I was having some bluetooth connectivity issues with my QC earbuds and my Macbook so I finally bit the bullet and updated the firmware... I shouldn't have. Apparently the three default NC settings that I could toggle by tapping the left earbud have been replaced with "Modes" and I'm seriously not a fan.

First, the woman's voice insists on speaking the name of the mode, which cuts off the audio from the device my earbuds are connected to for the duration of her speaking. There seems to be no way to turn this off. (Perhaps turning off all voice prompts would do it? But I want to hear what device I'm connected to.)

Second, the "Quiet" mode feels different than the original high-NC "favorite" that came with the device. I have a high vestibular sensitivity and the change is starting to trigger nausea. I don't know what's different about the mode vs the old favorite, but I can't see a way of adjusting the "Quiet Mode" levels the same way I think I could using "Favorites".

Third, changing modes insists on opening iTunes (older Macbook, my impression is the same thing would happen with Apple Music) which I don't want. What's more, the delay that results from the woman's voice playing means that if I'm quick to close iTunes with the first mode switch, it will still open it a second time when it catches up to the mode I wanted. I had to rename the flippin' app to prevent this behaviour.

Fourth, I had to recreate the middle-NC mode, but now it's out of order with the other two modes—instead of high->medium->off NC, it's now high->off->medium. Ok, this is a small one, and I'll probably get used to it, but I wish the Bose Music app would allow reordering modes so that they're in an intuitive order.

I'm new to the Bose ecosystem—this is my first product and I've only had them for a month or so. This firmware change is kind of distressing. Does anyone with more Bose experience (ideally with the QC earbuds and/or the Bose Music app) have any advice for how I can mitigate these frustrations? The first two issues are my priority.

Update: I spoke with customer service by phone (I recommend giving the WhatsApp support chat a miss) and the agent was very helpful. The earbuds are under warranty so I'm sending them back postage paid, and getting a replacement set hopefully a few days later. I'm just going to make sure I never update the firmware!