Hi everyone,
I received my Sonos Roam yesterday and I am quite concerned by the battery drain on standby mode.
My roam is losing about 10% every hour on standby, which brings us to 10hours but I was expecting 10 hours in playing mode.
Should I be concerned by those stats are it was the expected consumption?
Thank you 
!
To the Sonos support team (do they still read these fora?):
yesterday 12:00 Roam fully charged and disconnected from the USB cable afterwards. Diag code 617307931
24 hours later: Roam battery down to 12%. Diag code 87688964
Stand-by only.
Just to be sure i submitted another diag this morning at 7:30. Battery down to 32% at that time: Diag code 2057238190
Minor update:- when I powered it down today (3 separate times) by holding down button at rear (for at least 5 seconds) the unit switches off (makes audible noise and all status lights go off) and “sonos roam” room disappears from sonos app. Shortly thereafter is reappears in sonos app with status of offline. This has happened repeatedly after full power down.
Suggest those who worry about battery drains just simply power off the ROAM completely… I have got both of my ROAM (white and black) last week and charged them on Sunday, added them to my existing system and then powered them off completely… A bit busy last 2 days so I just played with them again last night (so it’s over 48 hours since powered off), and the battery level was 99% when I put them on again…
Of course it takes some seconds for the speakers to start up and get ready but I think it’s much better to place them into sleep mode.
I think others, like me, are experiencing severe battery drain with the Roam turned off (ie. power button held for 5secs. Out of curiosity, can I ask what you use to charge yours? I wonder if it's the method of charging that’s having an effect here? Thanks.
I used the original SAMSUNG charger and cable for my old Galaxy S8+ to charge the ROAM… When I charged it for the first time when I have received it, it started at 66% and it took probably around 20 minutes to fully charged.
Are you saying that because Crutchfield didn’t post your review, Sonos is to be held responsible, so you’ll post in Sonos’ forum? That’s quite a leap. I’d expect your beef to be with Crutchfield, as I’d be willing to bet Sonos has zero control over anything on Crutchfield’s website.
No - simply pointing out the disingenuous relationship that retailers may have with product manufacturers. Since yesterday, I noticed they did post a 1 star review from someone who couldn’t get it to unpair with the phone app. I just think it’s odd with so many people having battery issues with the Roam, not one review on Crutchfield mentions it - I don’t know, maybe I’m the only one having battery issues that purchased it from Crutchfield… If they do ever publish my review, I’ll revise my post.
Adding my frustrations with the Roam. Battery drain is fast, but in addition, USB charging is super duper slow. Mine’s been charging for maybe 15 hours and has gone from 12% to 45%.
This is unacceptable and a total embarrassment for SONOS.
That there are this many people with the same issue and only a token attempt to respond is pitiful.
Adding my frustrations with the Roam. Battery drain is fast, but in addition, USB charging is super duper slow. Mine’s been charging for maybe 15 hours and has gone from 12% to 45%.
try a different charger.
This YT video helps explain the difference between sleep/standby mode and actually powering off the Roam… just need to hear those 4 descending tones when powering it off.
As mentioned earlier, when I power off both my Roam devices, their battery-level reduces by approx.2% per day. So it lasts weeks in that state - as with all li-ion batteries though this depends on the surrounding environment temperature, but I would not expect the battery depletion to exceed 7% per day anyway when in the fully ‘off’ state.
Seesh...and I thought the fact that my two-day old Roam needs to be recharged after light use and being in sleep mode was just me having problems.
Looks like another bozo move from Sonos, right up there with a) originally trying to kill working-just-fine S1 speakers and b) failing, after all these years to update SMB to protect the networks of users with large libraries.
I don’t know why I keep buying more of this stuff.
Thanks for that (wilwong829). Quite a slow charge for usb-c I would guess. I’ve been using my MacBook charger which I think is about 65W but no idea what the Roam is pulling from that. Just to add to the intrigue I charged mine 100% last night and was fully expecting it to be quite drained this morning. Bizarrely it has been 100% on both occasions I’ve checked it. I now wonder if the battery takes some bedding in or something as I’ve changed nothing in terms of set up and pretty sure there’s been no app or firmware updates.
Thanks for that (wilwong829). Quite a slow charge for usb-c I would guess. I’ve been using my MacBook charger which I think is about 65W but no idea what the Roam is pulling from that. Just to add to the intrigue I charged mine 100% last night and was fully expecting it to be quite drained this morning. Bizarrely it has been 100% on both occasions I’ve checked it. I now wonder if the battery takes some bedding in or something as I’ve changed nothing in terms of set up and pretty sure there’s been no app or firmware updates.
Was that Off or Standby?
I have not one, but two, incidents open about poor Roam battery life. One never got a callback (though I was promised one in 48 hours -- that was over a week ago). The second was the result of reply to an email I sent the CEO email address (which I’ll bet the CEO never sees). In that email, I mentioned that Sonos keeps stubbing its toes with its fan base (remember bricking S1 speakers?) and that this forum discussion had (at the time more than 12K views – now >15K).
