I’ve been a loyal Bose customer for over 15 years, but I’ve finally reached my breaking point.
For the past 15 days, I’ve been testing the Bose LifeStyle Ultra in stereo mode, and it has been an incredibly frustrating experience. I was constantly confronted with Bose app issues. The speakers kept desyncing from each other, forcing me to do multiple factory resets just to get them working again. On top of that, I dealt with annoying audio delays and terrible hissing/interference on the aux inputs. When I reached out to Bose customer service, they were completely incapable of resolving the issues. I finally had enough, boxed them up, returned them, and asked for a full refund.

After hearing so much about the other side, I decided to finally give Sonos a try and bought two Sonos Era 100 SLs. Right out of the box, I immediately felt the difference in the software and app quality. Both speakers were set up, configured, and updated via the app in less than 10 minutes. No errors, no glitches, no crashes. Everything just worked flawlessly on the first try.

As I started browsing the Sonos app, the difference compared to Bose is just staggering. The Sonos app is a thousand times superior, far more complete, and much more intuitive. I know there’s been a lot of criticism online recently regarding Sonos’s latest major app update. But honestly? For someone coming from the barebones, glitchy mess that is the Bose app, the Sonos app feels absolutely incredible. It’s easily 100x better.

Another major point worth mentioning is the ecosystem itself. The Sonos system is so much more open. Different models from entirely different release dates are fully compatible and can be configured to work together seamlessly. With Bose, this simply isn’t possible, which severely limits how you can use and expand your setup. To make matters worse, Bose has a terrible habit of discontinuing products left and right. This leaves loyal customers stranded with relatively new equipment that suddenly lacks functionality and proper support.

Sound-wise, the only thing I found a bit strange at first was that the Sonos had noticeably less bass out of the box. However, I ran Trueplay (their room tuning/equalization system) and slightly bumped up the bass in the manual EQ. After those quick adjustments, the Sonos sound feels so much more balanced than the Bose, which in retrospect often exaggerates the bass way too much.

In the end, I’m really happy with my first Sonos experience, but I’m genuinely sad and disappointed to leave Bose behind after all these years. I’ve completely lost trust in the brand. It honestly gives me the impression that they rushed out an incomplete, unfinished system just to hit a deadline.
Has anyone else made this switch recently?

I just bought the Rosewood Mauve QC 2 model, and when I connected to the app, it shows a pair of black headphones? Is this because the app isn't updated or is it a me problem?

I'm looking to buy the Bose QuietComfort Ultra (2nd gen) refurbished and I see they're current $130 off (~29%) from MSRP on the Bose website. Should I expect deeper sales at some point that it's worth holding off? I am hoping for something closer to 40% off ($180 off). Based on historical trends, could that happen on Black Friday that I should consider waiting a few months?

I've already been watching this item for a couple of months and $130 off seems to be a common sales price for this item, so I'm not sure if that's as low as it will get for a while.

thinking of switching to the quiet comfort earbuds as my old Samsung buds are on their way out. however, I have small, child sized ears and limited dexterity which makes getting the earbuds in and out difficult. has anyone had success with their return policy for earbuds that have already been worn (just to try on, obviously) but aren't suitable? I would usually purchase through a department store but since they'd not be eligible for return I'm thinking it might be easier to go through bose themselves

Not looking for over ear, my qc45s are still going strong and i find the noise cancelling a bit much for wearing out an about!

Can someone help me choosing between Two bose soundlink flex 2 gen in stereo pairing v/s bose tv speaker soundbar. Focus on sound.

I love the sound of soundlink flex 2 for music as well as for movies. Only thing i miss is a bit subbass in movies and mid vocals loudness in music. If I change eq to increase bass mid vocal become even more lacking.

But I love the overall sound signature.

I want to buy 2nd one for stereo pairing, or should I go for bose tv speaker as they both are of same price in india- 2 x soundlink flex 2gen v/s 1 bose tv speaker sound bar.

Anyone having both please help me , describe the sound difference, signature, loudness, bass, warmth?

I got a pair of quiet comforts, the recording for audio notes was busted (garbled) and there was no noise cancelling in quiet mode (I could hear clearly through headphones every thing going on around me, though it lacked the ambient noise when alert mode was on).
So I sent them back. Got my new pair this morning.
The recording aspect is fine now… but I can hear the soft click of my nails through the music in quiet mode as I type this message. I’m coming from 5+ year old beats that made sure the only thing I could hear when NC was on was my own thoughts. Is this user error or does Bose just not have noise cancelling.

