Bose

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 13 historical complaints about Bose, published between 2003 and 2012. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

• Broken bose bluesPublished Sep 26, 2012 · Historical consumer allegation
• Best Customer Service out therePublished Oct 5, 2011 · Historical consumer allegation
• Total cr*pPublished Mar 15, 2010 · Historical consumer allegation
• Bose Corp., Bose Corporation The plastic swivel earpiece on my pair of Bose TriPort Headphones broke apart during normal usePublished Mar 7, 2010 · Historical consumer allegation
• Their CD players are ridiculously expensive and only last a few yearsPublished Mar 3, 2010 · Historical consumer allegation
• This Company Does Not Back Their ProductsPublished May 20, 2009 · Historical consumer allegation
• Bose Corp Will Not Return MoneyPublished Apr 4, 2009 · Historical consumer allegation
• Bose Redefines The English Word 'NEW'Published Mar 19, 2009 · Historical consumer allegation
• I purchased earbuds and they broke and will not replace product or refund money Framingham MassachusettsPublished Feb 22, 2009 · Historical consumer allegation
• Bose Wave Radio CD Player Rip - OffPublished Sep 26, 2008 · Historical consumer allegation
• A number of BOSE sales reps told me OK to buy in US and bring to Europe Wrentham Also BostonPublished Aug 28, 2007 · Historical consumer allegation
• Refund... Paid with cash... Sending a check in 1-2 weeks RipoffPublished Jan 26, 2006 · Historical consumer allegation
• Could be selling returned Wave Radios as new product?! Hillsdale MichiganPublished Mar 13, 2003 · Historical consumer allegation

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts

• Official website: https://www.bose.com/
• General / warranty support: 800-278-1083
• Corporate office (BBB-listed): 508-879-7330 2 complaints mention this number
• Bass module recall support line: 888-260-0819
• Fax (BBB-listed): 508-766-7335
• Returns & FAQs: https://www.bose.com/returns
• Contact Us / support hub: https://support.bose.com/s/get-help-landing-page

Locations

Bought a Bose product? What to check on returns, warranty, repair and a recent firmware update

Bose Corporation's current U.S. return policy, quoted from its own site, is: "Experience Bose sound for 30 days when purchased on Bose.com. If not 100% satisfied, Bose will cover return shipping. The item must be in its original, undamaged condition with all accessories included. Exclusions apply." Items that cannot be returned for a refund are: Trade In program purchases, personalized items, final sale products, gift cards, and replacement products provided through warranty, service or exchange; products bought from a retailer other than Bose must be returned to that retailer. To qualify for a refund, Bose's Terms of Sale require that you purchase directly from Bose, request a return authorization within the 30-day window, and then deliver the product (with all original accessories, cases and parts) to Bose within 30 days of receiving the return authorization number, including that number with the return; a return that fails to meet these conditions may be refused or charged "a restocking fee of up to 15% of the original price," per the Terms of Sale. Original shipping/handling charges, gift box/gift wrap fees and certain taxes paid are not refundable. Separately, Bose's Returns page states that once a return is received at its Returns Center, refunds "typically process within 3-5 business days for credit cards and PayPal; other payment methods may take up to 2 weeks."

The Bose Limited Warranty, effective for products purchased since August 8, 2025, covers most Bose Products and Accessories for 1 year from the original retail purchase date, with exceptions: 5 years for aviation headsets (2 years if refurbished) and for Bose Passive, Non-powered Loudspeakers; 2 years for Bose Portable PA Products; and 90 days for Replacement Parts such as cushions, ear tips and batteries. Warranty coverage applies only to products "purchased directly from Bose or a Bose authorized distributor/reseller," and Bose (or its authorized service providers) "may require you to provide proof of purchase details, including but not limited to a receipt or sales invoice" before performing service. "Transportation, shipping and insurance costs for the purpose of Service, as well as any import fees, duties or taxes, may be charged to you," and service is available only in the countries where Bose or its authorized distributors sell its products. The warranty explicitly states it "does not apply to any mobile application, firmware, or any other software, even if included or sold with Bose Products." Within warranty, Bose says it will, at its own option, repair with new or refurbished parts, replace with an equivalent new or refurbished unit, or issue a partial or full refund; a repaired or replaced unit is then covered for whichever is longer of the remaining original warranty or 90 days. To start a warranty claim, Bose directs customers to its support contact page rather than to BoseCare, which is a separate paid program described below.

