New firmware 1.6.1 fixed Sony WF-1000XM4 Battery drain issue?
Sony just rolled out update 1.6.1 which is supposed to resolve some battery-related issues with the WF-1000XM4 earbuds. Specifically, the update’s supposed to “reduce the burden on the battery” and “reduce the loss of battery capacity due to long-term use”.
This isn’t the update that adds multipoint pairing, we’re still waiting for that one. But firmware 1.6.1 brings up some interesting questions. Like, how is Sony making battery better? Are there any trade offs in terms of performance? And is Sony confirming that previous software updates were at least partly responsible for messing up the XM4’s battery life?
And notice that they said “reduce” and not “fix”? So if your unit has battery issues, while you may see some improvement to its battery, it’s not going to be as good as when you first bought the unit. And most of you may not even notice a difference anyway.
I did a poll on the YouTube Channel’s community tab, and only 30 percent of you who have battery issues said the update did “fix” your XM4’s battery. This means only 30 percent of users polled noticed any improvement. The other 70 percent of you probably noticed no improvements at all. So your mileage will vary, and not everyone will see improvements with this new update. But what if your unit didn’t have any battery problems in the first place? Will the update also improve battery life? So in this article, we’re going to see if its battery is any better or worse than before update 1.6.1. We’re also going to see if the update has any impact on its performance, like sound, noise cancelling and call quality.
Battery life improvements?
I’ve tested its battery after the update with the same settings in the Sony Headphones Connect app as the last time I did this test. Before, it was running firmware 1.5.0, and it lasted 5 hours and 39 minutes, with the right side dying quicker by 36 minutes. With the new firmware, it now lasts 7 hours and 9 minutes, with the right side dying quicker by 29 minutes. So my unit is seeing an improvement after the update.
Now, some of you have fed back to me that firmware 1.6.1 did not improve battery life at all. So I’m guessing that it really depends on what generation of hardware it is. For the latest batches of XM4 you may see some improvement like I did. But for older batches, the result could be mixed. And if you have battery-related problems with the XM4, you might want to reach out to Sony for a replacement. (Note: Older batches of WF-1000XM4 do not come with firmware 1.5.0 installed.)
Sound Quality
Sony WF-1000XM4 1.5.0 (Pink) vs 1.6.1 (Blue)
In terms of sound quality, after running a frequency sweep before and after the update, there does not seem to be a difference sound-wise. So you’re going to get the same sound quality before and after the update as you can hear in this binaural recording.
Call Quality
In terms of call quality, when comparing it to before the update in both quiet and noisy conditions, the new firmware brought no changes at all. You can hear what it’s like here.
In terms of active noise cancelling, when tested using some loud cafe-style background noise, there seems to be a small change. Maybe it cancels a bit less low frequency noise, but not enough to notice unless you compare its performance A-B. Listen to it here.
Conclusion
So it seems that overall, this update is not going to have much of an impact on its performance, and for some people with newer XM4 units, it may even improve its battery life. Unfortunately, from the feedback I’m getting from owners of faulty units, some will see improved battery, but many others are saying that it hasn’t improved anything. In other words, the update may not work for everybody. So if your XM4 is experiencing battery related issues, I don’t really see the point of updating, and you might want to ask Sony for a replacement instead.
Also, some users in reddit are saying that it could be the use of fast chargers frying the XM4’s battery. That’s quite possible, but I did not use fast chargers on my old faulty unit back when I still had it. So in my opinion, it was definitely screwed up by software. Watch the video below to find out what exactly happened with my old XM4 unit.
