These Headphones Are Utter Garbage (NC 700)

[joonwon01@gmail.com]

There is currently no fix for these headphones. They will not pair to the bose music app. After trying over 100 times every which way possible, then spending 3 hours on the phone with Bose support going round and round in circles with multiple different departments, their top tier support's solution was, "Why don't you just return them? Nobody is forcing you to keep them". Bose seems to think that because the phone still pairs to your phone (not through the mobile app), that things are just fine. No, they are not. These are marketed as being able to pair to up to 2 devices at a time and to be able to switch between them. They are also marketed as being able to adjust the level of noise cancelling. Can't do that either. So Bose, no, these are not working and the lack of care or attention by you is astonishing. Their top tier support also stated that if they get enough complaints, that will determine how quickly their engineering department will get on this issue. $400 headphones. I repeat, this is what you get for $400 headphones.

[Donnation]

Agree.  These are a massive disappointment.  Bose decided that how these headphones looked was the biggest priority when they made them.  The fact of the matter is, they actually look kind of silly on the head due to how wide the band sticks out.  They are also uncomfortable to wear for long stretches, while comfort was one of the greatest things about the QC II's.  

As far as the software goes, its a joke.  Its currently unusable and on my 6 hour flight that had no WiFi I could not pair my headphones through the app because it wanted me to sign in for the 100th time and wouldn't do it without a signal.  So I had a $400 piece of garbage in my bag that could not be used on the thing that they were most designed to be used for.  

[Morlock]

Just out of interest, what couldn't you do that you wanted to do?  You don't need the app to connect to BT to a mobile device to listen to music or watch movies.  You also don't need the app to plug in the cable and listen to the on board entertainment.  THe only thing you may need the app for on a flight is settings changes really (like changing sleep mode).

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@Donnation wrote:

So I had a $400 piece of garbage in my bag that could not be used on the thing that they were most designed to be used for.  

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[joonwon01@gmail.com]

The only things separating these from the previous generation is the ability to connect to more than one device and more levels of noise cancellation. The noise cancellation causes a feeling of air pressure and the ability to change it between 0-10 is what sold me on these. If I can't use that function, which is only available through the mobile app, what is the point of paying for the nc 700's? There is none. Waste of money on a function that doesn't work.

[Mike_from_MKE]

When the headphones aren't connected in the app one cannot adjust settings (such as change virtual assistants, set shortcut, etc.).  One also cannot adjust the devices.

My headphones are currently paired and connected to the phone (as it shows in Control Center and settings), yet the Bose Music app wants me to connect them to the phone.

[Donnation]

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@Morlock wrote:

Just out of interest, what couldn't you do that you wanted to do?  You don't need the app to connect to BT to a mobile device to listen to music or watch movies.  You also don't need the app to plug in the cable and listen to the on board entertainment.  THe only thing you may need the app for on a flight is settings changes really (like changing sleep mode).

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Believe me, if I could avoid using the garbage app, I would.  The problem was I deleted the connection with my phone to try and see if that would fix the issue, and it would no longer connect to it after that.  I assumed it was because I needed to use the app to get it started but since I couldn't sign in for the 100th time I was out of luck.  The phone refused the connection with the headphones.  Once I landed and was able to sign in I could connect again.

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[mechs85]

That’s not true. 

You can cycle through rough the varying levels of NC by the default setting of 0,5 & 10 by using the button on the left hand side 

[Morlock]

My mistake, I was thinking of the Bose connect app.  

However I justed tested connecting without the app and I can still connect the normal BT way.  I forgot the device in my phone settings.  I cleared the pairing list on the headphones (hold BT button for 10 Sec) then connected them through my phone settings no problem.  So if you didn't clear both the phone and headphone BT settings it may have remembered the old settings and refused the connection.

Also you shouldn't need wifi to use the app with the headphone 700 (you may have had the issue because you weren't signed in).  I put my phone into airplane mode, switched BT on and the app connected straight away.  The voice prompts even said "your phone is in airplane mode so you will be unable to hear notifications.  I can still change all the settings while in airplane mode.

[mechs85]

I’m actually having this issue now!

theres nothing I really need to do in the app, but yes. I can not connect to the headphone via the app, it is on BT though

hmmm

[Drunin]

Guys, I spent a couple hours with this connectivity issue, but finally got it resolved.

-1. iOS Bose Music app doesn't seem see NC700 unless you long press the On/Bt button and get the blue light on. I believe it's a major issue as it's extremely annoying and confusing. Music plays well, but Bose Music doesn't see NC700!

0. I cannot realize why Bose Music insists on WiFi all the time and do not cooperate otherwise.

1. Update firmware to the latest 1.1.4 via BTU (https://btu.bose.com/#), the one that was on when I bought mine was a disaster as it didn't initially want to pair/activate/update and I was very disappointed

2. If it's not an option or you still want to DIY: a) do not connect to NC700 via Bluetooth in Settings  b) "Connect" in the app should result in a separate LE Bluetooth pairing request, for some reason sometimes it simply doesn't work, I had to restart my phone, turn Bluetooth on and off several times, and (!!!) disconnect my Pebble that also uses two Bluetooth connections, LE and generic.