I asked this question over in the sonos reddit forum and others are having same issues so thought I would bring over here.
What are people using for their usb charger for the Sonos move? I attempted to use my MacBook pros charger but it didn’t work. I have the 60watt brick but from what I read it should be able to still work.
So then I read it might be the cord as they have chips in them and knowing Apple they locked their cord down. So I bought an anker power line 3.1 usb c cable and tried it with the MacBook brick again and it still didn’t work.
So before I keep buying and returning curious if anyone has had success with certain chargers with the move. Thanks!
Best answer by Airgetlam
OK, I was too lazy to include it in my last post, but then I went and found it in the introduction post, straight from Sonos, here:
Power and battery: Move’s battery will last for up to 10 hours of uninterrupted playback. If left off the charging base and unused, Move will automatically go into suspend mode to reserve battery for up to 5 days. The battery is rechargeable with an included indoor charging base or with any USB-C charger with the following output levels: 12V/3A, 15V/3A, or 20V/2.25A. After about three years, or 900 charges, Move’s battery can easily be replaced so you can keep listening for years to come.
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This is so disappointing to read! I just unpacked my Move yesterday, and I’m impressed with it on many levels, but not this one! There seems to be no distinguishing between power for use, and power for charging. And they don’t necessarily need to be the same thing, and I thought USB-C PD made most things work with most things!
For example, I can plug a big MacBook Pro, which normally charges as 87W+ into my Anker USB-C battery which only outputs at 30W. It will add power, and if the laptop is asleep the battery will charge, albeit slowly. Or in use, the battery will still deplete, but not as quickly.
For the Move, I understand that maybe it needs 45W to play at a high volume, but surely *any* power input would charge the battery if power consumption was near zero when on standby or switched off? Or, as in the MacBook example above, extend the battery life by adding some power as it is in use.
Are these input levels set in hardware or software @Ryan S ie. is this something that might ever be revisited? I was hoping this was a bit of kit I could just take with me but none of my fleet of USB-C chargers or batteries will work with it by the looks of things!
Got to say...this is all a bit of a nightmare. Have tried two different USB C Chargers, both rated at 20.0v @ 2.25a and neither of them have worked, along with two different cables. Think SONOS need to really spell out the compatibility, instead of this guessing game which is currently happening.
Update...out of frustration, I unplugged my charger from the mains and then plugged it back in and the Move started charging...unplugged and tried again..nothing...WTF! It is so borderline its unreal...
Just wanted to confirm a charger that actually works for the Sonos Move, and does charge very fast & well, and it takes up really small space so that’s a bonus:
Just got my white Move the other day and tonight I tried to charge it with 2 different power banks (PD) no luck. Tried it with my MacBook charger and number of cables with the same result, Sonos please help.
I failed to get my Apple 61 W USB-C charger to work with the Move. But when I swapped the original 2m Apple USB-C/USB-C cable to the cable supplied with the charger mentioned above it works.
I’ve tried several USB-C PD chargers, including the one below, with the exact specs required for Sonos Move. Unfortunately even the amber LED in the front lights up for the whole duration the charger is connected, no charging occurs. It would have been so difficult for Sonos to allow charging the speaker from any PD enabled charger, even at a lower speed? This is my first Sonos product, with high expectations for the price, but I’m already disappointed. How many chargers I have to buy just to find the right one?
Power Delivery protocol is supported only over USB-C connectors, but anyway, something else is specifically required by Sonos, as just chargers following specifications (15V/3A or 20V/2.25A) are not enough (see my post above).
I think some of the issues are that the cable AND charger must also be PD rated? Of the three listed in the Amazon post above none looked to be PD compatible chargers and one was also less than 45W
Sonos Manual stated Power Sources
USB port (USB type C PD power with 45W, 20V/2.25A).
I have tens of USB-C PD cheargeable devices (including notebooks, chromebooks, tablets, portable speakers, smartphones) and all of them can be charged with this charger except one. Guess which one.
To present as a feature that Sonos Move can be charged over PD USB-C is a clear exaggeration.
“We recommend using a 45 watt USB-C PD charger, outputting a minimum of 20V/2.25A or 12V/3A. You may also use a 36 watt charger that outputs at least 12V/3A or 14V/2.4A, but the charging speed will be reduced.”
So, is stated “we recommend”, not “is mandatory”. More, 14V/2.4A does not follow any standard and PD for sure not. Anyone can asume that if a lower power PD charger is used, the charging speed will be lower, but will continue to charge the Move, which is not true at all.
I’m not trying to argue I was just pointing out that when looking to purchase that charger it does not state PD, and nor did it on the case so thought that might be the issue. I do wonder if Sonos has implemented the later PD standards.
I too would like a compatible charger to travel with that will also work with my iPad.
As an aside USB standards in general are becoming a confusing mess, and I’m not saying that exonerates Sonos.
Anyway, is not something expected from a company like Sonos, to count on users to test their own product compatibility. A list of compatible/certified chargers must be presented on their web site.
Anyway, is not something expected from a company like Sonos, to count on users to test their own product compatibility. A list of compatible/certified chargers must be presented on their web site.
Totally agree.
The charge issue along with the power discharge bug has turned me off from buying one. I'll stick with my old bt speaker for now.
I bought the power block as its stated output matched sonos move charging requirements but didn’t work with the generic usb c cables that I had. Needed the newer cable to successfully charge Move.
I have also a problem with USB-C powering of Sonos Move. I have proved PD USB-C 65W charger which works with my HP laptop perfectly but with Move not. The red LED is blinking all the time (should stop after a few seconds). On the contrary original HP Power supply is charging Move without a problem.
Why it is so problematic with Sonos Move. It is JUST powering. Do you know if Sonos is planning to solve it by software soon? I don’t want to buy new PS and still risking incompatibility again.
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