Hissing noise with new Microsoft Surface Earbuds

I am actually returning the device today.

I was watching series of Youtube videos and I would miss first 1-3 seconds of each videos because of the sound drop. Also every morning and in the evening, my routine would be taking out the earbuds out of the case and adjusting the volume to 65%. 

These could be small and minor but when it becomes every day routine to do something extra that no other earbuds or headphones do, then I think it is quite problematic which is not being addressed by the engineering team. 

I really tried to like the earbuds, and I actually liked the fit, look, app, but those a couple of things outran the likes, so sadly, I am returning the earbuds today.

I was really hoping to hear back some improvement or fix, but I don't think it will come anytime soon.

Microsoft have made an absolute mockery of us all. These earbuds have a terrible static noise on low volume and i cannot belive for one aecond that this wasn't picked up in their testing facities.

At £200, Microsoft is conning us all, this should have been picked up and updated asap. 

Microsoft, pay attention, this is the reason why apple and other leading audio manufacturers are ahead of the game.

Returned.

They seem to think its only when audio is started or stopped but listening at a low level the hiss is still audible. Surely that is not by design on headphones that are meant to be used when presenting to people (as shown in their advertising for this product). I hope we can get a better response than what you received from support. I will also reach out that way and link this thread.

Yes, the hissing is constant, very audible when nothing is playing and then gets masked by music when it is playing. It seems hard to believe that MSFT engineers either did not hear the noise, or thought it was acceptable and let this product get RTM with glaring issues and limitations. None of the competing headsets have such issues.

I noticed that my post was noticed by the media:

https://www.phonearena.com/news/Microsoft-is-investigating-Surface-Earbuds-complaints_id124859

Hello, 

So I have the same problem. The hissing noise is especially audiable on lower volume. I preformed all the steps above, unfortunately to no effect. 

Each time sound is to be played a hissing sound appears, the sound plays. After I pause the sound, the hissing continues for about 3 seconds, ends with a pop and everything goes quiet (normal). 

Tested with Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ with Android 10 latest version, Spotify and YouTube app. 

Also tested with Surface Pro 7, Windows 10 1909 with all updates installed. Same problem while playing a video on YouTube (New Microsoft Edge browser) or a podcast via Spotify Store app. 

Kind regards, 

Michel

Hi, V.Vaicys!

Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Community and posting your concerns. We are sorry to learn you have issues with your new Surface Earbuds having constant hissing noise sometimes accompanied with a pop. This isn't the experience that we want you to have. Thanks for taking the time to let us know about this and allowing us to help you out.

Please allow us to ask the following:

• May we know the make and model of the smartphone you're using?
• What apps are involved when the issue happens?
• Have you tried the earbuds on another host device to see if the same thing happens?

In the meantime, kindly perform the following on to your Surface Earbuds.

• Place the earbuds back in the charging case for 15 seconds, then check if the same thing happens.

If that does not resolve the issue, please try to restart the host device. In your case, it is your phone.

• Update Surface EarbudsAfter performing this, kindly check if the hissing sound is still present.

If it is, try to disconnect and reconnect the earbuds via the Surface Audio app.

• If the issue is still present, kindly Reset Surface Earbuds.

We hope this helps you out and let us know how it goes.

Kind regards,

Janette_Z