Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Did we have a thread on items to avoid buying? I can't seem to find it so I started one.

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Sonos has a program where they give customers a 30% discount on a new Sonos device if the customer puts their current Sonos device in "Recycle Mode".

Recycle Mode does the exact opposite of what the name implies. It begins a 21 day countdown. At the end of the countdown the perfectly functional device is bricked.

I wonder how long it is before someone discovers how to unbrick "Recycled" Sonos devices.

Wow. Giving people a financial incentive to intentionally brick working products is certainly a creative way (in an evil-genius sense) to discourage aftermarket sales that could limit your revenue. But couching it in environmental terms is pretty damned lame. That kind of shady marketing scheme is a real turnoff.

Well after reading a little about the device I’d say over half of the value is in the speaker design and audio power supply. If I got my hands in a discarded bricked model I’d simply hack in a Bluetooth module like this one downstream of its digital interface.

Bluetooth 4.0 V4.0 BLE BTM835 CSR8635 Stereophonic Audio Receiving Plate Speaker Antenna Diy Kit Electronic PCB Board Module

Available on Aliexpress.

You get the power amps and the speakers. You then use the device as a Bluetooth speaker through Alexa...if it is indeed as good as they say on their site. I guess that is a pretty lame hack if you’re really addicted to the app. But anyone can do this. It may be bricked but it isn’t useless.

My mom has some Sonos speakers. The sound quality is good. Ok though. Lots of speakers are good these days.

The usability is the worst I've ever seen in this kind of equipment. by FAR.

Can't connect with bluetooth.
Cant connect with a cable

How do you use them? You have to use wifi. And install applications on your computer or phone.

Even if someone owns a non-bricked SONOS speaker, it requires someone like SClass hacking it with a bluetooth module just to make it decently usable.

I'm willing to bet if you are in the market for a sonos then you already have WiFi. The fact that they sit on your network is the main selling point.

One potential concern is if you have a ton of devices sitting on your wap, when you could have put them on a wired solution, now your connection quality is degraded for phone-on-the-couch time. I need my phone-on-the-couch time.

They have ethernet ports if you don't want them on your WiFi.

There's a couple things that seem completely silly to me, but one stands out among the rest - the alexa thing that people have. I'm by no means luddite, but people accumulating more and more electronic devices they will eventually need to replace is crazy. I will add that I think it could be immensely useful for people with disabilities. It just seems like another avenue for consumerism imo.

I've also had mixed feelings on fitbit type things, but if it motivates people to move I suppose whatever.