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Roam wont charge!

  • 22 April 2021
  • 63 replies
  • 24291 views

Userlevel 2

Just got my hands on the new Roam today and  can’t get it to charge.  
 

its plugged in with cable provided, solid orange  light on the front of it and can see it’s charging on the app but it’s stuck at 20% all day now. Won’t charge up.

 

any ideas what to do here, very frustrated with this problem. 
 

thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Edit, light is slowly flashing orange it was only solid orange when speak on but problem remains the same.

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Best answer by Ken_Griffiths 22 April 2021, 18:36

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63 replies

Userlevel 2

I tend to agree Martin,  quite annoyed I now need to go out and buy a charger.  Poor show Sonos 

Userlevel 1

So on top of paying £170 for a Roam, which doesn’t get a suitable plug, I need to pay another £17 for the plug?? And this was with its supplied charge of 57% lasting an hour. 
Dreadful piece of kit!!!

Userlevel 1

I agree with you Johnny 12345 . I’ve been through every plug we have in the house and none are strong enough.

I’ve found out that if I power up the laptop and charge via that, it works, but the best thing, for something that requires more power than a standard phone charger should be supplied with it. Frustrated is an understatement!!!

petridish38
My understanding and belief from what I’ve read is the Roam’s USB-C charger needs a minimum of 7.5w power output. That’s 5v x 1.5A, but think of that as being the minimum .. you would of course be better off with 10w to 15w power output. So somewhere between 5V x 2A  to 5V x 3A. - I have personally chosen the latter 5V/3A and it takes around 2hrs 15mins to charge the Roam battery fully.

The Qi wireless charger charge rate I think for Roam is around 5W (so this charges much slower) but to get that power from a wireless charger you need at least a 10W Qi pad as the wireless chargers are much less efficient .. and that’s to get it to charge at its 5W maximum (if you’re lucky) The Qi charger posted in your video says it would do 5W 5V/1A and it may (eventually) charge the device if you leave it on charge with mic off for 24+ hours, but because of Qi charger inefficiencies, I personally would chose a higher Qi power output than 5W, otherwise you maybe waiting a long time for it to charge.

The two port 5V/2.4A USB-C adapter shown in your last post will work fine, but I see you have tested that and have it working already.

Sonos is trying to keep the price of the Roam competitive.

Do you prefer a Roam with a charger plug for $189 or a Roam without a charger plug for $169?

I just prefer clarity on the need for a beefy charger. I had mine boxed up and ready to send back before reading this. 

What is the power output of the charger you are using? The Minimum requirements are 5v/1.5A (7.5w), but I would personally recommend using a 2A or 3A charger (10w-15w).

Userlevel 2

Hi Ken,

thank you so much, my charger was inadequate  for the job it was only 1A output. Working perfect now. 

I had no idea that a regular iphone charger wouldn’t work, the fact SONOS don’t provide a charger I just assumed a run of the mill iPhone charger would suffice. 
 

Thanks again, now to enjoy my roam out in the garden tonight. 

Userlevel 2

I would have preferred to have the gear necessary to power the speaker I bought.  I have 4 x phone chargers are home checked them all, none powerful enough. I don’t think Sonos are doing a favor to anyone here, not the consumer nor the environment (as I need to buy charger anyway)

Userlevel 7

You guys are assuming every Roam user requires a charging plug. They don’t.

Userlevel 2

I would say more often than not people won’t have the right charger at home.  I am now two days with my roam and I can tell you the battery is pretty crap, I will def be needing a good charger. 

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

Your charger block appears powerful enough (2.4A per port).   And I have had good experience with Anker as a brand.

Maybe it is the Qi pad?   Perhaps it is exceeding the power abilities of the Qi pad?  That 5V 1A on the Qi pad suggests that might be the issue.

Is there no light on the Qi pad?

Try a different/newer Qi pad perhaps?

 

What is the power output of the charger you are using? The Minimum requirements are 5v/1.5A (7.5w), but I would personally recommend using a 2A or 3A charger (10w-15w).

Would an even higher amp than 2 or 3 work?  I saw a couple 4A’s on Amazon. 

I’m not sure, it might ‘possibly’ harm the battery in the longer term.

