Soundcore Frames won't turn on anymore - SOLVED

#7

You have the advantage of owning these (I don’t). So above you have the 3 suggestions already.

The cable and the frame sides look like they have a few different ways to align them with the charging cable, so tried them all? I can see 4 ways theoretically.

Clean the pins on the cable and the frame.

Try different charger port on different charger. Don’t use the USB port on a PC, just a different charger.

If none work, the most probable fault is the cable as cables are well known to stop earlier than other components.

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#8

I was lucky enough to be one of the Beta testers.

The charging cable lights up in green while they charge and then “turns off” when the frames are fully charged so they should be full and the cable should work.
At least I hope it does. The LEDs wouldn’t work if the cable was broken, do you think?
I tried with different charger ports but to no avail. The cable lights green when I plug it in and shortly when I connect them to the frames and then turns off. I believe they are fully charged so they won’t charge anymore.

I find it weird, that I can’t even manually turn them on.
I once had the same problem while I was on a train but it resolved within half a day. But they aren’t working for more than a week now :frowning:

Sorry for my English. I’m not a native speaker.

Thanks for trying to help me guys!

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#9

Cables are a known vulnerability they crack internally along their length. If the light is green means voltage near the electronics near the USB-A end but cracked further along.

Feels like a dud cable.

Even if you did not buy them, so can’t necessarily have a warranty claim, being beta you contain valuable knowledge of what begins to fail first and fastest. So you may be usefully finding fault with the cable design they need to know to tune the manufacturing.

When I saw the images of the product I thought the cable would be a failure item. I may be wrong but anything which bends…breaks. The hinge I’m expecting next.

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#11

Yeah since you are a beta tester, it could be a host of things. Contacting support might be able to get you a different power cord for a small price. Again being a beta tester might help with that as well. I am assuming that you will be out of luck on a replacement set. I am hoping it is something simple like a charging cable is your issue.

Please reply with the answer as it could help others as they come to search for it or give us insights to helping others as we start to get them in the future.

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#12

Agree with @Duane_Lester. If/when you find out what’s going on, let us know. :+1:

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#13

Hi, I am so sorry to learn about the issue with your Soundcore Frames. Thanks for trying some troubleshooting already. In this case, please try the troubleshooting below to see if it helps at all:

  1. Make sure Soundcore Frames have been fully charged before using for the first time.
  2. When wearing Soundcore Frames, make sure the part where the audio temples curve is touching your ears, then wait 2-3 seconds until you hear the voice prompt.
  3. If the part where the audio temples bend does not touch your ears or Soundcore Frames does not power on, long-press this area on both sides for 1 second.
  4. In order to conserve the battery life, Soundcore Frames will automatically turn off when the battery level is low. In this situation, use the charging cable to charge for at least 10 minutes, and then try to turn on again.

If the issue still persists, no worry, be assured that we always stand behind our products, providing an 18-month warranty that covers any quality or manufacturing related issue. Please drop an email to "service@soundcore.com" by detailing the issue and the order information, our Soundcore technical support team will help you out as soon as possible.

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Frames won't power on. Fully charged
#14

Alright, I got replies from the Customer Sevice.

The first one basically said, that the glasses are probably defective and that they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

I wrote back that I talked to you guys and the idea of a failing charging process due to a possibly broken cable came up. I asked if I could purchase a new cable from then in order to try to charge the glasses and see if they turn on again.

Unfortunately I had to pay almost 28€/31$ to buy the new cable (with shipping) but I’m kind of taking my job as a Beta Tester very seriously. I feel like this is a good opportunity for trying out different approaches on trouble shooting. Sending a customer with a warranty claim a new charging cable vs. new Sound Frames would make a huge difference for the company.
So I will investigate further :face_with_monocle:

Please wish me luck! I really love my Frames and I’m very sad that they don’t work anymore.

