip by telling Sonos they were going to recycle them for parts (for which they pay you $120) then not doing so.

The owner did try to recycle them for parts, by giving them to the recycling centre.

I now see what's going on...the OP claims to be running an e-recycling center but actually takes "donations" and sells them for a profit instead.

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

#89

Post by egdod »

maweki wrote: post #20
egdod wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would it be illegal? And what’s the difference between illegal and incredibly illegal anyway?

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.

You think that deactivating devices with customer consent is something that should land the CEO in prison.

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

#90

Post by TylerE »

falcolas wrote: post #69
TylerE wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You really do need a high quality DAC for a modern system. Older systems won't have a DAC at all, much less a good one. That is a big deal unless it's a system 100% dedicated to vinyl.

Good thing those can be added after the fact.

That rather defeats the purpose of buying old kit on the cheap though, since you can get a good modern integrated amp for not much more than a standalone DAC.
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