In reply, person from Sonos was both snippy and dismissive, According to him, all the problems are either user issues or a few bad batteries -- and you know you can’t rely on what you see on the internet.
Sheesh, this company has its head up in somewhere way dark. They claim to be responsive but not only are not -- they aren’t even taking the input. They just dismiss it out of hand. Sure, there are plenty of whiners in internet forums. But the sheet number of views here -- forget the content -- means that Roam users are searching for terms like “Roam battery life issues.”
Having a working Roam that meets its specifications isn’t a life-or-death thing, now is it? What works me up is the arrogance and self-righteousness Sonos people display. They ought to stop thinking their stuff don’t stink and listen to what they’re getting in the way of feedback.
Oh, and my Roam’s battery life sucks. Here’s a mashup of screenshots from a Roam I actually listened to for about 15 minutes total today. And if a Sonos person reads this: yes, I know how to charge the thing and, yes, I’ve (repeatedly) reset it.
Same issue. Only used it a couple of times. Only played music for a couple of hours. Fully charged it, thought it was switched off, came to use it a few days later and it was completely dead. Takes ages to come back to life.
Also think it is really mean that it doesn’t come with a charging plug - finding one with the correct charge rate is virtually impossible. And it’s not made very clear that a standard USB will not charge this device.
Very disappointed - I think it might be going back...
The crazy thing is Sonos Support just blah blah the same story, as above. Saying Roam has to occasionally connect etc. But whenever I turn it off, want it truly off and want it to stay charged, it depletes the battery by about 20-30% every 24hrs. This is totally useless when I don’t need it connected. After all, I’ve purposefully switched it off!!
If the Roam is shut off completely, the battery should only deplete 1%-2% per day. How exactly are you turning off the Roam?
Because of all the issues I’ve seen reported with the Move, I decided to start checking my Roam as soon as I got it as my usage is probably a lot different to others - I will be using it for an hour or so whilst in the bath and then it will be completely turned off until the next time. Therefore I will be using it for maybe 1 or 2 hours per week. So far I’m not seeing any issues with my admittedly limited usage...
I just listen to Tunein radio stations on my Roam via wifi and I don’t use any voice control on any of my Sonos system.
Tuesday 20th Roam arrived and I charged to 100 %
Set it up and messed about with it for a bit
Then went in bath and had it on for just over an hour at well less than 50% volume
Switched off completely but forgot to take battery reading
Monday 26th turned it on and battery was 93%
Went in bath and had it on for about an hour at same volume as before. Afterwards checked the battery which was at 86%
Switched off completely.
Will continue this test the next time I turn it on.
Do this test. Charge to 100% before you go to bed for the night, then let it go into sleep mode. Check it 8 hours later (when you wake up). See what the battery percentage is then.
Understand. When most people have issues, Sonos needs to get more responsive. Even if they just improve their communications would go a long way.
After searching Sonos, you need the stronger 10-12Watt charger. I found solid source on Amazon that I also now use in iPhones for faster charging (Apple ok’s).
Decided to finally make my first forum post, as I was frankly tired of reading “power it off” as a solution. Let’s be clear; it is not. Would you keep your mobile phone off except when you had to make a call or send an email?
The standby battery life is undeniably poor; less than half - or at best, barely half - the advertised 10 days (who knows under what conditions Sonos achieved 10 days. I actually tried disconnecting if from my wifi and did not use it at all; checked at end of week and it was dead).
For those who seem perplexed why one would not simply leave it plugged in, is it so hard to imagine that there are people who purchased a Roam primarily to leave in a space that does not have a power socket nearby (bathroom, patio etc)? Charging it once a week would’ve been a very acceptable compromise (I had no difficulty getting 1 week standby on my old JBL link which is also a wifi speaker with voice assistant); doing so once every 3-4 days is not.
The worst part of all this is that Sonos hasn’t even bothered acknowledging the standby battery issue. Heck, even the known bugs (Google assistant turning the Roam on and disabling trueplay; stereo pairing; soundswap hit&miss; etc) have not been fixed.
I have to say that the Roam soured my experience with Sonos as a whole (after enjoying the Arc 5.1 a lot) and I’m slowly gravitating back towards Chromecast speakers for the rest of the house.
Having run a test of battery life on standby, I ran the Roams constantly with music playing. Volume level looks like a touch over 50%. Battery level has dropped about 10% per hour. In fact battery level in one speaker is a bit higher so Sonos is actually reporting on the lower level within the pair and not the average or, worse still, the higher one.
Means that on a full charge they would last a day trip out somewhere and so not as bad as I feared reading some of the other comments on this thread.
