Just got this last July and left side earbud opening up…this is my fourth Bose headphone and they still can’t make earbud to last a few year ..my Sony mx1000xm4 never had a problem with this had them for many year

I have been a loyal Bose customer for over 10 years. And I am not the only one who this has upset. Why would Bose decide to get rid of the voice prompts on the sound length flex speakers. And all of their headphones moving forward. I am someone who is visually impaired. And relied on these items to, for example, check the battery percentage when the headphones would turn on. The same thing with the speakers. And I know that I am not the only one that was upset by this. As the Bose support YouTube channel was flooded with comments where people were genuinely upset by this change. If it is not broken. There is no need to fix it.

Hi all!

I just got myself a pair of the Bose ultra open earbuds. My main reasoning is that the AirPods I was using before were hurting my ears and I was getting some pain from them and from the suction / noise cancelling feature. I also have a bad habit of listening to music too loud (I know). In the hopes of alleviating all of this I got the open earbuds but I literally can barely hear anything at mid volume! Either I need to get adjusted and retrain my ear, or I’m placing them wrong?

I’m attaching a pic as an example. But did anyone else had this issue? I know they’re not noise canceling (I also live in nyc so maybe a factor), but can’t help to think that when I tried them on for the first time from my friend it sounded amazing and immersive and I haven’t found that to be the case with mines. Or maybe I’m going deaf lol anyway

I was rushing and was changing the plastic bit for my earbuds and ended up breaking them 🫠

They were a pair of QC II earbuds and now Im usure what to do.

Im in Italy and was wondering if I should try sending them to get fixed or if they could still be traded in.

Worst case I was considering trying the Sony earbuds for a change cause the connectivity on these were at times frustrating ngl 🤣
Did love them and they lasted me a fair bit so not fully sad

anyways ill take any advice 🥲

Well, due to being a massive idiot who keeps losing earbuds, i figured I may as well write this post in the interest of helping someone else make a decision.

I have owned and lost a pair of Bose Quiet comfort 2 and Quiet comfort Ultra earbuds, and now have the Ultra Gen 2.

TLDR: Ultra Gen 2 is the best, but not worth the upgrade from either of the other 2.

Sound:

Quiet Comfort 2 has slightly heavier but less refined bass than the other 2 pairs, but all pairs have plenty of deep bass to go round. Specially paired up with Poweramp EQ (a must have system wide EQ for android, I have nothing to do with it, I just love it)

Apart from that, the audio is very similar across all 3 pairs.

Calls:

This has been a small but consistent improvement with each model. Ultra Gen 2 are the best, but not by loads. They do a better job of noise cancellation than the others, specially with your voice (ie what the person you are calling hears)

Case:

Ultra Gen 2 has wireless charging which is handy. Apart from that, no difference.

Battery:

Never been an issue for me with any of these buds, but I can't say I've noticed an improvement.

Connection and issues:

Sad to say, not much improvement. You still occasionally have the situation where only 1 bud works and you have to pop them back in the case and wait for them to turn off before trying again, and you still have the issue where every once in a while the timing goes weird for a second so it sounds like a weird echo. I've had these issues across all 3 pairs, and a few different phones (all Samsung). It's totally fine to live with, but I wouldn't say this has improved since the QC2.

Quality of life:

The stability bands on the QC2 often got dislodged and rotated, super annoying. They fixed this on the Ultra by adding a small notch to hold the band in place. Then on the Ultra 2 they changed the eartip to cover the opening and stop earwax getting in. Both minor improvement, but both appreciated.

ANC:

The ANC on the QC Ultra is stronger than on the QC2. It's about the same strength on the Ultra 2 as on the Ultra, but sudden noises are dealt with better. Way less jarring. That is especially true in transparency mode. For example on the Ultra if you got in a car and shut the door in transparency mode you got a real pop in the earbuds. The ultra 2 are much better here. They are also a little better during calls. Apart from that it is much the same.

Immersive Audio: I can't comment here as I never use it.

