The dark -CHARGE- light after charging on the Sony SRS X11 speaker.

Sony Cube Speaker Not Charging

Most Sony Bluetooth speakers, including the tiny cube model, offer truly portable operation via their lithium ion batteries inside. And when said battery dies, you can recharge the speaker with an AC or car adapter. Sometimes though, you may notice that the Sony cube wireless speaker is not charging fully, or at all, even when you connect the adapter to power, and then to the speaker.  To solve that, we’re here to help.

How to Tell that the Sony Cube Speaker is Not Charging

Read the CHARGE Lamp

Among the ways you can tell that the cube is not charging, is by reading the orange CHARGE lamp on the rear bottom edge of the speaker.  Now this light is normally dark. But starts flashing orange during play, when the battery is going low.

But there’s a problem if this flashing keeps up, even when you attach the charger.  Why?  Because the lamp should change at this point though, to solid orange.  When the light stops blinking, and assumes a steady orange glow, this means that the speaker is getting at least some power from the adapter. But if the orange pulsing continues once you connect the charger, then correct recharging is likely not happening.

Furthermore, this light shows battery charging status while recharging.  I.e. As long as charging moves forward, this lamp also keeps glowing solid orange.  And it goes out when charging ends.  But if that CHARGE lamp keeps glowing after several hours of recharging, then chances are, charging is not going well.

Feel The Heat

You can also feel the power supply’s case fifteen or so minutes after connecting it to the speaker.  At that time, it should feel warm. But if you detect no warmth, then again, the Sony cube speaker is likely not charging. Note that also, the speaker itself might warm a bit as well during recharge.

Thus when you notice this problem, you’ll want to determine what’s wrong and how to resolve it.  So in this post, we offer reasons why the Sony cube speaker may not charge when you apply power.  Then we give possible fixes for this often observed problem.





 Sony Cube Speaker Not Charging, Reasons and Fixes

As we stated above, it’s normal that the CHARGE lamp pulses orange when the battery inside is about dead.  But again, the light should switch to a solid orange glow when you connect the cube to the charger, and the charger to a power outlet.

Picture of the -CHARGE- lamp glowing orange on the Sony cube speaker.
The Sony cube speaker -CHARGE- light glowing orange.

Or, once recharging finishes, this light goes dark. See this in the next picture.

The dark -CHARGE- light after charging on the Sony cube speaker.
Sony cube speaker -CHARGE- lamp OFF after charging.

If the light does not change to a continuous orange glow when you plug the charger into the cube, then several things might cause this. We list these below thus.

1.The Power Outlet May Not Be Energized

The Problem

The AC or car adapter for the cube may not output any energy because it is not receiving any to start with. This can happen due to a defective circuit, tripped breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, power failure, and similar issues.

The Fix

Check that your outlet has power by plugging in a lamp or other device.  Then, reset circuit breakers if tripped, and if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then be certain that that switch is in the ON position.  Or, simply try a different outlet.

2. The AC Adapter Has Failed

The Problem

The Sony cube speaker not charging can also happen because the adapter is outputting SOME but not ENOUGH amperage to fully charge the speaker, even though its getting the correct power input from the outlet.

Now as adapters age, their output energy can fall over time. So this power supply might not deliver the correct amount if it is very old.   So you may see the speaker’s CHARGE lamp turn solid orange, but never go dark.

Please note that this cube speaker needs 500 milliamps at 5 volts (2.5 watts) from the adapter to fully recharge in the specified time of 8 hours.  Or, for faster charging, use a 1.5 amp, 5 volt adapter for a 4 hour full charge.  Yet in either case, charging will likely not go as fast as we hope if the charger does not deliver on these requirements.

The Fix

The solution is to replace the adapter, preferably one that can deliver a little more than needed, at 5 volts at 2 amps (10 watts) for consistently fastest charging. Many typical USB power supplies meet these requirements.





3. The Battery in the Sony Cube Speaker is Defective

The Problem

As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to fully recharge, and the characteristics of the charging current they draw, changes as they get older.  Normally, as a battery recharges, it draws less and less current from the charger as it fills. But in the case of cells aging out, it may draw too many or too few amps, thus confusing the speaker’s charging circuits into behaving like no charging is occurring.  So the CHARGE lamp shows that charging is not happening correctly, either by never stopping its solid orange glow, or never turning on when you connect the charger in the first place.

The Fix

To repair this, replace the battery. But realize that you can’t easily get the old one out of this tiny speaker. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must take the cube apart, and this, be assured, is an intricate effort.

Also note that doing this likely breaks the moisture seal.  So the speaker will no longer be safe to use, should you expose it to water afterwards.

Also, breaking this seal may alter the sound quality too. So get someone to replace the battery who knows how to choose the right part. They should also be able to restore the seal to as it was, as they reassemble the speaker.

A good battery should fit well inside the speaker. But we suggest using only Sony certified batteries for this speaker.

4. The Unit Itself Might be Defective when the Sony Cube Speaker Is Not Charging

The Problem

Even if you have the proper power supply, with a working battery in the speaker, the charge current that actually gets to the battery may be too small or too large.  This can happen when the battery maintenance circuits inside the cube go amiss.  Note that these systems read the battery status, and switch off the charging current when they deem the battery full.

But when they go bonkers, the battery might see no power at all though the power supply itself is okay.  Thus, the speaker never charges.  Again, in this case, the Power lamp might never stop blinking, even with the charger connected. You may also see that the speaker doesn’t play as long before going dead, if at all, until you connect the charger. Or it might not play at all, even with the charger connected.

The Fix

The best answer here, is simply to get a new Sony cube speaker.  Why?  Because the electronics in this model are very small.  So unless you can replace the system board(s) yourself, or know someone who can, just buy another speaker to save a bunch of mental tension.

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Other Posts About Sony Cube Speakers

    1. Sony Cube Speaker Reset Instructions
    2. How to Pair Sony Cube SRS X11 Bluetooth Speaker
    3. How to Connect the Sony SRS X11 Cube to iPhone
    4. Sony Cube Speaker Charging Instructions
    5. How to Make Sony Cube Speaker Discoverable

References for Sony Cube Speaker Not Charging

    1. Sony Cube Speaker Official Support Page at Sony.com
    2. Where to Buy the Sony Cube Speaker

Revision History

    • 2022-08-04: First posted.