Sleepbuds Discontinuing Discussion - Updated September 22nd

Sleepbuds
1

September 22nd Update

 

Hey everyone,

 

Today Bose announced Sleepbuds II, available for pre-order today! Check out the blog article for full details.

 

To Pre-order, go here for the US. Other regions visit https://global.bose.com/en_us/index.html to select your region and check availability.  

 

I have modified the below FAQs to be relevant to today. The original FAQs can be found in my post on this thread from today.

 

We're truly excited for everyone to be able to get their hands on our new Sleepbuds II! Let us know what you think.

 

Original Post

 

Hey Sleepbuds Community,

 

Please keep all questions and comments related to announcement of the discontinuation of Sleepbuds to this thread. New threads specifically around the discontinuation of Sleepbuds will be closed or merged into this thread.

 

We will do our best to answer any questions you may have. Please make sure to view the FAQs here and at the bottom of this post before posting.

 

For the official announcement, please visit here.

 

As a reminder, you can return your sleepbuds for a full refund until December 31, 2019. Please visit http://worldwide.bose.com/support/sleepbuds for more information or https://worldwide.bose.com/contact to find contact information for service agents in your region.

 

Thank you for your support!

Wayne M

 

FAQs

I’ve read online customer reviews that state Bose noise-masking sleepbuds™ have a power issue. Is that true? If so, have you fixed the problem?

A number of customers experienced issues with their original version sleepbuds™ not charging fully and/or powering down unexpectedly. In researching the issue, we learned that while the battery we chose functions safely, it did not work as consistently or predictably as it should to meet our standards, and the issue could not be fixed. As a result, we decided to discontinue the product.

 

Does the product present a safety issue? Is it being recalled?
No. Sleepbuds™ did not present a safety issue and were not recalled. However, because the battery we chose did not work as consistently or predictably as it should to meet our standards, we decided to discontinue the product. If your sleepbuds™ are still working fine, we encourage you to keep using them. If you encounter issues, we will continue to provide full support.

 

I haven’t experienced the issues you are describing. Can I still use my sleepbuds™?

Yes. If your sleepbuds™ are still working fine, we encourage you to keep using them.

 

My sleepbuds™ are not charging properly (including not charging beyond 48% or 58%) and/or powering down unexpectedly. What can be done to fix the issue?
Please contact Bose product support for help.

2

Can I return to the Bose store that I bought it from for a refund or does the refund have to be processed online?

3

What happens if the sleepbuds stop working after the 31st of December? 

 

I am kind of dependent on them, and do not prefer to return them (just yet). 

 

However, I am on my 4th pair already, so what are the chances that they do keep working? 

4

THANK YOU BOSE FOR (FINALLY) A FULL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND APOLOGY FOR EVERYTHING I'VE BEEN SAYING FOR ALMOST A YEAR.

 

APOLOGY ACCEPTED.

 

(PLEASE COMMUNICATE MORE IN FUTURE THOUGH AS THIS HAS DRIVEN PEOPLE MAD..)

 

SLEEPBUDS WAS A GREAT IDEA BUT I AM HAPPY TO NOW REQUEST MY REFUND.

 

SIGNING OUT.

5

To be honest this makes me angry! You only have the product which was launched for a year and yet, you are discontinuing the product! Can I suggest that instead of this drastic action why not change the battery to something which is good? If you think the present battery is or has been reported that there are issues with it. 

 

I also presume you will not be updating the app anymore? Are there any plans to have some new masking sounds or again has this been shelved as well?

 

You as a company Bose are in my way far more advanced through research and technology then your competitors! 

 

I really think you are onto a winner with this product and I don't see the justification in throwing that all of that away. I really do think you should reconsider and at least have a design change if you think that would help.

6

Yes, got my first replacement pair and so far so good. for me the issues started after updating the buds. With this replacement pair, I am just ignoring the update and so far so good. Like most of us light sleepers, we rely on these buds for a good quality sleep. It is sad that Bose has given up on this product. Not too sure if I want to do the refund process unless they let us keep what we have. Can't sleep without them.

 

Did see that there is a Finnish company making a similar product called QuietOn. May look at them at a later day when these ones break. 

7

I love my sleepbuds, even with the issues I've had (beeping occasionally at night). Last week, the little piece of magnet which keeps the sleep bud attached to the charger disappeared. I still wear them and use them without the sound and they still work okay. I can't sleep without them. They have been life changing, since both my dog and my husband snore. They are comfortable. Here are my questions related to the discontinuation:

1. Are they safe to use? The only concern I have had with these is I have noticed an occasional ringing in my ears during the day that I didn't have before. It hasn't really bothered me, and I would take that over not sleeping, but wanted to be sure that the discontinuation isn't due to safety issues.

2. Can I still purchase the product from you?

8
 wrote:

I really think you are onto a winner with this product and I don't see the justification in throwing that all of that away. I really do think you should reconsider and at least have a design change if you think that would help.

I agree with this - I really like my sleepbuds and have not slept this well in years. Bose's message does say that they plan to continue research, and they are "committed to making our vision a reality". Hopefully that means they will solve the battery issue and come out with a new version.

 

I think they realize they have a winner, but they can't make money if there's a fundamental problem with the product that causes customers to return it and spread the word online that they are frustrated. Once the problems are solved, the number of positive reviews should far outweigh the negatives, and that will increase the chances that new customers will risk $300 to try these out.

9

Noooooo!!!  I love my sleepbuds!  I mean, ok, I recognize Bose has probably lost a bit of money on me since I'm on my 6th pair (I think), but I love em and use them every night!


Bose, I hope you guys are able to keep working on the concept!  It's a unique, useful, and great idea!

I'm going to do a bit of a brain dump of thoughts in case there are any useful bits for a re-design:

 

Problematic edge cases I've noticed:

- Young people with good hearing between 15-25kHz: Electronic switching noise becomes more evident, especially when relying on Bluetooth.  Maybe redesign the circuit to include more filtering, or increase the masking sounds to include the switching sound frequencies?  No idea if changing the memory location of sounds would make a difference, but I swear it seems like switching noise increased after adding sounds.
- Side sleeping resulting in squeaking sounds from the plastic rubbing on the sheets: Maybe change the case design so either the plastic is matte, or something like PTFE.

- Case and sleepbuds not sitting properly:  I like the case, but it's sometimes hard to get the sleepbuds to sit properly.  Might need a re-design.
- Battery and charging: Obvious problem.  I'm not sure what a good solution might be.
- Magnets falling out: Redesign case so magnet fits inside the sleepbud.  Do the same with the sleepbud case and increase the case magnet size.


(edited to remove a draft sentence fragment)