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Roam keeps turning itself on.

  • 21 April 2021
  • 79 replies
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Userlevel 1
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Just set up the Roam.  Sounds great but a few minutes after I turn it off it comes back on.  Has done this several times.  Any ideas?

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Best answer by James L. 21 April 2021, 13:14

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79 replies

Userlevel 2

To the extent that this is a design choice, it is a stupid one.  No offence.  This isn’t like the Move, which came with its own charger built in (and which isn’t really “portable” in the same sense).  I ordered a wireless charger but it didn’t ship at the same time as the Roam.  I have multiple Sonos devices in my house, and every time I use the app the Roam turns itself on.  My primary plan for the Roam was to use in my bathroom and roaming around.  This decision you have made means that I have to keep it plugged in 100% of the time, or it will always be out of charge.  Battery drain is not kept to a minimum - as many are reporting, after one night the thing is essentially out of power.

Userlevel 1

Same issue here and is very annoying. Fully charged the Roam night before and next day it’s 35%. Yes it turns in anytime you use another Sonos speaker, even changing songs or pausing them. This is ridiculous. Love the sound and functionality of the Sonos products but this seems to be a miss. Should have the ability to fully keep it off and function as designed for a moveable speaker. Defeats the purpose of having it in a ready state to take with you when you have to find an outlet to charge it within an hour or so. Needs to be fixed with an update if possible or going to return and get another brand. Never had an issue with my Boom speakers. Sonos sounds amazing, wish the function was the same. 

Userlevel 3

False design of Sonos here. I bought the Roam to replace my UE Boom.

However, my UE Boom remains off if I turn it off. I can pick up my charged UE Boom after a week feeling confident it is ready to use.

 

The Sonos Roam constantly drains my battery, turns on when I don’t want it and I can’t count on it. Two times I wanted to pick it up in the morning to just realise the evening charge has already gone.

Dear Sonos; an off button must mean off, period. If this does not get fixed in the next two weeks, this product goes back within the 30 days return period window. It is useless like this.

Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Hi @sdtheclub 

Actually mine turns itself back on after holding the power button for 5 seconds when on the wireless charger. I did do the hard shut down before going to bed and the next morning it had lost 5% in 9 hours.

The Roam will always power on while charging. We recommend you either leave it on charge until you take it somewhere, or power off when you take it off charge until you wish to use it. Sleep mode isn’t intended to preserve as much battery charge as possible, but to preserve some when not actively in use that would be lost otherwise.

But can we get a change put in place so that simply accessing the Sonos App for my other 5 Sonos speakers throughout the day, doesn’t wake the Roam from sleep mode?  That “feature” is draining the battery unnecessarily-- but I want it in sleep mode many times (rather than always power it off) so I don't have to physically engage with the Roam necessarily to use it.  

So there should be a software button/toggle to wake the Roam via the app, but ONLY when I want to -- not EVERY time I use the app (which could be for the many other aspects of my Sonos system). 

Remember, there IS a home use case for the Roam, not just taking it somewhere else.   My use is the bathroom (not taking it outside).   But the way Sonos implemented the sleep/wake aspect doesn't really work in the home use scenario -  (with the app always waking it even if you are just using other parts of your Sonos system).   Can that be fixed -- pretty please?

It should turn itself back off after a short time if it isn’t being used instead of just staying on until the battery is dead

Userlevel 2
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I’m really pleased with the build and sound but the business of automatically waking up when the app is opened is more than annoying. With several devices around the house my app is in regular use all day! 
 

I too intended to use the Roam to replace a bathroom radio but having to charge it every other day after a couple of hours use is hopeless. 
 

It would be better to have the option of only waking the device up with the power button, ie disable automatic wake up. How about it Sonos?

Userlevel 1
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I received the Roam yesterday. Charged it at 100%, played a few songs and put it in sleep mode.

This morning I noticed it was turned on with 6% remaining…

Can you explain this?

Thanks

Userlevel 2

False design of Sonos here. I bought the Roam to replace my UE Boom.

