Picture of the Battery button on the Sony SRS XG500 boombox speaker.

How to Check Sony Speaker Battery

Covers how to check the battery inside most Sony speaker models, and also, how to know if the battery life is decreasing over time.

How to Check Sony Speaker Battery, Current Charge

1. First, Turn ON the Sony Speaker

You won’t be able to read battery charge status unless the speaker is ON.

The -Power- button on the Sony SRS XB33 speaker. How to Check Sony SRS XB33 Battery.
Sony SRS XB33 speaker -Power- button.

To turn on the speaker, press and release the Power button, pointed at by the yellow arrow in the last picture. We’re using the XB33 speaker here.  But this carries over to practically all other speaker models in the lineup.

The status lamp should then light, as we see next, and the speaker may make a two-beep sound. It may also announce in a female voice or play a chime if it pairs to a nearby device.  If it does not boot, then the battery could be completely dead.

Picture of the -Power- lamp lit up.
The -Power- lamp lit up.

But as long as there’s some energy in the battery, the speaker should power up.  When it does, move on to the next step.

2. Look at the CHG Lamp on the Speaker

Note that most Sony speakers have no visual battery percentage gauge to let you know exactly how much charge is left. But some models give you an audio readout of battery capacity.

However, you can tell if the battery is on the verge of going dead without getting the speaker to speak it to you. Do this by looking at the CHG lamp. When the battery is not critically low, this lamp is dark. But when the speaker has very little charge left, the CHG lamp flashes orange. The next picture shows the lamp location.

Picture of the glowing -CHARGE- lamp.
The -CHARGE- light lit up.

How to Check Battery on Sony Speaker, Overall Battery Condition

When the speaker is new, and using a full power USB charger, the battery charge time is anywhere from around three (3) to eight (8) hours, again depending on the speaker model you have, to reach a complete charge. Check the exact charge time for your Sony speaker, found in its specs sheet or help guide.

And, the fully charged battery should last for anywhere from four to twenty-four (24) hours of play time before going dead, when played at moderate volume levels. Again, this depends on the model you have.  In our case here on the XB33, we should get around fourteen (14) hours of play per charge when running at higher volumes and with the Extra Bass mode running. The party lights flashing also further shortens the play time per recharge.

Now a sign of a bad battery, is that the speaker goes dead too fast, or takes too few or too many hours to completely charge. So if you fully charge your speaker, but it only plays for under two hours before dying, the battery may be bad, and unable to hold enough charge anymore.

If the Sony speaker battery takes longer than ten (ten) hours to fully recharge, this could also mean curtains for the battery.  It might mean too, that the charger you’re using is not strong enough to recharge the speaker in the specified recharge time. To be sure, try a different charger that you know to be good.

Also, slow charging can happen because your charge cord is too thin.  So for best outcomes, we recommend a full-current USB cable (the thickest you can get, and the shortest that is practical). 

Other Sony Speaker Posts

    1. What Is Stamina Mode on Sony Speaker
    2. What Is WPC on Sony Speaker
    3. What Is ST Pair on Sony Speaker
    4. How to Turn Off Lights on a Sony Speaker
    5. What Is WPC on Sony Speaker
    6. How to Reset Sony Speaker SRS-XB23

Related Posts to How to Check Sony SRS XB33 Battery

    1. Checking the Battery in the Sony SRS XB22
    2. How to Test the Battery in the Sony SRS XB21

References for How to Check Sony SRS XB33 Battery

    1. Sony Speakers Manual Page at Sony.com

Change History

    • 2023-03-02: First published.