Sonos is once again under fire, this time over reports of overheating and melting USB-C ports in its Roam Bluetooth speakers—just as the company attempts to recover from a botched app update and a change in leadership.

The latest controversy began last week when a Reddit user shared images of a damaged Roam speaker, claiming they noticed a burning plastic smell coming from the rarely-used device, which had been plugged into a wall outlet. Another user responded with a similar account and photo showing heat damage around the USB-C port.

Sonos has acknowledged the issue, attributing it to a “very low” number of first-generation Roam units. A company spokesperson told Bloomberg that Sonos has been “closely tracking” the isolated reports and has not issued a formal recall.

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

The Roam speaker was first released in 2021, with the second-generation Roam 2 arriving in May 2024. The overheating incidents reportedly occurred after the devices were left plugged in for extended periods.

These quality concerns come at a critical time for Sonos, which is still recovering from a tumultuous 2024 marked by a widely criticized app redesign that led to customer backlash and declining sales. Tomorrow, the company will report its latest earnings—its first under new CEO Tom Conrad, who replaced Patrick Spence earlier this year.

Analysts are cautiously optimistic, noting that Sonos has moved to clear excess inventory through aggressive discounting during the past quarter.

As the company attempts to rebuild trust and stabilise performance, the Roam overheating issue threatens to reignite questions about product reliability—something Sonos can ill afford in its current state.