I’ve been a fan of Bose headphones, especially their noise-canceling models, for over a decade. Bose packs a fantastic set of features into its headphones and offers you multiple ways of enabling and disabling these features.
However, with so many features at your disposal, it’s easy to get confused. For example, you may end up putting your Bose 700 headphones in pairing mode when trying to turn them off.
Even the simplest things like turning the headphones on or off can become difficult when one button is used to enable/disable multiple features.
In this guide, I will explain how to turn your Bose 700 headphones off, but that’s not all. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about Bose 700 headphone controls and features. This article is the ultimate Bose 700 headphone user guide, maybe even better than the original.
Key Takeaways
- Press the POWER button on the right cup shortly to turn off your Bose 700 headphones. Press it once again to turn the headphones back on. Press and hold the POWER button to put the headphones in pairing mode.
- Bose 700 headphones have two control buttons on the right cup and one button on the left cup. The buttons on the right cup are the POWER/Bluetooth button and the Voice Assistant button. The button on the left earcup is the ANC button (used to activate Active Noise Cancellation).
- The outer surface of the right cup is actually a touch-sensitive panel and is used to control the playback, volume, and handle calls. You can also use it to check the battery level.
- Besides the physical controls (buttons and touch-sensitive panel), these headphones also come with the Bose Music app. You can use this app to control noise-canceling levels and other advanced features.
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Bose 700 Headphone Controls
Some features of Bose headphones are controlled using the physical buttons on the earcups, and others are controlled using the touch-sensitive panel on the right cup.
To get the ultimate control over your headphones and all the advanced features, you will have to use the Bose Music app (Android/iOS).
Bose 700 Headphones Controls Explained
Bose 700 Physical Buttons
Bose 700 headphones have three physical buttons – two on the right cup and one on the left cup.
POWER/Bluetooth Button
When you put the headphones on, the buttons will be right behind your ears. The POWER button is the top button on the right earcup. Pressing this button once will turn on the headphones. Pressing it shortly while the headphones are powered on will turn off your Bose 700 headphones.
The POWER button doubles as the Bluetooth button. You can also use this button to put the headphones in pairing mode. Just press and hold the button until you hear the “Pairing” voice prompt. The Bluetooth LED located under the POWER button will blink blue in pairing mode.
Bose 700 Physical Buttons
Voice Assistant Button
The Voice Assistant Button is the bottom button on the right earcup. It’s used to summon your voice assistant (Siri, Google Assistant, Bixby, Alexa) without taking out your phone. You can set your default voice assistant using the Bose Music app.
Voice Assistant Button
ANC Button
This button is located on the left earcup. It’s the only button on this earcup, so you can’t miss it. It’s used to activate noise cancellation.
Pressing it shortly will shift between three noise-canceling presets (three levels of noise cancellation). By default, these presets are set to OFF, 5/10, and 10/10. If you want, you can customize these ANC presets through the app.
When you press and hold the ANC button, you will activate the so-called Conversation Mode. This feature pauses the music and disables noise canceling, allowing you to hear sounds around you or have a conversation (hence the Conversation Mode). Basically, when you press and hold the ANC button, the music will fade out and the surrounding sounds will fade in. To disable the Conversation Mode, press the button again or double-tap the touch-sensitive panel on the right cup.
ANC Button – Used to activate noise canceling and Conversation Mode.
Touch-Sensitive Panel
This panel is located on the right cup. It’s used to control playback, manage calls, and check the battery level.
Depending on the gesture (single tap, double tap, touch and hold, swipe down/up, swipe left/right), you can use it to play/pause the music, answer/reject calls, hear the battery level, adjust the volume, or play the next/previous song.
The touch-sensitive panel is located on the right cup – it’s used to control playback, manage calls, and check the battery level.
Bose Music App
While it’s not essential, the Bose Music app will allow you to unlock the full potential of your Bose 700 headphones. You can use this app to switch between sources, change EQ settings, customize your noise canceling levels, customize controls (assign tapping gestures to different functions), select your default voice assistant, enable/disable Auto Power Off, etc.
Use the app to unlock the full potential of your Bose 700 headphones.
LED Indicators
There are two LED indicators on your Bose 700 headphones – the Bluetooth LED and the battery LED.
Bluetooth LED
The Bluetooth LED is located below the POWER button. This LED indicates the status of your connection.
When the LED is off, the headphones are disconnected. When it’s blinking blue slowly, the headphones are ready to connect (pairing mode). When it’s blinking blue faster, the headphones are connecting to your device. When the LED is solid blue, your headphones are connected.
Bluetooth LED indicates the status of your Bluetooth connection.
Battery LED
The purpose of this LED is self-explanatory. When the LED is solid white, your headphones have at least 50% charge. Solid red indicates low battery. A blinking red LED tells you the battery is critically low. Finally, the LED will blink white when the headphone firmware is updating.
