Noise Cancelling 700 Firmware Update - Stutter when Connected to Multiple Devices

[Pancake]

I have never commented on an online forum before but having invested $400 on headphones that drive me cuckoo up a tree, don't work as advertised, and offer no solution in this forum, felt I had to chime in. Fix this stuttering, please?  What is the point in buying a BOSE product like this if it makes your life worse, not better?

[karman karman]

I also had the same issue with stuttering, even after updating the headphone to 1.70. The headphone is connected to a PC windows 10 and an Iphone X via a bluetooth adapter. 

But I think I may have a work-around to this problem. After I remove the bluetooth connection from my Iphone to my PC, everything is working fine. I can listen to music and youtube from my PC without stutter, initiate a phonecall from the phone, and return automatically to music / youtube from my PC after the call ended. Receiving a phonecall requires me to switch the phone's audio to the headphone manually, but i guess it's because the headphone is announcing the caller's number before i pick up the call. I will try to disable the headphone's announcement, and see if that fix the problem. 

.

It's been 2 days, and so far so good. Hope this helps. 

[MacL3an]

Same problem here:

Firmware: 1.7

Phone: iPhone 11 Pro running iOS 14

Computer: MacBook Pro 13" running Catalina (10.15.6)

I get stuttering when both devices connected and I play sound through Spotify. It disappears when I disconnect the phone. 

Like people said, getting this from the most expensive headphones I've ever bought is disappointing, to say the least. 

[NYMonster24]

Updated to the latest Firmware 1.7. It couldn't solve the stuttering issue. 

Condition: Connected to a phone (Android or iPhone) and a computer (PC or Mac)

Issue: Stuttering appears when the computer is the active stream. (No issue with the phone as the active stream.)

Please fix. This makes Sony wh-1000xm4 a better product. 

[markvaneijken]

I think it got even worse then first. I'm using this headset a lot for Microsoft Teams meetings.

My configuration consists of a PC with a MSI Z370 Pro motherboard and a Intel AC 9560 wireless/bluetooth module. Apart from that I have a Jabra 370 USB adapter and a separate TP-Link UB400 USB Bluetooth dongle. Al have there specific issues in relation with the NC700.

When on version 1.3 calling voice quality using the Jabra dongle was pretty good. The only issue was that the headset seemed to  change BT profiles when setting up or answering a call. As a result I could bot hear the other end. The only way to overcome was restarting the headset. 

On v1.5 this seemed to be fixed, but after a while I had the white/red flash issue and my headset was replaced. 

The replacement is now on 1.7 and now the Jabra module is not working at all most of the times. The only way to get it working sometimes is setting PC audio on in the Jabra control app. The built-in BT and BT usb adapter are giving a distorted voice quality most of the times during a call. At this moment using it icm the Teams android client on my phone seems to be the best of all worse options.

I hope that someday Bose will manage to fix this, because I love the headset itself and the meeting attendees are enthusiastic about the inbound noice cancelation. 

[vineethpbharadwaj]

Hello @Wayne_M 

the stuttering issue is not solved with the 1.7.0 update. How long should we wait for the company to own up its mistakes? 

It’s been around 6 months for crying out loud and still Bose is incapable of fixing the issues. 
p.s. even the battery life issue too isn’t solved. 

How much longer will the customers be kept in dark?

 This feels more like an issue with the hardware than software. What are the next steps Bose is going to take to address the issue? 

[MacL3an]

Do we know if there is anyone with the Bose 700 who does NOT have this stuttering problem when two devices are connected?

I was in contact with Bose support and they claimed that they could not confirm the problem on their end and suggested I get a replacement under warranty. I have instead chosen to ask for a refund, waiting until the firmware becomes better.

[pkagrawal]

@Wayne_M @Anne_S Can you please acknowledge that 1.7.0 did not fix the stuttering issue that we have all been complaining about? I tried Sony's XM4 last week and I was blown away by how seamless it is with multiple devices. We need the fix ASAP.

[shaslove]

• Bose product firmware version (screenshot if possible)
• Screenshot attached
  • Bose app version (screenshot if possible) screenshot attached
  • Detailed description of the issue and steps to reproduce Well I am using both my MacBook and my iPhone 8 plus I have glitchy Ness and sound cut off
  • Where do you run into the issue? see above
• Where and when did it first occur? the whole time i’ve owned them, about 3 weeks 
  • What services are you using that were affected and what version are they on? (E.g. iPad Pro on iOS 12.9) Macbook Air 2020; Iphone 8 plus latest update included
  • When did you start to experience the issue? Did it work correctly previously? As soon as I got them, No
  • Any troubleshooting steps you took and effects, if any. I tried debugging my bluetooth on my mac

 

[anand.nandanan]

As requested, here are my share of the details:

• Bose product model
  NC 700 Headphones
• Bose product firmware version
  1.7.0-10068+f3675e6 (see screenshot below)
  
  
• Bose app version
  4.1.1 (see screenshot below)
  
  
• Detailed description of the issue and steps to reproduce
  Stutter/audio dropout every 20 seconds to 5 mins when connected to iPhone 7 (running iOS 14.0.1) and 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro (running MacOS Catalina 10.15.7).
• Where do you run into the issue? Where and when did it first occur?
  It occurred as soon as I got and started using the headphones (~1 week ago). I had updated FW on the NC 700s as soon as I unboxed them, so I was unable to compare with older versions of FW. As mentioned in the previous question, this happens every time I have 2 devices connected.
• What services are you using that were affected and what version are they on?
  Using a iPhone 7 (running iOS 14.0.1) and 2018 15-inch MacBook Pro (running MacOS Catalina 10.15.7). The stutter occurs regardless of use-case (whether streaming something in the browser on my MacBook or Spotify from my iPhone).
• When did you start to experience the issue? Did it work correctly previously?
  As mentioned in a prior question, this issue was present from first use (~1 week ago). I cannot say for certain if this issue was present on previous FW that the headphones came with as I never tried them with the old FW. 
• Any troubleshooting steps you took and effects, if any.
  Cleared pairing lists on my iPhone and MacBook Pro and repaired NC 700s twice. Reset bluetooth module on my MacBook Pro twice. Reset the headphones (using the provided instructions) around 4-5 times. The only workaround is to disconnect the second device such that only one remains connected.

Happy to provide the serial number and Product ID (GUID) if required.

The key takeaway is that I am on the latest FW and app version (as of today) but I'm still experiencing stutters.

Perhaps a suggestion for a workaround till there's a permanent fix: Add a setting to enable/disable multipoint Bluetooth. This will at least save us the hassle of manually disconnecting a device every time we power on the headphones.