Customer Ratings & Reviews

Not happy with this purchase. Works horrible. Battery don’t last. Hard to zinc

Can not connect with my macbook or any computer. After 20 days, something wrong with this speakers. And it’s not able to return

When I opened the Bose portable Bluetooth home smart speaker box the first thing that comes to mind is statuesque. The speaker stands upright in the box and is protected with a heavyweight cloth like wrap. It is always my goal to do the initial setup by reading minimal to no instructions and on this speaker I failed, although, it wasn’t due to any fault of Bose. The smart speaker uses the Bose Music app rather than the Bose Connect app used for my Soundlink Revolve. Once I got that straightened out, setup was quick and easy. Connecting to Bluetooth only is just as simple. Setting the speaker up with Alexa was fast and easy. Switching to Google seemed to take a bit longer but I believe that’s due to the way google sets up devices. The Bose app allows you to switch between voice assistants but does not retain any settings between the two. Switching is like setting up the other service from the beginning. The feature set for both Alexa and Google is not the same as if it was an actual Echo or Google device. One of the features it does not have is the ability to make or receive phone calls from them. This is unfortunate since you cannot use the speaker as a speaker phone when connected via Bluetooth. I’ve had other devices with google that had the same issue, however, this was changed in a software update. Possibly this will change in the Bose speaker as well. Both voice assistants worked as expected and I like that you can set music presets in the app to go directly to your favorite service and stations. The sound as expected is all Bose, however on this speaker, unlike my revolve, you have the option to adjust treble and bass. The volume is more than adequate to fill my house with sound and the microphones for Alexa and Google work well even at high volumes. The volume control is handled by two buttons on the top of the speaker. I would have preferred it be a ring like is found on the Amazon Echo devices. Also, the light ring on the top works clockwise from the top to show the volume level. Its not bad, just confusing at first. Battery life is rated at 12 hours at high volume and is on par to reach that. Charging is done via USB-C plug. There is an optional charging base which at this price point should be included, especially due to the Alexa and Google Assistant tie in. Having the ability to simply lift the speaker from the base to use portably and just setting it back on the base when finished would make this an outstanding device. As far as connectivity goes, you can also directly connect the speaker to any Bluetooth device and it works with Apple Airplay as well. The speaker is IPx4 rated so it can take splashes by the pool or beach. I’m not confident though about getting it wet with the open grill. As a portable speaker I would have liked a higher rating, at least to include being dropped in the water. I know Bose can do it since the Bose Micro Soundlink works underwater just fine. There is also no line in on this unit, Bluetooth and wifi are the only connectivity options. When I comes to price, I put Bose and Apple in the same cart. A little pricy but you get what you pay for. I only gave 4 stars because I feel the charging base should have been included at this price and the app should maintain the settings when switching between voice assistants. Otherwise, if this is not important to you, add the extra star and make it 5. If you are a fan of Bose products, this speaker is for you and I would recommend it to all my friends.

Worked great for a couple of months then got a red light. Followed instructions on how to reset. Won’t reset. Will call Bose for direction.

Lousy sound and the App is a total nightmare, Totally lost all confidence in a product I once would go to war for. Getting help is like pulling teeth.

So, I bought 2 of these and the 1st one was bad and would not stay linked to my phone or laptop and had horrible battery life (pretty sure it was a return). Returned it to Best Buy and have been very pleased with the sound and ease of use. Battery life seems to be about 8-10 hours and the Bose App provides a pretty decent level of EQ adjustment. When I move the two speakers out into the living room and connect it to the TV and sound bar it is an amazing surround sound experience. I originally bought a Bose Revolve +II had was very underwhelmed with the sound. The Portable Home Speaker is a much better choice IMHO.

Unable to keep my phone connected with the speaker… I have reset it several times and just purchased this item not long ago

The speaker is great, but It should have came with a storage bag. At the high price I paid for the speaker, a storage protection bag should be available.

It will not pair with other BOSE speakers. It won't work with my previous speaker. Very disappointed. Would not recommend.

Not support youtube music.. only support alexa and apple music.

The Bose Portable Home Smart Speaker is just that, a very portable smart speaker. Smart speaker in that you can use Amazon’s “Echo” or Google’s “Assistant” to basically give you information on a wide variety of subjects. Portable in that it has a pretty good battery that allows for you to take it with you, and as long as you have wifi and/or Bluetooth, you have music! It works well in the Assisted Mode (I use Amazon’s “Alexa”) and it operates like any other Amazon Smart Device. In fact, it seems to pick up my voice a little better than an Amazon Dot. Using the Bose Music app allows you to pick from which Assistant you want to use along with a guided instruction to help get the device set-up on your wi-fi. No issues on that side. On the music/portability side, I compared this to a Bose Soundlink Mini that I own. The Soundlink Mini has a bit clearer sound but the Portable Home Smart Speaker gets louder and has a more pronounced bass. But portability is the key here, and this speaker outlasted the older Bose Soundlink. I am definitely happy with the Amazon Echo portion, and the portability. I am pretty happy with the music side, with the only exception being an issue with Bluetooth connectivity, but I am still working that issue. The price is pretty phenomenal, but if the Bose Portable Home Smart Speaker fills all your needs, then it’s worth it. I would like to see a little cheaper price or a good sale, but short of that, it is a great speaker.