What you don’t want to see is this LED blinking red and white. When this happens, your headphone battery is experiencing an error. In this case, you could try charging them, restarting, or resetting the headphones.
Battery LED indicates your current battery status.
How to Turn Off Bose 700?
There are two options when it comes to turning off your headphones – the manual method and the Auto Off feature.
Manual Method
To manually turn off Bose 700 headphones, shortly press the POWER button once. That’s it – your headphones will turn off.
If you long-press the button (for about 2-3 seconds), regardless of whether your headphones are on or off, they will go to pairing mode, and the Bluetooth LED will blink blue.
Turn Off Using the App (Auto Turn Off)
The Bose Music app will not allow you to turn the headphones instantly by tapping some button.
Instead, the app has the Auto Off feature, which is a battery-saving feature.
This feature will turn off your headphones after a predefined period of inactivity. For example, if you don’t play music for 30 minutes, your headphones will go off automatically if the Auto Off is enabled and set to 30 minutes.
The auto-off feature will turn off your Bose 700 headphones after a certain period of inactivity.
How to Turn Off Bose 700 Headphones – 2 Methods
Playback Controls
To control the playback, you can use your phone or the touch-sensitive panel on the right cup. We can all agree that using the controls on the headphones is a more convenient option.
Pause/Play
To play or pause a song, you need to tap the touch-sensitive panel twice.
Play Next/Previous Song
To play the previous or next song, you need to swipe left or right.
Volume Adjustments
To increase the volume, swipe up. To decrease the volume, swipe down.
Bose 700 Headphones Call Management
Answer/End Calls
To answer or end calls, tap the touch panel twice.
Decline Calls
To reject an incoming call, press and hold the touch-sensitive panel.
Mute Mic
To mute your mic, while on a call, press the Voice Assistant button (the lower button on the right cup).
Noise Canceling Controls
As explained earlier, you need to press the ANC button shortly to shift between three predefined levels of noise canceling (OFF/50%/100%). To adjust noise canceling levels or enable/disable noise cancellation, you need to use the Bose Music app.
Enable/Disable Noise Cancelation
To enable/disable noise cancellation, you need to access the Noise Cancellation menu, by tapping on Settings/Noise Cancellation. Tap on the Noise Cancellation toggle to enable/disable noise canceling.
Bose Music App – Settings – Noise Cancellation – Disable Noise Cancellation
Noise Cancellation Levels
You can easily adjust your current noise cancellation level by selecting one of 10 available levels on the Bose Music app home screen.
Use the Noise Cancellation setting on the home screen to adjust your current noise cancellation level.
To adjust your noise cancellation presets (the ones you activate by pressing the ANC button on your headphones), go to Settings, select Noise Cancellation, enable it, and set presets (Favorite 1, Favorite 2, Favorite 3).
Settings – Noise Cancellation – Customize Favorites.
Conversation Mode
This mode allows you to hear your surroundings by disabling the noise cancellation and pausing the music. The microphones will pick up the sounds around you and send them right into your ears.
To enable this feature, press and hold the ANC button until the music fades out.
Press and hold the ANC button (left earcup) to enable the Conversation Mode.
To disable the Conversation Mode, press any button or tap/swipe the touch-sensitive panel on the right cup.
Self-Voice
This feature allows you to hear yourself speaking during a call. It’s similar to the mic monitoring feature on some gaming headsets. Basically, the built-in microphones will pick up your voice while speaking and send it to your headphones, allowing you to hear yourself better and know how loud you sound to others.
You can enable or disable this feature through the Bose Music app. There are three different Self-Voice settings – High, Medium, and Low.
Bose Music App – Settings – Self-Voice – Select Self-Voice level or disable Self-Voice.
Voice Assistants
Summoning Voice Assistant on Bose 700 headphones is easy – you have a dedicated Voice Assistant button and you just have to press it. But you first need to enable the Voice Assistant feature using the Bose Music app, and you have to select your default voice assistant.
Depending on your phone, different options will be available – Google Assistant, Alexa, Bixby, Siri.
Select your default Voice Assistant through the app: Settings/Voice Assistant/Select your Voice Assistant.
How to Put Bose 700 Headphones in Pairing Mode?
Once you know everything about Bose 700 controls, putting the headphones in pairing mode and connecting them to your phone will be a breeze.
When you turn the headphones on for the first time, they should go to pairing mode automatically, and you should see the Bluetooth LED blinking blue.
If they don’t go to pairing mode, press and hold the POWER button for a few seconds, and the Bluetooth LED should start blinking blue, indicating your Bose 700 headphones are in pairing mode.
Enabling pairing mode on Bose 700 headphones.
Now, all you need to do is go to your phone’s Bluetooth settings, enable Bluetooth, refresh the list of available devices, select your headphones, and tap on pair.
