It looks like we have two more battery failures in the Sony WF-1000XM4. Two users posted photos of what appears to be coin cell battery failures in their earbuds. In one case, it is the left side and in the other, the right side. I have already posted about 2 earlier incidents, here and here.
The first incident is from user afterchaos, who mentioned they also had the dreaded battery drain issue with their unit. A week earlier their left earbud started overheating and then finally popped. The affected earbud can be seen below. I was going to post this earlier but the blog was locked, so adding it to this post.
Unfortunately there is not much more information, like what kind of charger was used or when they bought them. The user contacted Sony and was promised a replacement, but then for some reason, Sony retracted their statement. Now Sony is asking for a safety evaluation and any repairs might be billed to the user (uh?).
I am not sure why Sony is asking for this evaluation, are they suspecting this is user error? I feel Sony should be fronting any repair and shipping costs here in order to determine why this happened. Thankfully this user was not wearing them, but who knows, maybe someone in the future will be wearing the earbuds when this occurs. Rather than post about it, there might be a lawsuit.
The second incident is from user Hippopaulamus. Like the first user, they also have experienced the dreaded battery drain issues. The earbuds were being recharged when one of them popped open. This is similar to the first incident I posted in February.
The user stated they they per-ordered day 1, so these are definitely from the first initial production run.
So far we have 4 recorded incidents, it may not sound like a lot, especially if Sony shipped 100,000s or more units, but there is clearly something wrong. It would make sense this would be related to the battery drain issues users are experiencing. If you have seen additional incidents, post them in the comments.
The working theory right now is faulty batteries in the first production run and when firmware 1.4.2 was released, this started degrading the batteries even more. But then, if this is the case, why is only one side affected and not both earbuds? Does anyone have any ideas or explanations here?
I find it odd that car companies do full recalls of models for the
smallest things, recalling sometimes millions of cars, yet
we have not heard anything directly from Sony about this battery issue.
And no, that 1.6.1 firmware update for the battery drain is not an
admission of the bigger issue.
I am sure someone from Sony (Sony US or Sony Japan), reads the blog, so my question is, what is going on here? Your customers deserve an explanation why this is happening, and assurance this will not happen again with other models. These affected users will unlikely be returning to Sony as a customer and will move on to another brand. Why not just admit there is an issue, fix it and move on?
I have had similar issue, battery in left was starting to drain real fast, first lasted like only 3 hours, after few days it lasted more like 1-2 hours. I contacted sony, but they would not commit to repair being free for sure, even when I told them that it may explode degrading that fast they did not give a damn. They would not even quote me how much repair would be if I needed to pay for it, after that I replaced the left one myself. But that made me notice that the right one was also going bad so I replaced this next week. Now they both work normally. They don't heat and work for over 6 hours.
ReplyDeleteI had the same exact issue: bought the first batch on the first week of release, the left bud experienced battery issues until completely dying, the right bud also had issues but still could last an hour on a charge. I always updated firmware versions the minute they became available, including to 2.0.0. Then, when I was on my way to drop off the buds at a service location, the battery of the left bud became swollen and split open, exactly as in the photos you posted. Sony's Israeli service provider (they are called Isfar) is terrible, and wasted my time, only to tell me that the cost of fixing the buds is roughly the cost of a brand new pair, and that is in spite of having recordings of them saying the fix will be free. I contacted Sony US, who surprisingly agreed to fix everything for free.
ReplyDeleteSame issue here with a Day 1 set of the earbuds, suddenly one ear basically lasts less than an hour and the other is fine, will be sending in for repair/replacement, picked up a cheap pair of White WF-1000XM4 buds which work perfectly.
ReplyDeleteEr.. if the battery fault happens after warranty expired, they’re not going to do anything. You’ll need to publish purchase date for such cases.
ReplyDeleteIf this thing happened in less than a year, and it’s common, that’s a big problem and you’d be expecting recalls, etc. But after 2-3years? Not really. And IIRC sony warranty is 15months at most.
That depends where you live, in some countries you have up to three years to lodge a claim on a fault that was present from the time of manufacturing, which this clearly is. Within two years, it's often considered a manufacturing fault without further investigation being needed and the manufacturer should repair or replace the product for the consumer without hassle.
DeleteI had issue with both of buds. They would charge to 90% left and 95% right side and batteries would last about 1 hour. I had them from day 1 and that happened after warranty expired when buds was on 1.4.2 firmware, but Sony replaced it anyway. I think that ZeniPower batteries are crap and that is the main reason. This 1.4.2 firmware only sped up the problem because of charging bug and it was corrected in 1.6.1 firmware but batteries are failing even today, buds that didn't have 1.4.2 firmware and that is evidence ZeniPower batteries are the main reason.
ReplyDeleteI changed ZeniPower batteries with new one myself on one pair of buds that with dead batteries that Sony didn't want to repair free of charge but now batteries are always on 100% and after 6 hours they are 0%. Better than 2 hours of battery life.
What brand battery you used for replacement, varta or lir..?
DeleteBtw zenpower have new gen 3.85v 0.29wh
Also is this legitimate and reliable
Because the price Twice than normal zen 3.7v 0.24wh version.?
You mean zenipower? source on this new gen? is there a press release or article on some website?
DeleteU can search on Aliexpress
DeleteIf we compare on pappers Its seems like varta cp1254 A2 , A3 , A4 , A5
The more number the more premium quality,durable and capacity
But idk About zp 3.85
I never try or buy it
Is good or same shit with their normal 3.7v , cause the price for single 3.85v u can get a pair varta A3.
Is any people here already trying all brand above mentions..?
pls gave recommendation
after three replacements i've found even my current wf1000xm4 have started showing signs of battery degradation. Sony has a potential lawsuit on their hands with this product..no solution to this problem in sight!
ReplyDeleteI had battery drain issue, twice and on both sides separately. After much persuasion Sony UK agreed to repair FOC, which they did - and so far so good. But all the way through they denied there's a wider issue. I'm out of pocket for shipping charges, but both earbuds perform as intended and I'll likely upgrade to the new version anyway.
ReplyDelete