Why would you not want it powered on? This way it will be part of your Sonos multiroom set up, of which it is meant to be part of, as the Roam is a hybrid WiFi/bluetooth speaker.

You’re assuming I have a multiroom set up and/or that I even have multiple Sonos products.  I’m a digital nomad who travels the world and I take my Roam from country > country, flat > flat and room > room.  With the carrying case, it’s extremely portable and has great sound which is why I chose it.

The question remains...why would I want it to power on when I’m just plugging it in to give it a charge?

My iPhone and iPad each do exactly the same thing… and that’s a bit of a waste of time, but at least I can use my Roam as a smart-home Alexa device, alarm clock, timer, reminder and a music speaker, whilst it’s charging.

It also acts as a room sensor with my Plume mesh WiFi to detect movement around the Home with their ‘Sense’ security feature… so these things do have their uses. 

edit: All that for approx 1.3 watts p/H too.

For sure they do.

It just seems to me that if the Roam is OFF when I plug it in, it should remain OFF after plugging it in.  If the Roam is ON when plugging it in, it should obviously remain ON after plugging it in.

In other words, I’m just not comprehending why a user plugging it in would want the power to automatically come on if their only intent is to charge it and not use it.

This sounds like a good setting to add.  Something like “Charging follows current power state” with a toggle.

Yes, I’m sure the Staff that frequent the site may see this thread and put this forward as a ‘feature request’. If you don’t see anything posted here though, within a few days, then it maybe best to contact/chat with Sonos Support Staff via this LINK instead and see if the Staff will feed your suggestion through to the relevant people.

Excellent...thanks for the info and link!

@IronChancellor 

There are good arguments for both use cases. But as Roam is some kind of hybrid device and also belongs to a system logic it follows some rules. All Sonos devices power up if you plug them in. And Sonos had to choose one of the options for plug in behavior. So what we have now is the way how they decided to do it. 
Imho it wouldn’t be a good way integrating too many options for special individual needs. This would overload the system with „trash“ instead of keeping it simple. 
I can understand that for you powering up each time is a pain in the ass, but hey… there are bigger problems I think.

So for a Sonos device this is wanted behavior because it needs to be able to be part of a multiroom WiFi system. Since the Sonos user base do not seem to be very technically aware I too would not advocate adding more option.

You have different needs compared to other users - it could be said the Roam is too advanced for your needs. Question is: are there any disadvantages to the Roam turning on when charging, other than you do not seem to want it to?

I strongly disagree with your use of the term “needs” here as this makes it sound like the Roam only functions if it’s part of a multiroom setup.  I’m living proof that the Roam can be used as a standalone, Bluetooth speaker (just like many others on the market) and doesn’t “need” to be part of a multiroom environment.

You think a setting that says “Do you want Roam to power on when plugging it in?” is too technical?  I sure don’t.  I also don’t understand why you would be against the setting as it still gives you the option to have it power on if that’s what you want.  It’s like when Microsoft decided for everyone using Windows 11 that moving the taskbar to the left, top, or right of the screen wasn’t important, anymore, and decided (for everyone) that it needs to stay at the bottom.  People who always want it at the bottom are not affected by this option being present because they can still keep it at the bottom.  User options are a thing for a very valid reason.

I disagree.  In fact, here are quotes from the official Sonos Roam product page:

“Featuring shock-absorbent materials and an IP67 dust and water resistance rating, Roam is primed for every type of weather and terrain.”

“Roam blends beautifully into every corner of your home, and the lightweight ergonomic design is easy to handle on the go.”

It’s also full of pics with people using it at the beach, camping, at the pool, throwing it in their backpack, etc.  It seems like Sonos is purposely advertising the Roam product as something to be used outside the home and outside the multiroom setup.

I’ve been a Sonos user for 10+ years.  Prior to becoming a nomad last year, my home setup had 2 Playbars, 2 Subs, and 8 Play:1 devices.  I’m well aware of the Sonos home/multiroom environment, use cases, etc.  Amazing product line.

I wanted the Sonos Roam because of my (AWESOME) history with Sonos.  But, I still did my due diligence and testes a lot of Bluetooth speakers out there, prior to purchasing the Roam, and not a single one of them (Bose, Sony, etc.) came close to the sound coming out of the Roam.

This is a valid question.  Picture me leaving my flat to run errands, go eat, etc., but wanting to charge the Roam so it’s fully-charged when I get back.  All I want to do is plug it in and walk out the door.  I understand it's not drawing a lot of power but why would I want/need it to be powered on when I’m away from the home and my only goal is to charge it?

So, the question is flipped a little...what advantage is powering it on giving me and my use case?

Well, my iOS devices do the same thing, I.e turn on when plugged in for charging. Perhaps it’s a ‘feature’ of the chipset used by both types of devices?

I, too, wouldn’t mind an option to not have the device on. But I’m also mindful of (my perception) Sonos’ needs to keep their interface as ‘simple’ as possible. I think if every ‘it’s just an option to add to the controller’ were implemented, Sonos would lose their ‘ease of usability’ feature. I’ve always considered Sonos to be marketing to folks like my (dearly departed) mother, and attempted to keep things as ‘clean’ as possible in the interface, so as not to confuse users. Perhaps I’m projecting my own expectations, as I don’t work for Sonos, nor do I know specifically why they don’t add every single requested feature to their software.

I don’t object to your request, but its feasibility is questionable. I don’t have enough knowledge to know.