The right front view of the Sony SRS xB31 speaker.

Sony 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 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 XB31.
Sony XB31 -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 XB31.
Sony XB31 -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 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 Sony XB31 Posts

    1. Sony XB31 Power Button Not Working
    2. How to Make Sony XB31 Discoverable
    3. Sony XB31 Charger Type
    4. Sony XB31 Blinking Orange Light
    5. How to Turn Off Lights on Sony XB31

Related Posts to Sony XB31 Battery Life

    1. Sony XB20 Battery Life
    2. Sony XB23 Battery Life
    3. Sony SRS XB21 Battery Life

References

    1. Official Sony XB31 Support Page
    2. Where to Buy the Sony XB31

Revision History

    • 2023-03-23: First published.