Your Old Bose Speakers Might Have Lost Some Important Audio Features

Cloud support for Bose's SoundTouch platform officially ended on May 6, 2026, effectively killing off the company's multi-room speaker ecosystem. Many long-time customers shared frustration at the time of the announcement — with some on Reddit even setting up a petition to try to keep it alive.

While the speakers will no longer receive security and software updates, they aren't completely useless. Bose says that users will still be able to make use of some of the more basic features, such as listening via Bluetooth, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and wired connections. However, some of the features that Bose fans might have specifically purchased the speaker ecosystem for will no longer be available.

According to Bose, preset buttons on all SoundTouch products and in the SoundTouch app will no longer work. Presets that you had installed before cloud support went offline in May may still work, though Bose isn't making any promises. You'll also no longer be able to browse or play music services in the SoundTouch app. Instead, you'll need to start your playlists directly from Spotify, Apple Music, or your connected device. If you have your SoundTouch device plugged into a smart TV, then it will still function as intended. Finally, Bose notes that stereo pairing for SoundTouch 10 will no longer work now that cloud support has ended.

As we noted above, Bose SoundTouch devices will still mostly operate the same as any other smart speaker. You can still connect to it via Bluetooth, and you can still use multi-room groups within the SoundTouch app. Setting up and configuring your system is also still possible, so if you need to make changes or move your system around, you still can. Any feature that didn't rely on cloud support from Bose still works in the newest, stripped-down version of the SoundTouch app, which operates locally.

Additionally, to help soften the blow for any long-time Bose fans who bought into the ecosystem, Bose has released open-source files for SoundTouch, which unlocks the potential for independent developers to create custom tools and features that SoundTouch users can turn to. There are plenty of reasons to install multi-room audio systems. However, shutdowns like the one that SoundTouch fans have had to endure can make it hard to know what ecosystems are worth buying into.

If you have a SoundTouch system and are looking to make a change, check out our recommended wireless speaker setups to get a better idea of where to go next. As for why Bose ended support for SoundTouch, the company says that with the continued evolution of technology, it simply couldn't sustain the development and support for the cloud-based infrastructure the ecosystem relied on.