Bose Sleepbuds discontinued: Here's how to get a full refund

Bose has discontinued the Sleepbuds product it introduced last year. These earbuds were designed to help users sleep by mitigating ambient noises, but persistent battery issues have prompted the company to scrap its product altogether. Existing users can choose to keep their model and have it serviced under warranty or to return the earbuds for a full refund.

Bose Sleepbuds was an interesting, though somewhat niche, product that essentially provided consumers with wireless earbuds that were only intended for use at night. Rather than using acoustic noise-cancellations or playing general music, Bose made its Sleepbuds to play 'soothing sounds' intended to block out other unwanted noises, helping the user get a full night of sleep.

Bose introduced the Sleepbuds in June 2018 and, a little over a year later, has officially discontinued them. The product's Web page now lists the device as discontinued; according to an email sent from the company to existing customers, Sleepbuds have suffered from power issues including failure to fully charge and suddenly powering off.

Reports from customers resulted in extensive work by Bose to fix the problem, something it thought could initially be corrected with software and firmware updates. Increasing reports from users and the need to replace units for some customers multiple times ultimately proved the team wrong. Bose says its team eventually found that the batteries selected for Sleepbuds don't function 'as consistently or predictably as [they] should.'

Customers who want to keep their Sleepbuds can do so; there's the option to get them serviced under warranty if problems arise. For everyone else, Bose is accepting returns of the product until December 31, 2019, and will give customers a full refund. Consumers seeking a refund can submit their request on Bose's website here.