Maybe this is a special question for the Support Team on here:
Wouldn’t it make sense to send you the defective Beta Testing item if the new charging cable doesn’t help? This way you could look at the hard- and the software and search for errors that might occur in more products.

Also a suggestion for improvement: A visible turning on button/specially marked area where to touch the frames. Consumers are always a little bit lost when there are no visible buttons :woozy_face: At least I felt like that.

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#15

This is version 1 of what is hopefully a long term successful product. I want Soundcore to succeed with Frames.

If your beta unit failed so soon then there is a design flaw which Soundcore need to learn before soon an uptick of customer purchases of Frames with this vulnerability.

My suggestion to Soundcore is to post a new cable, if that fixes the issue then post back the failed cable, investigation of the fault and then correct the manufacturing before you sell many more.

My view is that the cable idea is inherently a bad design idea. Cables flex and thin cables flex the most. Flexing cables crack and usually where it enters something like the magnetic connection.

I’m surprised part of Anker hasn’t learned this from a core business of USB cables.

Tell them The Professor sent you. :sunglasses:

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#16

Hahaha! Will do in my next email!

The cable really does get tangled up quite easily because of the magnets! It’s impossible to keep it tidy in a bag. I have a special case for the frames but still, it will stick to everything magnetic and get curled up.

Oh, I hope soooo much that the cable is the only issue!!!
The Frames are such a great idea! I love them! The sound is also very good since the “surround sound update”. They improved it so much!
The voice activation is very fun as well. I love, how you just have to tell your glasses to “stop playing” and “resume playing” e.g. while doing the dishes and you don’t even have to touch them in the process! Amazing and very clever ideas :slight_smile:

So I’d hate to see them fail on the market. I would absolutely hate that. You can see and feel how much work and thought went into the developing process! I want them to do great :slight_smile:
I’m a Frames-Fan :eyeglasses::heart:

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#17

Well then the magnets could be put in the sides instead so the cable isn’t magnetic, or half the magnets moved from cable to sides so the cable has less to attach to in itself.

Or Professor Patent ™ get rid of the cable and make a shaped stick the sides attach to and contains a battery so the frames fold and plop onto a charging station.

Or Professor Patent ™ put wireless charging ring in the lens frame area.

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#18

Sounds like somebody should have been added to beta test :wink:

Good feedback @Edi10 and @The_Professor

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#19

Oh wow, the customer service is so nice! They try their best and the communication is so nice.

The cable will arrive next week and if that doesn’t help, they will help me send in the frames for further investigation.

Please wish me luck with the new charging cable :pray:

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#20

I was thinking wireless charger would be pretty good for this device as well or a charging dock pad made specifically house the frames and you can just plug a cable into the dock station

I really think they should sell non frame temples as well. If you have two front frames, you can use one with the soundcore frames and the temples on the other front frames for when your frames are charging.

#21

Interesting debate, I hadn’t thought of your latter idea.

I see more likely they ditch the swappable frames idea (expensive sides, lower cost front) as the mechanical reliability of a moving hinge connector should fail faster than electronics fail. As the bulk of the sides allows to use the lower cost parts should, logically, force the demise of the swappable frames front idea and you just two whole sets.

The innovation problem then shifts to how do you swap owning two sets of frames, so wear detection, Partycast.

So you own two whole sets, you take one off, but another on. That removes the mechanical failure risk.

Does that make sense? If not I’ll edit.

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#22

I don’t get it :joy: Might be the language barrier though …

I like the swappable frames because you can use the temples with prescription glasses. Which is a huge plus for every person that has to wear glasses anyway. Normally those people wouldn’t be able to use e.g. the sunglasses or the bluelight filtered glasses and therefore wouldn’t be able to use the Sound frames at all.
I think it’s rather clever to include those people in the market group.

