The right front view of the Sony SRS xB31 speaker.

Sony SRS XB31 Battery Life

Covers how to check battery life and level on the Sony Extra Bass SRS XB31 Bluetooth speaker, and also, how to know if the battery life is degrading over time.

Sony SRS XB31 Battery Life, Current Charge

1. First, Turn ON the XB31

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

Picture of the -Power- button on the Sony SRS XB31 speaker.
Sony SRS XB31 speaker -Power- button.

To turn on the unit, press and release the Power / Pairing button, pointed at by the green arrow in the last picture. It’s the round button closest to the right edge of the buttons panel.

The lamp just above this button should then light up white, as we see next, and the speaker may make a two-beep ding-dong sound if it pairs to a nearby device.  If it does not turn on, then the battery could be completely dead.

Picture of the -Power- lamp glowing.
The -Power- lamp glowing.

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

2. Have the Speaker Speak Battery Percentage Full

The BATT button we find on the back, inside the ports compartment, as we see next.  When you punch this, the 31 announces the percentage of battery power left as compared to when the battery has full charge.

The -BATT- button on the Sony SRS XB31 speaker.
Sony SRS XB31 speaker -BATT- button.

The announcements made when you press this button are as follows

    • 70% or greater: The speaker says, “Battery fully charged.”
    • 50% or greater: The speaker says, “Battery about 70%.”
    • 20% or greater: The speaker says, “Battery about 50%.”
    • 10% or greater: The speaker says, “Battery about 20%.”
    • Less than 10%: The speaker says, “Please charge.”

3. Look at the CHARGE Lamp on the XB 31

Or, you can at at least tell at a glance if the battery is on the verge of going dead by way of the CHARGE lamp. When the battery is not too low, this lamp is dark. But when the speaker is running but has very little charge left, this lamp flashes orange. The next picture shows the lamp location.  It’s also in the ports compartment, just above the micro USB charging port.

Picture of the orange glowing -CHARGE- light.
The -CHARGE- lamp glowing orange.

Sony SRS XB31 Battery Life, Overall Battery Condition

When the speaker is new, and using a USB charger that can supply at least 1.5 amps, the battery charge time is about five (5.0) hours to reach a full charge.

And, the fully charged battery should last for about twenty-four (24) hours of music time before going dead, when you play it at low to moderate volume levels with the party lights OFF, the sound mode is set to STANDARD, and the speaker is neither too hot nor too cold.

A sign of a limping battery, is that it goes dead too quickly, or takes too little or too much time to fully recharge. So if you fully charge your speaker, but it repeatedly only plays for under twenty hours before dying, its battery may be bad, and unable to hold a full charge anymore.

If the SRS XB31 battery takes longer than seven (7.0) hours to completely recharge, this could also mean a dying battery.  It might mean as well, that the charger you’re using is not strong enough to recharge the speaker in the specified recharge time.

Also, slow charging can happen because your charge cord is too thin.  So for best results, we suggest a high capacity USB cable (one that easily carries at least 2 amps). 

Other Posts About the Sony SRS XB31

    1. How to Connect Sony SRS XB31 BT Speaker to an Alexa Smart Speaker
    2. Sony XB31 Watts RMS Output, Input, Battery, Adapter…
    3. The Sony SRS XB21 Speaker and How to Turn it On
    4. Pairing the Sony SRS XB21 Speaker with an iPhone
    5. How to Check Sony XB21 Battery Condition

Related Posts to Sony SRS XB31 Battery Life

    1. SRS XB23 Sony Speaker Battery Life
    2. Sony SRS XB22 Battery Condition Tests
    3. Sony SRS XB21 Battery Life
    4. Battery Life on the Sony SRS XB20 BT Party Speaker
    5. Sony SRS XB13 Battery Life, How Much Music Time

References for Sony SRS XB23 Battery Life

    1. Sony XB31 SRS Speaker Support Page at Sony.com

Change History

    • 2022-09-05: First published.