Bose S1 Pro battery draining issue

[sam.spoons]

Originally Posted by DavidE

No draining issues at all with my JBL Eon Compact. But the Bose sounds way better.

I wouldn't say way better but I'm not a fan of the JBL house sound, the Bose is nicer.

[leew3]

I can't comment either as I hadn't used the S1 for several weeks, played a two hour gig with it last night and it is still at 50% charge. Fortunately I don't seem to have gotten one of the units with a battery drain problem.

[jonfields45]

BTW, if you are concerned about long term battery life, you don't want to waste discharge cycles on leaving it unplugged when not in use. The battery charger in the Bose will deal with keeping the battery charged without overcharge.

If firmware can improve unplugged battery life, that is a strong indicator that some part of the Bose is always powered.

Has anyone tested to see if the battery holds its charge when removed from the S1? I'm going to guess the answer is yes and battery removal after a full charge is another alternative, if the wear and tear on the contacts from removal and replacement does not look like another long term reliability problem.

This is just the sort of problem and time spent devising the best work-around that led me to using an external battery-inverter with my CP8. My Beaudens Power Station holds a charge nicely left sitting on a shelf between ocasional no AC gigs. The Beaudens costs about $40 more than a Bose replacement battery and is handy when the power goes out. When the Beaudens dies, the CP8 still remains usable.

[RogerPease]

Removing the battery from the S1 *will* preserve its charge. I can confirm personally and others report this, too. Even Bose says this will work. _RP

[sam.spoons]

The batteries last for months when removed (as expected) but bear in mind there is a sleep mode which kicks in after 30 days if the battery is unused for that period. This happens if the battery is in an unused S1 or removed. Bose say this was implemented to prevent batteries in storage from depleting completely. To 're-awake' the battery you must plug the S1 into a mains supply for a few seconds/minutes.

Anyone buying a new S1 would be well advised to open the box in the shop, check that it has not been left switched on in the box (my second one was) and then switch it on, if it doesn't come to life it is probably in sleep mode. Plug it into a mains outlet to wake it up only then unplug and use the app to check it's battery condition. If it does not have the issue (or it is minimal) it should show decent amount of charge (50%+) if it needs charging it is likely that it does.

In my estimation most, certainly far more than 10%, of S1 Pro's have the battery drain issue to some extent and they all draw some power from the battery when in what Bose have now taken to calling 'standby' or 'idle' mode (and Bose have acknowledged this fact). The amount of power drawn varies significantly, my first one was completely dead in less than two weeks the second 'repaired' S1 only fell to below 90% in around 3 weeks. Self discharge in a Li-Ion battery system should be less than 3% per month to that latter represents around 10x the expected loss due to self discharge.

Finally some have found that updating older firmware to 7.1.5/7 has solved the issue but, with 7.1, Bose were quick to point out that the FW update did NOT affect the battery drain issue.

It's important to note than the issue does not affect the battery life in use and anybody who charges/uses regularly will never know they have the issue and other than using up battery cycles (and, ultimately shortening the batteries useful life) it won't matter.

[DavidE]

Originally Posted by jonfields45

BTW, if you are concerned about long term battery life, you don't want to waste discharge cycles on leaving it unplugged when not in use. The battery charger in the Bose will deal with keeping the battery charged without overcharge.

If firmware can improve unplugged battery life, that is a strong indicator that some part of the Bose is always powered.

Has anyone tested to see if the battery holds its charge when removed from the S1? I'm going to guess the answer is yes and battery removal after a full charge is another alternative, if the wear and tear on the contacts from removal and replacement does not look like another long term reliability problem.

This is just the sort of problem and time spent devising the best work-around that led me to using an external battery-inverter with my CP8. My Beaudens Power Station holds a charge nicely left sitting on a shelf between ocasional no AC gigs. The Beaudens costs about $40 more than a Bose replacement battery and is handy when the power goes out. When the Beaudens dies, the CP8 still remains usable.

The batteries retain their charge when removed from the S1.

[RogerPease]

+1 on what sam.spoons says in post #20 above. _RP

[sam.spoons]

Originally Posted by leew3

I can't comment either as I hadn't used the S1 for several weeks, played a two hour gig with it last night and it is still at 50% charge. Fortunately I don't seem to have gotten one of the units with a battery drain problem.

edit :- sorry misread your post, if yours lay unused for a few weeks it does sound like yours is one of the good ones.

The battery drain issue does not affect the 'in use' life of the battery but all S1 Pros draw a small, continuous, current from the battery when switched off. The amount of current varies significantly in the best cases causing the battery charge to fall less than 10% in 30 days before 'sleep mode' kicks in, in the worst case (my first S1) it completely drained the battery in a week or so. T check if you have the issue or not you will need to fully charge your S1 (update the firmware to 7.1.7 of it does not have that installed) and then leave it switched off and unplugged from the mains, switching on to check with the app every two or three days. Eventually it will show the charge has fallen below 90%, this could be in a couple of days like my first or not for several weeks like my second, 'repaired' (after two attempts back at Bose HQ) S1. I realise it may not be possible as, like me, I guess you bought your S1 to use it not to have to sitting a corner sulking at you.....

FWIW I have had my first S1 for 6 months and it has probably spent three of those on test....... I have just bought another S1 and, with the older firmware it fell to 90% in four days. I have updated the FW and am testing again as I type.

[jonfields45]

From what is being described, it seems likely to me that Bose's contract manufacturer got a bad delivery of leaky decoupling capacitors that found their way into the always on circuits (and probably everywhere else). Passive components are typically only spot tested and count on very low failure rates to be economically manufactured. Decoupling capacitors that hard fail to a short typically "repair" themselves by overheating and melting open.

