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Sonos Move - Battery lifespan is basically used as a plugged in speaker

  • 29 July 2022
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I recently purchased a Move speaker.  My plan is to leave it plugged in with a USB-C power block all the time.  I do not plan on turning off the Move speaker since I listen to music almost every day in the house. Maybe 2-3 times a month, I plan on taking the Move outside and it will be on battery power.  The Sonos website talks about the lifespan of the battery being about 900 charges before the battery degrades to a point of needing a new battery.  So in my case, what constitutes a ‘charge’?  If I have to replace the battery every three years or so, even though I’m not using it very often on battery power, I might rethink the purchase and return the device.  I currently own two other Sonos speakers and a sound bar, running on a wired network.

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Best answer by buzz 29 July 2022, 21:04

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Battery life (for any product) is related to both the depth of the discharge and what happens as the battery reaches full charge. The number of full discharge to full charge cycles is usually quoted in the range of 1000 cycles for batteries of the type used in MOVE. Over the life of the battery the run time gradually decreases to the point where the supported device is worthless as a “portable” and the battery is replaced. In this context, keeping a battery on the charger permanently is really only one cycle. Regardless, the battery chemistry will slowly degrade over a period of many years. Partial discharges are not as hard on the batteries as full discharges.

Heat is the enemy of batteries. If the battery is charged too fast, it will heat and the chemistry will degrade much faster. If a battery is overcharged, there will be overheating and chemical breakdown. Excess storage and/or operating temperature will hasten chemical breakdown. I’m sure that this recent heatwave in the northern hemisphere is reducing battery life for a wide range of products.

Lithium based batteries are difficult to work with because they become a fire risk if not handled properly. It does not seem fair, but one cannot allow a lithium battery to discharge beyond a certain point because it might become a fire risk as it is recharged. As a safety measure lithium batteries are disabled if they are discharged beyond a certain point. In some cases a battery may not accept charges after such a shut down. A proper strategy for a relatively seldom used device is to leave it on a charger or periodically recharge the battery.

Bottom line is that your strategy is fine. We don’t yet know the ultimate life of MOVE’s battery when used as you are using it. I’m using this strategy for my moves that are from the first production run and I don’t yet know what the ultimate battery life will be. Note that SONOS was not quick to offer battery replacements. This was a deliberate strategy to discourage users from stockpiling lithium batteries that will potentially sit, uncharged, for years.