QC 35-I is Turning On By Itself

[jlauther]

I tried the solution that was suggested and I am still going through the same problems as well. They still turn on and continue to drain the battery. My headphones are in great condition and unfortunately I have owned them over a year now so my warranty has expired. These headphones are not cheap! Is there anything that can be done to commpensate the customers? A discounted price on another unit does not solve the problem either. 

Suggested Steps: 

When powering off do you hear the power-down tone? 

Is Bluetooth turned on in any nearby devices and does the headset automatically connect?

Try turning Bluetooth off in source devices to see if the same issue persists. 

[joelirwin]

just fyi - I have seen this behavior and have unpaired the qc35 from all my devices.  since then... so far... it has not turned on.  And this behavior only started recently.  While I am willing to concede it could be a faulty on/off switch, it may still be possible that the problem is merely in the firmware and requires an update.  Bose reps I have talked to have told me its a firmware problem and not a hardware problem.... so I am not yet convinced myself of the source of the problem... not yet.

[Cesar_G]

Yeah, total nonsense. All I want is an off switch that works. In my house, we have a Minisound Link, a set of Soundsport ear buds, another QC35 and a Sounddock system. Every time we've needed speakers/headphones we've always gone to Bose for their quality. Now they're saying if I want a pair of headphones that turn off I have to buy another set of headphones. Even with a discount it's still way too much. Something needs to be fixed, either my headphones or their customer service.

[joelirwin]

just fyi - I have seen this behavior and have unpaired the qc35 from all my devices.  since then... so far... it has not turned on.  And this behavior only started recently.  While I am willing to concede it could be a faulty on/off switch, it may still be possible that the problem is merely in the firmware and requires an update.  Bose reps I have talked to have told me its a firmware problem and not a hardware problem.... so I am not yet convinced myself of the source of the problem... not yet.

[jlauther]

I will try it again but I have updated to the latest firmware and it turned off all Bluetooth sources and I have the issue still smh

[jlauther]

I will try it again but I have updated to the latest firmware and it turned off all Bluetooth sources and I have the issue still

[joelirwin]

That is the whole point.  I still suspect the problem is not the hardware but the CURRENT firmware that has been updated in the last few months.  If it is the current firmware, they need to fix it and release a new version of the firmware.  I can't seem to get a straight specific answer about this from Bose.  Others here have been told its not a firmware issue but a hardware issue.  I have been told the opposite.

Even with no bluetooth connections/pairing, turning itself on can still be a firmware issue.  What I would love to find out is if someone is having this problem who is NOT using the current version of the firmware.  I would guess that the only people whose QC-35s have latest firmware are those who are using the Bose App.

[jmooney]

I'm convinced it is not firmware, for three reasons:

1. For me, this started happening prior to doing any firmware updates. It randomly started one day.

2. Bose would not be issuing warranty replacements if it was firmware. It costs them a lot of money to issue replacements.

3. If you google this issue, this has been happening for years, despite MANY firmware updates over time.

We own 2 pairs of QC 35s. One has never had an issue in 3 years, while the other has had this happen twice- once within the warranty period, and the current time outside the warranty period. I hope I am wrong, and it somehow is the firmware, however, I'm pretty sure it's not.

[kc8]

I have the same problem with my QC 35 series 1, manufactured in August 2016.  I called customer support today and after getting the same spiel about paying $280 something to upgrade asked to talk to a supervisor.

The supervisors explanation is that this is a NEW firmware feature with low power bluetooth that auto pairs when device is close to phone even if the power switch is on.  I do not believe that story, if it is a feature it should happen EVERY time I bring the device close by and that is not the case.  It happens randomly and few times a day.  Enough to drain the battery or randomly interrupt phone calls.  I told him there are many threads on these boards on this issue and some people are getting out of warranty replacements and I don't care if its series1, or 2 or refurbished, just want a working one that doesn't have a common defect that is bose's fault.  He would not budge and I am not happy with my purchase of what was the top of the industry wireless headphone at the time

If any online Bose Support here can do better and support doing the right thing and get it replaced please let me know.

thanks

[greerl]

You need to try to insist on talking to someone who at least knows how the phones are supposed to work. As per their user guide for series II RFIC, series I doesn't have?) https://www.bose.com/en_us/support/article/pairing-a-bluetooth-enabled-device-with-nfc-qc35.htm, Bose explicitly says first turn on headset and even then must bring the headset pairing spot close to source such as iPhone. Re Bluetooth, the guide explicitly states must slide switch to pairing position.

Buy that aside, because of the spurious turn on running down the battery it's obvious to anyone who understands the operation that this can't be intentional.