Just got my hands on the new Roam today and can’t get it to charge.
its plugged in with cable provided, solid orange light on the front of it and can see it’s charging on the app but it’s stuck at 20% all day now. Won’t charge up.
any ideas what to do here, very frustrated with this problem.
thanks in advance for any advice.
Edit, light is slowly flashing orange it was only solid orange when speak on but problem remains the same.
Best answer by Ken_Griffiths
View originalSonos is trying to keep the price of the Roam competitive.
Do you prefer a Roam with a charger plug for $189 or a Roam without a charger plug for $169?
I just prefer clarity on the need for a beefy charger. I had mine boxed up and ready to send back before reading this.
My two Roams are being charged with the following:
INIU Qi-Certified 15W Fast Charging Wireless Charging Pad Model WI-210
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08MT446KL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And the charging power is coming from the USB ports on the JACKYLED Wall Mountable Surge Protector with 10 AC Outlets 4 USB Charging Ports. 2.4A per USB port.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08L7JYJZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have personally been using one of these Qi chargers…
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QYSHM8P
It still takes over 6+ hours to charge the Roam fully from an ‘almost empty’ battery state, but it’s ideal just to keep the device topped up overnight. They’re just not as efficient as a USB-C charger.
petridish38,
My understanding and belief from what I’ve read is the Roam’s USB-C charger needs a minimum of 7.5w power output. That’s 5v x 1.5A, but think of that as being the minimum .. you would of course be better off with 10w to 15w power output. So somewhere between 5V x 2A to 5V x 3A. - I have personally chosen the latter 5V/3A and it takes around 2hrs 15mins to charge the Roam battery fully.
The Qi wireless charger charge rate I think for Roam is around 5W (so this charges much slower) but to get that power from a wireless charger you need at least a 10W Qi pad as the wireless chargers are much less efficient .. and that’s to get it to charge at its 5W maximum (if you’re lucky) The Qi charger posted in your video says it would do 5W 5V/1A and it may (eventually) charge the device if you leave it on charge with mic off for 24+ hours, but because of Qi charger inefficiencies, I personally would chose a higher Qi power output than 5W, otherwise you maybe waiting a long time for it to charge.
The two port 5V/2.4A USB-C adapter shown in your last post will work fine, but I see you have tested that and have it working already.
I just looked up the Anker 24w 2-port USB. The model I just saw (which may or may not be the same) does not support the QualComm Quick Charge 2.0 standard.
https://www.anker.com/es/products/variant/2port-usb-wall-charger/A2021321
I don’t know what quick charging protocols the Roam expects. So I may be totally barking up the wrong tree.
I just realized that if it works with the USB-C it would probably do the same power charge handshaking. So the Anker should not be an issue.
Still points to the Qi charger pad. If you can borrow a newer one from some friend to try?
Thanks. I have purchased four different charging pads over the past week and none of them work. Given that Sonos says any Qi-certified pad will work, I am not sure I want to buy another one. Do you have a Roam that you could throw on a Qi charger overnight and see what happens?
I just looked up the Anker 24w 2-port USB. The model I just saw (which may or may not be the same) does not support the QualComm Quick Charge 2.0 standard.
https://www.anker.com/es/products/variant/2port-usb-wall-charger/A2021321
I don’t know what quick charging protocols the Roam expects. So I may be totally barking up the wrong tree.
I just realized that if it works with the USB-C it would probably do the same power charge handshaking. So the Anker should not be an issue.
Still points to the Qi charger pad. If you can borrow a newer one from some friend to try?
I just looked up the Anker 24w 2-port USB. The model I just saw (which may or may not be the same) does not support the QualComm Quick Charge 2.0 standard.
https://www.anker.com/es/products/variant/2port-usb-wall-charger/A2021321
I don’t know what quick charging protocols the Roam expects. So I may be totally barking up the wrong tree.
Thanks Arefkay. I will bring up the Qi charging protocol to Sonos support to see what they think. Still seems like their responsibility to specify the minimum required protocol version in their documentation, but maybe it was an oversight on their part. If that is all it is, that would be great!
The only other thing I can think of is which Qi charging protocol version is required.
The older Qi compatible versions did not provide as much power as the newer Qi protocol versions.
It sounds to me like there are some protocol handshaking “smarts” required of the Qi pad as well as the charger block for this to work.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_(standard)
When I bought my current Qi pads and power block I made sure they were at the current protocol levels.
Given that the charger block should be powerful enough, and a usb-c cable was supplied in the box, try directly charging without the Qi pad.
Thanks Arefkay. It does charge fine with the supplied USB-C cable and this is what gets me by in the meantime.
But for my use (and one big reason I bought this speaker to only keep in my bathroom) I want to be able to just pick it up and set it on a dry shelf in my shower, then return it to charging after my shower without worrying about plugging/unplugging wires. All the documentation from Sonos says that I am able to do this with a qi-certified charging pad.
petridish38,
Your charger power output (as per my screenshot from your video) at the correct voltage of 5V is only 1A - it’s not enough to charge the Roam.
Thank you for your replies.
I think there is some misinterpretation of the information Sonos has provided to consumers. I am willing to admit I misread, but I have looked at this 100 times to make sure I’m not crazy… I don’t think I am reading this wrong. Below is my interpretation...
A. Their website says any qi certified charger, so that should be enough to suggest there is a problem and its not with my qi certified charger.
The image below suggests there are three ways to charge the Roam (way #1 in red, way #2 in blue, way #3 in green).
