Battery Behavior

[Michael M]

I have two S1 Pros. When I got my first one, I charged it fully and used it for several shows (I'm a magician and I use it for a vocal mic and background music from an iPod). When I finished my third show, it was down to flashing twice which is supposed to mean 25% to 49% battery life. I didn't use it for five days and then turned it on for a show. It was completely dead. I plugged it in and used it with AC. I called Bose to see what tech support would say about it because that's not the behavior I'm used to seeing out of lithium ion batteries. I have lots of photographic equipment that uses lithium ion batteries of all sizes.

The tech support representative recommended running it through a couple of charge cycles to see if it improves. On the second charge cycle, it exhibited the same behavior. I called Bose again and they sent me a replacement battery.

In the meantime, I bought my second S1 Pro. I charged it fully and used it for three shows (two were paired with the first S1 Pro using a 1/4" TRS cable). After the third show, the second S1 Pro showed 25% to 49%. I did not use it for 5 days and checked it today. It turned on, flashed one time and then immediately went to red so it exhibited the same behavior the first one did.

Has anyone else experienced this? I'm trying to decide if this is normal for the S1 Pro or if I somehow got two bad batteries.

[CityFolk]

@michaelm I haven’t experienced that, but I haven’t let the unit sit for several days after using it before recharging. I’ve typically charged it back up a day or so after using it. I’ve left the unit off for a week or so and haven’t seen the unit discharge prematurely. 

I have been leaving the unit unplugged with the on/off switch in the quick charge position to help prevent the switch from being bumped accidentally to on while moving it to/from gigs etc. Not sure if that would make any difference, but it shouldn’t.

I would be very interested in hearing other folks experience as this is a pretty serious issue you’re witnessing. 

[Michael M]

I spent a pretty long time on the phone with Bose support just now. The representative put me on hold to discuss it with an engineer. They are going to test a couple of the S1 Pro units to see if they exhibit the same behavior and will be calling me back next week. Initially, the representative wanted me to return my unit to see if they could see what's occurring but then I clarified that it happened with two different units that were purchased from different stores and manufactured at different times. (My first one did not have the battery installed with it and my second one did.) I'll report back as soon as I hear from them. I'd still like to see if anyone else experiences this.

@CityFolk, There are two reasons I didn't charge my S1 Pro after it dropped to two flashes. First, I wanted to see how long my S1 Pro will go without needing a charge. Since I typically use them for about an hour at a time, I wanted to know how many shows I can use them with before charging. Second, lithium ion batteries will last longer if they are kept at between 40% and 80% charged.

[ST - Pro]

Hi Michael M,

Thanks for telling us about your experiences with your S1 Pro system batteries, and your conversations with Bose Support. I'm sure they will get to the bottom of the issue.

Michael M posted:

 Second, lithium ion batteries will last longer if they are kept at between 40% and 80% charged.

To all:

We engineered the S1 Pro system to be used by you, musicians, entertainers, anyone who needs portable sound reinforcement solution. 

When it comes to the battery, please charge it so it's ready when you are, run it as long as you need to, charge it up again.

The battery is user replaceable. You can treat it as consumable and get a new one when it's done. We want you to use and enjoy your S1 Pro system without having to micro manage the battery.

Sincerely,

ST

PS - for more information please see S1 Pro Battery

[CityFolk]

@michaelm regarding battery recharging, the battery in the S1 has been labeled a “smart” battery which will turn itself off after an extended time of not being used. So the standard wisdom for lithium ion batteries may or may not apply to the S1 or it just might be different.

It would be interesting to ask some questions of Bose support what they feel is the most prudent recharge strategy with their smart battery and share that with the community.

It may be nothing special, or you may find there are some different characteristics that Bose built into the S1 battery. The comment from ST certainly implies that it’s different.

[Michael M]

CityFolk posted:

@michaelm regarding battery recharging, the battery in the S1 has been labeled a “smart” battery which will turn itself off after an extended time of not being used. So the standard wisdom for lithium ion batteries may or may not apply to the S1 or it just might be different.

It would be interesting to ask some questions of Bose support what they feel is the most prudent recharge strategy with their smart battery and share that with the community.

It may be nothing special, or you may find there are some different characteristics that Bose built into the S1 battery. The comment from ST certainly implies that it’s different.

I suspect there’s nothing different about the S1 Pro battery. I interpret Bose’s instructions about the battery usage as saying not to worry about how to maximize the life of the battery since it’s easily replaced. I’m fine with recharging after each use because it probably won’t reduce the life that much but I would like to know if the battery dying when not in use is a problem with my S1 Pros or consistent with all of them. 

[CityFolk]

Definitely would be good to know more about the dying battery issue. 

Let us know what you find out.

[Michael M]

Just a quick update. I've spoken with a representative from Bose twice. He has discussed the issue with the engineers and we are running some tests to see what might cause the rapid depletion of the battery. The engineer does recommend charging the S1 Pro battery after each use but did agree that the behavior I described is not normal. At this time, we're testing to see if the Bluetooth is searching for my iPhone when not in use so I have unpaired both of my S1 Pros and will see what happens there. Simultaneously, the rep I spoke to is doing the same with a pair of S1 Pros he has. I should be able to share results by early next week.

[Michael M]

I am resurrecting this thread to follow up. Before I got the opportunity to test different options (unpairing the Bluetooth, storing it with the switch in fast charging position), the Bose representative contacted me back and said they wanted me to return my two S1 Pro units and replace them. He said the engineers wanted to test them to see if there was something specific with those units or a design issue. I was sent a pair of replacement units and sent mine directly to the engineers. Unfortunately, I never heard back from my representative and I did not write his name down. The replacement units exhibit the same behavior. In fact, I recently charged them to 100% (checking with the Bose Connect app) and then did not use them for two weeks. When I checked, both units were completely dead. (I did check to make sure they hadn't gone into sleep mode.) I, also, saw that there have been other posts about the same issue. Here are two: https://www.bosepro.community/...ning-when-not-in-use and https://www.bosepro.community/...le/topic/red-light-1

It seems to me something is going on. I'd like to know what it is.

[NicksMusic]

I had a similar experience , I bought three S1 Pros yes Three quite an investment for me relying on the word of Bose as I have in the past and using them for music playback mostly really didn't expect them to last 10-12 hrs as billed , the first set they all did about the same thing , they lasted about 2 hrs on a full charge. I immediately called Bose and they sent me a return tag and we did the swap process.They sent me new units. The new units are better  lasting about 4 hrs. However now I have a real problem.

The units are beyond the return date for the dealer and the hew ones were charged full and the battery on one of them was completely dead after being stored for just a week. I rely on my gear as we all do and really at this point do not have time to play with defective products that should perform as stated and cant tie up the gear as I need it.So now I will be forced to buy another brand to replace these and I am contacting Bose for a complete refund on all three units.