700 NC | Call Controls on Microsoft Teams Not Working

[AhmadA]

Hi, I've just bought a Bose 700 NC and one of the main factors that pushed me into buying it is its new mic array as well as the easy call controls. I spend a good portion of my day working from MS Teams meetings and these features are essential.

I have been able to connect my 700s to my Lenovo P50 (with a rather non-user friendly path) but whenver I get a Teams call, I cannot answer by double tapping (it just plays/pauses whatever song is in the background) and more importantly, I cannot mute my mic by pressing on the assistant button. The same applies to other calling clients on Windows. I've already gone through the drivers and made sure that everything is up to date.

Is this set of features not supposed to work on Windows? If so, are there any plans to get it to work? If not, please inform me so that I can decide whether to return the headphones or not.

Thanks,

Ahmad

[Hector_B]

Hi AhmadA, 

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community. I am very sorry to hear that you are having this issue and would love to assist you further. 

Could you please confirm how you are connecting the headphones to the computer as well as if this issue happens across other VOIP calling software? 

I look forward to hearing back from you and any other community members that are experiencing this issue. 

Kind Regards. 

Hector B - Community Support 

[AhmadA]

Hi Hector, 

Headphones are connected through bluetooth and I am yet to try on other VOIP software. Have you had any luck reproducing the behavior on a Windows machine running Teams?

Thanks, 

Ahmad

[Hector_B]

Hi AhmadA, 

Thanks for posting and updating me on this. I had the same issue with Microsoft Teams but no other VOIP.

Could you please test this on another calling service? 

Kind Regards,

Hector B 

[jordbr01]

I'm experiencing the same issues with Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business. Another thing I've noticed is that my headphones are set to auto-off after 20 minutes, and it is not recognizing Skype or Microsoft Teams activity and it shuts off at this time and puts the calls on hold as a result of the device powering down. I've tested 5/20/40 minute intervals in the settings to verify the behaviour. I've tried to trick the system to recognize mute/unmute as an activity to reset the timer, but it doesn't work. I can probably set this to 'Never' to avoid the problem, but it completely defeats the purpose of the feature and the ability to use the Bose 700 as a hands free device with my laptop.

[Mike_1988]

Hi - I'm also having issues when using my headphones in Microsoft Teams? When I'm on the call the headphones sometimes start making a funny noise in one of the ear cups (Crackling noise) or I suddenly loose connection mid-call. I don't get this on a normal phone call, but it's very frustrating as it means I'm not able to stay on calls. 

[Charlotte_G]

Hello jordbr01, 

Thank you for getting back to us and for performing these tests. 

When you are taking calls, can you please confirm if you are present in the application. When using the controls with a computer, the headphones will send the signal but the computer will then use this for whichever application you are currently using. Do the volume controls work whilst in Microsoft Teams?

Regarding the auto-off setting, this certainly is strange. Does this happen if you are listening to an audio application such as Spotify/iTunes?

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Warm regards,

Charlotte G 

[Charlotte_G]

Hello Mike_1988, 

Thank you for your post and welcome to the Bose Community. 

I am sorry to hear that you are experiencing this issue. 

Do you only hear this whilst using Microsoft Teams? Or does it occur with any audio through your PC?

Are you using Windows or Mac?

I would first recommend performing a reset on the headphones. This can be done by following these steps:

1. Disconnect all cables from the headphones
2. Connect one end of the USB cable to a USB-A wall charger or computer that is powered on
3. Press and hold the Power/Bluetooth® button while connecting the small end of the USB cable into the USB-C port on the right earcup
4. Release the Power/Bluetooth button after 2 seconds

I would also suggest rebooting your computer.

Let me know how this goes.

Warm regards,

Charlotte G 

[jordbr01]

---

"When you are taking calls, can you please confirm if you are present in the application. When using the controls with a computer, the headphones will send the signal but the computer will then use this for whichever application you are currently using. Do the volume controls work whilst in Microsoft Teams?" I am present in the application. The only controls that work are volume up and down and mute. I note that the 'mute' feature is working for me but doesn't seem to be working for AhmadA. I am unable to end a call or accept a call using the ear controls.

"Regarding the auto-off setting, this certainly is strange. Does this happen if you are listening to an audio application such as Spotify/iTunes?" The earphones don't power down automatically when listening to media, but the lack of control via ear control is still happening. The only controls that work are volume up and down - no ability to play/pause or skip tracks.

This is extremely disappointing functionality when connected via bluetooth to a laptop. I have done a reset on my headphones and the most recent firmware update, the behaviour persists.

[Jernot]

I am also having this issue with my PC. No matter how I press the mute/Assistant button on the headset (quick press or press and hold) it activates Cortana on Windows. It will not mute the microphone on the headset. This is extremely inconvenient as it requires me to be at my computer to mute the mic. This prevents me from using the headset as intended.

I have unpaired from the computer and the Bose Music app then re-paired 3 times. It does not affect the symptoms. I have also performed the following:

1. Disconnect all cables from the headphones
2. Connect one end of the USB cable to a USB-A wall charger or computer that is powered on
3. Press and hold the Power/Bluetooth® button while connecting the small end of the USB cable into the USB-C port on the right earcup
4. Release the Power/Bluetooth button when the Bluetooth light blinks blue

I made sure I have the latest firmware installed and the latest software is installed on my mobile device.

Edit:

I have found the disconnect/reconnect issue is only observed when the PC switches audio over to the Headset (Hands-free) mode for phone calls. It will remain connected to the iOS device as long as it is on Headset (Stereo) without issues. However, in order to use the headset on the computer as a communications device (input and output) the headset is required to switch over to the Hands-free mode which causes the other device to disconnect. I have also tested this on a Google Pixel 3 and observed the same results. So this appears to be an issue with the headset which needs to be addressed.