Best answer: No, the rechargeable battery in the Sonos Roam is not removable. By sealing the battery into the speaker, it helps with the device's water- and dust-resistance.
What happens when the Sonos Roam's battery is drained?
As one of the best smart speaker manufacturers, it was time for Sonos to break into the small portable speaker arena — enter the Sonos Roam. Sonos released the Move in late 2019 and recently announced a battery replacement kit for it but is the Sonos Roam battery removable too? Unfortunately, when the 18Wh battery dies, you won't be able to swap it out for a fresh one.
While the battery does offer up to 10-hours of playback time, just because the battery has lost its juice doesn't mean that you can't keep the music going. Sonos included multiple ways to power up your Roam either via USB-C, a yet-to-be-released magnetic dock, or by using one of the best Qi wireless chargers. When using a 10W USB-C charger, not only will it power the speaker so you can keep listening, it will charge it up so you can be ready to go in no time.
Though it can be a bit of a bummer that the battery is sealed into the Sonos Roam, there are some benefits. One is that there are small cost savings associated with not making the battery swappable. A removable battery would require additional parts for making a slot or door to open as well as casing for the battery itself — amongst other engineering and material costs. Another benefit is that sealing up the battery compartment makes the Roam more water-resistant.
How water-resistant is the Sonos Roam?
The Roam isn't the first speaker that Sonos has made that carried a water-resistance rating. The Sonos Move and its IP56-certification hold that honor. For the Roam, Sonos took the speaker's ability to withstand dust and water even further with an IP67-certification. Doing so makes the Roam a better companion to go places with you for reasons more than just its smaller size compared to the Move.
These IP ratings may look similar, but each has its own bit of separation from the other. While the Move can handle a bit of dust and a splash of water here and there, its lower certification means that you wouldn't want to subject it to much more. The Sonos Roam, however, can take on more of the elements thanks to its IP67 rating. To better clarify what these numbers mean, here's what you can expect the Roam to be able to withstand:
- First digit 6: Dust-tight. No ingress of dust.
- Second digit 7: * Protection against the effects of immersion in water between 1cm and 1 m for 30 minutes.*
So, while you can remove the Roam from your home and take it with you to even more places than you've been able to with previous Sonos speakers, you won't be removing the battery.
Locked up tight
Don't let the Sonos Roam's slight package fool you into thinking it's going to have a small sound too. Sonos brought its outstanding audio quality to the Roam along with excellent dust and water protection, but it didn't bring the option of a removable battery.
