Warning: Do Not Buy Otto Noize Barrier Ear Pro

[Rimbaud]

I have a very lightly used set that has ceased to fully function. Company does not stand behind the product. See below. They charge a lot of money for ear pro that they know does not last.

See Otto response to my query about a product bought on Jan 2022:

Thank you for your email. Based on the proof of purchase the earpieces are no longer under warranty. The warrant is 18 months from date of purchase or date code on the earpieces. The earpieces are not repairable, unfortunately. Below is information we received from our QA department on product life on the earpieces. It’s very hard to provide any kind of accurate life span expectation due to the variable use cases. The biggest variable seems to be body chemistry and function – some people’s body oils/sweat/etc attack the device, including the electronics, much more than others. Some people generate copious amount of cerumen but many do not. The there is the frequency and duration of use and the effect on the battery cycle life. Environmental factors may play a part – anecdotal evidence indicates that frequent usage in hot/humid environments may decrease the life span (or this may simply relate back to the sweat factor). Rough handling can certainly decrease life span. Based on all of those variables the life span can be expected to vary between 1 to 5 years, with little ability to predict what an individual can expect.

 

[Letzhunt]

Just curious how much were they?

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Just curious how much were they?

A quick Google shows them around $450. $450 for a product that may only last 1 year.....no thanks!

 

[Paul K]

Thank you for your email. Based on the proof of purchase the earpieces are no longer under warranty. The warrant is 18 months from date of purchase or date code on the earpieces. The earpieces are not repairable, unfortunately. Below is information we received from our QA department on product life on the earpieces. It’s very hard to provide any kind of accurate life span expectation due to the variable use cases. The biggest variable seems to be body chemistry and function – some people’s body oils/sweat/etc attack the device, including the electronics, much more than others. Some people generate copious amount of cerumen but many do not. The there is the frequency and duration of use and the effect on the battery cycle life. Environmental factors may play a part – anecdotal evidence indicates that frequent usage in hot/humid environments may decrease the life span (or this may simply relate back to the sweat factor). Rough handling can certainly decrease life span. Based on all of those variables the life span can be expected to vary between 1 to 5 years, with little ability to predict what an individual can expect.

This is one of the biggest crocks of BS that I have ever read fom a company. It's almost laughable.

Paul

 

[BRICKBURN]

A quick Google shows them around $450. $450 for a product that may only last 1 year.....no thanks!

Exactly, the product might last a year and if you don't use it too often it might last five.

Not repairable from the outset.

The actual warranty: Thirty yards or thirty seconds, whichever comes first.

 

[Rimbaud]

Just curious how much were they?

I paid ~$400. I really wanted plugs I could use while hunting that also amplified sound so I didn't have to carry my Sordin ear pro. Total waste. I cannot believe the company's response.

 

[Aaron N]

It seems like he got 4 years out of them, so let’s hear the whole story as opposed to saying something is junk and not providing details.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

It seems like he got 4 years out of them, so let’s hear the whole story as opposed to saying something is junk and not providing details.

Does it matter if the company itself said the product may last a year?

 

[Rimbaud]

It seems like he got 4 years out of them, so let’s hear the whole story as opposed to saying something is junk and not providing details.

Correx, lightly used. I would say less than 50 times. Plugs do not hold charge. Charging ports in charging case do not always function. When fully charged, plugs die within two hours.

 

[Aaron N]

Does it matter if the company itself said the product may last a year?

Well the warranty is for a year and a half, so I guess they expect them to last that long, on the odd outlier that it doesn’t they will take care of it. Complaining about something that lasted three times the warranty period is a bit of a stretch. That’s like going after Ford nine years into car ownership and then complaining that they won’t do anything.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Well the warranty is for a year and a half, so I guess they expect them to last that long, on the odd outlier that it doesn’t they will take care of it. Complaining about something that lasted three times the warranty period is a bit of a stretch. That’s like going after Ford nine years into car ownership and then complaining that they won’t do anything.

Perhaps, but that's still irrelevant to me if I were considering purchasing their product. 1 year or 1 1/2 at best to count on them working for $450, I'm still not buying them. I average probably 2 times a month to the range, hopefully more when I retire. But currently I make it there about 24 times a year, that would be 36 times therefore in a year and a half. Not worth it to me to get 36 uses of the earplugs for that money. But to each their own.

 

[Aaron N]

Perhaps, but that's still irrelevant to me if I were considering purchasing their product. 1 year or 1 1/2 at best to count on them working for $450, I'm still not buying them. I average probably 2 times a month to the range, hopefully more when I retire. But currently I make it there about 24 times a year, that would be 36 times therefore in a year and a half. Not worth it to me to get 36 uses of the earplugs for that money. But to each their own.

But a company not giving you warranty three years after it expired also isn’t an example of a company “not standing behind their product”

 

[BlueFlyer]

I paid ~$400. I really wanted plugs I could use while hunting that also amplified sound so I didn't have to carry my Sordin ear pro. Total waste. I cannot believe the company's response.

I bought some Axil Xcor Bluetooth Pros just before Christmas. They cost $199 and are working very well. The only issue I had was that I had to buy some no name triple flange tips to get a comfortable fit that also controlled the noise correctly.

 

[RR 314]

I hope you get your copious amount of cerumen under control. Have you consulted a physician? Mayo Clinic? Johns Hopkins? Never heard of such.

Those are quite expensive to be coupled with a relatively short warranty. Sorry for the experience.

 

[Nevada Wapati]

BlueFlyer, what tips did you buy that were comfortable?

 

[BlueFlyer]

BlueFlyer, what tips did you buy that were comfortable?

I just found this on AliExpress:
AU$4.53 | 20Pcs Triple Flange Eartips Eargels Earpads Ear Tips Gels Bud for Inside Diameter 4mm-5mm Earbuds in-Ear Earphone Accessories

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mq5J92p

 

[Doug3006]

I had the same problem with much cheaper Walker’s electronic plugs. I’ve learned that they must be stored and kept charged or they’ll soon become unchargeable.

 

[Aaron N]

@Aaron N comments reek of condescension and his/her location is listed as Alberta, Canada.

I’d love for you to expand on your comments?

- If your issue is that products aren’t made to last anymore, I 100% agree with you, but you can point your finger towards yourself and blame American consumerism as well as meeting quarterly shareholder expectations which reward pumping out junk that needs to continually be replaced .

-if you think that it’s unreasonable for a company to not warranty a product years after it’s expired, then you must be the type who takes his Christmas tree back to Costco January 2 after the last needle has fallen off of it.

It should be noted that “lightly used” is not a quantitative assessment, and no one really has any idea what that means. Maybe it’s only been used twice, but has bounced around in the tool box of his truck for three years. Or maybe he used them ten times and babied them like they were fabrege eggs.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

But a company not giving you warranty three years after it expired also isn’t an example of a company “not standing behind their product”

I don't disagree and was never arguing that.

 

[Bandera]

I have been using Axil GS Extreme and XCore. The GS Extreme going on 3 years, 2 on the XCore.
I have two complaints.
1 Neither pair has a find my feature like my Air Pods.
2 Both pair can make a squirrel sound like Godzilla stomping around.