Sonos's “recycle mode” intentionally bricks devices so they can't be reused
It seems like a lot of commenters here (as well as the tweets) are totally missing the purpose of the recycle mode.<p>If you want to sell, give away, or otherwise let someone else reuse your Sonos, then <i>DON'T PUT IT IN RECYCLE MODE</i>. Easy peasy.<p>Recycle mode exists for when you <i>intentionally want to get a Sonos trade-in credit for recycling your speakers for materials</i>. But because you don't send the speakers directly to Sonos (instead to a local recycler), they have to trust you're actually recycling it instead of keeping it or selling it. So the recycle lock is a clever mechanism to ensure that. Otherwise you could "cheat" by getting the credit AND still using/selling your speakers.<p>So if you want your speakers to be reused... <i>don't take the credit!!</i> Donate or sell them instead! It's <i>your choice</i>.<p>It seems to me like overall it's a good set of incentives. The credit helps encourage people to recycle them at all instead of just throwing them in the trash, right? But doesn't prevent people from otherwise selling or donating them. Since it <i>gives the consumer all the choice</i>, this seems like a win for all sides, no?