Right ear stopped working QC25

[0urobor0s]

Hi,

I have a QC 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones that I bought some time ago which I light use. Yesterday I noticed that the audio of the right ear cut intermittently.

I also notinced that if I tap slightly on the right side the audio will come back. 

I went to a store and the person informed me that my headphone was out of warranty and they dont do repairs then they tried to sell me another model at discounted price if I traded mines, which I cant because I honestly dont have that kind of money.

so far this is the troubleshooting steps I have done.

1. I exchagned the audio cable with a brand new one 
2. I replaced the battery with a new one 
3. I have tried using in multiple other devices (windows machines, macOS, mobile Phones etc) with the new and old audio cord

I suspect that based that it works when I tap on it lightly that there is either a loose solder joint or one of the wires are broken on the inside.

The whole reason I bought these headphones is because I have a medical condition and I cannot work without them. could some PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me get my headphones repaired.

Thank you 

[Tegan_M]

Hello,

Welcome to the community, we are very sorry that you are experiencing intermittent audio with your QC25 headphones. I would like to do what I can to assist you with this, thank you for attempting some troubleshooting already.

What our store representative has stated is correct, we do not provide repairs for the headphones however replacements. If your product is out of warranty a charge will be processed with this service option. I apologise for the disappointment which this has caused. 

Do you have any protective casing over your mobile device? This might be causing obstruction to the connectors. 

I would also check that the headphone jack is clean and free of debris. You can use a flashlight or other light source to check if any lint or debris has entered the headphone jack on the device, which can interfere with the connection. 

Please let us know, we would like to do what we can to help.

Kind regards,

Tegan M - Community Support 

[afsierra]

Hello,

1 (angry) comment and a solution that worked for me last night

1) that sucks. I had the same yesterday in the left ear. I had barely used them. I used to liked them a lot, until today. I called Bose Service and they wanted to charge me 135 USD for a new pair replacement...when they sell on Amazon for 99USD (127USD for non Prime Members) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  When I told that to the cust service representative she replied that the replacement would be then 101 USD instead of the initial 135USD. This is outrageous. There is a clear flaw in the design as this has happened to many many people (just search on Google)...as a matter of fact many of the QC25s made before 2015 were reclaimed (they just closed the reclaim so if you want them repaired, the only suggestion is to buy new ones from them at a higher price that you can buy in retail...UNBELIEVABLE). That made me feel offended and unappreciated as a Bose customer (or ex-customer I should say)

2) now the constructive part. The solution is quite easy (yet clunky) and has worked for me pretty well. There are a few tutorials online for how to do it. remove the ear cup (if you pull it will pop up and it is easy tu put back). You will see a membrane and on one of the sides, inside the membrane, a tint tiny copper wire...if you push on it with a piece of paper it wiil work again...you just need to leave the piece of paper stuck there and they will work fine). Hope it helps.

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isn't it crazy that this flaw happens to  so many people with such an expensive piece of technology? a small copper cable get's loose over time and the $300 headphones are worth nothing...Bose certainly knows this and instead of trying to help happy customers fix it (or get a free replacement due to faulty design), they try to scam them charging them more than normal market prices for a replacement...Way to go Bose!!! count me into the unhappy ex-customer group

[Gosee2001]

You're so right! 

Mine was raplaced back in 2016 due to the same problem. Back then, I had a long conversation with Bose rep in London, who fully acknowledged this flaw in manufacturing.

Mine was replaced under warranty, free of charge. The replacement unit works great.

[afsierra]

Glad it worked for you! 

I guess I had the bad luck of getting a semi-decent unit that lasted a couple years more 😞 

[Gosee2001]

Yes. Its also worth mentioning Bose gives only 1 year of warranty to its NC headphones, but if you buy it in the EU - you get 2 years (EU laws...) of international warranty that will be honored also in the US.

[afsierra]

sorry team but I have nowhere else to vent...I wrote a review on Bose.com using the same wording as I used above and guess what....They have removed it arguing that it was not appropriate!!!!! they should be ashamed for restraining freedom of speech...this is the email I got. I am starting to get really angry about the poor customer service and their unethical filtering of feedback

[Charlotte_G]

Hello afsierra, 

Thank you for your post. 

I'm very sorry to hear that you feel this way and that you have been unable to submit your review.

I will be passing along your post to the relevant team who will be in touch via private message to discuss this matter. 

Warm regards,

Charlotte G 

[_joseph_]

Uhg....this leaves me with little hope for getting mine fixed. I use mine maybe a dozen times a year and while being a five or six year old set, I got the QC25 right after they were released, I feel these should have lasted way longer than they did. For real, back in the 90's I was using a set of headphones that belonged to my uncle back in the early 80's. They were sick!

I guess I will try the hack method for my flight back to the states. Bummer they kicked the bucket after the first 14 hour leg of my trip. 

As someone who pays good money for things and expects them to last, I am pretty disappointed.

[John Galt]

I've had my QC 25 headphones for 5-6 years and use them approx. 6-8 times per year on long flights. I have ALWAYS kept them in the case that they came with and have never abused them in any way. I was just on a flight and noticed my left ear was no longer noise cancelling. When I press on or lightly tap the left ear case, I hear static. Based on what I've read hear, it sounds like a very simple short on the speaker membrane.

Bose has a fantastic reputation for innovation and technological superior equipment. When searching for warranty info, I was very surprised to find that Bose onlyprovides a one year warranty. Seriously? I am more than a little disappointed. Based on what you charge for your product I would have to think you'd be able to a> make a more robust product, b> actually acknowledged and own up to a poor design or manufacturing process and c> offer something more than a one year warranty. 

I truly hope you put my $350+ dollars spent on this product to good use as you will never receive another dime of my hard-earned money ever again. And, I will be joining evidently what is growing to be a large corp of consumers who will be major detractors of the Bose brand.

Regards.