Sonos App Arbitration: May 2024 Update Problems

Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are gathering Sonos customers to take legal action after a May 2024 Sonos app update allegedly caused thousands of customers’ speaker systems to become nonfunctional or drastically limited.

Sonos’ release of its redesigned app on May 7, 2024 was immediately met with backlash from customers who complained about performance issues, missing features, and lost functionality—which, in some cases, rendered customers’ systems completely unusable. Two months later, the company issued an apology, admitting that “too many” customers had experienced “significant problems” with the new Sonos app and promising to fix bugs, improve functionality and add missing features in the coming months.

However, a lawsuit filed over the Sonos app update disaster in May 2025 claims that despite the company’s assurances, the new Sonos app still has decreased functionality compared to prior versions. According to the case, customers should be compensated for being unable to use their Sonos devices as expected and advertised.

The attorneys working with ClassAction.org suspect that Sonos may have falsely advertised its new app and intentionally reduced the functionality of customers’ systems to force them to upgrade their devices. They’re now gathering affected customers to sign up for mass arbitration over potential violations of state consumer protection laws.

Sonos App Update May 2024: Backlash, Complaints

In late April 2024, Sonos announced a redesigned app that was to be released on May 7, with CEO Patrick Spence stating in a press release that the new Sonos app would be “easier, faster and better.”

However, soon after the new app’s release, customers began reporting various performance issues and complaining that certain software capabilities, like local music search and sleep timers, were no longer available.

In fact, when Sonos conducted an Ask Me Anything event on its community forum roughly a week after the new Sonos app was released, participants asked about why the app was released “in an obviously unfinished state” with “critical issues” when it was “clearly not ready” and “full of bugs.” Another participant said their system “is now broken most of the time,” and others said the app was slow, laggy and had “increased disconnects.” Concerningly, a blind customer who said they own 15 Sonos devices reported that the new app was “not accessible at all,” despite assurances from the company prior to the May 2024 update that the app would have basic accessibility features.

Other Sonos app update complaints from the community forum called the new app a “disaster,” with one user saying they were upset to “lose functionality that [they] rely on and use every day” and another stating that “nothing works anymore.” Others said they could no longer use their system properly because of problems with the app lagging, crashing, frequently losing connection to their speakers, or glitching when using certain features. Some customers emphasized that they had already spent a significant amount of money on Sonos products but were considering alternatives.

The Sonos app update backlash ultimately resulted in lost stock value, millions in damages, layoffs, and the departure of Sonos CEO Patrick Spence and several other officers in early 2025.

Sonos App Update Debacle Sparks Lawsuit

In May 2025, Sonos was hit with a class action lawsuit claiming the company falsely advertised the new app as “faster,” “easy to navigate,” “better than ever” and providing “effortless control”—while failing to warn users of the app’s “numerous defects” that would degrade the performance of their devices.

According to the case, the plaintiffs experienced the following issues after the Sonos app upgrade: “frequently losing (and being unable to reestablish) connection between the Sonos App and Sonos Devices, causing audio to stop suddenly; audio playing unexpectedly on the Devices, including at high volumes, disturbing the household and neighbors; being unable to change the volume, as the volume command does not respond at all or responds only with significant lag; being unable to group speakers together to play in unison; or frequent ‘crashing’ of the app.”

The Sonos lawsuit claims the new app was rushed to market in order to avoid delaying the much-anticipated release of the company’s first wireless headphone set, called the Ace, which would rely on the new Sonos app. Per the case, Sonos encouraged and even forced customers to update their apps to version 80.00 and provided no option to downgrade to a prior version.

According to the case, Sonos customers would not have installed the redesigned app had they been warned about its numerous shortcomings—and if they had not been compelled to by the company.

The lawsuit claims Sonos customers have easily suffered over $5 million in damages within the first year of the Sonos app redesign given the value of lost features or the cost of replacing their Sonos devices.

Is This a Sonos Lawsuit? What Am I Signing Up For, Exactly?

You are not signing up for a lawsuit, but rather a process known as mass arbitration. This is a relatively new legal technique that, like a class action lawsuit, allows a large group of people to take action and seek compensation from a company over an alleged wrongdoing. Here is a quick explanation of mass arbitration from our blog:

[M]ass arbitration occurs when hundreds or thousands of consumers file individual arbitration claims against the same company over the same issue at the same time. The aim of a mass arbitration proceeding is to grant relief on a large scale (similar to a class action lawsuit) for those who sign up.”

Sonos’ terms of use require customers to resolve disputes via arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution that takes place outside of court before a neutral arbitrator, as opposed to a judge or jury. It’s for this reason that attorneys working with ClassAction.org have decided to handle this matter as a mass arbitration rather than a class action lawsuit.

How Much Does It Cost to Sign Up for the Sonos App Arbitration?

It costs nothing to sign up, and you’ll only need to pay if the attorneys win money on your behalf. Their payment will come as a percentage of your award.

If they don’t win your claim, you don’t pay.

How Much Money Could I Get?

There are no guarantees as to how much money you could get or whether your claim will be successful. However, certain state laws provide that consumers whose rights are violated could be owed anywhere from $50 to $10,000, or their actual damages if higher.

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