I would like to know if there is any point in taking out a Volumio Premium subscription for an iFi Zen Stream. Which extra Premium features will work together nicely with the Zen Stream. If there is no benefit then why was it possible for me to take out a Volumio Premium subscription from the Volumio UI of/on my Zen Stream running the major upgrade firmware V.3.00.6 or V.3.00.9. The new iFi/Volumio interface works well with the device and the new firmware upgrade so why am I unable to login with my new Volumio Premium account and use the extra features, especially Music search facilities and CD Ripper and CD Playback. I am pleased that Qobuz Connect now works with iFi Zen Stream but tired of all this incompatibility and lack of manuals or documentation between IFi and Volumio.
Please don’t cross post the same question in multiple topics.
Thank you for writing this so clearly. We completely understand your frustration, and we genuinely share it.
From a user perspective, it is perfectly reasonable to expect that if you see a Volumio interface and are invited to subscribe to Volumio Premium from within that device, everything should work as part of the full Volumio experience. When key features like advanced search, CD playback and ripping, and other Premium functions do not work, that feels confusing and disappointing.
The core issue is that iFi is not an official Volumio partner for this product. We have licensed OEM partners who enter into proper commercial agreements with us, contribute to the ecosystem, and work in technical alignment to ensure that all features are fully integrated, supported, and maintained over time. That collaboration is what guarantees a complete and reliable Volumio experience.
In this case, that collaboration is not in place. We have repeatedly informed iFi that if they wish to offer a genuine and fully supported Volumio experience, they should enter into a proper licensing agreement, just like our official OEM partners do. That structure ensures fair contribution to software development, compliance with licensing terms, coordinated updates, and full feature access for end users.
Their stated position to us has been that they do not intend to enter into a paid licensing agreement for this product.
What this means in practical terms is that the implementation you are using is not an officially licensed, fully integrated Volumio solution developed in partnership with us. It may resemble Volumio and include elements derived from our open platform, but it is not the complete ecosystem experience that users associate with authorized Volumio products.
This situation creates harm on multiple levels. Users believe they are purchasing a full Volumio experience and later discover important features are missing. That damages trust, creates frustration, and puts customers in the middle of a situation they did not create. At the same time, it undermines the licensed partners who invest properly in the platform and contribute to its ongoing development.
We are actively working to clarify this situation and to protect both our community and our ecosystem from further confusion.
If you are willing, screenshots or details showing how the Premium subscription was presented inside the Zen Stream would help us document the matter properly. User reports like yours are important as we take appropriate steps to address this.