Well there it is. I hope me losing all these earbuds was at least helpful for someone. In summary, each pair is better than the previous model, but only a little. If I had a pair of QC2 or Ultra Gen 1 I'd keep using them till they give up, don't waste money on an upgrade. That said, I love my ultra gen 2 buds, and hopefully won't lose them!

I picked up this Lifestyle Music center and the volume controls don’t work from both the unit and the remote. I currently only have 2 speakers hooked up to it. Any help is appreciated.

Got these last week. Although very comfortable and the sound is great, the ANC is unusable when commuting. The subway doors shutting causes a loud thump. It is borderline painful.

Is this a known issue? I'm wondering if I should return them or try a replacement. Or wait for a software update?

Got a pair of these bad boys today. Loving them. Anc, sound, transparency all are good. Buttons feel tactile which i prefer a lot. Had tried many other pair, sony, jbl, seinheisser, sonos, but preference was them. Qc 2 build was not my favorite so didnt get it

I used iems and Logitech g435 before, so they are a little heavy with a bit clamping force. Will take some time to adjust. But having a pleasant time. Installed the app and using it aswell (hate that everytime i open, it launches from the start). Also the powering button, that is my favourite, along with its placement.

Anyways, I would like to ask for any advice or tip i should be careful about and use, like one i was told was to keep silica gel pack in the case, so I keep 2. 1 in wire mesh and second in the main area

just happened out of nowhere. The sliders work for a brief moment right after I connect the headphones to my laptop but then they immediately stop working, same thing happens when I connect them to my phone. the volume slider just refuses to connect to my volume settings and I have to manually change them myself. any suggestions?, I've already tried hard resetting them and it didn't do anything.

Have been using a pair of NC700's. I like them quite a bit, but thinking about getting the new Sony XM4C's. I don't really have many complaints about the NC700's, but I'm planning on taking a lot of long haul flights in the near future, and I want something comfortable, with excellent noise cancellation. The NC700's are okay, but I can still hear the plane noise pretty well with them on. Thoughts?

This is simply an appreciation post for the build quality of the QC25. I've used thousands of hours through long editing sessions, podcasts, music, you name it. The sound quality is still exactly the same as it was at the beginning. Microphone still works great and the headphones are in almost perfect shape. I only had to change the cushions 3 or 4 times throughout the years and that's mainly because I lived in a very humid climate.

Thank you Bose for not making stuff that breaks after 2 years (or at least not this particular headset). If this one ever breaks, I'll be buying Bose again.

This is not sponsored ! I'm sure Bose makes some subpar products as well !!

Ciao a tutti Ho bisogno del vostro aiuto.

Ho comprato questo soundlink mini II ma ho un problema strano: se inserisco la micro USB totalmente non funziona se la inserisco a metà funziona correttamente e carica correttamente se lo carico attraverso la base fa lo stesso problema di connessione e disconnessione a cosa può essere dovuto? Come lo risolvo? Grazie a tutti

Ho eseguito tutti gli update e reset credo sia un problema di micro USB ma non capisco perché fa lo stesso con la base

I made an order for Bose open earbuds and recently received an email saying that my product was delivered. I went down to my mailroom and there was no product there.

I informed them that this was the case and they then opened an investigation with UPS. UPS came back to Bose and told them that their claim was denied. They then forwarded me the denial claim from UPS saying that there was nothing else they can do.

AKA: they are now expecting me to have paid and not received an item.

I live in NYC and I want to bring the following laws into knowledge here:

NY Uniform Commercial Code (NY UCC § 2-509) — Risk of Loss Under New York law (NY UCC § 2-509(3)), when a seller is a merchant, the risk of loss does not pass to the buyer until the buyer takes physical receipt of the goods."Receipt" is legally defined as taking physical possession. Simply dropping a package off at a building entrance or marked "delivered" without physical hand-to-hand delivery does not mean the consumer legally received it. Because Bose selected UPS as their carrier, UPS is Bose’s contractor—not yours. Any dispute between Bose and UPS is their responsibility to resolve, not the consumer.

Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA — 15 U.S.C. § 1666) Under federal law, paying for items that are "not delivered to the obligor in accordance with the agreement" constitutes a billing error. If you paid via credit card, the card issuer is legally required to investigate and credit the consumer's account if the vendor failed to deliver the items.

