Contributor I

Answered

Roam keeps turning itself on.

79 replies
21333 views

Just set up the Roam. Sounds great but a few minutes after I turn it off it comes back on. Has done this several times. Any ideas?

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James L.Answer

Retired Community Staff

Hey folks,

I answered this in the main announcement thread, but I’ll copy my response over here and also link the main thread below. I encourage you to read it as I’ve answered a lot of Roam questions over there. :relaxed:

“That’s correct, both Move and Roam do this. The Roam is designed to wake up whenever the Sonos app is foregrounded. It’s by design to ensure there is little to no delay between opening the app and being able to target playback to that speaker. When the Roam or Move powers on this way and is not targeted for playback, it will be in a low power state, so battery drain will be kept to a minimum. Rest assured, you shouldn’t see any negative effects from the Roam waking like this.”

Mark good posts by pressing the like button, and select the best answer on questions you've asked to help others find solutions.

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Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi @Brewski

Correct. Set it up, charged to 100%, used it over the course of one day down to below 10% (worked great in both Wifi and Bluetooth), charged it up to 100%, held power for 5 seconds and put away. Grabbed it the next day and it was ~35%. I’m planning on removing from system and setting up again.

In that case, please get in touch with our technical support team, who have tools at their disposal that will allow them to analyse the figures and come to a solution for you.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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Brewski

Lyricist III

Will do, thanks.

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Hellbat

Lyricist I

Same feeling here. I was expecting a portable device that does not need to be plugged in … Very disappointed. I wish they update it with on option for the use many of us have.

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Brewski

Lyricist III

Hellbat...I was still having the same issue yesterday afternoon where my Roam was still losing battery after the 5 second hold to turn “Off”. However, I removed the device from my system and set it back up again from the beginning. Now my Roam is functioning as its supposed to...if I fully charge it, then unplug and hold power button for 5 seconds, it will fully shut off until I manually turn it back on. Tried it this morning and it was at 99%, seems to be working correctly now.

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TSIAuthor

Contributor I

Sounds like Sonos needs to update their software. When I long press the power button to turn off the Roam it either goes into Bluetooth pairing mode, or goes off and comes back on in the bluetooth pairing mode. After trying multiple times it will eventually go off and stay off. Far too hard to turn off.

The SONOS app has been closed and not used during these issues. Connected to wifi, not Bluetooth.

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caesar327

Prodigy I

Hi @sdtheclub

Actually mine turns itself back on after holding the power button for 5 seconds when on the wireless charger. I did do the hard shut down before going to bed and the next morning it had lost 5% in 9 hours.

The Roam will always power on while charging. We recommend you either leave it on charge until you take it somewhere, or power off when you take it off charge until you wish to use it. Sleep mode isn’t intended to preserve as much battery charge as possible, but to preserve some when not actively in use that would be lost otherwise.

But can we get a change put in place so that simply accessing the Sonos App for my other 5 Sonos speakers throughout the day, doesn’t wake the Roam from sleep mode? That “feature” is draining the battery unnecessarily-- but I want it in sleep mode many times (rather than always power it off) so I don't have to physically engage with the Roam necessarily to use it.

So there should be a software button/toggle to wake the Roam via the app, but ONLY when I want to -- not EVERY time I use the app (which could be for the many other aspects of my Sonos system).

Remember, there IS a home use case for the Roam, not just taking it somewhere else. My use is the bathroom (not taking it outside). But the way Sonos implemented the sleep/wake aspect doesn't really work in the home use scenario - (with the app always waking it even if you are just using other parts of your Sonos system). Can that be fixed -- pretty please?

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VanGroz

Lyricist I

Will there be a fix for this? I love the Roam and I love using it on my deck. With the power turning on without my knowledge every time I want to use it I have less than 10% charge. I have to plug it in to use it, which defeats the purpose.

I’m going to have to return it for something else if there isn’t a fix or a work around on this.

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VanGroz

Lyricist I

Unfortunately the same, I really would like to avoid returning and love everything else about it. However, if a portable speaker can’t be fully charged and ready to go when you need it, it is pointless. Please add a setting to toggle the auto-on feature and I’ll end up using this thing everywhere.

I’m glad to hear that you enjoy your new Roam! There already is a setting for this - it’s called Off.

Cory - you’re part of Sonos Staff and that’s the best you can do? I was always impressed with support from Sonos unit I read your remark. You obviously don’t grasp what is upsetting everyone. We turn it off and it turns back on and drains itself, making it a useless portable device when we want to use it. Thanks for your complete lack of help and understanding.

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caesar327

Prodigy I

Unfortunately the same, I really would like to avoid returning and love everything else about it. However, if a portable speaker can’t be fully charged and ready to go when you need it, it is pointless. Please add a setting to toggle the auto-on feature and I’ll end up using this thing everywhere.

I’m glad to hear that you enjoy your new Roam! There already is a setting for this - it’s called Off.

Corry, I think you are missing the point. The point is, in sleep mode (which is a valid mode to use), the Roam wakes up when you engage the Sonos App, even if you don’t wish to use the Roam at that time. And many people want the Roam in this state (sleep mode), so it can be activated as needed for use in the house -- just not EVERY time you use the app. If you have many other Sonos speakers and engage the app throughout the day, this causes unnecessary drain on the Roam (while in sleep mode).

Yes, you can totally power it off (and I think some people are having trouble doing that for some reason - the design of the power button likely the culprit here, as its hard to tell when its engaged), but that is not the answer for excessive waking while in sleep mode. There should be a software fix for this, so use of the app doesn’t ALWAYS wake the Roam (unless you want it to do so). Please discuss this fix with the engineers. Thanks!

Corry P

Sonos Staff

Hi Everyone!

First, I want to reiterate what has already been explained here on this thread:

When using WiFi, the Roam will always use some power whether on or sleeping. We recommend you leave it charging when connected to WiFi.
The Roam, once turned off, should not turn on again spontaneously unless you charge it - if your Roam turns itself on from an Off state without being connected to a charger, please contact technical support.
The battery life of the Roam can vary according to some factors (like router settings, temperature or distance), but if you feel your battery is draining faster than it should, please contact technical support.
Sleep mode is intended to save some battery power, not reserve all of it for when you take the Roam out. If your Roam is not going to be charging immediately before you take it somewhere, turn it off.

The Roam is a Sonos speaker, first and foremost. It has the option to run Alexa or Google Assistant and maintains a WiFi connection - unlike every other Bluetooth speaker out there with the exception of the Move - and thus uses more power than a typical portable BT speaker.

It is a new product, however, so issues are going to happen, at least for some. This is why, if you’re not satisfied, we’d very much like you to contact our technical support team. The Roam logs many details about it’s power mode, battery levels and other information - we can tell if it’s not performing as expected and then move on to a solution for you. If we don’t have a number of cases reporting such issues, and data collected from them, we can’t move forward to resolving them.

The majority of the posts here on this thread were describing battery drain using sleep mode, which is expected (though shouldn’t be excessive) and not likely to change, as people expect certain things from their Sonos system, of which a Roam is a part. Those experiencing a Roam that is Off turning On (when not connected to a charger), or an Roam that is Off draining it’s battery are outside cases and should really, as I have said, get in touch with technical support - and I do apologise to those who are experiencing this and read my earlier remark, but in the vast majority of cases, sleep is often confused with Off (we went through all of this with the Move too).

I really cannot reiterate enough that if you are unhappy with the Roam battery performance, please get in touch with technical support - they have the tools to ascertain if there’s a problem, or just a misunderstanding.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein

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