Picture of the Sony SRS XB43 Extra Bass speaker CHARGE light glowing.

Sony XB43 Battery Indicator

In this post, we describe how to read the battery indicator lamp and get battery charge percentage numbers from the Sony XB43.

First, this speaker has a battery level indicator LED on the top button panel, as we’ll see in the following pictures.  This displays battery status, sort of. E.g. Whether it’s draining or charging, or whether it’s critically low or not when discharging.  But it neither reads out charging progress, nor how full the battery is at a given time while charging or draining. However, it does flash when the battery reaches near-dead state.

But on this particular speaker, you can get a more precise reading of how full the battery by pressing the battery level button on the back of the speaker, and have the speaker speak the actual battery percentage to you. We cover both ways to tell how much charge the battery has below.

Sony XB43 Battery Indicator: How to Read the Light

1. The Lamp is OFF 

The battery level / charging (CHARGE) lamp is dark in the following situations:

    1. When you power down the XB43 without the charger connected.
    2. When the charger IS connected but the battery finished recharging, as shown next.
    3. And finally, the CHARGE light is OFF when the speaker itself is powered ON, but the battery is fuller than critically low. The lamp is dark as long as the battery does not yet need charging in this case.

Each of these light states gives you some indication of battery charge status.

Picture of the Sony XB43, dark Charge lamp.,
Sony XB43, dark Charge lamp.

2. The Sony XB43 Battery Indicator Light Blinks Orange

With the charger not connected, the XB43 powered ON, and the battery having very little energy left, the CHARGE light starts flashing orange.  This means that the speaker will soon shut off due to a dead battery and that you should put it on the charge soon.





3. Sony XB43 Battery Indicator Doubles as a Charging Light

The CHARGE lamp lights up orange (no flashing) as the XB43 charges, as we see in the next picture.   On this speaker, this glowing light is the only visual means of knowing that recharging is going on.  But it does not display how far along the charging is. To get this, use the battery percentage button in the button and port compartment on the back of the speaker.

Sony XB43 Extra Bass speaker CHARGE light glowing.

Also note that this light should never flash while charging is in progress.  If it does, then either your charger is not working well, your USB cable is bad, or some problems exists inside the speaker.

4. When the Light Goes Out While Charging, Then Charging is Done

As speaker charging continues, the light keeps glowing,  But eventually, battery recharging finishes, and the battery indicator lamp goes out to show this.  It turns off when the speaker is not ON, and stays OFF when the XB43 is ON.

5. The Sony XB43 Battery Indicator Lamp Is Not Much of a Charge Remaining Meter

When unplugged from the charger, what was the charging indicator becomes the battery charge left indicator.  Well again, sort of.  If it is dark when the speaker is ON, then the battery has some amount of play time left, although you cannot tell how much.

How to Get Audio Percentage from Sony XB43 Battery Indicator

You can have the speaker “speak” to you the approximate percentage of battery power left in the 43.  Hear the female voice say this by pressing the BATT button in the back of the speaker. Now there are three buttons inside the ports compartment, and the button to press is the first button on the left as you face this compartment.

The Light-Batt- Button on the Sony SRS XB 43 speaker.
The Sony SRS XB 43 -Light-Batt- button.

When you press this LIGHT-BATT button, the speaker will say back one of the following.

    • When the battery has 80% or more charge, the speaker says, “Battery fully charged.”
    • When it has 60% to 80%, it says, “Battery about 70%.”
    • When it has 40% to 60%, it says, “Battery about 50%.”
    • When it has 20% to 40%, it says,  “Battery about 30%”
    • And when the battery has less than 20%, the speaker says,  “Please charge.”

Related Posts to Sony XB43 Battery Indicator

    1. Sony XB13 Battery Indicator
    2. Sony XB33 Battery Indicator
    3. JBL Flip Battery Indicator
    4. Sony XB31 Battery Indicator
    5. Sony XB20 Battery Indicator

Other Sony XB43 Posts

    1. Sony XB43 Specs
    2. How to Turn Off Lights on Sony XB43
    3. How to Make Sony XB43 Discoverable
    4. Sony XB43 Orange Light Stays On
    5. How to Pair Sony XB43 with iPhone

References

    1. Official Sony XB43 Support Page
    2. Where to Buy the Sony XB43

Revision History

    • 2023-03-28: First published.