NC 700 Battery Life Incorrect

Around On Ear Headphones
1

Hi, I've just purchased a new pair of NC 700 headphones, three days ago. There was an odd indicator on first use of the Bose Music app that stated my battery life was over 2 weeks.

 

All seemed well, and the startup voice continued to report a full battery (20 hours) until it shut off in the middle of a call. Plugging it in to charge, the app reported again over two weeks battery life.

 

Charging it overnight, it continues reporting the same amount of battery life—the app reports over two weeks battery and the startup voice says 20 hours—then the headphones shut off not long afterward.

 

I updated the firmware and rest the headphones following troubleshooting recommendations several times.

 

Thank you for your assistance.

 

——

 

Bose product name
NC 700

 

Country
USA

 

Firmware Version
1.8.2

 

App Version

4.3.3

 

What devices were you using that were affected and what version are they on (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S9 on Android 11, iPhone X on iOS14, etc.)
iPhone 12 mini, MacBook Pro 2019

 

Detailed description of the issue and steps to reproduce

Battery life indication on app and startup voice do not match, and are incorrectly high, as the headphones shut down several minutes after starting use

 

What environment do you experience the issue in? (e.g. noisy office, quiet kitchen, etc.)

Indoors at my desk

 

When did you start to experience the issue? Did it work correctly previously?

Issue occurred from first use

 

Any troubleshooting steps you took

Reset headphones, checked firmware was updated, charged battery overnight

 

2

Hello jlmurtaugh, 

 

Thanks for posting and welcome to the community. 

 

This certainly is strange behaviour and I would love to help you to resolve it. Just to confirm, the app says the battery is 2 weeks, the headphones say 20 hours and yet they shut off after a few minutes? If this is correct, just to confirm, when they shut off, do you need to recharge for them to work or do they work again when turned back on? If they work again, does the same behaviour repeat itself? 

 

The troubleshooting you have tried so far is great, can I please confirm how you are charging the headphones? Is it via a laptop or wall plug? Also, have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app? Does this make a difference? 

 

I look forward to your reply. 

3

Yes, correct, the battery reports as ‘full’ no matter how long it’s charged.

 

I’ve used both a wall plug and my laptop to charge the headphones via USB-C.

 

Reinstalling the app didn’t help.

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I’m attaching a screenshot for your reference.

4

Thanks for coming back to us with this information. At this point, as the issue is very unique, I would recommend contacting local support to seek an exchange. You can do this by clicking Global Contact Us > Select your country > Scroll to the bottom of the page > Click 'Contact Us'.

 

Let me know if you have any further questions.

5

Hi, thank you for the advice—I reported via the US contact us page as requested, they directed me to the product support/replacement form.

 

However, when I enter my serial number and problem the web form reports I am out of warranty. I purchased the headphones new last week, this can’t be correct. Is there another way to resolve this?

 

Thank you for your help

 

L

6

Hi jlmurtaugh,

 

As your headphones are only a week old, they will still be within their warranty period. If the online web form shows them as being out of warranty then please do reach back out to the US support team with your proof of purchase and they will be more than happy to help!

 

As they are only a week old, you may also be able to reach out to the store you bought them from for a replacement as well if that would be easier for you.

 

I hope this helps!

7

Hi there!

 

Got intrigued by the name of this thread. Here's my case.

 

I purchased NC 700 headphones for Xmass and returned them 50 days later due to my 700s not being able to maintain advertised battery life, i.e. 20  hours. I saw battery life of 20:42 one time only - upon unpacking and before headphones performing update to firmware 1.8.2. After that they never went over 18:42. I tested them by continuous play until discharge and they never achieved the 19-hour mark.

 

A few days ago I purchased a pair in great condition from a private seller. He was honest and explained that they probably lost a few hours of batterylife and that I should expect up to 18 hours of playing - or less, due to approx 18 months since the original purchase. That is what the app is showing upon full charging - 18:42 and not a minute more.

 

Now, I have just driven them for 20 hours straight in order to test the real battery life. I turned off all auto turn-offs and sensors and let them play and discharge. For the last 2 remaining hours of play app shows only "battery low" in red font - while the voice assistant reports remaining time. What surprised me is that I measured whole 20 hours and 57 minutes before the warning "battery level critical" and them I turned them off. There might have still been juice for a few more minutes, but that is nearly 21 hours of continuous play for my NC 700 - after 18 months of (moderate) use.

 

I am hugely impressed by this particular pair of 700s - unlike the other one I had returned.

 

Worth to mention that this older pair that plays 21 hours has been manufactured in June 2019, while the returned pair with diminished battery life is actually newer (!) - manufactured in August 2020.

 

There may be differences in production batches? 

 

Anyway, I would like to see the app showing accurate playing time and not time that is 2 hours shorter than the real one.

 

Great product btw. I appreciate the neutral frequency response and seamlessly phenomenal NC.

 

Regards,