Here, we detail the software update procedure for the Sony XE200. This exercise can take ten (10) to fifteen (15) minutes depending on the speed of your internet connection, speed of the update source device, distance between speaker and that device, Etc. Plus, you cannot reverse the update once you install it. That is, you’ll be unable to return to the old software after you finish this upgrade. So, be sure that you indeed want the update, and have thought through all ramifications before proceeding.
Sony XE200 Software Update: Preparations
You’ll need the following items:
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- High speed internet connection,
- Bluetooth enabled mobile device,
- The Sony Music Center app that runs on said mobile device,
- The Sony XE200 BT speaker you’re updating.
- Compatible power adapters and charge cables for your speaker and mobile device.
Sony XE200 Software Update: Summary
Next, do the following to update the speaker. In short…
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- Connect your mobile device to the internet. For fastest updating, we suggest using WiFi for this work, and not your cellular connection.
- Get the Sony Music Center app if you haven’t already.
- Then, plug your XE200 and your mobile device to AC power. Why? Because we don’t want either of their batteries dying while updating the software. In fact, a low battery could install corrupt software. This could, and probably would, brick the speaker. This would then likely render the unit useless and non repairable. So once again, connect the speaker to power before proceeding to prevent this !
- Disconnect any other Bluetooth speakers and devices from your source device for this process.
- Then, power up your speaker and source device, if not already running.
- Next, pair your source device with the XE200.
- Run the Sony Music Center app. The app should then find your speaker and display the home screen for the XE200, showing that a software update is available.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the update.
Sony XE200 Software Update: Step by Step Details
1. Connect the XE200 and your Mobile Device to AC Power
We connected ours to an AC outlet using the power supply that comes with the unit. E.g. See this in the next picture.
You’ll know that the speaker is receiving external power if you see the charging light glowing orange.
2. Pair the XE200 with your Source Device
Connect the speaker to your phone / tablet where you will run the update. Here’s an example screenshot of the XE200 connected to a test iPad.
Now keep both the speaker and your mobile device powered up and close to each other throughout the update, lest the update fail and result in a malfunctioning speaker.
3. Find the Sony Music Center App on your Source Device
We made a folder for all of Bluetooth speaker apps and put the Sony Music Center app in there on our test iPad, as you see in the next picture.
4. Run the Sony Music Center App to Continue with the Sony XE200 Software Update
As the app runs, it scans the host device running it for compatible Sony speakers. Wo, the app needs a brief period to find the XE 200. But eventually, it does so, and displays its status screen, as we show next.
Now if the speaker does not appear in the app after thirty seconds or so, move it closer to your mobile device. Then close the Music Center app, and run it again.
Note the tan bar on the XE200’s home screen. This appears only when a software update is available for this speaker.
Note that if there are no updates pending for the 300, then you will see no brown bar. This situation we show in the next picture.
5. Tap the More Info Button Inside the Brown Update Bar
Tapping the More Info button brings up the Software Information screen, as follows.
6. Tap the OK Button
Tapping the OK button may bring up the following screen if you haven’t followed the above directions, and thus, failed to plug your speaker into external power.
In fact, we suggest that you fully charge both speaker and the smart device before proceeding with this update. Doing so protects your XE 200 from a corrupt software upload in the event of an extended power failure, where the batteries could go dead before updating is complete. Also, as another precaution, once you fully recharge both devices, please leave both of them connected to external power until the update finishes.
Once speaker and smart device are charged, tap the OK button on the Connect Speaker to Power Supply window. That should then take you back to the previous page once again, as follows.
Or, if you quit the app, go ahead and restart it and repeat the above steps. This time, you should not get the Connect Speaker to Power Supply page. But instead, you will see the Software Information page that we see in the last picture.
7. The Sony XE200 Software Update Begins
The updating then starts, as we show in the following screenshots. The Music Center app first downloads the new software package.
Once the app downloads the package, it unpacks and transfers it to the XE200 as the next pictures show.
Additionally, during the transfer to the speaker, the Power lamp on it pulses in groups of four pulses then a pause. E.g. Pulse-pulse-pulse-pulse-pause, pulse-pulse-pulse-pulse-pause,… During this time, all other lamps on the speaker are OFF.
7a. The Software Update Continues at Thirty Percent Complete
Now as we see in these screenshots, the Sony Music Center app displays a progress line, that gradually gets more brown as the updating proceeds.
7b. The Software Update of the Sony XE200 is Now at Seventy Percent Complete
Now we’re probably about five minutes into the update. Indeed this process takes a fairly short time as compared to some of the other speaker models we’ve tested.
7c. Now at Ninety-Nine Percent Done
The next screen shows that the software transfer has almost finished (99 percent done). E.g. The progress bar is practically all brown now.
7d. The Software Update to the XE200 Begins
Now that the software has been transferred from your device to the speaker, the update process on the XE200 begins when you see this page.
7e Tap the OK Button
Touching the OK button takes you to the Speaker & Group page, where you see a list of previously connected speakers that the app knows about. Note that all are grayed out. So none are connected to the app during the XE200 update process.
8. Wait for the Sony XE200 to Shut OFF After Updating its Software
While the speaker updates itself, its Power lamp slowly pulses green.
Then after a minute or two, once the 300 finishes updating, the Power light goes dark. No more blinking.
9. Press the Power Button To Boot the 200 Again
Press the Power button to turn this speaker on again, as pictured next.
The XE200 should again pair with your mobile device where you’re running the Sony Music Center app. The Power lamp glows solid green, and the Pairing lamp also glows steady blue once the speaker again links to your mobile device.
Now after the XE200 reconnects to your smart device, the Sony Music Center app discovers that your speaker has come back online, and thus, displays an update-complete message, as follows.
10. Press the OK Button Back in the Sony Music Center App
With your speaker successfully paired to the app again, press the OK button, as shown in the last screenshot.
The app then displays the Sony XE200 home screen once again. But this time, note that there’s no longer the brown bar, as we see next. This means that the updating of the software worked, and that the speaker is now running the current program version.
11. Done with Sony XE200 Software Update !
You’re now finished updating the 300 to the current software version.
Other Sony XE200 Posts
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References
Revision History
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- 2023-03-28: First published.