Bose SoundLink III Volume Control Problems and Unwanted Noise

[Serdar Kilic]

Dear Customer/Community Representative,

I have a SoundLink III which I bought from the US in 2015 and have been using in Turkey since then. I am completely satisfied with its sound quality and sleek design.

I, nonetheless, have a problem with its volume controlling from my devices. As long as I do not set up the volume of the source device at its maximum, I always hear an unwanted annoying noise from the SoundLink. If that is the solution, I mean if I have to set the volume of the source device at its maximum each time I would like to listen to music, and then, I can control my SoundLink's volume level, in that case what is the point while having a portable Bluetooth speaker and I cannot control it via my device without any noise issue. I also have a JBL Go which perfectly repairs with my devices without any noise whatsoever. All I want is, my Bose SoundLink operates exactly the same as my JBL Go does.

Best wishes, 

Serdar

[Andy_B]

Hey Serdar, 

Thanks for your message and welcome to the Bose Community forums. It's great to hear that you love using your speaker, but we're sorry to hear that you're running into difficulties. We don't quite understand what the root issue that you're currently experiencing is. Can you tell us a little more detail? 

Are you unable to use the volume controls on the top of the speaker? Alternatively, are you experiencing the speaker producing unwanting audio? If so, what audio is being produced? Additionally, does this happen when the speaker is connected/disconnected from a power outlet for charging?

[Serdar Kilic]

Hi Again,

What I am trying to say is that I have to set the volume of the source device, for instance my iPhone's, at its maximum in order to hear a crystal clear sound from my SoundLink speaker, otherwise I unfortunately hear an unwanted noise which SoundLink generates due to low source volume. I, actually, do not want this. Instead, I would like to control my SoundLink completely from my source device (i.e., my iPhone) without even touching the speaker, which is much convenient and comfortable to me. This is how, for instance, JBL Go works. When I increase the volume from the source device, my JBL Go's volume increases too, and vice versa. In other words, when I control the volume from the JBL Go, in fact I DO control the source device's volume level at the same time. Not surprisingly, I can see the volume change on my iPhone's screen. That is why it always guarantees a crystal clear sound. 

With my SoundLink however, I cannot control my source device's volume, all I can do is to set the volume of the source device at its maximum first, and then control the SoundLink's volume independent from the source device, an action which I cannot see on my iPhone's Screen. In other words, they both work independently, rather than in a mutual synchronised way. So, what is the point to have a Bluetooth speaker with which I cannot control directly my device's volume. Is there a software update for the Bose speaker in order to use it in this way, as I do with my JBL Go?

Thank you,

[Keith_L]

Hi Serdar,

Thank you for clarifying that for us!

The noise you are getting from having your source device below 100% is not something I would expect to happen. Is this something that has happened since you first bought the speaker, or has this started happening recently?

The SoundLink III does not have any way for the speaker controls and phone controls to interact. The two-volume controls will respond independently. The best way to control the volume from your phone, would be to set your phone to about 75% volume, set the speaker to the level you want, and then you can tweak it from the phone while listening.

There aren't any updates available for your speaker so this is not something that could be added with an update sadly.

I hope this helps!

[Serdar Kilic]

Thank you for your helps.

Well, it's quite disappointing to hear that the two-volume controls do not interact. Anyways, I can hear an unwanted noise since I bought it. I guess this occurs when I set the level of volume of the source device below its maximum. In order not to face this issue again, I'll have to follow your solution suggestion. I, however, still cannot understand why such a brilliantly designed product lacks this kind of simple feature (i.e., interacting with its source device), while some much cheaper Bluetooth speakers having it.

Thank you again, and stay healthy,