Sonnet 2 rechargeable battery charging station died

[Mkgilmour]

My charging station is 2 months out of warranty and it has died. It won't charge the batteries despite changing out the plug adapter and the cord. Has anyone else had this problem?  

[Lauren]

My batteries are sometimes finicky, cleaning the contacts on the batteries and the charging station helps. Every once in a while I don’t snap a battery in correctly and have to try again. 

Failing that, the charging station can be purchased from Med-El, either just the station, station plus a cord, or the whole kit. 

[Mary Beth]

@Mkgilmour

I had trouble with my Sonnet rechargeable battery set up.  Batteries were inserted and lit up correctly and by morning the lights indicated fully charged, just to find out some had not actually charged at all.  It was under warranty and Med-El replaced both the batteries and the entire charger.  Months later the same thing happened.  That’s when I stopped using rechargeable batteries with my Sonnets and switched to only using Power One implant disposable batteries.  My insurance covers them and Med-El US has a quarterly battery shipment program if insurance covers them.  I switch them out every other morning and never have a low battery alert any longer.

[Mkgilmour]

I took the charging station apart and investigated the cause. The female USB port is faulty, and with downward pressure applied, the station has power. It likely needs better soldering. This is a common problem for phones as well, and there are several guides online that discuss how someone with adequate soldering skills could repair it. However, most of the guides warn that due to the proximity of other sensitive components to the board, your likelihood of frying the entire thing and making it unusable is quite high. It's even higher if you have to desolder the usb port and solder a new one in place. All in all, I decided to bite the bullet and play MED-EL $175 plus shipping and tax for this charging port due to a faulty $5 component. It is highly disappointing and I wish there was some other recourse. 

[Mary Beth]

@Mkgilmour

I use PowerOne implant disposable batteries with my Sonnets and they work great and last 2 full listening days even with lots of streaming. Med-El US has a quarterly battery shipment program if our insurance covers batteries and mine does.  I like the ease, battery life and ability to carry around spares easily.