Sonos decides bricking old stuff isn’t a winning move after all

Enlarge / You can now trade the speaker in without bricking it. The nesting dolls might be another matter. (credit: Sonos)

Secondhand shoppers, rejoice: Sonos is reversing course on a plan to brick all trade-in devices, so if someone wants to give or sell you a used speaker, it will still work. For now.

Sonos launched its "trade up" program last October. Consumers who owned a handful of older devices would receive a 30 percent discount on newer models if they traded in their old versions-a fairly typical program for expensive electronics, all things considered.

The company drew customers' ire with one important deviation from others' trade-in programs, though. Although the company does indeed sell refurbished equipment, devices users traded in through the program were destined not to become part of that cycle. Instead, Sonos straight up bricked them.

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