Sonos Controller CB200 battery not charging

After 7 years, I'm guessing it could be any of many things. Have you tried cleaning the contacts where it connects in the charge cradle? I've used things such as pencil erasers, or rubbing alcohol on q-tips for things like this. Be sure to clean both sides, the charger, and the tablet side. But it's also possible that after 7 years the batter may be on its last legs.

I've never owned one of these, so I don't know how replaceable the battery is. But I certainly understand the appeal of the interface never changing 🙂

Charging sometimes is a pretty sure sign of dirty contacts as was suggested. Give the base and controller contacts both a rub with a dry Q-tip as a first try. That worked on both my CR 100s and on my CR 200 until it died from hitting the floor.

If that makes things better, great. If not slightly dampen a Q-tip with contact cleaner and wipe the contacts. Do not soak the contents or use a soppy-wet Q-tip or you may make matters worse. I spray a spot of WD on a desktop and touch the Q-tip to the damp spot which is plenty of cleaner.

If using a pencil eraser make sure it is not a gritty, abrasive one and blow out the erdu bits. Alcohol (very little) is good but avoid denatured ones that use a lacquer, that can leave a coating that is hard to remove.

When it quits holding a charge the battery pops out easily if I recall correctly and is an easy replacement unlike the CR-100.

Thanks for your replies Gentlemen. I'll try and clean the contacts. Failing that it's got to be the battery. To remove the battery is straight forward. I hope Sonos can still supply a replacement battery.

If not try ebay, they had CR-100 batteries from several well rated sellers.

I'd rather have a Sonos branded one but if they aren't selling them you do what you have to.

Thanks for the tip. I cleaned the contacts and the issue is still there. Looks like the battery needs replacing.

OK. I bought a new battery and still have the same problem. I think it's a software error and not a physical one. When I do a restart on the controller, It charges once fine and then gets caught in a circle until the battery is drained.

Any other solutions would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance
Prit

Time to call support, maybe they have some tricks available. Have the CR charged up, connected to your system and in front of you before you call.

While the troublesome controller screen is lit up, -- after charging the either or both batteries for at least six hours -- can you provide the contents of /opt/log/wstk.anacapa.trace and /bin/dmesg (assuming Sonos 7.4 or similar file names if earlier version) from http://${zoneplayer_ip_address}:1400/support/review ? You might need to keep touching the screen and/or buttons to keep the controller active, but you should see a "Controller" listed after all the RINCON devices. (please stop running any Sonos phone/tablet apps or PC/Mac applications.

you are looking for messages like this:
[911503.370000] lt_charger_interrupt event 00000002
[911527.200000] AR6000 disconnected from ....
[911527.200000] Disconnect Reason is 3
[924453.530000] lt_charger_interrupt event 00000400
[924453.530000] charging timer expired, disabling charger
[924453.530000] Charger has been stopped
with different numbers within the [...], which is the number of seconds since the controller was last started.

Most (but not all) of the time problems with battery charging is an indication that the actual battery has aged (due to charge cycle count or physical chemistry reasons), but might mean that the controller itself has failed in some way. Since both the CR100 and the CR200 controllers are no longer (actively) supported by Sonos, if they can not provide an out-of-warranty replacement of the controller, then if a replacement battery (either via a user-replaceable battery for the CR200 or an out-of-support activity on a CR100) fails, you'll need to learn how to survive without a dedicated hardware controller.

I personally dread the day when I can no longer count on any/all of my CR100/CR200(s) and must somehow deal with the out-of-date-tablet/phone and the constantly changing new obsolete tablet/phone hardware and operating system(s). I get the near/seemingly infinite support problems due to old phone/tablet operating systems and the vendor support & EOL decisions, but i just want a simple Sonos controller, with play/pause, music selection, volume up/down just like what a CR100 provides with Sonos 7.4. (Balance and basic Bass/Treble control is already gone and occasionally missed, but other room settings and adding new devices is not something I need in the middle of the night from the bedroom.)

My second CR200 starts to develop unusable areas on the touchpanel.
The horror... the horror...
Tried Android controllers and found them so inferior to the CR200, esp. lacking the abilty to power-srcoll through the library like iOS devices can.
But Apples built-in obsolescence kept me from going that route so far.
Seems like I'm cought between a rock and a hard place.

Wife had me pick up several spare CR-100s on ebay. She rotates through them on a monthly basis to keep them all happy.

I've placed a new battery in and it didn't like that either - had the same issues as I did at the start. So I changed the power lead (transformer) and that seems to have done the trick - so far. I might try and place the old battery back in and see if it is the power lead or the battery.

I've placed a new battery in and it didn't like that either - had the same issues as I did at the start. So I changed the power lead (transformer) and that seems to have done the trick - so far. I might try and place the old battery back in and see if it is the power lead or the battery.

oh wow, that's something i haven't considered -- the wall wart dies. How hard was it to find a compatible tip? Looks like 5V 2A, positive tip (inner), negative barrel (outer), and the shell has to be small enough to fit into the recess in the stand.

I bought a Sonos charger on ebay

You can find wal-wart replacement packs in your needed voltage with a couple dozen snap on tips of different sizes if you get desperate. The ebay method is the way to go for now though.

Will the cr200 power up without a battery ?

Cleaned the contacts and when put in cradle led lights and goes off

Also anyone noticed if contacts on unit itself is one higher than the other 2 ?