Fix: Sony WH-1000XM4 / WH-1000XM5 won't charge
24 November 2024 75 views | Tech notes

My Sony WH-1000XM4 noise cancelling headphones have had a lot of problems with charging, and this seems to be a commonly reported issue (also with the WH-1000XM5). I've got a couple of high-power Ugreen desktop USB chargers with power delivery (PD) cables, but most of the time my headphones just won't charge on them. I've also got a monster Ugreen power bank with power delivery, and they won't reliably charge from that, either. Sometimes they do, but most of the time when I plug them in the charging LED lights up for a few seconds but then turns off. It's been driving me nuts.
I noticed that they do charge reliably from an Apple power supply, so I did some digging. USB usually operates at 5V, but various quick charging technologies can offer 9V or 12V or more. It seems that the cultprit could be a problem in my headphones negotiating a higher voltage with my fast desktop chargers. To confirm this, I tried swapping in standard (non-power delivery) USB cables while connected to the desktop chargers, and they work.
So the fix is basically to make sure you are charging over 5V, which you can achieve by:
- Using an ordinary 5 volt USB charger, or
- Using an ordinary USB cable that does not support power delivery or quick charging. You can use high power chargers this way, because they will fall back to 5 volts.
I do think something is not quite right with my headphones, because I have access to a second pair that has no charging issues at all. But this is a commonly reported issue, so I suspect either there is a design variation, or some kind of common fault. It may be a problem with a specific fast charging protocol (as the Apple charger still works). I suspect the amount of charge remaining in the battery plays a role in whether charging will activate or not, but I am still working that out.
Anyway, even without quick charging, your headphones will still charge pretty quickly.
Copyright, all rights reserved.