How to tell if Sony SRS XB41 wireless BT speaker is charging? This extra bass speaker has an orange LED light in the rear port and button panel, just above the charging port, as shown in the following picture. This light that Sony labels as the CHARGE light flashes orange when the battery is nearly dead. So it tells battery level (to a degree). When the speaker is not on the charge and this lamp blinks, it means to CHARGE the speaker because the battery will soon go dead. But also, to see if the XB41 is charging, check out this lamp as well. We explain how to read it next.
How to Tell if Sony SRS XB41 is Charging, Step by Step
Connect your XB41 to USB Power
Of course, you can be certain that the speaker is NOT charging with no power cord plugged into the speaker.
Check that the CHARGE LED is Glowing Solid Orange
When the speaker is OFF, you can tell if the Sony SRS XB41 is charging if this light glows steady orange. This lamp continuous glow occurs while charging, when the speaker is either ON, paired, or, OFF. When no charger is present, this light blinks when the battery has about run entirely out of power. Otherwise, it is OFF.
If the SRS XB41 CHARGE lamp flashes when the power cord is connected, then the speaker is likely NOT charging. So you should check that your USB cable, adapter charger, and power source are in working order. Try a new adapter or a known good cord. You want this light glowing solid to know for sure that the XB41 is charging.

Check Speaker Temperature
Additionally, the the XB41 may warm slightly in the rear port area as the speaker charges. Moreover, most charger adapters you run it with will also heat up a bit. This heating is a great sign to tell if the XB41 is indeed charging.
As speaker charging advances toward finish, the CHARGE LED continues glowing. But unlike some of the higher grade wireless speakers, the 41 gives no visual reading of just how far along its recharging is, just that the recharging is still in progress.
But you can hear how charging is progressing by pressing the BATT button, also located in the rear port panel. Pressing this button causes the XB41 to speak the current percentage of charge in the battery, in a female voice.

So as time passes during charging, you can press this button periodically to see if the battery is getting fuller. If the percentage number announced increases over time, then this is another great indicator the the speaker is charging.
When the CHARGE LED Goes Out, Charging is Done
The battery charge cycle is finished when the CHARGE LED goes dark, as we see in the next picture.

Even with the charger cord still supplying power, and when the XB41 is OFF or ON, the CHARGE lamp stops glowing when the internal battery is full. We see this in the last picture above. The speaker indeed no longer recharges when the battery reaches full charge condition and this light shuts off. If this light shuts off after several hours, then this is another hint that the XB41 was indeed charging while the light was ON.
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Revision History
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- 2021-09-26: First posted.