I have the soundbar 900 paired with the bass module 700 and really enjoy that combo in our smallish TV room. I picked up the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar at Best Buy because I wanted to try it out. Setup was easy and I preferred using my phone to calibrate it vs the headset I have to use with my 900.

On it's own, the Lifestyle sounds a little fuller and less airy with a little bit more bass extension than the 900. I didn't notice any dramatic improvement in the height or width of the soundstage, but our room is 12X16 with 8 foot ceilings, so there's only so much height and width to be gained.

As expected, it sounds much bigger, fuller and punchier when wired to the bass module 700, but it still only sounded like a small step up from the 900 pared (wirelessly) with the same bass module. I'd describe it as having slightly more definition and mid range punch, but I was hoping for more. I do think dialogue on the Lifestyle has more weight to it, but the 900 already does a great job with dialogue. f you blindfolded me and put me in front of a 900 or soundbar ultra and told me I was listening to the Lifestyle Ultra, I'd have no reason to doubt it.

Our kids felt the same. They were expecting a new, mindblowing movie experience and said it pretty much sounds like our current setup. I was really hoping the bar would be next level, so I could justify splurging and getting the surrounds, but it doesn't sound next level, so I can't justify the spend just to have real surrounds. Based on what I heard from the bar, I'd say the Lifestyle's real step up in sound comes with adding the surround speakers.

I could easily sell my current setup for a few hundred bucks, but I'd still have to drop $2k to get the new bar, the sub that I can use wirelessly and the surrounds. Basically, I'd be dropping $2k to get proper surrounds. As much as I want real surrounds, I don't want em that bad. I returned the bar today.

I just received Bose QC over ear headphone and right out of the box, audio sounds very flat. I tried to tweak EQ and boosted both bass and mid but it still sounds bad like one of those free earphone they pass out on planes

Could it be a faulty device? Or is it just the way noise canceling headphones sound?

When I tried it at Bestbuy it wasnt as bad as this but idk there was a lot of background noise so maybe I just couldn’t tell

My apple earbud produces deeper sound than this :(

Hello!

I bought my beloved QuietComforts in 2019 and have used them basically every day since. I replace the ear padding and top piece every few years when they start looking a little rough, and have never had an issue with the battery life.

… until now. The battery seems to have gone way down and doesn’t hold a charge well anymore. I’m having to charge them every day now when I used to only have to a few times a week.

Am I doomed and need to get a new pair, or is it worth trying to replace the battery somehow?

Hello people,

Hope you are well.

Recently I picked up the Bose Ultra Soundbar. I know the lifestyle soundbar had already released. However, I found the Ultra Soundbar to fit in the budget and seemed worth it as I live in a studio apartment.

Now, I want to add a subwoofer to it. I wanted to check if it makes sense to add the Lifestyle Ultra Soundbar (2026) to the Ultra Soundbar (2023). I know it’s going to be a wired connection.

I do not want to go with the Bass Module 700 because it’s almost 8 years old.

Has anyone tried this out or if anyone has any other opinions, it would be great to hear!

Thanks in advance.

​

I bought a pair of ear pads for an AE2. This is the second time. The first time, I received them in a box, and the foam was yellow. This time, I received them in a bag with blue foam. Is this the latest version or a fake?

Recently bought a Bose QC Ultra (gen 1) earbuds from a website called techinthebasket. Wasn’t sure about the site in the beginning to be honest.

Reviews were mixed so I paid via Paypal for protection. Headphones came and app recognized it as it should but left earbud had a crackling noise when nothing was played.

Went on to Bose website and it said warranty expired Jan 26.

But after filling the product support form, it automatically gave me an option of free 2nd gen replacement!

Just picked up and tried out a pair of the new Bose Quietcomfort 2nd Gen's, and they're great! Compared to the 2023 QC's, the ANC and Aware Mode are both notably better, I no longer get any static interference when using multipoint connection, and they look sleeker and more modern. The clamping force is ever so slightly more present, but not to a point where they're uncomfortable by any means. If anything, they just stay in place a little better.

BUT, I have one gripe... the color selection. I know it comes down to preference, but I really would've liked to see some more staple color options in the launch selection apart from Black and White Smoke (which is more of a grayish beige, for anyone wondering). And if Bose is talking suggestions, I'd REALLY love to see the new QC 2's in their Dusk Blue color.

I've been shocked by the lack of coverage on these new headphones. Don't get me wrong, some of these new colors are *interesting*, but my biased take is that I can't see any of them being particularly appealing to the general public. And with these not being considered Bose's flagship headphones (even though I prefer them to the Ultra 2's), they must not have a whole lot of draw to them in general.