Outside the warranty and the 30-day return window, Bose's Terms of Sale state that "Bose may charge a fee" for repair service and that "all related shipping costs ... shall be borne by you," with eligibility decisions made solely by Bose. Bose also sells paid BoseCare extended-coverage plans, administered by Servify: a Protection Plan covering your product "for 2 years after the 1-year Bose limited warranty" (one repair or replacement per plan), and an Accident Protection Plan that additionally covers accidental/liquid damage, "starts on the date of purchase," and runs for "up to 3 years" (also one repair or replacement per plan); BoseCare's own footnote says both plans "exclude Aviation headsets and Certified Refurbished products." Separately, Bose's Certified Refurbished storefront states every refurbished product "is backed by a 1-year Bose warranty" (when purchased directly from Bose, "the same as any new Bose product") plus "free delivery, free returns, and a 30-day return policy" — Certified Refurbished products are not listed among the items excluded from that standard 30-day return policy. Individual Certified Refurbished product pages on Bose.com nonetheless also offer their own purchasable add-ons named "BoseCare Protection Plan - Refurbished" ($59.95) and "BoseCare Accident Protection Plan - Refurbished" ($99.95, seen on the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones refurbished listing) — an offer whose naming conflicts with the BoseCare page's blanket exclusion of Certified Refurbished products; both are presented here as seen live rather than resolved into one claim.

• Check for an active recall first. Bose is currently running a fire-hazard recall for certain Acoustimass, Lifestyle and Companion bass modules made before April 1, 2006 (see the Product Recalls section below) — check your serial number at the Bose recall page or call 888-260-0819 before assuming a bass-module problem is a normal defect.
• If your QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) lost features after the February 2026 firmware update, other users have reported the same changes — see below. Bose's Limited Warranty states it "does not apply to any mobile application, firmware, or any other software," without limiting your statutory consumer rights (the warranty's Limitation of Liability clause says "NOTHING IN THIS CLAUSE ... LIMITS, MODIFIES OR EXCLUDES YOUR STATUTORY CONSUMER RIGHTS"), so a firmware complaint is unlikely to be handled as a warranty-repair claim. Responding to the press, Bose said: "While there are no plans to restore the previous functionality, we are listening closely to customer feedback"; we could not verify a company-wide refund, warranty-coverage, or feature-restoration policy specific to this update in the sources checked on 2026-09-29. If you want to escalate, use Bose's Contact Us support channel and reference the QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) v8.2.20 update.
• Keep proof of purchase. Warranty service and some return/refund disputes documented on Bose's BBB profile turned on whether a receipt could be matched to the product.
• Start a return or repair request at bose.com/returns or the Bose Support Repair & Replacement tool, or call the general support line for warranty questions.

Product recalls: three CPSC actions, one still active

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's public recall database lists three Bose recalls, conducted voluntarily by Bose in cooperation with CPSC:

• June 29, 2023 — Acoustimass®, Lifestyle® and Companion™ bass modules, fire hazard (CPSC Recall #23-234). The recall covers bass modules manufactured before April 1, 2006 and sold with 27 named Acoustimass/Lifestyle/Companion home-entertainment systems (per CPSC's own product-name table on the recall notice), about 884,000 units in the U.S. (plus about 98,000 in Canada and 18,300 in Mexico). CPSC's hazard description: "The speaker's electrical components can fail, posing a fire hazard." CPSC states: "The firm has received 21 reports worldwide of the bass modules igniting or melting, including three incidents of fires resulting in property damage to carpeting, an entertainment cabinet and to materials surrounding the bass box. No injuries have been reported." Remedy: "stop using and unplug the recalled bass modules and contact Bose to arrange for a free repair of the bass module or a 40% discount on a replacement product." As of September 2026, more than three years after the CPSC announcement, Bose is still actively promoting this recall on its own homepage, with a self-service serial-number checker and a dedicated line (888-260-0819, Mon-Fri 9am-9pm ET, Sat 9am-7pm ET) — check your bass module's product name and serial number (digits 8-11) against Bose's own recall page before continuing to use one of the listed systems. The full list of affected Bose product names and serial-number date-code ranges is on Bose's own recall/safety page and the CPSC recall notice; if Bose is unresponsive to a remedy request, CPSC's recall complaint form (linked from the CPSC recall page) can be used to report it.
• July 10, 2019 — EdgeMax® and FreeSpace® commercial loudspeakers, injury hazard (CPSC Recall #19-760). About 77,500 professional in-ceiling/flush-mount loudspeakers, sold to commercial purchasers through authorized Bose resellers (not direct retail), some of which may be installed in spaces open to the public. Hazard: "mounting components can break causing the speakers to dislodge and fall from its installed location, posing an injury hazard." CPSC: "The firm has received nine reports in the U.S. of speakers dislodging or falling from their installed locations, including one report of minor injuries." Remedy: free replacement or free safety cables.
• November 1, 2012 — Dual-Voltage CineMate® II home theater speaker systems, fire hazard (CPSC Recall #13-022). About 20,500 units, sold at U.S. military exchanges and select retailers between September 2009 and September 2012 for $600-$800. Hazard: a bass-module component "can fail when used outside of the U.S. in electrical outlets rated at 220 volts or higher, presenting a fire hazard." CPSC: "Bose has received two reports of the bass modules igniting when used in 220-volt electrical outlets in Europe. No injuries were reported." Remedy: free repair or replacement.

