Hissing noise with new Microsoft Surface Earbuds

Received response from Microsoft Customer Service:

I hope this message finds you well. Finally, I received an update from best Microsoft Engineers. We confirmed that When audio is stopped you will hear 1-2 seconds of white noise followed by a low volume clicking noise.  This occurs as the amplifier built into Surface Earbuds turns off.  This does not effect the functionality of your Surface Earbuds and is expected. Replacement wont help either because this symptom will occur on all Earbuds.

Best regards,

Ricky

So it looks like they are hissing by design! That is not acceptable for a brand new product - especially given that my 4 year old Bose SoundSport Wireless and the new Google Pixel Buds do not have this issue. Clearly it is possible to design headphones without a constant hiss from the amp.

I am very disappointed and will be returning the product.

Received response from Microsoft Customer Service:

I hope this message finds you well. Finally, I received an update from best Microsoft Engineers. We confirmed that When audio is stopped you will hear 1-2 seconds of white noise followed by a low volume clicking noise.  This occurs as the amplifier built into Surface Earbuds turns off.  This does not effect the functionality of your Surface Earbuds and is expected. Replacement wont help either because this symptom will occur on all Earbuds.

Best regards,

Ricky

So it looks like they are hissing by design! That is not acceptable for a brand new product - especially given that my 4 year old Bose SoundSport Wireless and the new Google Pixel Buds do not have this issue. Clearly it is possible to design headphones without a constant hiss from the amp.

I am very disappointed and will be returning the product.

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

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.

I'm an early adopter - got them on the day of release.

There appears to be a glaring issue, and I wonder whether they're particular to only my pair.

Basically, whenever there is about to be sound played - such as unlocking of the phone, start of a phone call or music, white noise hissing appears, sometimes with a "pop" and then lasts about 2-3 seconds after the sound stops. Even if no sound is played, quick locking or unlocking of the phone results in a 3 second noticeable white noise hissing sound.

Please advise. Does anyone else experience this issue?

Im javing literally the same issue, this happens on Windows 10 specifically. Also, the PowerPoint control doesnt work at all, and the dictation in Word comes and goes with BT control. Bought thesw for this very specific reasons and nothing but issues.

just bought it yesterday and have the same problem using my Samsung S10+

Well, I have bad news for you. A Microsoft engineer reply to me stating that this hissing is there by design. Therefore, the further firmware upgrade will not fix the issue. It needs to be redesigned from the ground up.

I would take this as a valid excuse, but I also noted that none of their competitors have such issues. I was done advice to return the item.

I'm leaning towards returning mine. I can't figure out how long I have to return them.

Any idea how long I can wait for an actual answer from Microsoft before I get stuck with them?