However, my UE Boom remains off if I turn it off. I can pick up my charged UE Boom after a week feeling confident it is ready to use.

 

The Sonos Roam constantly drains my battery, turns on when I don’t want it and I can’t count on it. Two times I wanted to pick it up in the morning to just realise the evening charge has already gone.

Dear Sonos; an off button must mean off, period. If this does not get fixed in the next two weeks, this product goes back within the 30 days return period window. It is useless like this.

Unfortunately the same, I really would like to avoid returning and love everything else about it. However, if a portable speaker can’t be fully charged and ready to go when you need it, it is pointless. Please add a setting to toggle the auto-on feature and I’ll end up using this thing everywhere. 

Badge +17

Hey folks,

 

I answered this in the main announcement thread, but I’ll copy my response over here and also link the main thread below. I encourage you to read it as I’ve answered a lot of Roam questions over there. :relaxed:

 

“That’s correct, both Move and Roam do this. The Roam is designed to wake up whenever the Sonos app is foregrounded. It’s by design to ensure there is little to no delay between opening the app and being able to target playback to that speaker. When the Roam or Move powers on this way and is not targeted for playback, it will be in a low power state, so battery drain will be kept to a minimum. Rest assured, you shouldn’t see any negative effects from the Roam waking like this.”

 

 

Userlevel 2

Also came here to voice some frustration re: the standby mode. Cory, thanks for engaging with us on this topic. Totally appreciate that standby mode is ultimately going to have some battery drain. My experience is that it’s down to less than 10% after 4 days.

I think Sonos could consider a few options here which might appease those of us that are using the Roam infrequently and are bad at keeping on top of charging devices :-)

  1. Provide an option that after an extended period of inactivity (like 1hr), when not connected to charger, the speaker shuts down completely. For most of us this should kick in when we go to bed and preserve charge in the unit for when we next use it.
  2. Allow us to shut the speaker down via the app rather than the 5 second long press on the unit itself (have seen this suggested elsewhere).
  3. Don’t immediately wake the speaker every time the app is in the foreground, only when the player is selected on the System screen.

I think one or all of the above would be a big improvement for some of us.

Many Thanks!

Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Same issue here and is very annoying. Fully charged the Roam night before and next day it’s 35%. Yes it turns in anytime you use another Sonos speaker, even changing songs or pausing them. This is ridiculous. Love the sound and functionality of the Sonos products but this seems to be a miss. Should have the ability to fully keep it off and function as designed for a moveable speaker. Defeats the purpose of having it in a ready state to take with you when you have to find an outlet to charge it within an hour or so. Needs to be fixed with an update if possible or going to return and get another brand. Never had an issue with my Boom speakers. Sonos sounds amazing, wish the function was the same. 

You can completely power it off by long pressing the power button for around 5 seconds… I did that when it’s fully charged on Sunday and put it on again yesterday (that is over 48 hours later), and the battery level was 99%.

Actually mine turns itself back on after holding the power button for 5 seconds when on the wireless charger. I did do the hard shut down before going to bed and the next morning it had lost 5% in 9 hours.

Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Mine keeps turning itself back on when I’m not even on the app. When it’s off and I turn the app on it doesn’t turn the roam on. At this point it seems to have a mind of it’s own. For the last several minutes I turn it off and within three or four seconds it turns itself back on. I’ve tried to turn it off now ten times in a row but it just comes right back on. I just held the power button for five seconds so hopefully it will remain off. Well in the time it took me to write that sentence it has turned itself back on. I just took it off the wireless charger and held the off button for five seconds again. So far it has remained off but I’m not holding my breath.

Userlevel 2

Unfortunately the same, I really would like to avoid returning and love everything else about it. However, if a portable speaker can’t be fully charged and ready to go when you need it, it is pointless. Please add a setting to toggle the auto-on feature and I’ll end up using this thing everywhere. 

I’m glad to hear that you enjoy your new Roam! There already is a setting for this - it’s called Off.

Wow, so helpful Corry.  Great work.  

