S1 Battery Charging Procedures

[DavidE]

I think there's an issue with the new batteries in my new S1s and I'm trying to figure out how to "reset" the batteries. Looking for advice.

I borrowed a set of new, in the box, batteries from a friend. These borrowed batteries are still at 100% after 15 days. I hope they last as long as others' have, but I'm ok with 2 weeks at this point.

Now I have to assume that my battery drain issue is related to the made in December 2019 batteries (the most recent batch) that came with my new S1 Pros.

Here's my test history with those batteries:

When I first received the new S1 units, I updated both speakers and then charged them overnight. I then began my testing.

Unit 1 dropped to 90% in 1 day (May 13-14). I reported this to Luke at Bose. I again recharged the battery overnight and it dropped to 90% after 6 days. In my third, and final, test it dropped to 90% in 8 days.

Unit 2 dropped to 90% after 2 days (May 13-15). I reported this to Luke at Bose. I did a complete drain and recharge of the Unit 2 battery overnight and it again dropped to 90% after 2 days (May 19-21). In the third, and final test, this battery dropped to 90% after 8 days.

Assuming these batteries are not defective and simply need to be "reset" (Bose has made it clear that it will not replace anything else for me), what can I do to reset these batteries so that they charge fully and hold the charge properly?

Thank you,
David Eidelberg

[tadol]

I’ve read through the posts on the battery issues, as I am quite interested in the S1. I would ask a few questions because I haven;’t seen this information -

Have you charged the batteries, removed them from the S1s, then replaced them and checked the charge after a couple weeks or more? If the batteries are draining outside of the units, then I would assume there must be some issue in the packs themselves -

Have you paired your S1 via bluetooth? Is it possible that the unit is trying to re-connect, and draining batteries in the process?

Just a thought -

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by tadol

I’ve read through the posts on the battery issues, as I am quite interested in the S1. I would ask a few questions because I haven;’t seen this information -



Have you charged the batteries, removed them from the S1s, then replaced them and checked the charge after a couple weeks or more? If the batteries are draining outside of the units, then I would assume there must be some issue in the packs themselves -



Have you paired your S1 via bluetooth? Is it possible that the unit is trying to re-connect, and draining batteries in the process?



Just a thought -

The batteries only drain in the S1.

Bluetooth is off when the S1 is off. Unlike some of their earbuds and home Bluetooth speakers.

They figured out the problem in the S1, so they know what it was.

[DavidE]

Bose claims that these S1s and these batteries, made in December 2019 (the newest batch) are working within their acceptable specs. These specs were not acceptable on my original units with the "battery drain" issue they acknowledged. I sent each of my two units back twice to no avail. These were replacement units they sent me when they reopened after the Covid closure.

They refuse to provide further service of any kind, so I'm taking them up on their offer of a refund for both Bose S1 units and backpack cases they sold to me for half off (plus tax). I wasn't impressed with the backpacks even at half price frankly. I may order a set of S1s from a store or I may just order a second JBL EON Compact. Or nothing at all. Kind of fed up with Bose after working with them for something like six months on this.

[jklotz]

Why is so much of an issue? I just charge mine for a few hours the day I'm going to use it and it works fine. I never even bothered to update the firmware.

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by jklotz

Why is so much of an issue? I just charge mine for a few hours the day I'm going to use it and it works fine. I never even bothered to update the firmware.

At this point, the folks at Bose ticked me off. So, there's that.

These new ones are worse than the old ones.

These new ones aren't even close to the performance others are getting with non-repaired old ones with the firmware upgrades. I believe that indicates there's something wrong with them.

While these were in for repair, I bought a used L1 Compact for less than the cost of one S1. I never really need the battery operation (and have the JBL Compact if I do) and I like that the Compact has a sub, so I find it's actually better than the S1 for a small rig.

There's probably more.

[tadol]

I’m really sorry you’ve had such issues with yours - I can only say that I brought mine home, fully charged, and sat it on my living room floor. Every night, I’ve played at a lower volume with my electric or acoustic w/pickup, for 2-3 hours each night, and it has now been 5 nights and I think it’ll probably need charging tonight - I’m happy with that -

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by tadol

I’m really sorry you’ve had such issues with yours - I can only say that I brought mine home, fully charged, and sat it on my living room floor. Every night, I’ve played at a lower volume with my electric or acoustic w/pickup, for 2-3 hours each night, and it has now been 5 nights and I think it’ll probably need charging tonight - I’m happy with that -

I had the battery drain issue where the battery would drain when it wasn't used. Ultimately they sent me brand new batteries with the "fixed" design and as you can see in my original post, the battery dropped to 90% in 12 hours. That's worse than the ones they said were defective. After weeks of recharging and testing each battery made it 8 days before dropping to 90%. People with the original defective units that didn't get fixed, but did the firmware updates (these new ones were updated) are reporting over 30 days before dropping to 90%. Something is really off, so I don't get why Bose says this performance is ok when it wasn't before. At least they're letting me return them for a full refund.