Noise Cancelling 700 Firmware Update - 1.7.0 - September 14th 2020

[Nasalhair]

Well, I've taken a bit of a step to see if the 1.7.0 firmware issues are related to my phone rather than the headphones: I bought a new phone.  My NC 700s were on the 1.3 firmware (I'd downgraded after previous problems with the 1.7.0 release) and were working great, so I connected them to my new phone, installed the Bose app, connected the headset via Bluetooth, and it prompted me to update.  Did the update and all seemed OK. 

This morning I went to use my headphones, turned them on, heard the "connected to..." then a pregnant pause, then they said the name of my phone.  Started listening to music and after a few seconds I heard the loud buzz and they rebooted.  The problem is related to the headphones or the firmware, not the device you're connecting them to and some incompatibility.

Annoyingly it also seems that the usual downgrade route has been blocked by Bose too, so I'm stuck with knackered headphones again.  Good work, Bose.  PLEASE sort this out for all of us.

[Héctor]

Dear all,

I have just purchased the BOSE NCH 700 USB module and I thought that some of your may be interested in what I have to say. I haven't had the time to use it much yet, but so far this is what I can tell. I'm connected to an iPhone XS and a MacBook Pro 2014 via the USB dongle. The connection with my computer, which used to be the most problematic one, seems to be totally reliable now. On the other hand, the connection with my phone remains as it used to be (it's not better, but at least it's not worse).

So, to sum up: when the audio comes from the USB module, all it's fine; but when it comes from the phone, some crackling (stuttering) still occurs. In general, there are no random drop-outs anymore, and conference voice quality has improved. Overall, I would say that the USB dongle is an improvement, but I doubt it's worth the GBP40.00 investment.

BOSE, please, give us further software updates that complete solve the stuttering issue.

Best,

[ejoya]

Same problem here. I came from v 1.1.7 firmware having 19 hrs and 20 mins of battery life. Forgot to turn off the automatic firmware update today to v 1.7.0. My batter now is 17 hrs and 10 mins at max only. 2 hrs less from just a firmware update.

[Wayne_M]

Hey everyone,  

I want to start off by apologizing for the lack of response from Bose on this thread. No excuses. We should be doing better. 

There is a lot going on in this thread. At this point trying to address individual posts or feedback probably wouldn’t be entirely helpful, so I will say we have been and continue to read your feedback. 

With regards to stuttering when connected to multiple devices, we have a thread for that here that I posted in as well. Same thing for battery announcements here. If you experience either of those issues on 1.7.0, please make sure to post in those threads as well. For other issues, please continue to post here. 

And the more detail you can provide when you post the easier it is for us to investigate. What is most helpful is to know is: 

• Bose product firmware version (screenshot if possible) 
• Bose app version (screenshot if possible) 
• Detailed description of the issue and steps to reproduce 
• Where do you run into the issue? Where and when did it first occur? 
• What services are you using that were affected and what version are they on? (E.g. iPad Pro on iOS 12.9) 
• When did you start to experience the issue? Did it work correctly previously? 
• Any troubleshooting steps you took and effects, if any. 

We are working on an update that includes additional fixes for the NC700 and hope to have more details soon. 

Thank you for you for your patience and continued support!

[boliao45]

@ejoya is there even such an option to turn off automatic update from the app itself? i don't see it anywhere to prevent upping to 1.7.0 and now there's no way to downgrade it back to 1.3.1 either since Bose took out that hidden function key combo.

[Gneuh]

Wayne:

This still does not address the fact that the update is FORCED and the firmware not working.

That's why so many people demand a downgrade.

Like it or not, pretend that this is against guidelines and delete any post regarding such downgrade is nothing but a poor excuse to hide that Bose is soooooo wrong in this instance.

(And again, not for a 50$ , but for an high end 400$ product)

[Nasalhair]

Wayne_M

For me, my NC 700s were absolutely fantastic until the "bad" firmware (1.4?) came out.  As soon as that one was released they would usually cut out during the initial announcement "connected to..." then a long pause, then the name of my phone.  They'd seem OK but then after a while - sometimes a few minutes, sometimes about half an hour - they would make a loud buzz noise and reboot, or I'd hear the noise cancellation switch off and they'd reboot.  It didn't matter if I was listening to streaming music, watching a video, listening to a podcast, all in different apps, the headphones would reboot in some way.

I upgraded to 1.7 as soon as it came out and the performance was no better - they would still buzz and reboot or just reboot after a while.  I tried resetting the headphones, uninstalling and reinstalling the app, rebooting my phone (I switch it off every night anyway), and I even bought a new phone, but the result didn't change - reboots persisted.

The only solution I've found was the one you'd prefer us not to talk about.  1.3 is rock solid for me, and despite my phone and the Bose Music app trying to get me to upgrade, I'm staying put.

To reiterate, the headphones were absolutely great until the 1.4 firmware update, and since then they've been unreliable and unstable.  Back on 1.3 they're great again.  The issues are purely related to the firmware updates since then - not our headphones, not our devices, and not the apps we use or what we do with them.

[Gneuh]

So Bose...

Practically 250 messages telling essentially that with the 1.7 update:

*stuttering is still there

*battery life worsened

*ANC worsened

*mic worsened

But still, the downgrade to 1.3 is not an option....

I will reuse roughly a wording I've seen in one message:

When the NC700 work, they are great. Problem is, they do not work often with the 1.7 firmware

[Wayne_M]

Hey @Gneuh,

Completely understand your concern, but to clarify firmware upgrades are not forced. 

A download does start when you connect to the app and if an update is available. The app shows its 'transferring', but the firmware update will never happen until you hit the 'install update' button. You will have to see the install update with the arrow for the foreseeable future, but it will not install the download.

Once you hit 'install update' there is no way to reverse the process, only to delay.  

I'm happy to pass along any feedback with regards to the process and hope that helps!

[Talk2anand.g]

@Wayne_M  Why’s this not true for BOSE 700 SoundBar? Why does it suddenly stop working just to find that it’s updating via the app?

This make BOSE 700 SB so unreliable.. Imagine I have a plan to watch a match or a movie with my family and friends and the SB starts behaving like paper weight?