Userlevel 2

Hi @Brewski 

Unfortunately the same, I really would like to avoid returning and love everything else about it. However, if a portable speaker can’t be fully charged and ready to go when you need it, it is pointless. Please add a setting to toggle the auto-on feature and I’ll end up using this thing everywhere. 

I’m glad to hear that you enjoy your new Roam! There already is a setting for this - it’s called Off.

Wow, so helpful Corry.  Great work.  

 

I apologise if I sounded glib, but I was serious. As I mentioned in later post, “We recommend you either leave it on charge until you take it somewhere, or power off when you take it off charge until you wish to use it. Sleep mode isn’t intended to preserve as much battery charge as possible, but to preserve some when not actively in use that would be lost otherwise.” I should have mentioned that in my reply to you, however.

I understand, I did read the whole chain before becoming involved, but nothing has worked including the 5 second hold.  I’ll fully charged mine, then held power for 5 seconds to fully power down and it appeared to...next morning I was at 35%.  

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

I received the Roam yesterday. Charged it at 100%, played a few songs and put it in sleep mode.

This morning I noticed it was turned on with 6% remaining…

Can you explain this?

Thanks

This was my experience. Charged to 100%, put to sleep on a wireless charger, 8-9 hours later noticed orange and white lights blinking. Open the Sonos app and the Roam is showing charging off and on and 39% charge. I’ve switched to plugging it directly in to usb, so far so good today. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

Hi @sdtheclub 

Actually mine turns itself back on after holding the power button for 5 seconds when on the wireless charger. I did do the hard shut down before going to bed and the next morning it had lost 5% in 9 hours.

The Roam will always power on while charging. We recommend you either leave it on charge until you take it somewhere, or power off when you take it off charge until you wish to use it. Sleep mode isn’t intended to preserve as much battery charge as possible, but to preserve some when not actively in use that would be lost otherwise.

But can we get a change put in place so that simply accessing the Sonos App for my other 5 Sonos speakers throughout the day, doesn’t wake the Roam from sleep mode?  That “feature” is draining the battery unnecessarily-- but I want it in sleep mode many times (rather than always power it off) so I don't have to physically engage with the Roam necessarily to use it.  

So there should be a software button/toggle to wake the Roam via the app, but ONLY when I want to -- not EVERY time I use the app (which could be for the many other aspects of my Sonos system). 

Remember, there IS a home use case for the Roam, not just taking it somewhere else.   My use is the bathroom (not taking it outside).   But the way Sonos implemented the sleep/wake aspect doesn't really work in the home use scenario -  (with the app always waking it even if you are just using other parts of your Sonos system).   Can that be fixed -- pretty please?

Unfortunately the same, I really would like to avoid returning and love everything else about it. However, if a portable speaker can’t be fully charged and ready to go when you need it, it is pointless. Please add a setting to toggle the auto-on feature and I’ll end up using this thing everywhere. 

I’m glad to hear that you enjoy your new Roam! There already is a setting for this - it’s called Off.

Cory - you’re part of Sonos Staff and that’s the best you can do? I was always impressed with support from Sonos unit I read your remark. You obviously don’t grasp what is upsetting everyone. We turn it off and it turns back on and drains itself, making it a useless portable device when we want to use it. Thanks for your complete lack of help and understanding. 

 

The Roam is a Sonos speaker, first and foremost.

I think that’s the wrong design decision. It’s first and foremost a portable speaker. The fact that it’s a Sonos speaker brings some great benefits including AirPlay and integration with other Sonos speakers for those who have them. But where there’s a decision to be made that is impacted by the fact that this is a portable speaker, the answer should prioritize portability and the expectations that come with being a portable first, and a portable Sonos speaker second. 

A prime example of that is the expectation that Off means Off. I should be able to charge it without it turning back on, so I can top it up and then ignore it until I’m ready to go somewhere. I don’t want to have to think about whether after charging it went into sleep mode or is truly turned off. That’s just extra friction. Based on my testing, when I charge it when it was Off, it wakes up while charging and then goes back to sleep. Likewise, I should know that if I turn it off, it stays off.

