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Sonos Roam drains the battery due to frequent (unwanted) wake ups

  • July 14, 2021
  • 16 replies
  • 1072 views
S

Imo this is a bug and not a feature.

The Roam is from what I understand, by design, waking up when the Sonos client/app is put to the foreground. When awoken the battery starts to drain, resulting in the orange led flashing every other day or so.

My issues:

  • Imo auto-wake should be a setting, most people are happy to press the buttons instead
  • Auto-sleep is clearly not working or the wake/sleep/wake sequence needs allot of power optimizations
  • In our household the two roams also wake due to background activity of the Sonos app, so without actually opening the Sonos app. Not sure if this is related to activity of our 5.1 ARC setup?
  • I need to reset the Roam pair as stereo-pair everytime this happens. 

Best answer by Ken_Griffiths

The Roam in standby/sleep mode will deplete it’s battery anyway, as the WiFi adapter (in low power mode) will be listening out for a WOL packet, updates and ip-lease renewal etc.

When the S2 App opens, it wakes the Roam from sleep for a couple of minutes only, if not used. Even if that were to happen say a half-dozen times per day I don’t think it would make that much of a difference to it’s battery-depletion time - you might perhaps save 30 minutes per day, compared to leaving it in sleep-mode all the time. 

A real battery saving would probably only come about by switching ‘off’ the Roam completely (which is the current 5+ second power-button press until the power-off descending jingle is heard).

I don’t think you would save that much power by leaving the Roam asleep…BUT…

I have seen some in the community here say they want a simple ‘power off’ option and not a standby option. I guess that’s a fair ‘ask’ but personally speaking, I would find that rather inconvenient for my own use-case.

One area I think could save a little more power however, is after the Roam has been ‘active’ - When the Roam has been used/played-to by a user, it does not fall-back to sleep-mode for 30 minutes (same as the Sonos Move) I think that time period could perhaps be reduced. 

I fully understand why 30mins was chosen, as that caters for the case where a user pauses their speaker to answer the front door or take a phone call etc; but I think most such interruptions would be catered for by using a 15 minute period instead. Either way though, I can only see powering off the device completely as providing any real significant battery saving. The fact it’s a lithium-ion battery means it will lose some charge anyway - I would expect to lose between 2%-7% charge per day when powered off completely, depending on room temperature. 

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16 replies

G

When the Roam is in standby/sleep mode, anytime you access the Sonos app, it will wake the Roam. If you want to turn the Roam off completely and conserve battery, press and hold the button on the back for five seconds until you hear a chime.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
Airgetlam
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P
Ken_Griffiths

The Roam in standby/sleep mode will deplete it’s battery anyway, as the WiFi adapter (in low power mode) will be listening out for a WOL packet, updates and ip-lease renewal etc.

When the S2 App opens, it wakes the Roam from sleep for a couple of minutes only, if not used. Even if that were to happen say a half-dozen times per day I don’t think it would make that much of a difference to it’s battery-depletion time - you might perhaps save 30 minutes per day, compared to leaving it in sleep-mode all the time. 

A real battery saving would probably only come about by switching ‘off’ the Roam completely (which is the current 5+ second power-button press until the power-off descending jingle is heard).

I don’t think you would save that much power by leaving the Roam asleep…BUT…

I have seen some in the community here say they want a simple ‘power off’ option and not a standby option. I guess that’s a fair ‘ask’ but personally speaking, I would find that rather inconvenient for my own use-case.

One area I think could save a little more power however, is after the Roam has been ‘active’ - When the Roam has been used/played-to by a user, it does not fall-back to sleep-mode for 30 minutes (same as the Sonos Move) I think that time period could perhaps be reduced. 

I fully understand why 30mins was chosen, as that caters for the case where a user pauses their speaker to answer the front door or take a phone call etc; but I think most such interruptions would be catered for by using a 15 minute period instead. Either way though, I can only see powering off the device completely as providing any real significant battery saving. The fact it’s a lithium-ion battery means it will lose some charge anyway - I would expect to lose between 2%-7% charge per day when powered off completely, depending on room temperature. 

controlav
Airgetlam
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  • cpenk1111
  • Lyricist I
  • September 7, 2021

This Sonos roam design was not made to hold a good battery charge. I have barely used my Sonos roam and in less than a day either powered off or on stand by mode it has lost almost all charge. I feel like this device needs to be plugged in at all times to avoid battery depletion altogether. I would understand if I was using it every single day for seven hours eight hours a day why it would need to be charged so frequently, but that is not the case; I barely get three or four house of play time now. It is very disappointing. 

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Ken_Griffiths

This Sonos roam design was not made to hold a good battery charge. I have barely used my Sonos roam and in less than a day either powered off or on stand by mode it has lost almost all charge. I feel like this device needs to be plugged in at all times to avoid battery depletion altogether. I would understand if I was using it every single day for seven hours eight hours a day why it would need to be charged so frequently, but that is not the case; I barely get three or four house of play time now. It is very disappointing. 

Just power it off when not in use - see this LINK

Airgetlam
G
D
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  • cpenk1111
  • Lyricist I
  • September 7, 2021

Hello, 

 

thank you for your response. It is off all the time now because of the battery issues. The moment I open the app after a few mins to use the other Sonos speakers it begins to drain the battery. I have recently decided to keep it plugged in and not use it outside unless an update occurs to help save some battery power. But it is supposedly off while charging. 

Ken_Griffiths

Hello, 

 

thank you for your response. It is off all the time now because of the battery issues. The moment I open the app after a few mins to use the other Sonos speakers it begins to drain the battery. I have recently decided to keep it plugged in and not use it outside unless an update occurs to help save some battery power. But it is supposedly off while charging. 

