Covers how to check Sony XB 13 Battery, and also, how to know how much its capacity is shortening over time.
How to Check Sony XB 13 Battery: Current Charge
1. First, Turn ON the XB 13
You won’t be able to read battery charge status unless the speaker is ON.
To turn on the speaker, press and release the Power button, pointed at by the green arrow in the last picture. It’s the button farthest to the left on the button panel.
The little lamp right above the Power button should then light up green, as shown next, and the speaker may make a two-beep sound if it pairs to a nearby device. If it does not turn on, then the battery could be completely dead.
But as long as there’s some juice in the battery, the speaker should power up. Then when it does, move ahead to the next step.
2. Look at the CHARGE Lamp on the XB 13
Note that this speaker has no battery gauge to communicate exactly how much charge it has left. But you can at least, tell if the battery is on the verge of going dead by way of the CHARGE lamp. When the battery is not critically low, this lamp is dark when the speaker is running. But when the speaker has very little charge left, the CHARGE lamp flashes orange during play.
E.g. The next picture shows the lamp location, just below and to the left of the Power button.
How to Check Sony XB 13 Battery: Overall Battery Condition
When the speaker is new, and using a full power USB charger, the battery charge time is about four and a half (4.5) hours to reach a full charge.
And, the fully charged battery should last for around sixteen (16) hours of play time before going dead, when played at moderate volume levels, five (5) playing hours when you listen at full volume.
A sign of a bad battery, is that it goes dead too fast, or takes too little or too much time to fully charge. So if you fully charge your speaker, but it only plays for under twelve hours before dying, its battery may be headed toward badness, and unable to hold a full charge anymore.
If the XB 13 battery takes longer than six hours to completely recharge, this could also mean a failing battery. It might mean also, that the charger you’re using is not hefty enough to recharge the speaker in the specified charge time of 4.5 hours. Test this by using a different but known-good charger.
Also, elongated charging might happen because your charge lead is too thin. So for best results, we recommend a full-current USB cord (one that easily carries 2.1 amps).