Bose is a very popular brand that sells a range of high quality audio products. Wireless earbuds are very convenient, but in rare cases they can have issues syncing and turning on and off. Today, I will explain how to troubleshoot Bose earbuds that won’t turn on and off.
As a general rule, the battery is completely empty on the charging case, or on the earbuds, the earbuds are in standby mode and need to be woken up, also in very hot and cold weather try getting your earbuds to room temperature. Otherwise, below is a complete list of steps.
There are a range of troubleshooting steps that are fast and easy to try. But, if you try all of them and they still won’t turn on and off then you should contact Bose support, as it means there’s a technical fault with your earbuds and they will need to be repaired or replaced. I’ve provided a list of reasons why this happens and the troubleshooting steps you should take to fix them below.
Bose Earbuds Won’t Turn On/off (How to Fix/Reset)
For Bose earbuds to turn on and off they need to have some charge. Provided they have lights that come on when you put them into the charging case they are working correctly, and you need to try a few steps. Here’s what to start with to fix Bose earbuds that won’t turn on and off.
In general, first check the earbuds are not in standby mode. They can be set to go into standby mode after 20 mins. When this happens they need to be woken up by doing anything on the Bose music app, or by putting them in your ears. Try that first, then do the steps below.
Another fix that commonly works is to restart your Bose earbuds. This is done by putting them back into your charging case.
But, the charging case needs to be plugged in or have some charge. You then wait for about 30 seconds, and press and hold the Bluetooth button, which is the middle button on your charging case.
8 Reasons Why Bose Earbuds Won’t Turn On
When you take your Bose earbuds out of the charging case they will automatically turn on. However, if they don’t turn on, here are the 8 reasons why it happens.
Overall, the earbuds need to be at room temperature, taken out of standby mode, un-paired and re-paired over Bluetooth, restarted, or serviced. Otherwise, the charging case is completely out of battery, the USB cable is the wrong type, or the charger is faulty.
Below is how to check for each of these issues, and then what to do if this is causing it.
1. If it’s very hot or cold and they need to be at room temperature
In very hot weather and very cold weather Bose earbuds can have issues functioning. The reason is the extreme temperatures cause problems for the internal wiring. And certain components need to be above a particular temperature to work properly.
2. They are in standby mode and need to woken up
Standby mode is also called auto off. It is a setting that can be enabled or disabled in the Bose music app on your smartphone. It can be found under the settings in the Bose music app.
If standby mode is enabled your Bose headphones will go to ‘sleep’ when they haven’t been used for 20 minutes. When this happens the off button won’t work. But, putting them back in the charging case will turn them off.
3. Remove and re add them as a trusted Bluetooth device
When you first set up your Bose earbuds you pair them to a device such as a smartphone over Bluetooth. Bluetooth is prone to have issues where it won’t connect.
Or, it will say it’s connected but the connected device is not working. If this is what is causing it your Bluetooth earbuds will need to be removed as a trusted Bluetooth device, and readded.
4. The charging case is completely out of battery
If the charging case runs out of battery completely, it needs to be charged for about 30 minutes to function correctly. After that the charging case will power on, and the LED lights will light up. For them to turn on the charging case needs to have at least some battery.
5. Reset your Bose earbuds and the smartphone connected to it
The earbuds or your smartphone can have a glitch in the software. Doing a soft reset on both devices very commonly fixes issues with Bose earbuds.
6. USB cable is the wrong type and won’t charge or charges very slowly
There are a few different types of USB cables. The different types of USB cables allow more or less electricity to flow through them. If you are using a different USB cable than the one that came in the box, it can not charge at all, or charge very slowly.
Therefore, you can assume your Bose earbuds are charged when they are not. As a result, they won’t power on.
7. The charger can be faulty try a different charger
This is a simple step. The charger for your Bose earbuds can be faulty. If this happens then the charging case won’t charge.
Or, your Bose earbuds won’t have any charge. As a result, they won’t power on.
8. Needs to be serviced so contact Bose support
If you’ve tried all of the troubleshooting steps above then, you should have them repaired or replaced by Bose support. The reason they don’t turn on can be caused by an electronic fault.
7 Ways to Fix Bose Earbuds Not Turning On
Each of the reasons that Bose earbuds won’t turn on have easy fixes. Here are the steps to fix each of these issues that cause Bose earbuds not to turn on.
In general, first identify whether it’s in standby mode by putting them into your ears. If they still won’t turn on then make sure the LED lights on your charging case are on. The charging case needs to have at least some charge for your Bose earbuds to turn on. Otherwise, do the steps below.
Below is what to do to fix each of the potential reasons why your Bose earbuds won’t turn on.
1. If it’s very hot or cold and they need to be at room temperature
Leave them somewhere that is room, temperature, or walk with them somewhere that is room temperature. Then wait for 5 to 10 minutes for them to acclimatize to the temperature. After that, attempt to turn them on again.
2. They are in standby mode and need to woken up
To take them out of sleep mode, put the Bose earbuds back into your ears, or open the Bose music app on your smartphone. When you put them back in the charging case, the charging case will need to have a charge.
Or, it will need to be plugged in using the charger. Once you’ve done either of these methods try to power them on by taking them out of the charging case, or by holding down the power button on the right ear bud.
3. Remove and re add them as a trusted Bluetooth device
Open the Settings on your smartphone and select ‘Connections & Bluetooth’ or something similar. In the next menu will be options to turn Bluetooth on and off and a list of the trusted devices. Delete your Bose headphones as a trusted device.
Then scan for available devices and connect your Bose headphones to your smartphone again.