Connecting Bose 700 Headphones to iPhone – Step-by-Step Guide
How to Connect Bose 700 Headphones to Your iPhone?
After connecting the headphones to your device, consider installing the Bose Music app and connecting the headphones to it. This is not absolutely necessary since you can use the headphones without the app, but it can be convenient.
Use the Bose Music app to experience the full potential of your headphones.
The headphones can remember up to 8 devices and can be connected to two devices simultaneously. However, you can only play audio from one device at a time. To switch between two devices, you can either stop music on one device and play it on another, or use the Bose Music app to select the primary source or the source you want to use.
Use the Source option within the Bose Music app to manage connected devices and shift between different sources.
Bose 700 Headphones Won’t Turn Off – Troubleshooting Tips
While these headphones are great, they are not perfect. At some point, you may experience some issues with them. If your Bose headphones refuse to turn off, the most effective fixes are updating and resetting the headphones.
Check for Updates
Assuming that your headphones are already connected to the Bose Music app, you only need to open the Bose Music app, and you will see a notification at the top if there’s a pending update that you need to install. You don’t have to go to Settings and look for your current firmware version.
After you tap on the notification, the app will guide you through the rest of the process.
Updating Bose 700 Headphones – Step-by-Step Instructions
Resetting Bose 700 Headphones?
If you search the internet for instructions on how to reset your Bose 700 headphones, you will find two sets of instructions. One only erases previously saved devices (clears the headphone device list), while the other actually resets the headphones to factory default settings. Bose calls the other option rebooting.
Clearing the Headphone Device List
To erase all previously paired devices from your headphones’ memory, press and hold the POWER button until you get a voice prompt “Bluetooth Device List Cleared”. The Bluetooth LED should flash blue slowly.
Bose 700 Headphones – Clearing the Bluetooth Device List
Resetting/Rebooting Bose 700 Headphones
While Bose calls this process rebooting, this procedure actually resets your headphones.
Before you do it, make sure to open the Bose Music app and completely remove the headphones from the app.
Remove Bose 700 from the Bose Music app.
Now, let’s reset the headphones. While connecting the USB-C cable to the headphones’ charging port, press and hold the POWER button. In about two seconds, you should see the battery LED blinking white twice. Your headphones are now reset.
How to Reset Bose 700 Headphones?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Question: Do Bose 700 headphones turn off automatically?
- Answer: Yes, they do turn off automatically thanks to the Auto Off feature. To enable the Auto Off feature and set the Auto Off timer, you have to install the Bose Music app and connect it to your headphones.
- Question: How do I get my Bose 700 headphones to turn off by themselves?
- Answer: Install the Bose Music app and connect the headphones to the app. Once you’re done setting it up, go to Settings, and tap on Auto Off. Set the timer, and you are good to go.
- Question: Where is the off button on Bose 700 headphones?
- Answer: The POWER button is located on the right earcup. Press it shortly to turn on or off your headphones. This button doubles up as the Bluetooth button – press it and hold for 2-3 seconds to put the headphones in pairing mode.
- Question: Do Bose 700 headphones pause when you take them off?
- Answer: No, they won’t pause the music when you take them off. However, they do have the Motion Detector feature that turns off the headphones if there’s no motion during the period of 1 hour.
- Question: Can you turn off noise canceling on Bose 700 headphones?
- Answer: Yes, you can. Use the ANC button on the left earcup to shift between three default noise canceling presets – OFF/50%/100%. Alternatively, use the Bose Music app to adjust your current noise canceling level.
- Question: Can you use Bose 700 while charging?
- Answer: You cannot use a Bluetooth connection while the headphones are charging. However, you can use the supplied audio cable to connect the headphones to some audio source and use them in wired mode while charging.
- Question: How do I reset my Bose 700?
- Answer: First, remove the headphones from the Bose Music app. Then, while connecting the charging cable to the USB-C port on the headphones, press and hold the power button for about 2 seconds. The battery LED should blink white twice.
- Question: Can Bose 700 fast charge?
- Answer: Yes, they can. 15 minutes of charging will give you 2 hours of playtime.
- Question: Is Bose 700 waterproof?
- Answer: I’ve seen some claims online about Bose 700 headphones featuring an IPX4 rating, but there’s nothing in the user manual to support those claims. Also, there’s nothing on the Bose website. So, I would assume that Bose 700 headphones are not waterproof. They don’t feature an IP/IPX rating.
In Conclusion
I hope this guide helped you get a full understanding of the controls of your Bose 700 headphones. The accent was primarily on how to turn your Bose 700 headphones off, but I did my best to cover all the features and all the control options.
I think we can all agree that Bose 700 headphones have an intuitive control scheme and are super-easy to use. It may take some time to get used to the button arrangement and touch-sensitive panel, but once you master the controls, you will enjoy them very much.