A Health Canada/Canada.ca alert is listed as an accompanying notice to the 2023 bass-module recall, covering the same product scope. No other Bose product-safety recall was identified in the sources checked on 2026-09-29.

Company background

Bose Corporation was founded in 1964 by Dr. Amar Bose; the company's own site quotes him: "Never lose your imagination. Always dream of things that are better and think about ways to reach those things." In litigation, Bose has identified itself in court as "BOSE CORP., a Delaware corporation." Bose's Terms of Sale list its address as 100 Mountain Road, Framingham, Massachusetts, 01701 (the BBB lists the same site, spelled "100 The Mountain Rd"). The Better Business Bureau's file (read from the profile's underlying page data, since BBB's rendered dates run a day early in some browsers) shows a business-start date of January 1, 1964 and an incorporation date of September 27, 1978, with about 10,000 employees, consistent with Bose's own "founding in 1964" account.

Bose's current product lines, per its own website navigation, are earbuds, headphones, speakers, soundbars, home theater, portable PA systems, sets, accessories, and Certified Refurbished products, plus a separate Bose Automotive business line. Bose sells a paid BoseCare extended-warranty program (administered by Servify) and operates a Certified Refurbished storefront offering used/refurbished products at a discount; return, warranty and BoseCare terms specific to Certified Refurbished purchases are detailed above.

Complaint record: USAComplaints, BBB, and Trustpilot, reported separately

Several sources track complaints and reviews about Bose, reported here separately rather than blended into one figure:

• USAComplaints: 13 approved posts on this site name Bose or Bose Corporation as the subject, dated 2003 through 2012, describing warranty refusals, a refund dispute at a Bose Factory Store, an unresolved CD-player adapter shipment, product-durability complaints (Wave Radio/CD players, TriPort headphones, a 3-disc changer), and one positive review of Bose's phone support. Other posts in the same search that only mention a Bose-branded product while naming a different offender (marketplace sellers, movers, a financing company, other retailers, and businesses with a similar-sounding name such as "Boservices" or "Bosendorfer") are not counted here as Bose's own complaints.
• BBB: Bose Corporation is not BBB accredited and carries a BBB Rating of A-; BBB's stated "Reasons for rating" is "Failure to respond to 1 complaint(s) filed against business." BBB shows 492 complaints in the last three years (132 closed in the last 12 months) and a separate customer-review average of 1.24 out of 5 from 90 reviews. Recent BBB complaints and reviews describe: a warranty claim denied because Bose classified a torn ear cushion as a non-covered "accessory"; at least two customers whose returned refurbished earbuds were flagged by Bose as counterfeit during refund processing, delaying or complicating their refunds; shipping, delivery and refund-timing disputes; a discontinued-product repair refusal (Bose Frames); and a firmware update that removed a battery-announcement voice prompt without warning, matching the firmware issue covered separately below. Bose's written responses to BBB complaints generally state that its "Global Escalation" team contacted the customer and considers the matter resolved. BBB's own profile cautions readers that it "does not verify the accuracy of information provided by third parties, and does not guarantee the accuracy of any information in Business Profiles," and advises that "when considering complaint information, please consider the company's size and volume of transactions," since "the nature of complaints and a company's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints."
• Trustpilot: an unclaimed profile showing a TrustScore of 1.3 out of 5 from 2,913 reviews. Trustpilot's own automated summary widget, labeled "Created with AI, based on recent reviews" and evaluating 205 reviews, states that "most reviewers were let down by their experience overall," citing "poor build quality" in components "like ear cushions and headbands that break or fall apart very quickly," "unresponsive or unhelpful customer support," and "unexpected software updates." Trustpilot itself notes on the profile: "This company hasn't invited their customers, so reviews may not be representative."

