Charging problems with Sonos Roam wireless charger.

I have three roams and two have been replaced bc of charging issues. Today the third one stopped charging. I have used both wired & wireless charging methods. Very frustrating. I kept the packaging from the last replacement just in case and sure enough, here we go again. If this happens again to any of the three I’m going to request a credit and try something else. 

Hi Texan,

Thanks for sharing your experience. Did your Roam speakers charge up to 100%? Mine seems to get to 99%.

It's a shame if the Roam's Achilles heel is the battery because I've been really pleased with the versatility and sound quality of my Roam speaker, apart from the awful app update.

Cheers 

I replaced my pair with echo dots with battery packs on prime day and they are louder and sound better plus costs less 

the battery has an on/off button which actually turns it off seems to last longer as well good luck with your roam problems 

Hi skullc,

Yes the echo dot does look a lot cheaper but I like the versatility of the Roam where I can link it to the rest of my Sonos system. However I like your idea as a backup.

Thanks 

I am moving away from Sonos but I got a WiiM mini plugged into my Sonos 5 line in and can group my Sonos and Amazon devices in the WiiM application 

means I can still use them while I transition away

just a thought 😊

Thank skullc, I'll certainly look into that, especially if my old Sonos One's start giving up the ghost as well.

Hi, I just thought I'd give an update on my problem for any other Sonos Roam users.

I charged the Roam up as much as it would take using the cable, I then removed it from the charger and left it turned off for three or four hours. When I checked the charge status it was 0%, so there was definitely a fault, I decided to bite the bullet and contact tech support who were I have to say, very helpful.

They walked me through some steps to check certain areas and carried out remote diagnostics which confirmed that the battery was faulty. They confirmed that the battery cannot be replaced in the Roam and because the fault occurred just outside of the warranty period they offered a discount on any new Sonos product. I decided to buy the Roam 2, whether that was the right thing to do we will see. 

The Roam 2 arrived promptly and is working as normal, however what I have discovered is that my original (which I bought as a bundle with the Roam) wireless charger pad is faulty, it does not give enough charge to the speaker. Whether the problem with the wireless pad was the cause of the Roam's battery problem I don't know but for now I'm just going to use the Sonos charge cable supplied when charging my new Roam 2.

I hope this information helps others who might find themselves in the same situation.

Cheers everyone.

Same here: it all started with wireless charging problem, then switched to the cable (original) charger and now it’s completely dead.

I cannot accept that a premium product just die like this.

Last time with a sonos product for me; if my other products (sonos beam +è sub and 1 play:1) will end working I’ll just switch to Bose or B&O.

Hi Puca,

I agree, I took the easy option and stuck to what I know but if you the Roam 2 doesn't last any longer than the Roam then I will call it a day with Sonos.

One of the reasons why I bought the Roam 2 was because I read a review on the Roam 2 and I swear it mentioned an extended 7 year warranty but I didn't check whether this applied to my economic area but alas it turns out that it's just 2 years. I do think that Sonos should offer a longer warranty period for portable Sonos products though, I did read that the battery pack in the Roam 2 is a better product, perhaps Sonos should back it up with a longer warranty? Otherwise I can see a mass migration of dissatisfied customers away from Sonos.

Have a good evening.

I’d be surprised if anyone in the portable battery powered speaker market provides more than the minimum legal required warranty on their products. It’s a numbers game on claims vs sales and to increase the length usually means increasing the price in a market that is already price sensitive and full of competitors.

I think it is even more likely the battery would be classed as exempt as it will degrade over time anyway.

Depending where you buy from, the company selling might offer an extended 5/6yr warranty for a fee, but you’d want to read the small print.

I have a number of yamaha products which vary from 2yr - 5yr warranty (extended via registration). As the prices increases so does the length of the extended warranty after registration.

Hi sigh,

Perhaps the way forward then is for Sonos to make a portable speaker which has a replaceable battery, in the same way that some tablet and mobile phone manufacturers do?

My last Lenovo android tablet lasted over 5 years before the battery gave up, although by that time it wasn't worth replacing the battery because the technology and O/S system had moved on. A speaker would not be subject to the same software limitations and then at least customers would have a choice as to what they want to do.

I personally would love more manufacturers to move back to replaceable batteries in their mass market consumer products. I’d happily have a thicker device in exchange for replaceable battery but I seem to be in a minority.

I guess for portable speakers, especially those with decent particle and water IP ratings, it’s a trade off between design and manufacture cost vs product cost. I can see an IP67 rated portable speaker is going to be more expensive to produce with a replaceable battery and likely not sell well due to it’s higher retail cost vs cheaper non-replaceable competitors. The mass market doesn’t seem to care enough.

When a speaker can be used anywhere from a static location on a shelf in a bathroom, to thrown in bags and the harsh outdoor environments like beaches, replaceable batteries add a costly engineering problem for protection.

In contrast, someone like Ruark, who is setting Internet/Bluetooth radios and speakers for home use, have an add on battery pack that can be bought to make it portable and moved around. It’s not going to survive well in places like a beach, park or bouncing around in a bag.

I suppose we all live in different environments, my Sonos moves from the conservatory to the patio table. I take it on holiday, where it sits either in the lounge of our beach side apartment and moves to the veranda for lunch and evening digestives. It's never got wet in its life.I wonder how many Roam's have been under water?

Deliberately probably not many, accidentally probably more than you’d think 😄

I have a jbl charge 5 wifi that spends most of it’s time in a bathroom. Between the steam and humid environment due to baths and showers it definitely gets wet on a daily basis and there is a chance it could end up underwater by accident.

When I take it with me and am sat outside working, my laptop is priority if there is a sudden weather change, not the speaker. Other places I take it can be dusty, damp. I got it because it is a chunky more protected speaker not a house speaker and easy to put in a bag when away for a few days. While I don’t abuse it, I don’t have to think about whether it’s suitable for the environment I’m taking it to. 

Interesting,

I asked the question as to how many Roam's get dropped in water (I don't buy all the publicity blurb with the Roam out in the wilds) because even though I live in the UK near the coast I can't say that I've heard any radios on the beach let alone seen a Sonos. Even when on a continental holiday involving the beach I've not heard much in the way of music playing (apart from a tannoy 😡). I think most people, if they want to listen to music in public use either earbuds or headphones. 

As I was trying to say in my late night post (after a few glasses of wine) I like the Roam because it's light to carry in luggage, quite small, sounds good and I can listen to my local UK radio station where ever I am. 

So, I'm giving it one more chance.