Charging problems with Sonos Roam wireless charger.

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.