Because each source covers a different population, time window and methodology, none of these figures is added to or averaged with any other.

The Bose Connect app privacy lawsuit and a 2026 firmware-update backlash

Zak v. Bose Corporation (N.D. Ill., No. 1:17-cv-02928), filed April 18, 2017 as a putative class action, alleged that Bose designed its "Bose Connect" companion app to "collect and record titles of the music and audio files consumers choose to play through their Bose wireless products" and "transmit such data along with other personal identifiers to a third-party data miner" — identified in the complaint as Segment.io — "without consumers' knowledge or consent," letting Bose "link the Media Information to the particular Bose product's serial number and the registration information (i.e., name and email address)." The complaint asserted claims under the federal Wiretap Act, the Illinois Eavesdropping Statute, the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and unjust enrichment.

On March 31, 2019, the court dismissed the Wiretap Act and Illinois Eavesdropping claims without prejudice, while allowing the Illinois consumer-fraud and unjust-enrichment claims to proceed. After Zak filed a Second Amended Complaint, the court on May 27, 2020 dismissed the Wiretap Act and Eavesdropping claims a second time, this time with prejudice; Bose answered the remaining claims. The case proceeded through discovery and a denied request for an interlocutory appeal (March 2021), and on July 1-2, 2021 the parties filed a stipulation ending the case: it was "dismissed with prejudice and with each party to bear its own attorneys' fees and costs," and the dismissal "has no effect on the claims of any putative class members" — meaning no class was ever certified. The public docket does not state that Bose paid a settlement or admit any wrongdoing; it reflects a voluntary dismissal of Zak's claims, not a judgment on the merits of the surviving consumer-fraud and unjust-enrichment counts.

Separately, in February 2026 Bose rolled out a firmware update (version 8.2.20) for QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) that, according to a TechRadar report based on user posts in the Bose subreddit, removed the physical-button shortcut for cycling Bluetooth devices, replaced spoken battery-level announcements with tones, and moved some functions to being accessible only through the Bose app; users reported the update was difficult to defer. Responding to TechRadar on March 16, 2026, Bose said: "The recent software update was designed to streamline and modernise the user experience, reducing interruptions and helping people get to their music faster. We recognise that changes to how a product works can take some getting used to, and we believe the updated experiences will prove beneficial over time. While there are no plans to restore the previous functionality, we are listening closely to customer feedback." One BBB customer review dated August 14, 2026 also alleged a battery-announcement change on the same product line. Separately, a Reddit user active in the Bose subreddit wrote that they had "been in plenty of contact with Bose," posting that "a firmware rollback unfortunately is not possible, according to Bose support" — an account of what that user says Bose support told them, not a statement Bose made to the press. This is a reported product-support controversy, not litigation.

Is Bose Legitimate?

Bose Corporation is a long-established, well-known audio manufacturer, in business since 1964, headquartered at 100 Mountain Road, Framingham, Massachusetts, and identified in its own court filings as a Delaware corporation. It publishes a written 30-day return policy and a 1-year (or longer, for some product categories) limited warranty, and it is running an active, CPSC-cooperative recall for certain pre-2006 bass modules with a working serial-number checker and dedicated phone line. Bose is not BBB accredited and carries a BBB letter rating of A-. BBB shows 492 complaints filed in the last three years and a customer-review average of 1.24 out of 5 from 90 reviews; Trustpilot shows a 1.3 TrustScore from 2,913 reviews. Individual complaints and reviews on those platforms describe disputes over warranty coverage of accessory parts, refurbished-return/counterfeit-flagging mixups, and a 2026 firmware update that removed device features; Bose has said it has no current plans to restore the removed functionality. A federal class action over the Bose Connect app's data-sharing practices had its Wiretap Act and Illinois Eavesdropping claims dismissed by the court (without prejudice in 2019, then with prejudice in 2020), and ended in 2021 by a stipulated dismissal that did not state a settlement amount or certify a class. This page assigns Bose no rating, score, or "scam" label of its own; readers can weigh the recall, warranty, and complaint record above for themselves.

Court & Public Records

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