Sonos Roam - Battery drain


Userlevel 3

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 🙂!


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278 replies

Same here. Played Some music for 2 a 3 hours. The battery is draining way too fast to after   voice assist and trueplay disabled.

So what happend with the 10 days stand-by time? 

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I find my new Roam lost 10% overnight,while it was turned off.It took 2 hours of charging with a standard charger and still was only at 85%…...Hmm?

I’d be pretty disapointed if Sonos released a product that was not fully developed….

Hmm? The stock has gone up significantly,but I hope not at the expense of loyal customers.

I have quite a few other Sonos products.

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

Same here -- down to 91% in 8 hours (over night) -- from full 100% charge; no Sonos app usage overnight.  (I don’t use Google Assistant).  And it was in sleep mode.  

So this means about 25% battery drain per day WITHOUT any usage of the Sonos App - while the Roam is in sleep mode.   Which means we are looking at roughly 4 - 5 days in sleep mode (not 10 days), before battery drains!!

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I spoke to a Sonos rep,who claimed the unit should drain 10% overnight normally.He also said many of the issues are caused by using the charger that comes with the typical i- phones.

I played music today for 25 minutes,or so and it only seemed to drain by about 7%…..I played the Roam at 2/3 of it’s volume,so that does not seem to bad….but…..i can’t wait to see how much drainage I have tomorrow.

The thing does sound fabulous though! I use mine as a rear ambience speaker for my pair of Play 5’s and Sub…...Overall it’s a superb product and is about as detailed as the Play 5’s…...Makes me wonder how good the next gen Play 5 can be,if Sonos wanted to really upgrade it.

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

I spoke to a Sonos rep,who claimed the unit should drain 10% overnight normally.He also said many of the issues are caused by using the charger that comes with the typical i- phones.

I played music today for 25 minutes,or so and it only seemed to drain by about 7%…..I played the Roam at 2/3 of it’s volume,so that does not seem to bad….but…..i can’t wait to see how much drainage I have tomorrow.

The thing does sound fabulous though! I use mine as a rear ambience speaker for my pair of Play 5’s and Sub…...Overall it’s a superb product and is about as detailed as the Play 5’s…...Makes me wonder how good the next gen Play 5 can be,if Sonos wanted to really upgrade it.

10% overnight = 30% a day (assuming an 8 hour “overnight”).   I think they mean 10% per day (not overnight).   As per day would equal 10 days.  10% overnight  = 4 to 5 days max.

I also think the “10 days” is for those who own a Roam and ONLY a Roam (no other Sonos product).  So they are not using the Sonos app otherwise, and thereby not periodically waking the Roam.    I however, own a stereo pair Ones (for my Office), and single Ones in the Kitchen and bedroom.   Also, a Port in the Family Room.

Userlevel 5
Badge +8

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.

 

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

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.

Userlevel 5
Badge +8

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 :)

 

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

First off….What’s the difference in the pushing of the power button between sleep mode and just wanting it off?…...I was told by a Sonos rep to hold the power button for 7 seconds to get it to turn off.

 

 

Off Is off. Sleep is ‘waiting for a wireless signal to wake up fully”, so there is still some energy consumption. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

First off….What’s the difference in the pushing of the power button between sleep mode and just wanting it off?…...I was told by a Sonos rep to hold the power button for 7 seconds to get it to turn off.

 

 

Sleep mode allows it to be awakened by use of the Sonos app (for any purpose, even if not using the Roam); or if you put it on a wireless charger or plugged it in to charge.  Power off means it’s totally off - dead to the world. 

Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I’ve almost had it with the Roam. This is sad because it will be the first Sonos product I haven’t absolutely loved and had to return. 
 

The latest issue is it consistently fails to appear on the list of airplay devices (despite appearing on the Sonos app) and when I can get it to appear, sound stutters through it when playing. 
 

it just seems riddled with issues and maybe rushed to market. 
 

Besides all the various tech reviewers in cahoots with the industry giving it glowing reviews, did anyone actually test this device out prior to launch? Like, normally, properly. 

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

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.

Userlevel 4
Badge +4

I’m a bit confused(if you knew me you’d not be too surprised….Ha)…..

I play my system,which consists of 2 Play 5 gen 2’s and the Sub….and...ONLY use the Roam as a rear channel ambience speaker(placed about 6 feet behind my listening position)….

It sounds absolutely fantastic….but….I turn it off completely and in a 16 hour period of time it lost maybe 20% of it’s charge…...I am told(by Sonos) to charge it fully,then run a diagnostics and wait until the battery drains to a low condition again and run a second diagnostics report.

Believe me,I hope everything works out,because this little thing is a weapon in it’s own right.

My luck….I’ll have issues(which I know will be worked out by Sonos as they are a good outfit).

Still,stress is not fun.

Good luck to all

    Mark

Just adding my experience here. I too am disappointed with the battery life. Its advertised as 10 hours playtime. 

However, I want to use it on standby off the charger so appreciated it wouldn’t last the full 10 hours. 