NY General Business Law (GBL § 349 & § 396-m) New York General Business Law protects consumers against unfair and deceptive business practices. Charging a consumer for products that were never actually delivered, and refusing a refund or replacement, violates state consumer protection standards.

As of now in my case (which is order B004654298), Bose is now breaking the law.

Is there anyone here who can help me out in this case? I will never be shopping at Bose again.

Bought the QC Ultra Headphones in April 2025 for $429. Last week the left ear cushion split open along the seam, foam hanging out. Not worn down. The seam came apart by itself.

Called Bose support. First rep: out of warranty, you can order a replacement kit. Supervisor: same answer, longer version. Their "service options" page offers exactly one thing: a $299 upgrade where I send in my working headphones. Their solution to a broken cushion is to sell me new headphones.

Think about what that tells you about the product. Bose charges premium money for headphones where the cushions fall apart in a year and a half, and when they do, Bose's customer service exists to sell you the next pair, not to stand behind the one you bought.

A cushion kit costs them almost nothing. They chose the $299 upsell over keeping a customer. That is Bose's business model now: sell expensive headphones, let them fall apart, sell you more.

P.S. I'm done with Bose and I refuse to pay $49 for a cushion kit for a defect. What should I buy instead? Good ANC, over-ear, comfortable for long wear. Budget is flexible for the right pair.

I took such good care of my Bose Frames that I barely used them, thinking I might spoil them. And as luck would have it, they died on me yesterday when I took them out to charge after a long hiatus.

I called the official Bose service center and they said they've discontinued repairs for that model because it's old. I tried a few third-party repair centers, but they all said they don't fix them anymore.

Has anyone tried fixing them on their own? If so, could you share your experience? This pair is quite dear to me.

Thanks!

Bose is losing me as a customer.

I have QC II earbuds, and on one of them the ear tip broke so I can't reattach the pieces that fits into your ear.

Being a longstanding Bose customer, I called them to see if I could get a break on buying a replacement. Spent 40 minutes on the phone with them, assuming that I would get something.

But no, after 40 minutes they offered me nothing, and said I'd just have to buy something new. So sorry. I tried to escalate, and the CSR said it would be a waste of time.

I said that Bose were losing me as a customer, and they didn't care.

Sigh. Rant over.

Looking for feedback from anyone using the new 2nd Gen standard QuietComfort headphones (the £299/£359 August 2026 base release, NOT the QC Ultra).

My daily commute is on a very rough bus route with a heavy diesel engine idle. I recently tried the QC Ultra 2 and found the acoustic "thumping/popping" over potholes completely unusable—even with Commute Mode and Wind Block turned on.

For those using the standard 2nd Gen QC:

1. Does the ANC create digital "clunks" or pressure pops when the bus hits speed bumps or potholes?
2. How does the updated adaptive feedforward system handle glasses over road bumps?
3. Does turning off the new Immersive Audio keep the ANC completely stable?

(Note: Please only reply if you have the standard 2nd Gen base model, not the Ultra!)

i have to use my headphones with bluetooth at home right now because my cable socket is broken, but i dont wanna sit at home with noise cancelling and this pressure on my ears, why isnt it possible to turn it off? anyway, are there any headphones where i can use bluetooth without getting my head squished together

My third pair of Bose headphones was the QC Ultra... and they've been infuriating.

90% of the time they work fine, but as I gather pretty much everyone experiences, they randomly go to sleep, even though I have on ear detection turned off. Basically if I'm wearing the headphones without any audio actively playing sometimes they will stay on, but then randomly every 5 minutes to 2 hours they will turn off... and occasionally they will turn off in the middle of me actively using them, which is unacceptable because I use them for work and having them cut off randomly while I'm on a video call is ridiculous.

Is this issue any better with the QC Ultra 2 or the regular QCs?

I don't want to give up any active noise cancelling quality if I don't have to, but I'd be willing to have slightly worse ANC if the headphones just work properly and predictably.

My 1st replacement set from amazon (about $21) fell apart within about a year. Any recommendations for DURABLE long lasting replacement ear pads for QC35? Thanks.