B. Even if a 5w qi-certified charger were not enough, the one in my video is 10 watt
The box for the charger even says as much…
C. In an email I received today from Sonos support, they say that Roam can only accept a 5W wireless charge.
D. My USB power brick is also not underpowered.
Plus, Sonos support also saw the videos I posted to YouTube and had this to say about all of my charging pads:
I am not trying to start anything here, but nothing you have provided from the Sonos website supports the argument that my charging setup is at fault. Sonos support themselves tells me my setup is correct. I guess I am just here to see if anyone else is having the same problem with wireless charging.
Thank you for your replies.
Given that the charger block should be powerful enough, and a usb-c cable was supplied in the box, try directly charging without the Qi pad.
Your charger block appears powerful enough (2.4A per port). And I have had good experience with Anker as a brand.
Maybe it is the Qi pad? Perhaps it is exceeding the power abilities of the Qi pad? That 5V 1A on the Qi pad suggests that might be the issue.
Is there no light on the Qi pad?
Try a different/newer Qi pad perhaps?
petridish38,
Your charger power output (as per my screenshot from your video) at the correct voltage of 5V is only 1A - it’s not enough to charge the Roam.
The power output is too low - it’s only 5V/1A. You need a minimum of 5V/1.5A (as stated on the Sonos.com FAQ) - I would suggest using between 5V/2A to 3A power output, to charge the Roam.
Thanks for the reply. Though it contradicts the email I got from Sonos support today. Here is a quote from that email: “Roam can only accept up to 5W rated wireless chargers. Third-party wireless chargers rated 10W and 15W will work, but they won't charge Roam any faster than a 5W wireless charger.”
Also, I specifically bought that wireless charger because it is a 10W charger (after 5V-1A, notice it says 9v-1.1A which is 10 watts). It is qi certified and the Sonos marketing material on the website says that any qi certified charger will work.
Here is a screenshot from the Roam’s FAQ…
I have tried literally five different wireless charging pads, and even bought a $30 USB charging brick with 12W of power for each port and only plugged in one wireless charging pad. The Roam will charge for a bit, but if left for a few hours or overnight, it will be down to 30% despite being in idle mode with no music playing just sitting on the wireless charging pad.
This is a video of what my unit is experiencing: https://youtu.be/1aSs2OulQEM
The power output is too low - it’s only 5V/1A. You need a minimum of 5V/1.5A (as stated on the Sonos.com FAQ) - I would suggest using between 5V/2A to 3A power output, to charge the Roam.
Thanks for the reply. Though it contradicts the email I got from Sonos support today. Here is a quote from that email: “Roam can only accept up to 5W rated wireless chargers. Third-party wireless chargers rated 10W and 15W will work, but they won't charge Roam any faster than a 5W wireless charger.”
Also, I specifically bought that wireless charger because it is a 10W charger (after 5V-1A, notice it says 9v-1.1A which is 10 watts). It is qi certified and the Sonos marketing material on the website says that any qi certified charger will work.
I have tried literally five different wireless charging pads, and even bought a $30 USB charging brick with 12W of power for each port and only plugged in one wireless charging pad. The Roam will charge for a bit, but if left for a few hours or overnight, it will be down to 30% despite being in idle mode with no music playing just sitting on the wireless charging pad.
This is a video of what my unit is experiencing: https://youtu.be/1aSs2OulQEM
The power output is too low - it’s only 5V/1A. You need a minimum of 5V/1.5A (as stated on the Sonos.com FAQ) - I would suggest using between 5V/2A to 3A power output, to charge the Roam.
I have tried literally five different wireless charging pads, and even bought a $30 USB charging brick with 12W of power for each port and only plugged in one wireless charging pad. The Roam will charge for a bit, but if left for a few hours or overnight, it will be down to 30% despite being in idle mode with no music playing just sitting on the wireless charging pad.
This is a video of what my unit is experiencing: https://youtu.be/1aSs2OulQEM
Same issues with orange flashing light and no functionality - I have correct adapter - I swapped out usb c cable and all came to life - hope it helps others - Cheers
+18
Cheers guys, yes I do have all 4 ports connected to devices.
I've taken the others out to see how that affects things.
May be better to get a separate plug then I suspect.
Yes, that’s best.
5.4 / 4 = 1.35
1.35 Amps x 5 Volts = 6.75 Watts
6.75 watts isn’t really enough to push the charge into the Roams battery.
Cheers guys, yes I do have all 4 ports connected to devices.
I've taken the others out to see how that affects things.
May be better to get a separate plug then I suspect.
Scottmguy,
Yes, my apologies, Corry P is correct. I was assuming in my previous post, that just the one port only on the multi-charger was being used to charge the Roam. (You can get away with using two of the ports to get the max. stated 2.4A)
+18
It should be noted that a charger with multiple ports will share current - in the picture above, if the device has 4 ports (if this is why there’s a 4 in the name) and all 4 are connected, the roam may only get a quarter of the maximum 5.4 Amps that the charger can deliver.
Hi,
Having problems with the charging of my roam.
Been sat on a qi wireless charger and all seemed OK but this morning it made a couple of noises and when I checked the battery status it was dead.
Doesn't seem to have gone into sleep mode?
This is the plug im using, should this be OK?
Yes, 5v/2.4A is fine to charge the Roam. Maybe whilst off the charger, long-press the rear power button to power down the speaker. Power the charger off too for 30+ seconds and then try the charging process again
Hi,
Having problems with the charging of my roam.
Been sat on a qi wireless charger and all seemed OK but this morning it made a couple of noises and when I checked the battery status it was dead.
Doesn't seem to have gone into sleep mode?
This is the plug im using, should this be OK?
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