Will Any Wireless Charger Work With Sonos Roam?

Since it debuted in the spring of 2021, the Sonos Roam has become a popular portable speaker thanks to its crisp sound quality, versatile connectivity options, and straightforward design. It also happens to be one of the more affordable Sonos speakers on the market, which is certainly appealing to a wide variety of buyers – buyers like myself and, I’m assuming, you.

For the most part, the Sonos Roam has been a welcome addition to my collection of electronics. But, of course, there have been a few snafus’. One such issue revolved around the charger suddenly failing to charge my device. After trying it out on a friend’s charger, I realized that my speaker itself wasn’t to blame. Instead, the charger had some bad wiring going on that prevented it from charging the Roam.

Table of Contents

• Will Any Wireless Charger Work With Sonos Roam?
• Can I use any wireless charger for Sonos Roam?
• Connecting to Power Using a USB-C Cable
• Connecting to Power Using a Wireless Charger
• Power Adapter Requirements For the Sonos Roam
• USB-C Cable Won’t Charge the Sonos Roam
• Insufficient Power Supply Message is Coming Up
• Closing Thoughts

Will Any Wireless Charger Work With Sonos Roam?

You can’t use any old charger with the Sonos Roam. The Roam comes with its own USB-C charging cable, and you can use a compatible Sonos wireless charger as well. Some older smartphone USB-C charging cables won’t provide enough power to charge the Roam, so be aware that there are some power adapter requirements in place for the Sonos Roam.

Before I went out and bought a replacement, I did a Google search – “Can I use any wireless charger for Sonos Roam?” As I found out, if you have a spare USB-C cable lying around, you can use it to charge your Roam. Also, it can be wired or wireless, depending on your preference. Allow me a few moments to explicate.

Can I use any wireless charger for Sonos Roam?

You can use either the wireless charger that comes with the Sonos Roam or an alternative model that is compatible. 

You can find these Qi wireless chargers online for under $50, so you won’t have to spend an arm and a leg to replace a busted one. Just make sure it has the proper connection type so that it can fit into the Roam’s charging port.

Connecting to Power Using a USB-C Cable

The Sonos Roam comes with its own USB-C cable. The Roam’s USB-C port can be found below the power button on the back of the device.

When you are charging the Sonos Roam, you need to make sure that the USB-C cable is completely inserted into both the charging port and power source. Otherwise, the speaker might fail to properly charge.

As Sonos tells us, the Roam speaker will charge from 0% to 50% in approximately one hour when you are using a USB-C cable.

Connecting to Power Using a Wireless Charger

The wireless charger that comes with the Sonos Roam is easy enough to take around with you. If anything should happen to it, you can buy a replacement from Sonos or another manufacturer that makes compatible Qi wireless chargers.

It is simple to charge your Roam wirelessly using the wireless charger accessory. When you have the Qi wireless charger plugged in, you will need to place Roam so that it is vertically standing on top of the charger to initiate the charging process.

Sonos tells us that the Roam will charge from 0% to 50% in around two hours when using their wireless charger.

Power Adapter Requirements For the Sonos Roam

There are a few requirements that a power adapter will need to meet for use with the Sonos Roam. To achieve the quickest charge, Sonos recommends that you charge your Roam with a 5V/2A (10W) USB power adapter. A 10W power adapter is available to buy from Sonos on its own or included with their wireless charger.

Even though the Roam is capable of charging with a 5V/1.5A (7.5W) USB power adapter, the charging time will likely be exponentially slower.

USB-C Cable Won’t Charge the Sonos Roam

So, what can you do if the USB-C charging cable won’t charge the Sonos Roam? Well, you can simply switch over to the Qi wireless charger, but that does take about double the time to charge.

Remember, if you’re using another brand, some USB power adapters simply lack the power to charge the Roam. If you are indeed using an underpowered adapter, you will likely experience a remarkably slow charging speed or possibly battery drain when you have the Roam plugged in.

Ensure that sure the Roam is connected to a USB power adapter that is giving it enough juice. Sonos recommends using the USB-C cable that is included with your Roam, but, of course, that might not be possible at the moment if it is defective.

Avoid using 5V/1A (5W) power adapters since they do not have enough power to charge the Sonos Roam. These all-too-common adapters were usually typically included with older smartphones. For example, many iPhones made prior to the iPhone 11 were shipped with a 5W power adapter.

If you truly want the fastest charge, just charge the Roam with a 5V/2A (10W) or higher USB power adapter. While 5V/1.5A (7.5W) chargers are compatible, they will not charge Roam all that rapidly.

You can buy a 10W power adapter from Sonos on its own or included with their Qi wireless charger. The 10W power adapters are also typically included with some of the newer smartphones and tablets, including the iPad mini. Just go ahead and swap that one in for the time being – it should work.

Insufficient Power Supply Message is Coming Up

If your Sonos Roam is connected to a charger that is not delivering enough power, the Sonos app will send you an ‘insufficient power’ supply message in the System tab and in the System settings menu as well. This often happens if Roam is connected to an old 5V/1A (5W) phone charger.

If this message comes up, you will need to connect the Sonos Roam to a 5V/2A (10W) USB power adapter instead.

Closing Thoughts

The Sonos Roam is compatible with many USB-C charging cables and Qi wireless chargers. 

The key is using the appropriately powered power adapter with your speaker to get the Roam to charge as it needs to. This isn’t an old, weak, under-powered speaker, so you will need to at least temporarily use one of the compatible devices as suggested by Sonos. They will work in a pinch, and as already mentioned, Sonos does let you buy stand-alone USB-C charging cable replacements or a bundle that includes their Qi wireless charger.