I did a test with 100% charge on Sunday morning. Battery was dead this morning and in the three days of use was only used to play music/stream radio for a total of about 2hrs 40 mins.

 

Is anyone getting better results than that?

 

Steve, UK

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

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.

 

No, I don't think powering it off is the best solution or intended use of the product.  That means you have to physically engage with the Roam to turn it on --  but you should be able to wake it remotely (from another room in the house - like using other Sonos speakers) but ONLY if you want to (not as it is designed now -- where it happens every time you use the Sonos app -- even if you are not intending to use the Roam at that moment).  Some people have many Sonos speakers in various rooms -- not just a Roam.

This design “feature” of waking with App use, was intended by Sonos so that you always had the Roam ready to direct music to, when you want to.  But the miscalculation is that some people (or many per the posts here about the Roam), have systems where they may engage with the Sonos App often throughout the day FOR OTHER SONOS SPEAKERS, but only using the Roam for brief periods (maybe while in the bathroom).   So the waking of the Roam by use of the Sonos App has the unintended effect of prematurely draining the battery. 

So to balance the “ready to use” design, without unnecessary battery drain, it seems the best solution is to have a software button/toggle that you engage in the App to purposefully wake the Roam from sleep mode when you actually want to use the Roam (yes, its one more click, but better than always waking it and draining the battery needlessly).  And for those who don’t mind the always waking the Roam upon using the app -- they could have a toggle to have that switch always on (or something like that).   Always Wake (sleeping) Roam when using App   vs.  Wake (sleeping) Roam when I tell it to via the App

Simple -- get to work on my solution Sonos engineers.  I’ll take just a few pennies per unit as my royalty.   Seems like a fairly easy algorithm to implement.

Userlevel 2
Badge +1

I’ve been reading the numerous battery issues as I am disappointed with the battery performance of the Roam.  It’s still not clear to me if anyone is getting anything like the advertised (up to) 10 days in sleep mode?  It seems that the only way to get near this is to go through the rather clunky ‘power off’ procedure.  Surely that isn’t what Sonos intended?  From the specs it reads that it should provide the 10 days without powering off.  From the FAQs:

What is the battery life of Roam?

Roam offers up to 10 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. When not in use, Roam switches to sleep mode to conserve power, and the battery can last up to 10 days.

I haven’t recorded actual times yet but I’ve had to recharge many time and only used the Roam for a few hours. There is no chance that it would last for 10 days.

This is a shame because everything else about it is great (other than putting too many functions onto the power switch).

Userlevel 7
Badge +15

The whole ‘10 days on standby’ is a rather silly claim as I'm not sure of any real world case you would ever get it.

As it stands, if it is in range of your Sonos system then you won't get even close to it as it will forever be waking up.

And if it's while travelling you may as well switch it off completely to then get close to the life all the other similar speakers give by default.

The irony of the ‘workaround' of keeping your battery powered, portable speaker on charge surely isn't lost on many.

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

I’ve been reading the numerous battery issues as I am disappointed with the battery performance of the Roam.  It’s still not clear to me if anyone is getting anything like the advertised (up to) 10 days in sleep mode?  It seems that the only way to get near this is to go through the rather clunky ‘power off’ procedure.  Surely that isn’t what Sonos intended?  From the specs it reads that it should provide the 10 days without powering off.  From the FAQs:

What is the battery life of Roam?

Roam offers up to 10 hours of continuous playback on a single charge. When not in use, Roam switches to sleep mode to conserve power, and the battery can last up to 10 days.

I haven’t recorded actual times yet but I’ve had to recharge many time and only used the Roam for a few hours. There is no chance that it would last for 10 days.

This is a shame because everything else about it is great (other than putting too many functions onto the power switch).

I’m seeing what looks like maybe 4 to 5 days (MAX) on standby -- even IF Sonos app not engaged during that time.  Less, if Sonos App is engaged (causing the Roam to wake up periodically).

Userlevel 2

My Roam played for 8 hours and 30 minutes. That's okay with me due to the 10 hours it should manage.

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

My Roam played for 8 hours and 30 minutes. That's okay with me due to the 10 hours it should manage.

Different issue - you are talking about #1 only, of the following 2 issues (many in the thread are more concerned about #2):

  1.  total playback time once fully charged
  2.  how long it will last in sleep mode once fully charged (no playback)

I have not experienced battery drain in standby mode because I turn mine off.   However,   even turned off,  the battery was completely drained after 4 days .. to the point where i had to let the Roams charge for 20 minutes before they even turned on..  There must be some kind of background drain even when supposedly turned off ..   I suspect that ‘off’ is not really off but has some kind of process running in the background .. or there’s a bug in the soft ‘off’ switch function.  

RETURNING TO CRUTCHFIELD - Charged unit to 100% and played it for 20 minutes - battery life now  shows 77%!  That’s 1% of life per minute!  So you can play up to 100 minutes! Yay! Brilliant design Sonos! Your dev team are geniuses! Congratulations on this triumph of the 21st century!

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.

Userlevel 5
Badge +9

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.