How to Charge Sony XB 13

Sony SRS XB13 CHARGE lamp glowing.

This piece covers how to charge the Sony XB 13 extra bass portable Bluetooth speaker. Do this easily through the USB power in port, behind the water resistant door, shown in the pictures below. Note that you can still play your XB 13 mini speaker as it charges, without significantly increasing the recharge time.

First, pick a strong enough USB power adapter, as no charger comes with the Sony XB 13. Next, connect a medium to high current USB-C charge cable between the speaker and that adapter (the speaker comes with a short USB-C to USB-A cord). Then, plug the charger into a working wall outlet. Then after four to five hours, your XB 13 finishes charging. So it’s ready to play once more for up to sixteen (16) hours before needing another recharge.

How to Charge Sony XB 13, Step by Step

1. Choose Correctly Sized AC or Car Adapter

The charger you use should provide 5 volts and at least 0.5 amps (2.5 watts), and at most 2.4 amps (15 watts). Here, we use a Key Power model HDD15-3-PD USB power delivery system. Now as mentioned, this speaker needs roughly half an amp current to recharge fully in a reasonably short time. So ths Key Power unit suplies way more than enough power to do the job.

2. Open the Port Cover

Use a fingernail, dime, penny, or small screwdriver to work open the waterproof seal port cover on the XB 13. See the closed power port door in the next picture. Be careful not to scratch the delicate seal around the inside edge of this door.

The Sony XB 13 closed port compartment cap.

Prying open this door exposes the USB-C charging port inside, as shown next, pointed at by the green arrow.

The Sony XB 13 USB-C DC input port.

3. Power OFF the Unit to Continue with How to Charge Sony XB 13

Note that the XB 13 still charges when powered ON. But depending on how much above-and-beyond recharging capacity your charger supplies, the speaker might charge a little faster when turned OFF.

4. Plug the USB-C Cord into the Speaker

Then, plug the matching end of a USB-C charge cable into the port, as seen in the next shot.

The USB-C charge cord inserted into speaker.

5. Plug the Other End of the USB Cable into your Charger Adapter

Next, connect the matching end of the USB power cable to the AC or car adapter.

6. Plug the USB Adapter into a Working Wall Receptacle to Continue with How to Charge Sony XB 13

Now that we connected the XB 13 and our adapter, we then plug the mains end of the adapter into a working AC outlet, as shown next. We plugged ours into a surge protecting power strip.

The Sony XB 13 on the charge.

The status lamp lights up solid orange on the speaker. And while no battery status gauge shows percentage of charge, the glowing CHARGE lamp means that charging is occurring, as shown next.

The CHARGE lamp glowing.

7. Let the XB 13 Charge Until the Orange CHARGE Light Goes Out

Full battery charging is finished when the solid red status lamp near the bottom of the speaker turns off, as shown next.

The CHARGE lamp is OFF (dark).

8. Unplug the USB-C Charge Cable from the Speaker, to Continue with How to Charge Sony XB 13

9. Fully Close the Port Door / Cap

Note that unless you seat the port cap securely, water may soak its USB-C charging port. And, since water and electronics generally do not go well together, getting that connector wet might damage the sensitive contacts inside. So be sure to press the port door closed with enough force to fully seat it, for maximum moisture protection.

The speaker with its closed port compartment cap.