5v/2.1A is the output Sonos use for their own charger, but I see on the base it mentions 5V/3A and that power output works just fine for me. If you do go with the 4A then please let me know how it goes.

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

Given that the charger block should be powerful enough, and a usb-c cable was supplied in the box, try directly charging without the Qi pad.  

Userlevel 1
Badge +1

petridish38

Your charger power output (as per my screenshot from your video) at the correct voltage of 5V is only 1A - it’s not enough to charge the Roam.

Thank you for your replies.

I think there is some misinterpretation of the information Sonos has provided to consumers. I am willing to admit I misread, but I have looked at this 100 times to make sure I’m not crazy… I don’t think I am reading this wrong. Below is my interpretation...

 

A. Their website says any qi certified charger, so that should be enough to suggest there is a problem and its not with my qi certified charger.

The image below suggests there are three ways to charge the Roam (way #1 in red, way #2 in blue, way #3 in green).

 

B. Even if a 5w qi-certified charger were not enough, the one in my video is 10 watt

The box for the charger even says as much…

 

C. In an email I received today from Sonos support, they say that Roam can only accept a 5W wireless charge.

 

D. My USB power brick is also not underpowered.

 

Plus, Sonos support also saw the videos I posted to YouTube and had this to say about all of my charging pads:

I am not trying to start anything here, but nothing you have provided from the Sonos website supports the argument that my charging setup is at fault. Sonos support themselves tells me my setup is correct. I guess I am just here to see if anyone else is having the same problem with wireless charging.

Thank you for your replies.

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

The only other thing I can think of is which Qi charging protocol version is required.

The older Qi compatible versions did not provide as much power as the newer Qi protocol versions.

It sounds to me like there are some protocol handshaking “smarts” required of the Qi pad as well as the charger block for this to work.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qi_(standard)

When I bought my current Qi pads and power block I made sure they were at the current protocol levels.

Userlevel 3
Badge +2

My two Roams are being charged with the following:

INIU Qi-Certified 15W Fast Charging Wireless Charging Pad Model WI-210

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08MT446KL/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

And the charging power is coming from the USB ports on the JACKYLED Wall Mountable Surge Protector with 10 AC Outlets 4 USB Charging Ports. 2.4A per USB port.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08L7JYJZG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Cheers guys, yes I do have all 4 ports connected to devices.

I've taken the others out to see how that affects things. 

May be better to get a separate plug then I suspect. 

Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Cheers guys, yes I do have all 4 ports connected to devices.

I've taken the others out to see how that affects things. 

May be better to get a separate plug then I suspect. 

Yes, that’s best.

5.4 / 4 = 1.35

1.35 Amps x 5 Volts = 6.75 Watts 

6.75 watts isn’t really enough to push the charge into the Roams battery.

Userlevel 1

It’s irrespective really GuitarSuperstar. Sonos are keeping the price down by not supplying a plug, but I need to go spend an additional £17 with them to purchase a plug, so to get best charging from my Roam, I still need to spend the same amount of money!

Its really not all it’s cracked up to be either. I have numerous Sonos speakers which are all brilliant, but this loses 40% of its charge overnight, takes an age to charge…..as I haven’t stumped up the £17 yet, and only lasts about two hours before requiring a charge…..where’s the 10 days standby battery life and 10 hours playing battery life? This is with full power off and no voice assistants…..as they are an issue apparently!!

 

Think my next purchase will be the returns label for the box…...not a good show ☹️

Userlevel 1
Badge +1

Does anyone have any problems charging using an apple 12w power adapter? It says output: 5.2v-2.4a, which is compatible right?

My Roam keeps dying even when its plugged in, and then it’ll start charging on its own after about 15-20 minutes. I’ve had it for about a month and this has happened a few times. Is my Roam defective? Please let me know if anyone else has a similar issue!