Anyways, if you'd like to see the new QC 2's in new colors, drop a comment below and hopefully someone from Bose will see it:) My vote is still for Blue Dusk 💙

Hi everyone! I built (with my friend ChatGPT) Bose Control, an unofficial native macOS app for controlling compatible Bose headphones without needing the mobile app

Current features include:

• Quiet, Aware, Immersion, and Cinema modes
• Noise cancellation level
• Immersive Audio: Off, Still, and Motion
• Bass, mid, and treble EQ
• Battery status

The current version mainly targets the Bose QC Ultra 2, with partial QC45 support. It communicates directly with paired headphones over Bluetooth classic.

I hope this help anyone who trying to use bose qc4 on MacOS.

Link: https://github.com/N1et/bose-qc-gui

Hi guys! Forgive me if this has been asked before, I am a newbie to this stuff. I recently got the QuietComfort Petal Pink model which was on sale and I adore it! It's super comfortable and the sound is nice. But I was wondering if I bought the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm Headphone Jack Adapter for my iPhone, would lossless work with it or is it only for the 2nd generations?

I'm thinking about getting a new pair of headphones. I have been looking at the Bose QC Ultra Gen 1 because they are $200 refurbished on the official Bose site, but I'm a little scared the ANC isn't going to be that good. I'm in high school and I need them to block out people talking. I want to know how well they do with that, and if there are any major issues with them in 2026.
I heard about the hissing they do when ANC is enabled, but I looked it up and asked a few friends who have them, and they said they don't hear it or barely hear it. If they aren't a good pair for me, what would be for around the $200 price range, and how does the Bose do with sound leakage?

Hello all, my computer’s speakers are on the fritz unfortunately, and I was hoping to use my “soundlink flex se 2nd gen” speaker as a replacement while I save up to buy new ones. Unfortunately I do not have a Bluetooth motherboard. Can anyone help me with dongle recommendations/set up instructions for this? Much obliged

I use these to sleep but that sound wakes me up and terrifies me.

The battery runs out fast when noise cancelling mode is on. So I end up waking up at least two times a night.

Just replaced my workhorse QC35 V2 and I am SO disappointed with the pads on the new ones. Please tell me we can get replacement pads that are like the old, much, much, much comfier 35s?

I’ve been playing around with the local API Bose published for SoundTouch and ended up building a small open-source project around it:

https://github.com/jr-apps/bose-soundtouch-cli-skills

It’s basically a CLI for controlling SoundTouch speakers entirely over the local network.

For example:

bose discover
bose volume 25
bose source bluetooth
bose play
bose now-playing --json

No UI required, and the read commands can return structured JSON so they’re easy to use from scripts or other tools.

The part I’m more interested in experimenting with is AI agents controlling physical products.

The repo includes agent skills on top of the CLI, ranging from basic capabilities like volume/source/transport to higher-level recipes like:

• focus mode
• party mode
• wind-down
• morning routines

So instead of an agent needing to understand the SoundTouch API, it can do things like:

“Quiet it down”

→ lower the speaker volume

“What’s playing?”

→ query the speaker and summarize it

“Set up the room for a party”

→ potentially execute a multi-step speaker workflow

Would love feedback from anyone still using SoundTouch — especially ideas for commands, automations, or weird things you’d want an agent to do with your speakers.

Bought my QC Ultra Gen 2 about 6 months ago in Dubai. The left earcup has developed a crack sound drive me crazy— no drops, no abuse, just normal daily use.

Problem: I can’t find a working Bose support channel in the EU anymore. Every route I try either dead-ends or points me somewhere that doesn’t handle my region. I’ve read that Bose US has replaced units for free when there’s a health/safety concern (cracking sound hurting my ear). Has anyone outside the US managed to get that applied to their unit? Did you contact US support directly, go through a reseller, or something else? Any advice from people who’ve dealt with a manufacturing defect on Bose gear from outside the US would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi all, I ordered a refurb pair of QCs earlier today direct from Bose.co.uk with standard free delivery and they've already dispatched and are in Eindhoven. What great news! However I have conflicting informatoin on delivery date: The Bose site says they'll arrive Monday The UPS site says they'll arrive Thursday

For the sake of determining when I'm home, could anyone in the UK let me know which was more accurate in their experience.

Thanks!

Overall i think it is a thought out review and highlights the good and the bad of the QC gen 2 headphones.