Leave it plugged in. If you return it, they will probably need to swap the PCB with the always-on components with a refurbished PCB or an entire refurbished unit. I think it is a toss up whether a refurbished PCB is a better long term thing to own compared to an untouched factory PCB with some leaking capacitors. I imagine most owners would just assume it is normal and at least charge before a gig. Bose's return rate is probably still pretty low.

[sam.spoons]

That sounds very likely to me.

Another user posted that his repaired S1 had the following included on the return notice

--"During the repair process we replaced the following components of your system:
1 CAP, X&R, 1206, 50V, 10% 1uf, COMM;
1 RES, THICK FILM 0402.0.63W, 1%, 47k;
1 RES, THICK FILM 0402.0.63W, 1%, 27k;
1 TRANSISTOR, MFET, P-CH-30V 15A, IRF9321.S08

My second one was 'repaired twice, the first time they made it worse. Even after the successful 'repair' it lost 10%+ of charge in 21 days.

[sam.spoons]

Originally Posted by RogerPease

As the OP mentions there is a thread over on the BosePro forum (https://www.bosepro.community/g/portable) titled: “S1 Pro battery draining when not in use”
But be warned, the thread runs to 18 pages! ;-P

It runs to 18 pages for a very good reason, a lot of people have had the issue

You may have noticed I haven't been posting on the thread for some time. Like Roger, I have only been telling it like it is but a week or so ago the mods stopped approving my posts in that thread (despite me trying to be uncritical of Bose's gear and most definitely never rude or abusive at any time, but you'll just have to take my word for that ). They have also blocked my PM privileges 'cos I told another user, vis PM, why I was no longer posting in the thread (also very politely, Archtop Eddy, I'm sure, will confirm).

They sometimes allow posts on other topics but I'm being very careful not to ruffle feathers. I'm not enjoying walking on eggshells over there so I'll probably just end up closing my account there. I'm seriously disappointed 'cos their attitude on the forum really made me reluctant to buy a second S1 (which I needed, until this week at least). The JBL is good in so many ways but, like many of their speakers, sounded a little harsh/over bright to me. However, I did buy a second S1 Pro, and as I said above it has the issue (lost 10% in less than 4 days). Hopefully updating the FW will fix the issue, I have done this and am waiting to see how long it takes to fall below 90% (no gigs for the foreseeable so plenty of time for testing.....).

I will repeat that 'ST' on the Bose forum has always behaved with courtesy and patience and the guy in the UK customer department was likewise, it's a shame that a couple of nameless mods should take it on themselves to censor somebodies input because it points out shortcomings in an expensive product that really should not be there.

Sorry, I'll leave it here [/rant]

[Peter Z]

I'm a little bit shocked, that you seem to be banned or blocked from the Bose community. That's not correct for sure. I think my posts there have been more rude than yours. Achtop Eddy, I'm sure, will confirm. :-)

The problem in that forum is that some people over there seem to have some kind of religious love for Bose products. I don't get this but I know there are psychologic explenations for this syndrome. It might be good for Boses marketing but doesn't help a good and clear discussion.
Not that I dislike Bose, especially the S1 is a nice product, but Bose didn't show a good performance with the battery issue.

Anyway, Sam, you should update your S1. It solved the issue with 2 of mine. My third one is out of reach now but will also be updated - next year, if I find the time after the bad virus and all the trouble it causes.

Good luck, Sam!

[sam.spoons]

Thanks Peter, Agreed about the 'fanboy's' though I don't actually have a problem with them (we all have gear we love and that's fine and the S1 is, as you say, is a nice speaker) just the 'difficult' mods.....

However, today Bose approved a post in the battery drain thread, the first for a couple of week IIRC (but I did make the post on Saturday......) and they have been allowing my posts on other threads, eventually. So I'm not 'banned' as such just unable to make PM's so give Eddy my regards if you are in touch.

I might persevere a little longer over there in the hopes that they will relent and give me my PM privileges back, and, hopefully, stop screening all my posts so they appear immediately.

WRT S1 Pro #2 it was updated to 7.1.7 on Saturday and fully charged. It was still registering 100% on Monday evening, will check again later tonight.

[Justinian]

I got my S1 Pro few weeks ago and just tested with battery.
I did update through Bose Connect, charged battery to 100%, unplugged cable, streaming music for an hour and battery was showing 90%.
Next day I did again streaming for an hour and it dropped to 80%.
I would assume it's normal but I would do the test with guitar and mic and compare results.

[sam.spoons]

Yes, that is normal, but the barely drain issue is something different, many S1 Pro's drain their batteries when in 'standby mode' (Bose used to say they were 'switched off' until the issue came to light ). A Li-Ion battery should only lose <3% a month when unused, my first S1 lost 100% in less than 14 days*. To find out if your's has the issue, make sure it is fully charged and the latest firmware is installed (v7.1.7) then switch it off and leave for a few days. Check every 3 or 4 days** and a good one should still be displaying 100%*** charge on the app after four weeks days.

* It has been proved that removing the battery from a dodgy S1 does result on it retaining it's charge until sleep mode kicks in after 30 days.

** Don't leave it for too long before checking as after 30 days the battery goes into 'sleep mode' and needs waking up by plugging it into the mains, that won't happen if you check it regularly.

*** The app displays charge state in 10% increments so a reading of 100% means the charge remaining is between 91% and 100%