Web User - UK (2020-01-22)

74 22 Jan - 4 Feb 2020 Do you agree? Let us know at [email protected]

recyclingcentrethanshipit backto

SonosHQ,whichis undoubtedlytrue.

Butif youwerethinkingofrecyclingin

themostenvironmentallyfriendlyway

possible– bydonatingthespeakerto

friends,familyorcharityforsomeone

elsetoenjoy

yourunwanted

devicewithout

inflicting

anyfurther

environmental

damage,Sonos

is havingnoneofit.Infact,toqualifyfor

thediscount,youliterallyhavetopress

a self-destructbutton.

BeforeSonosdeliversyourtrade-in

discount,youmustusetheSonosapp

toputyourspeakerin whatthe

companyironicallycallsRecycleMode.

Thisstartsanirreversible21-day

counter,attheendofwhichallyour

personaldatawillbewipedandthe

devicepermanentlydisabled.“During

thecountdownandoncetheproduct

hasbeendeactivated,theproduct

Forcing customers to brick trade-in speakers

could destroy Sonos, argues Barry Collins

Page 404

cannotbere-addedtoanysystemor

usedtosetupa newSonossystem,

evenif theproducthasbeenresetto

itsfactorysettings,”accordingto

theSonossupportpage.Your

perfectlyfunctionalSonosspeaker

willbeturned

intotheplanet’s

mosthigh-tech

doorstop– or,

morelikely,be

hurledatopthe

giantpileof

electronicswasteatyourlocaldump.

Whyis Sonosforcingcustomersto

decommissionperfectlyfunctionalkit?

A CommunityManagerontheSonos

supportforumsexplainsthat“while

we’reproudofhowlongourproducts

last,wedon’treallywanttheseold,

second-handproductstobethefirst

experiencea newcustomerhaswith

Sonos.Wehopethatin upgradingto

thelatestandgreatest,peoplewill

recycleresponsibly,andwefeelit’sthe

rightdecisiontomakerecyclinga

conditionofthisoffer.”

Youdon’tneedanMAin Cynicismto

arguethatartificiallybrickingthoseold

speakersalsoreducesthesecond-hand

Sonosmarket,whichmeansthe

companycansellmorenewdevicesto

keepitsshareholdershappy.Whocares

if theplanet’scookingaslongasthe

profitskeeprolling,eh?

Still,oneotherthingoccurstome

aboutSonos’sspeakers.If pressinga

buttonin anappis enoughtorendera

speakerimpotent,it’sprobablynot

beyondthecapabilitiesofhackersto

brickcustomers’devicesremotely.If an

attackonSonos’sself-destructing

speakersendsupdestroyingnotonly

millionsofdevicesbutthecompany

itself,youcan’tsaySonosdidn’thave

it coming.

Who caresif theplanet’s

cookingaslong asthe profits

keeprolling?

t the time of writing, an area the

size of Belgium is burning in

Australia and half a billion

animals are estimated to have

perished in the blaze. At the same time,

the leaders of two UK environment

agencies have warned that this year is

our final chance to save the planet from

an irreversible rush toward oblivion. You

don’t need to be Greta Thunberg to

realise that the Earth is in dire trouble

• and yet still some tech companies
  haven’t got the memo.
  Take Sonos, for example. The
  company – like many others – is offering
  a trade-in programme for its range of
  smart speakers. Hand over one of your
  old models and you can get up to 30%
  off the cost of a new one.
  However, it seems Sonos isn’t
  particularly bothered about getting
  customers’ old speakers back. In fact,
  it positively encourages users to recycle
  their speakers locally, arguing that it’s
  more environmentally friendly to
  dispose of your old speaker at a nearby

Illustration: Andrew Torrens

Sonos speakers are

environmentally unsound