Wireless charging for the temples would make the most sense for me. This way you could just put the glasses on a pad and maybe even have a specially designed case for them as @Duane_Lester suggested. Similar to the one of the Liberty Pro Case.
But a wireless charging pad would suffice too I think. This way you could place the frames on the pad on your table e.g. next to your laptop and have them loading while you have a lunch break or something like that …
And a wireless charging pad is quite sturdy. Plus you wouldn’t have to fiddle with the hinges or disconnect the temples from the front glasses.

My vote is for a wireless charging pad :smile::+1:

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#23

I am not saying the swappable fronts is a bad idea, just there is an alternative approach for the next iteration or if this becomes a family of products.

Presently in UK a full set of Frames is £120 and a spare front is £50, so to get “two” sets is £170.

Suppose you could get two sets for £170 instead?

Suppose the fronts were not swappable. That would allow for the front to then contain electronics, such as a wireless charging ring in the frame, and it would allow to place microphone in the nose bridge so it is nearer the mouth, or could mean 2 extra microphones to better filter sounds.

I don’t need prescription lenses, but I know plenty do. For me my need is not far off here in northern hemisphere when Spring begins of biking and needing to keep insects out of eyes, with a dark polarized for daytime and a clear lens for evening/night. I pretty much need such for 8 months of the year.

#24

Ah, now I understand.
Thanks for clarifying it!

Mhm, I really like the idea of swappable fronts but I can see what you mean. Instead of having swappable fronts, you suggest buying more kinds of ready-built-frames, right?

I understand where you are coming from but I think the majority of the market these days is rather focused on the price of things. So imagine a company telling you to not only buy one headphone off them but at least two or three of the same kind. Just differing in the design.
I’d think they were crazy.
Like a white kind of ear buds and a black one. One for the day one for the night … Ain’t nobody got money for that :joy:

But you see, I’m using them for everyday-purpose. I’m not doing sports like mountain biking with them. So I can’t say how they would hold up qualitywise in that field.

I really understand what you mean though. You are a person that is focused on the quality of goods. However, I think the majority of the market is not. It’s either the brand name or the price. That’s how I feel.

I’m a buyer that tries to get the best quality/price balance. So I compare a lot. And I’m willing to pay more to get better quality and have a better user experience in the long run. But just look at e.g. amazon market place. The cheap dupes get the most reviews.

The microphone is, by the way, doing a really good job! I phoned a lot of people while wearing the frames and nobody even noticed. It’s just a bit loud when it’s windy but I have the same problem with my mobile phone. The microphone is, in fact, better than the one my Liberty Pro 2 Buds have! I was really suprised myself!

#25

- UPDATE - PROBLEM SOLVED WITH NEW CHARGING CABLE -

I got the new charging cable today and they’re back!!! THE FRAMES ARE BACK!!! Wooooohoooo! :dancer:

The new charging cable also is a lot thicker than the old one. The green lights were on for quite a bit so I think the charging must indeed have failed with the old cable.

It did take a while for them to turn on again, though. They didn’t do that immediately so I kind of randomly started to press the temples because I got so desperate.
And then suddenly the sound of heaven rang in my ears … yeeees!

They probably just needed some time to reboot and get back from the dead while I got impatient :sweat_smile:

I’m updating them right now.

Oh, I’m so relieved! I don’t have the money to buy new ones atm and I would have missed them so much! Welcome back my framies :eyeglasses::heart::heart_eyes:

I hope I don’t get anymore problems like this …

Summary of the trouble shooting:
1.) Get a new charging cable
2.) Charge the frames
3.) Put them on and wait for a few minutes
3b) If they don’t turn on on their own, try pressing the temples especially the area where they curve - I did that while still wearing them
4.) Update the frames if necessary
5.) Calibrate them again, just in case

This is how it worked out for me :blush::blush::blush:

Thanks so much to everyone who tried to help me!!!

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#26

Cool, it was the cable and sounds like they already knew the issue.

Next prediction: the connecting hinge fails.

#27

  1. Grats on they are working again for you.

  2. It is nice to hear the new cable is a lot thicker than the one that you had. Hopefully that should last for a decent amount of time.

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