Put another way, I don’t expect to have to keep a portable speaker plugged in or charging so that it will be charged when I decide I’m going to use it or take it somewhere. I should be able to charge it fully and know its charged when I need it.

I understand there is some battery drain that happens regardless -- I’m talking about the drain over time that comes with standby mode.

I definitely would want the basic behavior to be that if I fully charged it and it’s “off”, it’s going to have minimal drain. Having to think about whether it’s truly off or just in standby is a bad design decision for a portable speaker. 

Can this be addressed in an update?

Give people the ability to choose whether the bias is towards always on (in sleep/standby) mode or I-stay-off-if-you-switched-me-off mode. That way if I want it to be in standby so I can get my tunes quickly where there’s WiFi, great. And if not, great. 

(edit: clarity and to say I realize that most of what I’m talking about here is the behavior while charging. But it’s related to a larger issue, which is that when I switch something off —not standby, but off—it should stay off until I interact with the physical hardware to turn it back on.)

 

 

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +1

Just set up the Roam.  Sounds great but a few minutes after I turn it off it comes back on.  Has done this several times.  Any ideas?

My understanding is that in the same manner as the Sonos ‘Move’, a playing ‘Roam’ will fall into sleep-mode after 30 minutes of inactivity, when off its charger.

If a user opens the Sonos app on the same network, the app sends a signal to the ‘Roam’ to wake it up, so that it's ready to play music, if music isn’t played to the Roam, it will simply go back to sleep after 5 minutes, to also help preserve its battery. 

Only if that was true for mine. When mine turns itself on it never turns back off and within 10 hours it’s dead. I can’t even leave it on the wireless charger because once it’s fully charged the charger turns off and 10 hour later the roam is dead again. The only way I have found to keep it charged is to keep it plugged in which isn’t what I’m looking for in a portable speaker

Userlevel 4
Badge +1

After messing with my roam some more this is what I have found. When it’s on the wireless charger and charging it doesn’t turn on when I open the app. If it isn’t on the charger it does turn on with the app. Once it’s charged to 100% it turns itself on and stays on even after holding the power button for five seconds it still turns itself back on. When it’s not on the charger and it’s off it loses five percent of battery in ten hours. Seems to me I have to keep it on a charger unless I’m using it and when it’s at 100% it will just always be on. Oh and my Move doesn’t act like this. Hopefully Sonos fixes this.

Just got two new Roams and they sound just the same as my 3-year old UE Booms. I was looking forward to the WiFi and Google Assistant connectivity to replace those Booms in my bathrooms, however, but now it just drains the battery all day long while I’m not using it. The UE Booms last weeks without charging.

Is this going to be improved by software updates or should I return these and go back to my Booms?

The problem with the Roam is, when you’re home, you just want to use it as a traditional plugged in speaker for much of the time. But when you leave the Roam on a charging mat, it loses charge over time instead of gaining. Every time I leave it on the mat, it shows it charging, but by the next morning it’s dead. When it’s on the QI charging mat I just want it to stay close to 100% charge until I pick it up.

Userlevel 6
Badge +11

Same problem when I set it on a Qi device.

I have the same problem with wireless charging

Further, the battery has drained from 100% to 39% in about 8 hours while sitting on the wireless charger. I have the led light off but could see it cycling on and off throughout the day. 
Connected to wifi, not a source or grouped. 
I’m charging via USB now will see if this persists.  

Userlevel 4
Badge +1

I charged mine to 100% and shut it off yesterday. Just went to use it and it’s at 6%. Hope they fix it or it’s going back.

Badge +17

I received the Roam yesterday. Charged it at 100%, played a few songs and put it in sleep mode.

This morning I noticed it was turned on with 6% remaining…

Can you explain this?

Thanks

Not from your description alone, unfortunately. I recommend submitting a diagnostic report and getting in touch with our customer care team who can take a closer look at that and figure out what might have happened.

My two Roams seems to have discharged during a 5 day period where they were supposed to be turned off. Even in sleep mode they should have lasted. Roams should be able to auto switch off if not used. I don’t want to have them in a charger constantly. USB chargers are a common cause in fires.