QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds + Headphones Set

QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds offer all the same features as their predecessor, QuietComfort Earbuds II, plus breakthrough Bose Immersive Audio and the addition of Immersive Audio settings for Custom Modes. Other new features include Snapdragon Sound certification, using hi-res audio and low latency codec, Qualcomm aptX Adaptive, and Google Fast Pair. QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds also feature a new metallic finish on earbuds, as well as a new notch/key alignment feature for stability bands that makes them easier to swap in and out.

Immersive Audio allows you to hear audio as if it were coming from beyond your QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, 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.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds utilize both passive and active noise reduction technologies. Passive noise reduction is similar to when you wear earplugs; there is a physical blockage preventing some of the sound from entering your ear. This is achieved through the earbud design with materials such as silicone eartips, and the acoustic seal created by having a proper fit. For active noise cancellation, your earbuds use sophisticated proprietary electronics with microphones both inside and outside the earbuds. 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.

The controls on the left and right earbud surfaces are the same, and they include:

• Swipe up or down for volume control

• Tap once to play or pause content

• Tap twice in quick succession to skip forward

• Tap three times in quick succession to skip back

• Press and hold the earbud surface to access a Shortcut. The default Shortcut function on both buds is to toggle back and forth between Quiet Mode (full noise cancelling) and Aware Mode (hear outside sound). You can add additional noise cancelling modes at sound levels between Quiet and Aware using the Bose Music app. The Shortcut on one or both earbuds can also be customized in the Bose Music app to access a mobile device’s built-in voice assistant

• Tap once to accept an incoming call

• Tap twice in quick succession to end a call, or decline an incoming call

Yes. The Single-bud Use feature allows you to take calls and listen to music using one bud. It will also seamlessly switch between your earbuds, and switches automatically if one of the earbuds runs out of battery or disconnects from Bluetooth®.

Yes. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have passed IPX4 testing, which means they are protected against sweat and splashing water from any angle. The interior of the charging case is resistant to water or sweat that may remain on the buds when they are placed inside for charging; however, it is not recommended that the outside of the case be exposed to water.

You should take some time to experiment with different eartip and stability band sizes to arrive at a combination that suits you, providing a gentle seal and a comfortable, stable experience. Keep in mind that it’s common for left and right ears to vary slightly in shape, so sizes may not match from left to right. Also, eartip and stability band sizes may be mixed and matched (such as using a size small eartip with a #3 stability band). If you find that you need alternate sizes, extra small and extra-large eartips and stability bands are available through Bose Support.

There are two lights: an Earbud status light inside the case between the earbuds, and a Charging Case status light on the outside of the case. Earbud status light (inner):

• Slowly blinks blue – Ready to connect

• Solid blue (5 seconds) – Connected

• Blinks white 2 times – Device list cleared

• Solid white (5 seconds) – Earbuds are fully charged

• Solid amber (5 seconds) – Earbuds are charging

• Blinks white 2 times – Reboot complete

• Blinks white 3 times, repeated – Updating earbud software

• Blinks amber and white – Error, contact Bose customer service

Charging Case status light (outer):

• Solid white – Case is fully charged (100%) and plugged in

• Solid white (5 seconds) – Case is charged (34% to 99%)

• Solid amber (5 seconds) – Case has low charge, less than one full earbud charge remaining (10% to 33%)

• Blinks amber 2 times – Case needs to charge (Less than 10%)

• Solid amber – Case is charging

• Blinks white 3 times, repeated – Updating case software

• Blinks amber and white – Error, contact Bose customer service

Yes. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have an adaptive microphone system that allows you to use them during calls when connected to any smartphone. In addition to traditional calls, the earbuds 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. In addition, self-voice (adjustable in the Bose Music app settings) allows you to hear yourself naturally, as if you weren’t wearing earbuds at all, so you can monitor the volume of your voice and minimize the effects of speaking while wearing earbuds.

Snapdragon Sound refers to an audio and software processing infrastructure developed by Qualcomm, focusing on robust and low latency Bluetooth connectivity and leveraging the aptX Adaptive codec. AptX Adaptive will “adapt” the audio quality seamlessly and continuously based on the strength back to the source’s device to maintain a good wireless connection and avoid audio dropouts. This means that for a great wireless connection, you can get the highest possible audio quality up to and including “lossless” audio. The normal sampling rate applicable in your Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds is 44.1 kHz and will adapt up to 48.1 kHz when “high resolution” listening. The codec also has a low latency mode, aka “Gaming Mode.” Just as with audio quality, the codec will “adapt” to achieve the best (lowest) latency possible given the current wireless conditions.

Snapdragon Sound is applicable only to Android users with Snapdragon Sound Certified devices.

Google Fast Pair is a technology developed by Google to expedite the initial pairing process between source devices and headphones. Android users (OS 6.0 or newer) will enjoy the rapid setup Google Fast Pair has to offer by simply turning on their headphones and selecting the Google pair pop-up window on their Android device (Android device location services and Bluetooth must be set to “on”).

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 music and movies — while traveling, 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 personalized with CustomTune, and voice pickup, among other premium features.

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.

Bose CustomTune technology is a proprietary Bose technology that optimizes 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.

Proprietary TriPort acoustic headphone structure utilizes 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.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones utilize 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.

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 customized in the Bose Music app.

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 Music app, you can create your own custom modes as well as switch between modes.

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.

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.

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 Equalizer in the settings of the Bose Music app to change the audio levels yourself to however you like them best. Either way, you’ll enjoy immersive sound at any volume.

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 minimize the effects of speaking while wearing headphones.

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 Music app to complete the pairing process, however, Bluetooth settings on your device can be used to complete pairing.

Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones have a range of up to 30 ft (9 meters) 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.

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.

No. QuietComfort Ultra Headphones feature proprietary Bose active EQ to provide incredible, life-like sound, in conjunction with a personalized listening experience enabled by CustomTune technology. To enable this, the headphones must be powered on during use, including when using the auxiliary audio cable.

No.