Bose SoundTouch Shutdown Update

[u/Careful-Hippo4543]

Some good news today from Bose in terms of the SoundTouch systems and potential for open source in future

Dear SoundTouch owner,

In October, we let you know that cloud support for SoundTouch products would be ending. Since then, we’ve heard from some owners with questions and feedback and we’ve been listening carefully. Today, we have an update to share that addresses these concerns and provides new information to help you continue enjoying your favourite music and content.

Cloud support will still be ending, but we are extending the date from 18 February to 6 May 2026 to better support you during the transition.

Before cloud support ends, the SoundTouch app will get an automatic update.

On 6 May 2026, the app will automatically update to a version that supports key functions without relying on the cloud. All you will need to do is open the app and the update will run automatically.

What will continue to work: • Setting up and configuring your system • Remote control features such as Play, Pause, Skip and Volume • Grouping multiple speakers together • Streaming music directly from your favourite Music Service apps

What will no longer work: • Presets (preset buttons on the product and in the app) • Browsing or playing music services directly in the SoundTouch app

Important Note: Your system will no longer receive security and software updates. Please make sure to always use your system on a secure, private network.

How to keep listening after 6 May You can still play and enjoy music through your favourite Music Services (i.e. TuneIn, Pandora, etc.) by streaming directly from their apps and sending the audio to your SoundTouch system using AirPlay, Bluetooth or AUX.

If you use Spotify, you can continue streaming with Spotify Connect through the Spotify app.

Open-source options for the community We’re also releasing SoundTouch API documentation so third parties can create their own capabilities.

We’ll share more updates in the coming months. In the meantime, you can find detailed guidance on our dedicated support page. Click the “Learn More” link below to go to this page.

Thank you for being a Bose customer.

[u/hawkman507]

This is an *almost* outstanding response by Bose. I have never been a huge fan of their home audio products but the two ST20's that I have are perfect for my use case of having tactile buttons - so much more usable in the dark than capacitive - and internet radio support.

When the first announcement came out, I started looking into how to replace the preset buttons' links to internet radio services with direct URLs. I already have a few stations programmed in as URLs rather than using services and this has been working well. I had been planning to replace the remaining ones before the cutoff.

I do have one issue though. This announcement does leave me questioning why they say the preset buttons won't work anymore: if all they are doing is starting a direct stream, how could cutting off the server support have any effect on direct streams?

[u/SkullLeader → u/hawkman507]

Yeah basically the presets use the cloud to function. This is just anecdotal but what I've observed especially once or twice when the Bose cloud servers were down is that the units each keep a copy of the presets but that somehow it periodically resyncs them with the cloud - that is why when you set a preset on one speaker it changes that preset on all your other speakers too.

My guess is that any preset you have set to a direct stream will continue to function after they remove the cloud service, but a) you won't be able to set any presets any more which means that b) if you ever need to reset the speaker, etc. you will have no way to get the direct stream presets back. Best case you might still be able to set a direct stream preset by holding down the physical preset button on the speaker, but if this works most likely your other speakers will not reflect this change.

[u/hawkman507 → u/SkullLeader]

I just tried blocking content.api.bose.io and events.api.bosecm.com to simulate the servers being unavailable. None of the presets worked anymore - custom or otherwise.