Bose A20 V.2 Bluetooth Cord Assembly

[kevinw]

I thought I'd share what I discovered about my Bose A20 bluetooth headsets as I'm sure many of you use them. I purchased two sets about three years ago. I bought the bluetooth models for obvious reasons and they always worked well. My only complaint is they do not stream music. They also don't stream Foreflight alerts because these audible alerts are sent in music format. I researched it a little and found out only A20s produced in 2015 or later have the version 2 cable assembly that allows both phone communication AND music streaming. In fact, in the newer version you can stream music and if a Foreflight alert comes in, your music lowers until the message is complete. Some of the messages are traffic, 500 call out, runway proximity, sink rate, TFRs, etc.

So I call the Bose 800 number to purchase the new cord assemblies and get this really nice lady who tells me as long as my headsets are under warranty they will upgrade the cable assemblies to V.2 for free; shipping excluded. Wow! That wasn't expected; the new assemblies are $295 each. To do this she said she needs my serial numbers which are under the head-pads which are velcro'd in place. So I ran out to the airport, took two quick pics of the SNs and called back, naturally getting a different rep. This is where it gets hairy. This new guy told me he couldn't do it; that they would only be covered under warranty if they were not working properly. He also went on to tell me perhaps I misunderstood. Nope, there was no other reason for getting the SNs and I insisted he was wrong (in a calm manner) and asked to talk to his supervisor. He went on to repeat himself and I asked a second time to speak to his supervisor. At this point he said, "no problem, if you were told this I'll replace them". $17 in shipping later and I have new cords coming. 

I'm sharing this so any of you guys that have the old Bluetooth A20s can get them updated for free and not have to buy new sets. I'm 100% certain the first lady I spoke with was correct and the second guy was wrong. She knew her stuff and when I told her how impressed I was she replied "That's how it is here at Bose". On a side note, I had a small issue with a Bose iPhone docking station a few years back and their customer service was spectacular; more evidence the second guy was wrong. The number I called was 800-233-4416. Have your serial number(s) in hand if you call.