4. The charging case is completely out of battery
The method to turn on Bose earbuds is to take them out of the charging case when the charging case is on. But, if you take your Bose earbuds out of the charging case when the charging case has no charge then they won’t power on. Therefore, plug the charging case into a wall outlet and/or verify that the LED lights are on on the charging case.
If the LED lights aren’t on then put your earbuds into the charging case for about 30 seconds, and then take them out again. After that they should power on. If not, move on to the next step.
5. Reset your Bose earbuds and the smartphone connected to it
To reset your Bose earbuds refer to the instructions just above shown in the video in ‘Step 3. Remove and re add them as a trusted Bluetooth device’. It shows how to reset your Bose earbuds. To reset your smartphone you typically hold down the power button until the reset option shows on the screen.
This is the case for most Android smartphones. For iOS devices, however, you typically need to hold down the power button and the volume up or down button at the same time. If you don’t know how to reset your specific smartphone model, then do a Google search to see how to do it.
6. USB cable is the wrong type and won’t charge or charges very slowly
To test that your Bose earbuds have a charge, make sure your charging case has charge. You can do this by pressing the button on the front of your charging case, and seeing that the LED lights on the front come on. Also, when you plug the charging case into the wall outlet the LED lights on the charging case will come on.
But, if the charging case is completely empty then it will take about 30 minutes for any lights to show up on the LED case. If it’s still not charging then swap out the USB cable for a different one. Then verify if the charging case is now charging.
The USB cable also needs to be a type C USB cable. These are a different design to the regular USB cables that are used on most devices.
7. The charger can be faulty try a different charger
The wall charger is universal. Therefore, you can take another charger for your smartphone, and plug the USB cable for your Bose earbuds into it. Another good idea is to try a different wall outlet.
It’s possible the wall outlet your charging case is plugged into is not supplying power. This can be because the fuse has tripped on the fuse box, and needs to be switched back into the on position.
8. Needs to be serviced so contact Bose support
Here is a link to the contact details for Bose support. If you’ve tried all of the steps above then get in touch with them.
4 Reasons Why Bose Earbuds Won’t Turn Off
Bose earbuds will automatically turn off when you put them into the charging case. Most models also have a power button on the right earbud that you hold down for 1 second. But, if neither of these turn off your Bose earbuds here are the reasons why.
In general, they are in standby mode, and need to be taken out of standby mode, how to do so is explained further below. If they still wont turn off then update the software and firmware on your Bose earbuds and your smartphone. Otherwise, the power button is faulty, contact Bose support.
Here is an overview of each of the reasons, and why it causes the issue. After that are the steps to fix this issue.
1. Auto off is enabled
There is a setting on the Bose Music app that will cause your Bose earbuds to automatically turn off. If this is enabled they will turn off automatically. Therefore, when you go to turn them off, they will turn on.
However, the next time you press the power button they will turn off. This can be a bit confusing, because sometimes you can turn them off, whereas, other times you can’t.
2. In standby mode and needs to taken out of standby mode
Bose earbuds are set to automatically go into standby mode. They won’t automatically come out of standby mode when you press the power off button. Your Bose earbuds go into standby mode after not being used for 20 minutes.
3. Update the software and firmware
Bose earbuds have firmware, which can be out of date. When this happens it can cause a mismatch with the Bose Music software. And certain functions on your Bose earbuds won’t work properly.
4. Button is faulty and needs to be serviced
Finally the power off button can be faulty. Like all electronics, certain buttons can wear out over time.
The button may need to be repaired. Or, the entire earbuds will need to be replaced.
4 Ways to Fix Bose Earbuds Not Turning Off
There are a few troubleshooting steps that you should try when your Bose earbuds won’t turn off. Below, is a rundown of the 4 ways to fix Bose earbuds when they won’t turn off.
In general, disable auto off from the settings menu of the Bose Music app on your smartphone. Check they aren’t in standby mode by putting them into your ears and then trying to turn them off again. Then, update the software for the Bose Music app, and firmware on your Bose earbuds.
Here are detailed instructions for each of the troubleshooting steps to get Bose earbuds to turn off when they won’t. As well as, what to do if you try all of these steps and they still won’t turn off.
1. Auto off is enabled
To turn off auto off go into the settings on the Bose Music app on your smartphone. Look for the setting that says ‘auto-off’ and turn it off. It can also be labeled as standby mode depending on the version for the app.
After doing that they will stay on unless you turn them off with the power button or put them back into the charging case. Provided the charging case has a charge, or is plugged into the wall outlet.
2. In standby mode and needs to taken out of standby mode
If your Bose earbuds are in standby mode they can be taken out of standby mode in 2 ways. Either put them into your ears, or put them back into the charging case. If you put them into the charging case, the charging case needs to have charge, or it needs to be plugged into the wall outlet.
You need to leave your Bose earbuds in the charging case for about 30 seconds before taking them out again. After doing either of these methods they will be on.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on October 29, 2022.
And you can turn them off by using the power button. Or, by putting them back in the charging case.
3. Update the software and firmware
The software on your smartphone, and the firmware on your Bose earbuds are easy to update. Refer to this article on the official Bose website that explains how to do both.
4. Button is faulty and needs to be serviced
If you’ve tried all of these steps and it still wont turn off using the power button, then it’s likely the button is faulty. It’s possibly covered under warranty. In either case, contact Bose support and have them advise about what to do next regarding repairing or replacing them.
In general, first reset your Bose earbuds by putting them into the charging case, and then holding down the Bluetooth button the charging case for 30 seconds. After that, take them out of the charging case. If they still won’t turn on and off, then do the steps below.
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