QC35 Headphones Turning Itself On?

[Basjo21]

Thanks for the info, it gives me a little hope that something might be done to fix the problem. Reps have told might multiple different things about what might be wrong. I do not have any other Bose products that are plugged in at the moment so I can’t speak to that working for me. I have turned on stand by mode to 5 min and headphones turned off for the first time in months, I will monitor to see if they stay off. I hopei g they have a fix soon as I have already taken two airplane trips without my Bose and really miss the noise cancellation. I’ll wait around for another firmware update before I buy the Sony’s I have my eye on. Wish Bose would be more forthcoming with info and just tell everybody they messed up the firmware and are working on a fix instead of denying any issues in the first place.

[jmooney]

I’m afraid you might have been misinformed. Mine started turning on automatically prior to any firmware upgrade (both times). They randomly started doing it, and nothing has fixed it. Secondly, why would they have you send them in, and do warranty replacements (on their own dime) if it was firmware?
This is my second pair that have done this, and if you research it, this has been happening for a LONG time now (amongst many firmware upgrades).

[Basjo21]

Yes, my feeling is that it’s a defective piece. I will wait 1 more firmware to see if they can come up with a fix. At this point I have no trust that Bose will do the right thing. Still lots of issues even with the new QC35II’s. I really don’t know what to do about them, mine are about 18 months old and people having the same issue with multiple sets is definitely not putting confidence with the customer with supporting Bose products. Most likely stuck buying a different brand, just haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Thanks for all the info.

[delightful]

Could have been misinformed, but for now it works for me.

Just passing on the info I was told. Whether right/wrong, if only other Bose products or other bluetooth devices in general.

Mine was issue was sporadic too and just noticed it a coupole months ago.

It's certainly feasible if it's a software issue for it to start randomly, but unfortunately I know nothing more than I've been told and what worked for me to keep it off.

[db0x0]

Agreed that the faulty firmware being the culprit is a bit suspicious. Mine also started doing the automatic turn-on about 14 months after purchase, and had never done any firmware updates before ending up here to look for solutions.This is the only Bose product I have, and have been connecting to the same phone and tablet for most of it's lifetime.

On top of that, not only will they turn on by themselves randomly, now the switch itself will no longer turn them on when I do want them on. I have to either bump the on switch to the pairing toggle (without holding it there longer enough to activate the 'ready to pair' dialog) or push any button (volume +/- or pause) which will turn on the headphones regardless of switch position. But if the headphones are on and the switch is in the on position, turning it to the off position does turn it off. But then will randomly and occasionall turn itself back on, especially if it's still running through it's 'connected to...' announcements. Or if I plug or unplug the USB, or if I plug or unplug the hardwire headphone jack (again, regardless of switch position)

The recent talk of this being an error to an intended feature and/or firmware glitch just seems to be some new corporate spin. This would have definitley come up long ago in other's conversations with tech support I would think.

[Alexguy07]

I am beyond disappointed with the customer service I have received so far for this same problem.

I have done the troubleshooting available suggested via the phone support, and been patients with the holds that I have been put on.

I purchased my Bose QC35s 1 year and 3 months ago, to the day. Cumulatively, I have used them maybe for 35 hours. At the original price point, that’s $10/hour to listen too these headphones. Granted, maybe I could have used them move in the time that I’ve had them, but maybe they would have broke even faster?

When not in use, I have kept them exclusively in their case, well protected. When I purchased these, I planned on being happy for many years, not to be given the run around by Bose customer service 3 months out of warranty.

What really set me off is, after my third call to customer service, explaining the problem, explaining the steps that I’ve already taken, the customer service rep put me on hold for a few minutes, and then came back with “Sir, I have good news! We are going to replace your headphones, and upgrade them to QC 35 iis.” I said “Thank you so much,” relieved that my purchased was not a mistake, and that I was near the end of this ordeal.

She then says, “we will be sending you the QC 35 iis to replace your current set, and it will be $259.”

You you kidding me? Why would I buy another pair, I asked? Could she guarantee that these new headphones would not break shortly out of warranty like my current pair?

She had the audacity to say she could guarantee they wouldn’t break, and that the warranty would be good for a year. Like it did me good this time. There’s just no reason in the world that a reasonable customer should have to spend $600 dollars on headphones to have a working pair after 1.25 years of original purchase.

I told her I couldn’t justify or afford to “upgrade” my headphones. That’s where the call ended. This is obviously a problem with the product. There’s approximately 12 pages of complaints to support that something has gone wrong. At best, their is some sort of software bug, at worst, these things have been designed to fail right outside the warranty date.

The worst part to me? I have been recommending these to friends, family, and aqantainces at every turn based on sound quality and comfort. I hate to think I have recommended a product that will break for them as well.

[harryhou1101]

Here I'm experiencing the same issue. I brought QC35 on Dec 30th 2016 when I was on my travel in US. The auto power-on problem came up this summer.

I've contacted the local Bose Support in my country, and they said the headphone is out of warranty according to purchasing date. The ONLY way to solve is paying about $250 (in my local currency) and get a replaced one.

So here comes 2 questions:
1. Will the replaced headphone have the same issue after 1.5 yrs use?
2. It has shown to be a product quality problem while such so many people have exact the same issue. So why we customers have to pay $250 for a quality problem caused by manufacture ?

Looking forward to get a responsible solution from Bose.

[Pete_Bose]

The Power switch on my QC 35 just failed. The web site is useless. Looks like I am now on the merry-go-round too

[fhosein]

Yep, will never buy another pair of Bose again. Happy with the BEATS purchases I have made recently and will stick with them going forward. Be sure to pass along the word to friends and family on the poor customer support from Bose. Quite disappointing and unexpected.

[kalum]

I started having this same problem about 1 month ago. This seems like a manufacturing defect those Bose does not admit to it. I tried updating to recent firmware, did all the steps that Bose telephone CS wanted me to do but still having this issue. The only thing they could offer me is a discount to buy a new Bose headphones and said that I cannot send this in for a repair even if I am willing to pay for the repair.

I am outside the 1yr Bose warranty but still have an extended warranty for the second year through my credit card. I need a written statement/email from Bose CS that this is something that cannot be repaired by them to process an extended warranty claim. I cannot find any Bose customer support email to get this info.