Overview
FAQs
What is the difference between QuietComfort 45 Headphones, QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, and QuietComfort Headphones?
Bose QuietComfort Headphones are the successors to QuietComfort 45 Headphones. They deliver high-fidelity audio performance and world-class noise cancellation that allow you to hear more of your films and music – while travelling, at the office or at home. QuietComfort Ultra Headphones offer our most premium design and our most advanced technologies, for the best Bose listening experience in a headphone. With QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, you will enjoy our best headphone noise cancellation, audio quality personalised with CustomTune, and voice pickup, among other premium features.
What is Bose Immersive Audio?
Immersive Audio allows you to hear audio as if it were coming from beyond your QuietComfort Ultra Headphones, thereby allowing for a more spacious, natural listening experience. Your music and other audio will have a wide sound stage in front and to the sides, just as if you were listening to a pair of stereo speakers and seated at the sweet spot between them.
What is CustomTune technology and how does it work?
Bose CustomTune technology is a proprietary Bose technology that optimises the audio playback you hear based on the unique physical properties of your ear and ear canal. It works by playing a specially designed calibration tone as the welcome chime each time you power on the headphones while wearing them. It then measures how the shape of your ear uniquely modifies that sound. The headphones use that information to adjust their sound to your ears, creating a more balanced, authentic audio experience.
What is TriPort acoustic headphone structure?
Proprietary TriPort acoustic headphone structure utilises external ports to vent the earcups and effectively enlarge the acoustic volume, without increasing the size of the earcup. The result is better audio and active noise reduction from a smaller, lighter, more comfortable headphone.
How is total noise cancellation in Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones achieved?
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones utilise both active and passive noise reduction technologies. They use a sophisticated proprietary electronics approach for active noise reduction, placing microphones both inside and outside the earcups. The electronics system senses the sound in almost any environment and then measures, compares and reacts – instant by instant – to produce an opposing cancellation signal. Meanwhile, passive noise reduction is achieved by the combination of earcup fit, design and clamping force of the headband.
How do I control QuietComfort Ultra Headphones?
QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have three controls on the right earcup: a Bluetooth/power button at the bottom, a multi-function button in the back, and a capacitive volume strip along the edge. Additionally, the headphones are equipped with on-head/off-head detection, which is another way to control the product.
- The Bluetooth/power button is used to power the headphones on/off, put the headphones in pairing mode, cycle through paired devices, and more.
- The multi-function button supports audio playback (e.g. play/pause/skip), telephony (e.g. answer/decline calls), mode switching (e.g. Quiet, Aware, Immersion), and more.
- Swiping along the volume strip changes volume, and pressing and holding on it activates a user-configurable shortcut.
- Putting the headphones on and taking them off controls wake/sleep/auto-off and resume/pause. Auto-off can be customised in the Bose App.
What are modes, and how do I use them?
Listening modes are collections of headphones settings that you can name and access with a single action. You can combine the following settings in a mode:
- Noise cancellation level
- Wind Block on/off
- ActiveSense on/off (applicable only in Aware mode)
- Immersive Audio setting
Three modes are provided by default:
- Quiet: noise cancellation set to maximum; all other settings off
- Aware: noise cancellation set to Aware; all other settings off
- Immersion: noise cancellation set to maximum; Immersive Audio set to Motion
With the Bose App, you can create your own custom modes, as well as switch between modes.
What is ActiveSense technology and how does it work?
ActiveSense listens for very loud outside sounds and selectively applies noise cancellation briefly during those sounds. This way, you can remain aware of your surroundings without having your music drowned out by interruptions like passing vehicles and loud appliance motor noises such as a coffee grinder or blender. ActiveSense can be enabled and disabled in the Aware mode setting.
What is Wind Block?
Wind Block is a setting you can use when your environment is windy. Wind Block mutes the microphones on the outside of the earcups used for noise cancellation so that gusts of wind do not cause system responses that become noise disturbances in themselves. Note that the exterior microphones used for voice pickup are not muted, so if you’re on a call, the person on the other end will still hear the wind.
Can I change equaliser settings on my Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones?
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones also give you two options when it comes to audio EQ. Do nothing and the bass, midrange and treble of whatever you’re listening to will be adjusted automatically to make it sound great. Or choose Equaliser in the settings of the Bose App to change the audio levels yourself to however you like them best. Either way, you’ll enjoy immersive sound at any volume.
Can QuietComfort Ultra Headphones take phone calls?
Yes. QuietComfort Ultra Headphones have an adaptive microphone system that allows you to use the headphones during calls when connected to any smartphone. In addition to traditional calls, the headphones will work with many apps that use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), such as Teams, Zoom or FaceTime. The microphone system adapts to your environment to isolate your voice from competing background noises and wind so that you can confidently take a call, knowing you will be heard clearly and naturally. In addition, self-voice allows you to hear yourself naturally, as if you weren’t wearing headphones at all, so you can monitor the volume of your voice and minimise the effects of speaking while wearing headphones.
How do I pair Bose QuietComfort Headphones with my mobile device?
First, make sure your headphones are turned on with the slider switch in the middle “On” position. Next, slide and hold the switch to the Bluetooth icon until the Bluetooth LED flashes blue or when the voice prompt indicates the headphones have entered into pairing mode. Please note, if this is your first time connecting the headphones, they will automatically turn on into pairing mode. Voice prompts will provide you with additional guidance. We recommend using the Bose App to complete the pairing process. However, the Bluetooth settings on your device can be used to complete pairing.
What is the range of QuietComfort Headphones?
Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones have a range of up to 30 ft (9 metres) from the source device. This range may be reduced by physical obstructions, such as walls and doors, or by interference from other electronic devices. Pops or a cracking noise may be heard if there’s interference with the Bluetooth connection. If that happens, move away from wireless routers or microwaves and bring your headphones closer to the Bluetooth device.
How do I charge QuietComfort Ultra Headphones?
The headphones can be charged using the USB-C cable supplied in the box and plugging into a USB port on a PC, laptop or wall charger. Allow up to 2 hours for the headphones to fully charge. The battery light indicator will show an amber light while the headphones are charging and turn green when fully charged. When you don’t have time for a full charge, the fast-charge feature provides up to 3 hours of play time from a quick, 15-minute charge.
Can I listen to music using the audio cable with the headphones turned off?
No. QuietComfort Ultra Headphones feature proprietary Bose active EQ to provide incredible, life-like sound, in conjunction with a personalised listening experience enabled by CustomTune technology. To enable this, the headphones must be powered on during use, including when using the auxiliary audio cable.
Can the Ultra Headphones connect to more than one Bluetooth device at a time, or switch easily between Bluetooth devices?
Yes. The Ultra Headphones have the Bluetooth multipoint feature allowing them to connect to two source devices at the same time. This is a recent update as of July 2024, so be sure to set up your earbuds with the Bose app to receive software updates.