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Roam gets warm when charging


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Hi

 

Got my Roam today and liking it a lot. I’ve had it charging on a wireless charger for 12+ hours and it is showing as fully charged. Was a bit concerned to find it is fairly warm this evening despite not being used for 4-5 hours. This suggests the battery is being charged even though it is at 100% which won’t do it any good. 
 

Or is this normal for speakers that are powered up but inactive? 
 

thanks. 

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Best answer by James L. 22 April 2021, 11:32

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14 replies

Userlevel 7

Don’t have my Roams yet so can’t say what is or is not normal. You can call Sonos tech support for a definitive answer. In the meantime try putting your Roam into sleep mode. It won’t power off completely but will reduce battery use.

Userlevel 3
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I received my first Roam on Monday and my second Roam on Tuesday.  Both times they were warm while charging and still warm at the end of the day.  But the next day the temperature was fine.  They are fine right now and they are constantly sitting on Qi pads.

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Thanks for the replies.  When I say the Roam is getting warm, it is very mildly warm, certainly not hot.  I’ll leave it on a Qi pad for the day, with it turned on but not playing anything, and see how it goes.

 

Loving the Roam though, great sound for such a small speaker.  I’ve also got a Move, which does sound better as you’d expect, but if I was buying one portable speaker, it would be the Roam every time.  YMMV.

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Hey @peteyd,

 

It is normal for the Roam to become warm while charging, especially around the base of the unit where the batteries are located. However, it should never become too hot to touch and does have internal mechanisms to shut off if the temperature gets too high to prevent any damage. :slight_smile:

I also noticed that Roam becomes warm and stays warm after being plugged for a long time, even after when the battery is fully charged. Not something hot but definitely noticeable. Charging should not happen anymore at around 100%, no?

edit: using the cable in my case

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I discovered today, after smelling burning wax/plastic in my kitchen for two days, that the USB-C charging cable that was plugged into the Roam charging on the kitchen counter had melted, leaving the tip of the cable still connected to the Roam (surrounded by some bubbly plastic)

 

I opened a support ticket today, but this is not cool.

Userlevel 7
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but this is not cool.

Not to in any way diminish the seriousness of the problem you describe, but this is worded nicely!

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Hi @Kwiss,

 

I agree, that’s definitely not something that should happen when charging your Roam. We take these kinds of situations very seriously and our support team will do everything to make this situation right for you. Please continue communication with them when they reach back out to you via your support ticket.

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our support team will do everything to make this situation right for you

 

I really hope so.  I can’t stress enough how panicked/concerned I am that this could’ve turned into a VERY bad situation if I hadn’t noticed.  I was hoping to take this new Roam on our vacation next Friday with us.  At the very least, I’m hoping support will expedite a new unit that will get here before then.

 

It would be extra nice if they included a USB C power adapter as well (Sonos branded)

 

It may be worth mentioning here that my friend also ordered a Roam and when he received his, the included charging cable wouldn't charge his device at all - making me think there could be a widespread issue with the cables that ship with these units?  Just throwing that out there.

 

Userlevel 2
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Leaving the decision with user on which charging block to use, since it didn’t come with one, is a flaw with the roam release. If you don’t have the right one, it may not charge, get hot, or behave strangely. I’m betting there are parameters for power and not just requirements. Meaning, if we, the consumer, choose the wrong one of our dozens of blocks to charge the roam, assuming they are all the same, it will have issues. Why a $3 COGS decision on a release like this? Just include the right charging block Sonos!?!!! Oh, and im a shareholder so not excited about the many customer complaints I am seeing. 

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FYI I have the same issue with my roam.  Melting around the USB port.  It now only has a blinking red light (solid when a charger is plugged in).  On the phone with Sonos right now trying to get it RMA’d.  Also Alexa has never worked on this unit (no it wasn’t muted and it was set up in the Alexa app, I own a ton of Sonos products, a few with Alexa).

 

After 41:17 on the phone and 84 questions of which 76 were either repeats or ridiculous, I am now awaiting an email with RMA info.  Whoever wrote the CSR scripts should at least make them specific to the product.  I’m being asked about devices connected to the inputs and outputs that don’t exist and the non-existent power cord.  

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...and several hours later, an email request for more pictures from the CSR I talked to instead of RMA info.

robr,

This melting could be caused by a defective cable. A defective cable can also result in failure to charge. Have you tried using a different USB cable?

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Yes, a different cable when plugged in results in a solid red light.  Unplugging it I get a blinking red.

Also as Alexa has never functioned from day 1, the unit has other issues.  I was willing to live without Alexa, but now it’s dead and won’t turn on even after charging it with a known good charger and cable for 16 hours.