The Roam should be powered ‘on’ while it is charging FYI - it only needs switching ‘off’ when it’s left off its charger for long periods of inactivity - so if you were away with the device for a long weekend and forgot the charger, then perhaps power it ‘off’ overnight etc.  

When using it regularly, then perhaps leave it in ‘standby’ during the day and maybe charge it overnight. 

You should be getting 10 hours playback, or thereabouts, from one charge.

If you were to power ‘off’ the device completely (not standby) and leave it off its charger, the li-ion battery should only lose 1 or 2 % (or thereabouts, depending on environment temperature) overnight.

G

Hello, 

 

thank you for your response. It is off all the time now because of the battery issues. The moment I open the app after a few mins to use the other Sonos speakers it begins to drain the battery. I have recently decided to keep it plugged in and not use it outside unless an update occurs to help save some battery power. But it is supposedly off while charging. 

If the Roam is automatically turning on every time you use the Sonos app, then it has not been shut off completely. To shut the Roam off completely, press and hold the button for about five seconds until you hear a descending chime. With the Roam completely shut off, you should only lose 1%-2% battery charge per day.

"Receive with simplicity everything that happens to you." - Rashi
D
  • duarte
  • Lyricist II
  • September 20, 2021

Hello, 

 

thank you for your response. It is off all the time now because of the battery issues. The moment I open the app after a few mins to use the other Sonos speakers it begins to drain the battery. I have recently decided to keep it plugged in and not use it outside unless an update occurs to help save some battery power. But it is supposedly off while charging. 

If the Roam is automatically turning on every time you use the Sonos app, then it has not been shut off completely. To shut the Roam off completely, press and hold the button for about five seconds until you hear a descending chime. With the Roam completely shut off, you should only lose 1%-2% battery charge per day.

Mind still drains even if switched off. A waste of money for a portable speaker.

Ken_Griffiths

Mine still drains even if switched off. A waste of money for a portable speaker.

It should take approx. 70 days (a little over 2 months), or thereabouts, to drain the portable speakers battery from its fully charged state when the speaker is powered off. If it is much (much) less than that time period, you are probably using standby-mode instead, or possibly you may have a faulty unit, which you would need to speak about to Sonos Customer Support - I have two Roams and both those lose in the region of 1-2% per day, as @GuitarSuperstar mentions.

controlav
Airgetlam
D
  • duarte
  • Lyricist II
  • September 20, 2021

Mine still drains even if switched off. A waste of money for a portable speaker.

It should take approx. 70 days (a little over 2 months), or thereabouts, to drain the portable speakers battery from its fully charged state when the speaker is powered off. If it is much (much) less than that time period, you are probably using standby-mode instead, or possibly you may have a faulty unit, which you would need to speak about to Sonos Customer Support - I have two Roams and both those lose in the region of 1-2% per day, as @GuitarSuperstar mentions.

HI Ken,

 

Thanks for the reply. 

 

I’ve completely shut off Roam because I wasn’t able to switch it back after recharging and using it once for 30 minutes. I noticed this issue from the beginning. Also, the battery is far from playing for 10 hours.

 

I’ve tried to reach local Customer Support but both the live chat and phone number don’t work.

Ken_Griffiths

@duarte 
Note when you put Roam on its charger, it should power ‘on’ automatically from it’s ‘off’ state - it needs to be ‘on’ to charge the battery. Only power it ‘off’ when it’s off its charger. If your issue continues then perhaps contact Sonos Support via this LINK. You should get approx. 10 hours playback from the device too at 50% volume.

Ken_Griffiths

HI Ken,

 

Thanks for the reply. 

 

I’ve completely shut off Roam because I wasn’t able to switch it back after recharging and using it once for 30 minutes. I noticed this issue from the beginning. Also, the battery is far from playing for 10 hours.

 

I’ve tried to reach local Customer Support but both the live chat and phone number don’t work.

Are you not able to get through to the Portugal Sonos Office on this number 0800-450-222 between 10am-6pm?

D
  • duarte
  • Lyricist II
  • September 20, 2021

HI Ken,

 

Thanks for the reply. 

 

I’ve completely shut off Roam because I wasn’t able to switch it back after recharging and using it once for 30 minutes. I noticed this issue from the beginning. Also, the battery is far from playing for 10 hours.

 

I’ve tried to reach local Customer Support but both the live chat and phone number don’t work.

Are you not able to get through to the Portugal Sonos Office on this number 0800-450-222 between 10am-6pm?

No, it says that “the Vodafone number you have tried to reach is not available”

L
  • lowcarbon
  • Contributor I
  • October 18, 2021

App feature request: ability to remote power-down the Roam completely (so same as a 5s press of the power button) for those all-too-frequent times when you wanted to switch the roam off to avoid depleting the battery only to inadvertently boot up the app to play tunes elsewhere which simply wakes up the Roam from sleep mode. I wonder how many unwanted wasted battery depletion and charge cycles are happening on Roams globally without any sounds being played… what a wasted energy drain!

D
Airgetlam
  • Airgetlam
  • October 18, 2021

I like the concept, certainly…..but then people would want a ‘remote’ turn on signal, which would require the Roam to be on and listening for it, no? But I can certainly see the value of what you’re suggesting. 

Bruce
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  • dslemmer
  • Avid Contributor I
  • October 25, 2021

My Roam is useless… battery drain is ridiculous and I can’t even just plug it in on USB and use it.. sits there charging until it’s enough to wake up.  Compare that to my Bose Bluetooth speaker which will sit in standby for months.. waking as you need it….  Sonos screwed the pooch on this one. 

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