Sony WF-1000XM5 Battery Issues 1 Year Later? 🤔
About a year after the WF-1000XM4 was launched in 2021, its battery issues began surfacing. I was one of the first to bring this up to the forefront on YouTube, even made a whole series of my customer journey.
Basically, the problem had to do with a firmware update that caused the battery to overheat, misreading and even shortening its capacity. So I went down to the Sony store and got it replaced, no questions asked.
Even so, this really put a dent in Sony’s shine, because customers were unhappy, and unhappy customers tend to amplify the message. That is why its next version, the WF-1000XM5, never quite achieved the popularity of its predecessor. Probably because customers are concerned that the same lifespan issues would happen.
So, did the XM5 face the same battery issues? My XM5s were purchased at launch in 2023, and it’s gone through all the firmware updates, including the most recent one - firmware 4.0.2. So is its battery still functioning as expected in terms of drain and endurance? Let’s get to it.
For this test, the first thing I did was to stack the odds against the XM5. So I turned on all of the features that I usually use, and have that as the basis. I turned on LDAC codec streaming, DSEE Extreme audio upscaling, ambient sound control, and also multipoint pairing with two devices. According to Sony’s website, I should expect about 5 hours just from having LDAC and noise cancelling on, and those extra features would impact battery life further.
For the test, I played a looping playlist at 60% volume which is the loudness I usually listen to. At first, both were draining at relatively the same pace, with the Right earbud draining about 3% faster. However, as we got to the end of the test, just before it died the right earbud was draining at 10% faster than the left. In total, the right bud lasted 5 hours and 30 minutes, the left earbud lasted another 15 minutes after that.
Am I concerned about the difference in drain time? Not at all. In a typical master slave setup, one earbud is always going to drain a little faster. I'd be more concerned if it were like the XM4 earbuds. One side going empty in 1 hour and the other side 2 hours. But in the XM5’s case, a 10-15 minute difference is not out of the ordinary.
As for the total runtime, it’s 5 hours and 45 minutes. This is a little above expectation for my use case, lasting even beyond what Sony stated on their website. And keep in mind that this XM5 is already more than a year old, and running the most recent firmware.
In my opinion, they are definitely not suffering from battery related issues. So, if that’s your main concern about them, you can rest easy.
If you want to check its latest price in case it’s on promo, I’ve got its Amazon link below, and do check out my full review if you want to know the full story of the Sony WF-1000XM5. All of its pros, all of its cons.
Check latest price:
Sony WF-1000XM5 - https://amzn.to/4g3dXaJ
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