Having run a test of battery life on standby, I ran the Roams constantly with music playing. Volume level looks like a touch over 50%. Battery level has dropped about 10% per hour. In fact battery level in one speaker is a bit higher so Sonos is actually reporting on the lower level within the pair and not the average or, worse still, the higher one.
Means that on a full charge they would last a day trip out somewhere and so not as bad as I feared reading some of the other comments on this thread.
I got 11+ hours playing time from a Roam here with Sonos Radio at/near 50% volume - I assume it will last longer with the mic/auto-TruePlay switch off, but didn’t think to do that.
My Wife and I went away last weekend and took one Roam with us on the Friday morning and left one at home. It lasted us the weekend till we got home on Sunday night, with just general use and by also powering it off over night. In fact it had plenty of charge left though I didn’t think to make a note of its level, but somewhere around 35% (I think).
The other Roam we left at home, was shut down on the Friday morning and I expected that to lose a few percent over the day or two we were away, but when I put that one back on its Qi Charger, which powered it on, the App still showed it as 100% initially, but it did show 98% a few minutes later, so it did lose a slight bit of charge, but I think that’s perhaps expected with Li-Ion batteries.
Do you own a flashlight? When you aren’t using the flashlight, do you turn it off or keep it on at all times?
Having run a test of battery life on standby, I ran the Roams constantly with music playing. Volume level looks like a touch over 50%. Battery level has dropped about 10% per hour. In fact battery level in one speaker is a bit higher so Sonos is actually reporting on the lower level within the pair and not the average or, worse still, the higher one.
Means that on a full charge they would last a day trip out somewhere and so not as bad as I feared reading some of the other comments on this thread.
I got 11+ hours playing time from a Roam here with Sonos Radio at/near 50% volume - I assume it will last longer with the mic/auto-TruePlay switch off, but didn’t think to do that.
My Wife and I went away last weekend and took one Roam with us on the Friday morning and left one at home. It lasted us the weekend till we got home on Sunday night, with just general use and by also powering it off over night. In fact it had plenty of charge left though I didn’t think to make a note of its level, but somewhere around 35% (I think).
The other Roam we left at home, was shut down on the Friday morning and I expected that to lose a few percent over the day or two we were away, but when I put that one back on its Qi Charger, which powered it on, the App still showed it as 100% initially, but it did show 98% a few minutes later, so it did lose a slight bit of charge, but I think that’s perhaps expected with Li-Ion batteries.
That's great. Can I interest you in a trade?
That's great. Can I interest you in a trade?
I will happily swap my Roam for an Arc ha ha … if you have battery issues, then perhaps chat to Sonos Support, (here is their contact LINK). They can probably monitor the charge-loss through diagnostics etc. and see if it’s outside normal limits. If so, they undoubtedly will replace the speaker if that is the case.
HTH
Gutted. Everything else is amazing
The battery life is so poor.
Ended up buying the expensive charger.
But when its not charging and playing standalone the levels go down so quick.
Hoping an update soon will improve it
My UE Wonderboom 1 left on all day seems to last longer.
Do you own a flashlight? When you aren’t using the flashlight, do you turn it off or keep it on at all times?
You are missing the point. Most phones are rated for about a day’s worth of intense use, maybe double for moderate use. Assuming one wants to avoid the phone dipping below 20%, charging once a day is in line with expectations. The proper analogy here would be having to charge your phone two or three times a day, and having people tell you “well, obviously turn off your phone when you’re not using it!”
As for flashlights, does yours have a standby mode?
It’s mind-boggling that there are folks here who would rather blame other customers than hold Sonos to higher standards. Or simply the standards that they proudly proclaimed when they advertised 10 day standby battery life.
This new update seems to have done nothing to help the issue. As a test I charged both my roams at the same time, enabled assistant on only one. That one is already down to 72% while the other is on 98
Because of all the issues I’ve seen reported with the Move, I decided to start checking my Roam as soon as I got it as my usage is probably a lot different to others - I will be using it for an hour or so whilst in the bath and then it will be completely turned off until the next time. Therefore I will be using it for maybe 1 or 2 hours per week. So far I’m not seeing any issues with my admittedly limited usage...
I just listen to Tunein radio stations on my Roam via wifi and I don’t use any voice control on any of my Sonos system.
Tuesday 20th Roam arrived and I charged to 100 %
Set it up and messed about with it for a bit
Then went in bath and had it on for just over an hour at well less than 50% volume
Switched off completely but forgot to take battery reading
Monday 26th turned it on and battery was 93%
Went in bath and had it on for about an hour at same volume as before. Afterwards checked the battery which was at 86%
Switched off completely.
Will continue this test the next time I turn it on.
Do this test. Charge to 100% before you go to bed for the night, then let it go into sleep mode. Check it 8 hours later (when you wake up). See what the battery percentage is then.
That’s not the way that I’ll be using the Roam so I will continue my current tests first before trying something like this. I need to make sure it will be adequate for my use-case first :)
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