Bose pulls Sleepbuds from market due to battery problem, refunds customers

Bose is removing its Noise-Masking Sleepbuds from its product range. The wireless earphones, which would provide a better night’s sleep by covering up disturbing ambient noise, suffer from a battery problem that cannot be solved. Dissatisfied customers get their money back.

According to the manufacturer, the Noise-Masking Sleepbuds that Bose launched on the market in June 2018 can suffer from a battery that does not work sufficiently consistently or reliably. Bose states that most users have no problems, but that there are also customers with “a completely different experience”. In this group, the Sleepbuds fail at unexpected moments or do not fully charge via the supplied charging case. According to the specifications, the earphones would last sixteen hours each time.

According to Bose, this is an unsolvable problem, which means that the manufacturer is forced to remove the Sleepbuds from the range. Owners will be notified of this decision in the coming days, after which they will be given a choice of two solutions. For starters, everyone, including those who don’t experience any issues, will be eligible for a full refund until December 31, 2019. The suggested retail price of the earphones at the introduction was 269.95 euros.

Owners can also keep and continue using their Sleepbuds, but can also get a new pair of earbuds from Bose from a limited supply. According to the manufacturer, these are less susceptible to the battery problem, but ‘not completely immune’. In a letter posted on the website, Bose apologized for the inconvenience and for not communicating clearly enough about its Sleepbuds issues in the past.

The Sleepbuds are not to be confused with in-ear headphones with active noise canceling. They use noise masking technology: sleep-disrupting noise, such as a snoring partner or noisy neighbors, is masked by soothing sounds. Via the app, users can choose from a dozen so-called sleep tracks, such as ‘Rusting leaves’, ‘Ocean’ and ‘Campfire’. Streaming music or other audio to the Sleepbuds is not possible.