Sony WH-1000XM3 Muting in the Cold

[bugzy3188]

Is there a way to turn off gesture control on the 1000XM3s? It barely works in optimal conditions and when standing outisde in cold weather they will consistently register swipes (even though nothing has touched the headphones), either turning volume up/down or skipping tracks and after about 1 minute they will mute as if I am holding my hand over the right ear. Any suggestions?

[mruddo]

Just got my new headphones (through Amazon) this weekend, and it's been cold on my walk to/from the station on my commute here in the UK.

So far I've had the quick attention mode activated (without touching) on the walk home, and Google assistant kicking in on the walk to the station this morning. On both occasions I resorted to restarting the headphones to get them working again.

Although it was just below freezing on the walk in this morning, it wasn't that cold on the walk home the first night - so it's looking like they're going to be totally unreliable for my winter commutes.

I've not registered them yet, so I will do so and log a fault as soon as I've done that.  No way I'm paying over £300 for headphones I keep having to reboot!

I fear despite them being excellent in all other respects, it's looking likely I'll be sending them back. 😞

[K1ng_Bread]

Seems like the problem got to the mainstream: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2019/1/14/18181200/sony-wh-1000xm3-headphones-cold-weather-b....

[thebigrace]

I sent an e-mail to Sony Customer Service and got a canned reply about the workarounds everyone has already mentioned.  I replied asking for a statement from a human being about what Sony is doing to address this issue.  I'll report back if I hear anything.  

As of now, this might be the most frustrating problem I've ever had with an electronic device.  

[anonuser1020]

I am having the same issue the last two days. Today is 3 °F cold and windy in New York.  When the wind blows, either my music is paused or voice activation kicks and tried to dial someone in my contacts.  This is dangerous as it tried to call an employee in the company i work for.

I am connected via Bluetooth.

I just bought these headphones on Jan21,2019 from Bestbuy (not that it matters) with latest firmware 4.1.1

I have  a iphone 6s, latest on iOS 12.1.2 (not that it matters).

Frustration is slowly growing for the amount of money WE paid for this item.  Sony Any resolution?

[mruddo]

It's hugely frustrating... and even if they did offer a software feature to disable the touch controls as a workaround, I'm not sure I'd be happy with paying that sort of money to have some of its key features disabled for potentially 2-3 months of the year!?

It would be forgivable if I was trying to operate them at -10C (i.e. well below recomendations), but on a typically cold British winter day - not even an extreme one - it's unacceptable.

I suppose a periodic sensor recalibration might be possible via firmware, but I'm not optimistic that this can be reliably fixed without some physical update.

[dyviknilsen]

Hello everybody,

As a student who just can't focus without a lot of noice around me, I've been looking to get myself some noice cancelling, wireless headphones. The Sony has thus far looked like my first pick; The sound seems to be the best fit for my needs, and I like the mobile application. The design is also more my style, and I really appreciate the 10 minute quick charge, and the long overall battery life.

However, being a Norwegian, I'd obviously like to use my headphones while walking home, both during summer and winter. Temperatures are at about -5C right now, and it'd be a shame if this design error ruins the experience.

Do those of you who already have them for a while, feel like this is a total dealbreaker? Does Sony's reboot tips really work?

I appreciate the feedback!

[K1ng_Bread]

If you plan to use it mostly inside then yes, these are great headphones, good ANC and great sound quality. If you think you'll use them outside as well then maybe check for the 1000xm2's or the Bose counterpart, the cold issue is really annoying and the workaround does work for a couple of mins before it does again.

[adrian_vg]

I primarily bought mine to create a quiet bubble on the commute, which is inside.
The cans having some glitches while outside in a Scandinavian climate (I live in mid-Sweden) is of course extremely annoying given the purchase price, but not a deal-breaker for me.

However, I do wish Sony would give us something more akin to a fix, rather than the sometimes working, sometimes

not so-called fix on page 1 in this thread.

[mannytabloid]

What a completely unacceptable mistake by Sony.

Shipped a product that can't be used in NYC for a third of the year. Bought and returning within less than a week. What a shame.

[Gijsphdb]

"good NC"  ..... That must be before the updat to firmware 4.1.1  !!

Still no replies from Sony.

SONY: Didn't you check the old en new firmware versions? Must be easy for you to do some tests in your lab. Send us the results.