The battery didn’t charge. 6 hours of charging and it was still at 14%. Couldn’t listen more than 2 hours wireless.

My Bose has stopped working suddenly after a month. I was so excited about owning this.

Will not hold Bluetooth. Tried to recalibrate several times

Horrible battery life Looses wi/fi drops although strong good signal

Lower priced. Not loud enough. Definitely not loud enough outdoors.

Bose has done a wonderful job of staying on top of the changing trends in technology. I already have the Revolve and am happy with the sound, but I did feel as though there were some misses, with the charging port not being USB type-C, that there was no equalizer to customize my sound needs, and a few others. The Bose portable home speaker addressed most of my wants by adding Google Assistant and Alexa, upgrading the charging port to USB type-C, allowing streaming connections via Wi-Fi, and adding audio settings. Important note: You need to follow the directions for setting up this device instead of connecting via Bluetooth. You will also need to download an app called Bose Music - not Bose Connect. Setup was easy to follow: connect a power cable to the speaker, download the Bose Music app, hold play/pause and (–) for 5 seconds until an amber light appears, and follow the rest of the directions on the app. I was very impressed with the sound. For a small speaker, it really was loud but still clear and not distorted. I liked how the speaker was arranged to make sure there was 360 sound. I also liked how you could adjust the bass and treble, but was a little disappointed that there was no equalizer. I was also disappointed to find you could not connect the Revolve to this speaker. Pros Can use either Alexa or Google Assistant USB type-C Guests can play their music through this speaker via Wi-Fi 360 sound Weather resistant (I have not tried this out, nor do I plan on it) Cons Cannot connect Bose Connect speakers together (as of this writing) Bass and Treble available, but no equalizer Overall, I would highly recommend this speaker to anyone who needs a small portable speaker with great sound, Alexa and Google Assistant functionality, Wi-Fi streaming, and weather resistance.

Super nice sound from a small package. Deep Base as well as well defined Highs. Best of all we just unplug it and take it with us outside on the patio or to the pool. Easy quick set up. Fast shipping. TIP: naming your device is important when you have multiple devices. This one is named "BAR", so even when in another room that has its own device in it, if we say "Hey Google Bar" we can issue orders to the device on our Bar and the device right next to us ignores the commands !

The Bose Portable Home Speaker is a wonderful smart speaker that allows you to use either Alexa or Google Assistant to provide you hands free access to your music. The Bose Music app lets you customize the Treble and Bass levels to your preference. The speaker is about the size of a 2-liter soda bottle and provides room filling sound with amazing clarity and bass. The handle is a sturdy hard plastic that should stand up to a little bit of abuse. The buttons on top are tactile and resposive to your touch so you can feel your way in the dark. Having a battery makes this speaker the ultimate take everywhere in the house speaker and can be used with smart features if you are on wifi or just connect via bluetooth if wifi is not available. It takes 2 hours to fully charge the speaker and on paper you can use it for 12 hours straight. With my intermittent usage, I get about 4 days with turning it off when not in use. The speaker is kept up to date by Bose through software updates. One negative is that with the price you are paying for this speaker, I wish Bose would of included the charging base with the speaker instead of charging extra for it. Therefore, you take the speaker with you, you must unplug the USB-C connector. Besides that annoyance of asking the consumer for more money for a charging base, this speaker will get a lot of use in my house due to its sound quality, portability, and smart features.

The Bose portable Bluetooth speaker is extremely easy to use, and offers great sound, especially for a speaker this small. Setup is accomplished via the Bose Music app, and was clearly guided and painless using my iPhone. Alexa setup is exactly as one would expect from setting up other Alexa enabled devices. If you’re familiar with the Echo/Alexa ecosystem, it will be second nature. Once setup, the speaker remembers WiFi networks, so if you’re using it in multiple locations it automatically connects when you arrive and turn on the power. It also automatically connects to your device via Bluetooth when away from WiFi making it truly portable and very versatile. The Amazon Alexa functionality is exactly as expected. Alexa only works when connected via WiFi. It is unavailable when connected to a mobile device via Bluetooth. I had some success using Alexa by connecting to my iPhone’s mobile hotspot, but it wasn’t as reliable as when the speaker was connected to WiFi. This to me is a very minor issue, as WiFi functionality is rock solid, and when using the speaker via Bluetooth, I’m usually playing music from sources on my iPhone anyway. A charging adapter and USB-C cable are included. I have not used the speaker on battery power long enough to evaluate battery life. This is a great sounding, versatile speaker in a small package. If you like Bose sound, this is a great way to take that sound with you.