Sonos Application Guide: Control your Sonos S2 system

When it comes to the Sonos application, things are a bit complicated to say at least. The Sonos S2 application was previously the one that was considered the application of ‘newst’ sounds, but that update reached mid -2020 and there is the possibility that it has been using it for years. At the same time that the Sonos S2 application was directed in 2020, the original Sonos application was renamed the Sonos S1 controller.

However, all that happened before the most recent Redesñada Sonos application, which arrived in May 2024 and caused a lot of interruption, certainly more than the initial S2 four years ago. Actually, Sonos should have called the 2024 redesigned application the S3, but it was not so and here we are.

The easiest way to describe Sonos S2 is that it is the most current application of Sonos and the most current Sonos speakers. What it means to you and your Sonos system depends on the speakers you have in your home and your compatibility with the system and the S2 application.

Keep reading to get everything you need to know about the Sonos S2 and S1 application and how to update your several room speakers system.

Why changed Sonos?

At the beginning of 2020, Sonos announced that it would stop updating ‘inherited products’. This list included original zone players, Connect and Connect of first generation: AMP, the first generation game: 5, the CR200 and the Sonos bridge.

Since some of these devices date back to the early 2000s (although some were sold until 2015), it is not surprising that Sonos had to cut the chord at some point. The hardware reaches a point where you cannot maintain the software that is expected to drive without problems and that is what has happened with the products below:

Incompatible S1 Hardware:

• Sonos Play: 5 (Gen 1)
• All players in the area
• CR200 controller
• Sonos Connect (Gen 1)
• Sonos Connect: AMP (Gen 1)
• Sonos bridge

What is sonos S2?

Sonos S2 is not only the name of the Sonos application, as we know it now, but it was also a new operating system (through a firmware update) when it was initially launched in 2020 for its non -legal speakers Sonos. When the S2 system was launched for the first time, the application was quite elegant and came with some new and elegant software characteristics for updates, such as pre -established groups that you can use for speakers at certain times of the day, or for events, think of ‘below’, ‘partying’ and the like. Even four years later, that remains one of our favorite advice from Sonos.

The biggest agreement at that time was perhaps that Sonos S2 allowed higher resolution audio technologies for music and cinema at home. The first signs of that were the Dolby Atmos skills of the Sonos arch and was followed by Amazon Music Ultra HD working with Sonos.

Fast progress until 2024 and we have the Sono Arc Ultra that makes great advances in the sound front, while the Sonos application has gone through some agitation. It looks quite different when the S2 application was first launched, moving to a home screen, but many of the features that were initially eliminated as part of the redesign have begun to return. We have a separate feature in tips and tricks for the new Sonos application that can help you find things if you ask where they have gone.

Meanwhile, Sonos S1 is basically Sonos, since it was prior to 2020. Even if you have all S2 compatible products, you can still choose not update; You can continue using your Sonos speakers as it always did. Your system will receive corrections of errors and security patches, but will not get any S2. However, the newest Sonos speakers that were launched after May 2020 are not compatible with the S1 system, so if you are buying new speakers or has bought sound speakers in the last four years, you must download the S2 application to configure them.

Some sound speakers that are compatible with the S1 application must degrade before they can be added to a S1 system as well. The application of the Sonos S1 controller will inform you if the device you are configuring must be reduced when you try to add it.

With regard to the Google and Alexa assistant, Sonos declared: “We will work with our partners to maintain their music and voice services working with our oldest products during the time we can give their memory and limitations of processing power. If we find something core for the experience that cannot be addressed, we will inform you.“

Devices compatible with Sonos S2:

• Play: 1
• Play: 3
• Play: 5 (Gen 2)
• Five
• One (all generations)
• Move
• Move 2
• Game base
• Game bar
• Beam
• Vige 2
• Bow
• ARCO SL
• Ultra arc
• It was 100
• It was 300
• Wander
• Wander
• Roam 2
• Ray
• Connect (Gen 2)
• Connect: AMP (Gen 2)
• Amp
• Port
• Increase
• Sub (all generations)
• Subinfecting
• Ikea Symphonic (all models)

What areos generation speakers do I have?

If you are confused what generation game: 5 you have, you are not sure if your sonos Connect is first or second generation, etc., you can always consult online starting session in your Sonos account.

If your device is compatible, it will be displayed with a “modern product” brand.

Can I use S1 and S2 Sonos at the same time?

Yes and no. You can use them both at the same time, of course. But it cannot group speakers from a S1 group, even if they are compatible with S2, in a S2 group.

That is the part that caused the greatest amount of criticism when he announced for the first time the legacy division in 2020, although it was probably even less critical than the company for the most recent redesigned application.

If your Sonos system includes any of those inherited devices, even one one, and a lot of the last and best sonos speakers, then you will have to get rid of the ancients or condemn their new speakers to an S1 experience, and now we know that you will not be able to add new speakers of Sonos, since they will not be compatible.

How do I get the Sonos S2 application?

Both the Sonos S2 application and the Sonos S1 application are live on Google Play and Apple App Store. There are also desktop variants for Mac and PC users.

To update S2, it is not just a case of updating an application as usual, you must download a completely new application. Now, the S2 application does not really say S2 on the icon, but you will know that you are downloading the new one based on the description and the new tan color of the application.

The ‘Old’ Sonos application remains black and is clearly now labeled ‘S1’.

Simply download the application and follow your system update steps. You can eliminate your old Sonos application once you have done it: it becomes useless as it makes the jump to S2.

How can I update my sonos speakers?

You can, if you wish, update your old sonos kit using a 30% credit exchange program and the good news is that Sonos recently got rid of its controversial recycling program of ‘brick’, which essentially saw the speakers of Sonos useless merchants and destined for a landfill.

You do not even have to send ancient speaker and will actually still be functional, if you want to continue using it in a S1 configuration / give it to a friend / sell it on eBay.