Company behind the portable speaker overheating and melting responds

Sonos, the company behind the Roam Bluetooth portable speaker, has responded to several complaints from owners who have taken to social media platforms to share images of their now-melted device.

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The reports from users date back to last week, when an image was shared to Reddit of a damaged Roam speaker. The user added they smelled burning plastic coming from the device, which they said wasn't used often, but at the time of the odor, the device was plugged into the wall outlet. Another user responded to the image and said, "Mine did the same thing a few days ago." Notably, both of the users said the smell occurred when the device was plugged into the wall outlet for a long period of time.

One user who said it also happened to them said Sonos replaced their speaker after requesting that they provide images and details of the device's failure. Reports indicate this isn't just a few isolated events, with other owners of the device sharing images to the /r/Sonos subreddit. In all of the reports of a failed device, the melting is occurring at the USB-C charging port.

Sonos has since responded to these users, saying it's closely tracking the number of reports involving the USB-C charging connection on first-generation Sonos Roam speakers. Sonos told Bloomberg the "incidence rate is very low" and that "environmental conditions appear to play a role".

"We've closely tracked a limited number of reports involving the USB-C charging connection on some first-generation Sonos Roam speakers. While the overall incidence rate is very low, and environmental conditions appear to play a role, we've taken several proactive steps to even further reduce the likelihood of this issue, including software updates and hardware improvements," wrote Sonos to Bloomberg