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Customer Ratings & Reviews

Your price for this item is $322.99
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The comparable value price is $379.99

Customer reviews

Rating 4.6 out of 5 stars with 1101 reviews

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Rating by feature

  • Value

    Rating 4.4 out of 5 stars

  • Quality

    Rating 4.7 out of 5 stars

  • Ease of Use

    Rating 4.5 out of 5 stars

Pros mentioned filter

Cons mentioned filter

90%would recommend to a friend

Customers are saying

Customers admire the Smart Speaker 500's sound quality, ease of use, and attractive design. Many appreciate its strong bass and the convenience of Bluetooth connectivity, while some find the setup process challenging and the price point high. The speaker's app also received mixed reviews.

This summary was generated by AI based on customer reviews.

The vast majority of our reviews come from verified purchases. Reviews from customers may include My Best Buy members, employees, and Tech Insider Network members (as tagged). Select reviewers may receive discounted products, promotional considerations or entries into drawings for honest, helpful reviews.
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Page 1 Showing 1-20 of 42 reviews
  • Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Scratch and chipped

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I ordered a brand new and then there's a scratch ang chip! Disappointed...

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Great sound but limited Alexa

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Bought this speaker because of the usual Bose quality in sound and indeed the sound is excellent. It fills up my bedroom and let me enjoy a wide range of internet music stations. My second reason I bought this is because of the Alexa integration. And here it falls short. Although both Alexa and Bose advertise with this item being able to be used as Alexa (except calling and texting - which was confirmed by Best Buy when I picked it up), that is not the case. For example my lights connected through a smart wi-fi plug are not controlled by this Alexa integrated speaker. In other words there is no full Alexa control. That is a huge disappointment given the price tag and promise they made with this speaker. After calling Bose technical support they told me that most likely this will be changing in a couple of months (????).

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Price

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    misleading/overpriced.

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    good sound. overpriced for what you get. no instructions with item .Bose app stinks .have to use soundbar remote and app to operate all three items that are advertised to all work together as one . Very misleading. Not user friendly.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Price

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    WiFi connectivity it's a pain

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    Posted . Owned for 2 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Good sound and quality, expensive it's a Bose. It's a pain when trying to connect it to my phone's Bose Music App. I need to reset this speaker everyday to have it connected. There are other many options. I would not recommend this to a friend.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose
      Posted .

      Hey Gerardo,
      I'm so happy to hear that you like the quality of the sound!
      I'm sorry to hear of the issues you are experiencing connecting to the Bose Music application with your phone. This is certainly not normal behavior and I would encourage you to reach out to out team using the detail here: https://bose.life/3nG7cB4, so we can assist you.
      Thanks!
      Kerri - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Expensive product with multiple functional issues!

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Pros - Compact speaker with clear sound upto certain levels, voice features.. Cons - Bass goes haywire at high levels giving distorted sound, disconnects on bluetooth if left idle for few mins, always need to reconnect via phone, doesn't automatically connect, Requires Wi-Fi for setup. Since it came on a discount, that seems to be the only motivating factor to keep it, otherwise its an expensive product with multiple functional issues.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose
      Posted .

      Hello,

      Thanks for leaving your thoughts on the Home Speaker 500. It's great to hear you were impressed by the sound quality and voice features of the product but I'm sorry to hear you had issues with distorted sound at higher levels. I've not personally experienced distorted sound with the speaker at higher volumes so I'd certainly recommend getting in touch with our support team to discuss this in more detail.

      With regard to WiFi being needed for setup, the Home Speaker 500 is a smart speaker so a connection to the internet is necessary to enable you to connect and access it's key features. That being said, if you need to access the speaker when an internet connection is unavailable, you can use it via Bluetooth or Auxiliary.

      To get in touch, please head to the support link here: https://bose.life/2Xll2Lo. We will be more than happy to help!

      Kind regards,

      Jeff - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Price

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Great Sound

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Great Bose sound just a bit too expensive for what it offers

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Price

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Not bad

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Openers good great. But it is way too expensive for the quality.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Needs more supported streaming services

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    Posted . Owned for less than 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Excellent sound quality but, i was using it with google assistant and mainly to listen to audio. There were only a couple of streaming services supported. Youtube music was not supported which was very disappointing.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Programming difficult.

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Once it takes your programming it works. It doesn't pair up with my Alexa echo which stinks. Reacts slow, sound is great. Best to build on system you already have as Bose only pairs with Bose.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Great speaker but horrible trouble shooting

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    Posted . Owned for 4 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Great sound but once you unplug them it in programs and it’s difficult to fix tje prob without having tongo to Bose. What is life lol

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose
      Posted .

      Hello Deeohsoreal, I am so happy to hear you love the audio from your new Smart Speaker 500. I am sorry to hear you faced some issues setting up your speaker, but am glad to hear the team was able to help you to resolve this. Did you know on our website, there are a large range of steps and guides for your speaker here https://bose.life/3m0YoaK. This would also provide all the information needed to get up and running.

      Tori Mae - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    spotty Alexa performance

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    Posted . Owned for 3 weeks when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    The sound is excellent in this Bose speaker, but the Alexa performance is very spotty, and not as quick or precise as the Amazon Echo. Test it out before you buy it.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Bose Sound but Bose Control not so very much.

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    Posted . Owned for 1 year when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Bose speaker has a great full sound but unfortunately it needs the app on wifi to control it remotely. This is where they missed the mark.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Size

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    The sound quality isn't as good as it used to be.

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    Posted . Owned for 4 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Good for a small area, Difficult to connect to other Bose systems.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Loved it until it didn't work

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    Posted . Owned for 1.5 years when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    This was a gift for my husband and he lived it and until it stopped working. Our neighbors Internet drops a lot and it would disconnect. Couldn't reconnect. We just got fiber so hoping I can get it to connect

    I would recommend this to a friend
    • Brand response from Bose Support
      Posted .

      Hello,

      Thank you for your review of the Smart Speaker 500. It's fantastic to hear your husband loved the speaker! The disconnection issues are definitely understandable with unreliable internet. If you're using the internet without your neighbours knowing, they might have noticed and blocked you from their router. If they know you use it, it might be worth chatting with them about the connection.

      If you need any help with setting the speaker up on your new internet, please feel free to get in touch!

      Jeff - Bose Customer Support bose

  • Pros mentioned:
    Ease of use

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    sound good but does not link to iTunes

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    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    easy set up.. but does not link to iTunes. Bose said they will launch an iTunes link in future but I cannot wait. Returned it.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Not battery powered

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    Posted . Owned for 5 months when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I actually returned this item because the marketing of it created a misunderstanding. The item prominently says "Wireless". However, it needs wired wall power; it doesn't have a battery. I returned it (hassle-free) and got a similar sized and priced battery-powered Sonos speaker instead.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Love the sound - Not reliable

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    Posted . Owned for 1.5 years when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I had this for 1.5 years and it quit working. Thought it was a software problem. Had to send to Bose for repair.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Not very reliable

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    Posted . Owned for 1 month when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    It sounds amazing, but the connection with Spotify is always up and down. Lots of glitches.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Misleading

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    Posted . Owned for 1 week when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    Great speaker. not worth anything as far as a smart device is concerned.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    It's okay

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    Posted . Owned for more than 2 years when reviewed.
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I've had it for a couple years. It did what is was supposed to, but the sound quality wasn't the best. I have an echo studio that blows this out of the water. Plus, the echo was cheaper.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend