Huawei responds over Bose headphone delays: Everyone WILL get their headphones, and soon

Update: We have now spoken directly to a spokesman from Huawei, and were able to put our questions over directly. The company has confirmed two things:

1)  Everybody whose claims were validated will get their Bose headphones – there will be no substitutions, and there is enough stock for everyone.

2)  All sets of headphones will be shipped by Friday 8 June at the very latest. 

So good news all round. If anybody is still without their promised Bose headphones after that period, drop Alphr a line and we will do more digging. 

The original article continues below

Before the P20 and P20 Pro launched, Huawei had one of the best preorder promotions we have ever seen: free Bose QuietComfort 35 II headphones worth £329.99 for orders made between 27 March and 5 April.

Preordering phones is a hostage to fortune, but both the Huawei P20 Pro and (to a lesser extent) the P20 turned out to be fine handsets, so the gamble paid off. Or did it?

We’ve been hearing reports that Huawei has not been able to fulfil its promise of the free headphones within the 30 days it set itself in its own terms and conditions.

READ NEXT: Huawei P20 Pro review

“My 30 days is up today and nothing in sight so I wouldn’t get your hopes up that it will be anytime soon,” wrote one user on the popular xda developers Android forum in a growing thread of complaints about the handling of the promotion. “I’m guessing once they have broken the 30-day mark then there is no reason for them to want to try to rush to fulfil the item.”

Above: A sample of the emails Huawei sends for validated claims

A second break

There are some success stories, with people periodically popping up to say that they have received the headphones – but this is causing more controversy, as they are people who were validated by Huawei more recently. This is a direct breach of Huawei’s own promotional terms and conditions, which reads: “The Bose Headphones are subject to availability, while stocks last and shall be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.”

This has not happened, according to various users, which is causing concern about the following line: “Huawei reserves the right to replace the Bose Headphones with an alternative promotional offer of equal or higher value if circumstances beyond Huawei’s control make it necessary to do so.”

Huawei has been keeping users in the dark about the cause and expected outcome of the difficulties, with email and phone support agents offering contradicting explanations. “I’ve been told different things by different people at Huawei,” said another expectant P20 owner on the EE community forums. “I was told that my headphones were with the courier and marked as dispatched. This turned out to be a lie, as another person said that they couldn’t give me a tracking number as my headphones haven’t been processed yet.”

We reached out to both Huawei and Bose ahead of publication for their comment. Huawei responded with the following: “Due to a higher than anticipated demand for our Bose headphones promotion, you may be experiencing a delay in receiving your delivery. We are working hard to rectify this and are in the process of contacting anyone affected.”

It added that Huawei is “committed to providing the highest standards of consumer experience” and advised customers to call the customer services team on 0345 216 0131. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm excluding bank holidays and they’re charged at local call rates from landlines.

However, the company failed to answer two of our key questions – why latecomers to the promotion are getting theirs first, and whether they can confirm all orders will be honoured – so I have asked them again. I’ll update this when I hear back.