Yes I have the same issue too, my Roam is less than one month new. It also dont hold it charge when fully to 100%, and when the unit is fully powered off (no Led’s showing) After 2 or 3 days when trying to switch it ON it indicates 0%  charge left. so have to charge again for it to work. 1) When I am charging it  using  it’s supplied with the Roam its USB lead using the SONOS three pin wall AC plug (i.e. The AC wall  Plug supplied with the Sonos Roam Wireless Charging Set which I had purchased separately at cost for £44 GBP. This method of charging has taken about 4- 5 hrs to fully charge 100% and 2) when using the 2nd method of charging using Sonos Roam Wireless Charging Set with the Sonos AC wall plug ot take more than 10 hrs to fully Charge to 100%. Talking with Sonos Tech support said the Roam will be constantly checking and refreshing the network IP address even when the Roam unit is fully powered off/ switched off (with no LED’s displayed) and said for this reason the battery power will drain down without it being used.  I find this as an issue and problem I dont need and is unacceptable. As had mentioned in my posts in the this community , I had comparing with three other world renowned portable Bluetooth speakers I have in my house (makes: MARSHALlL, JBL, IKEA-ENEBY) All of them keep full charge (on average approx. at 98% charge) even when it is powering off and not used for one month and Marshall scoring the best (99%) and is able to run for more than 5 hrs of play for a few days after a month not being used and the others near this the same too. 

 

As mentioned in my threads above (Please read the above thread history )  I am using all Sono Roam accessories products  purchased form Sonos direct and not a 3rd party charger products or from Amazon. 

(i.e. Sonos Roam Wireless Charging Set with its own dedicated AC wall Plug with lead supplied  purchase separately at cost for £44 GBP. also tried using the other method using the USB C lead supplied with the  Sonos Roam, and with the issues mentioned. As I have mentioned in my earlier thread above (please read) and the same problem highlighted by the person in the above thread “ MVM 1969 mentioned” and by many in the Forum here and else where of the same issue. 

So have you not contacted Sonos Support to discuss the issue with them? - maybe the unit or charger is faulty.

I can only speak from my own experience and both my Roams are working/charging fine here. If you’re not happy with the device then simply speak to Staff via the usual link here:

https://support.sonos.com/s/contact

@petridish38,

Just to add then, this 3rd-party dual Qi certified charger (see link below), which I got from Amazon, is currently working okay with the Roam for me. Whilst it is a ‘fast’ Qi charger that supports upto 2 x 10w power output, the Roam will only charge (wirelessly) at a ‘standard’ 5w anyway.

I personally prefer to use a 5v/3A (15w) PD USB-C charger, as those will quickly charge the Roam fully in approx. 2hrs-30mins from ‘empty’.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QYSHM8P

I have tried literally five different wireless charging pads, and even bought a $30 USB charging brick with 12W of power for each port and only plugged in one wireless charging pad. The Roam will charge for a bit, but if left for a few hours or overnight, it will be down to 30% despite being in idle mode with no music playing just sitting on the wireless charging pad.

This is a video of what my unit is experiencing: https://youtu.be/1aSs2OulQEM

The power output is too low - it’s only 5V/1A. You need a minimum of 5V/1.5A (as stated on the Sonos.com FAQ) - I would suggest using between 5V/2A to 3A power output, to charge the Roam.

Userlevel 1
Badge +1

I have tried literally five different wireless charging pads, and even bought a $30 USB charging brick with 12W of power for each port and only plugged in one wireless charging pad. The Roam will charge for a bit, but if left for a few hours or overnight, it will be down to 30% despite being in idle mode with no music playing just sitting on the wireless charging pad.

This is a video of what my unit is experiencing: https://youtu.be/1aSs2OulQEM

The power output is too low - it’s only 5V/1A. You need a minimum of 5V/1.5A (as stated on the Sonos.com FAQ) - I would suggest using between 5V/2A to 3A power output, to charge the Roam.

Thanks for the reply. Though it contradicts the email I got from Sonos support today. Here is a quote from that email: “Roam can only accept up to 5W rated wireless chargers. Third-party wireless chargers rated 10W and 15W will work, but they won't charge Roam any faster than a 5W wireless charger.”

Also, I specifically bought that wireless charger because it is a 10W charger (after 5V-1A, notice it says 9v-1.1A which is 10 watts). It is qi certified and the Sonos marketing material on the website says that any qi certified charger will work.

My Sonos Roam only gain 48% of battery in 10 hours with the Sonos Roam original wireless charger.

Am I getting a faulty unit?