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Customer Ratings & Reviews

Your price for this item is $199.99

Customer reviews

Rating 4.1 out of 5 stars with 457 reviews

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  • Value

    Rating 4.1 out of 5 stars

  • Quality

    Rating 4.2 out of 5 stars

  • Ease of Use

    Rating 4.2 out of 5 stars

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79%would recommend to a friend

Customers are saying

Customers value the sound quality, battery life, and comfortable fit of the Arctis GameBuds. Many appreciate the effective noise cancellation and the inclusion of a customizable equalizer. However, some users experienced issues with low volume levels and occasional connection problems. The price point was also cited as a potential drawback by some customers.

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 1-17 of 17 reviews
  • Pros mentioned:
    Comfort, Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Good ear buds, but not sure who they're for

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I play PS5 with my friends several times a week. So audio quality and microphone quality are a big deal to me. While there’s a lot to like about these earbuds, but for me, I just can’t recommend them over a solid pair of over the ear headset. IN THE BOX It comes in a small box, you get the earbuds in the case along with a USB-C dongle, a USB-C cable for charging, a USB-C to USB-A adapter, and large and small ear tips (the medium ones come preinstalled on the ear buds). DESIGN I like the color scheme as it matches the Playstation 5’s white vibe. The case is light and pretty small (as you’d expect). At first I was bummed that the lid wouldn’t stay open, then I realized it kind of clicks into place while open. Inside the case are the earbuds and the USB-C dongle for your PS5. The earbuds themselves look pretty good, they’re light, and I found them to be pretty comfortable for ear buds. I don’t plan on exercising in them, but they seemed secure enough that I could if I wanted to. Of course, fit with earbuds is entirely subjective and always depends on your own anatomy (not to mention the different size earbuds). SETUP Now, there’s not much to say anymore about setting up Bluetooth headphones or using a dongle, as we’ve all by now paired something to our phone. But here you’ll want to download the Arctic app on your phone (that’s where you’ll make any adjustments). I couldn’t pair the earbuds through the app, it couldn’t find them, but I was able to easily pair them through my phones settings and then the app found them. The first thing I was told to do - no surprise - was to update the firmware. It took me a minute to realize that you can’t update the firmware from your phone. You actually have to download the Arctic app on your computer and then update the firmware that way. Luckily the program shows you exactly what to do, but it requires plugging the case into your PC, as well as the USB-C dongle for the PS5 and leaving the case open. The update process took about 10 minutes. I wouldn’t expect to have to do this very often, but it was a tad bit inconvenient. If you’re using these on PC it’s a little less of an inconvenience. But once the firmware was updated and the earbuds paired, everything is set up and good to go. CONTROLS A few comments about the controls. With earbuds, there’s not a lot of space for buttons, so you have to navigate the controls by clicking the buttons on either ear bud. The important ones are turning on and off active noise cancellation and switching between Bluetooth mode and “wireless” mode (which connects to the dongle in your PS5). You have to click the right earbud 3 times to switch modes, and pushing once on the left earbud will switch between ANC and transparency. The sides of the earbuds aren’t touch sensitive, so you don’t swipe up or down to adjust the volume (like some earbuds like my Pixel Buds Pro). So to increase the volume you click and hold the right earbud button and to lower you click and hold the left. Of course, on your phone listening to music or on a call, you can adjust the volume with your volume rocker. Muting the microphone was a little dicier as it’s similar to adjusting the volume, you just don’t hold the button in as long. When paired to your PS5, you adjust the settings in your quick menu. If you’re like me, when it comes to the PS5 you don’t really mess with the settings once you find the right one. Meaning once I had the volume and microphone sensitivity right, I just left it there. But I have to admit, I very much prefer turning the wheel on the earcup of my Turtle Beach headset when I need to adjust the volume. But that’s just a matter of practicality, so I’m not complaining. SOUND QUALITY I use my Google Pixel Pro buds a lot. I’m very fond of them. I found the audio quality of the Arctic gamebuds to be on par for listening to music and podcasts. The bass wasn’t as deep as the Pixel Buds, but all-in-all, I found the sound to be pretty good. Some of it was probably due to a better seal in my ears than with the Arctic Gamebuds. I took a phone call and heard no complaints about the sound from the other caller. To me, the call sounded good. In short, it works well as earbuds for your phone. Video games, however, was a little bit more nuanced. In terms of sound quality, I found these earbuds to be close to my Turtle Beach headset. I mean that in terms of spatial surroundings and clarity. But the volume doesn’t get particularly loud. At first, I was disappointed, trying to turn it up as loud as I could. It seemed like the volume didn’t get close to what my Turtle Beach gets to - at least in terms of menu sounds. But when I was actually playing a game, I forgot about the volume. In other words, I was engrossed in the game with the sound and the volume issue I thought I had, was of no concern. Playing Call of Duty and College Football, I thought the spatial sound and recognizing sounds behind you, for example, was pretty good. Now, the microphone was a different story. My friends described me as sounding like I was in a “tin can.” I’m told the Turtle Beach headphones (from the other person’s perspective) sounded more full and balanced. They could hear me and I could hear them, but I was a bit disappointed they could tell I swapped headsets (I was hoping they couldn’t tell the difference). There is side tone, which I love and almost need in my headsets. That’s hearing you talk in the ear buds. You can adjust sidetone and turn it on within the app. It’s not terribly loud, but it’s enough to get a sense of how loud you’re talking (for those that don’t know, not being able to hear yourself chat is a bit annoying as you can’t regulate how loud you’re talking). I have to say that there’s many automatic EQ adjustment for games, but I’m a person that doesn’t typically fiddle with EQs (it’s just an extra step to take when I finally get time to sit down and play a game). So with all my headsets, I typically set it and forget it. I did go into the app and manually change my EQ settings for College Football, but I couldn’t tell any difference between it and the default. That could just be me, maybe I’m not that sensitive to it, but overall I think it’s nice to have EQ adjustments for those that really care about it. CONCLUSION All in all these are really good earbuds. I just don’t know who they’re for. I don’t mind wearing earbuds and carry them with me everyday, but I carry them because they’re small. I always prefer the cushion of ear cups in over the ear headsets. The advantage of these earbuds to me is the convenience of travel, but I rarely travel (if ever) with my PS5. So they end up sitting next to my PS5 where I game. And like I said, in terms of comfort, I’m going for my over the ear headset over earbuds every time. But that’s personal preference. But the microphone quality as told to me by my friends was a bummer; I don’t think it’s a dealbreaker, but it’s one less reason for me to use them while I game.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Promising concept, but too many minor issues

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    I was excited to try these new Steelseries Artic wireless buds. The only gaming buds I currently use are wired. However, several minor issues quickly tempered my excitement. The Steelseries buds ship with a charging case, USB C dongle, and USB A conversion cable for devices without a USB C port. The case charges the buds and stores the USB receiver when not in use. Battery strength for the buds and case can be monitored in the Arctic companion app. At the time of writing this review, the QR code printed on the box is supposed to open a link to the Arctic companion app. However, it instead leads to a 500 internal server error. The QR code printed on the band around the case works fine and leads to the Steelseries Arctic companion app download. I installed the app and the buds were immediately detected in app, allowing me to manage settings and sound profiles. However, an annoying issue I keep encountering with the app is that the buds keep randomly powering off and disconnecting from my phone while I’m managing settings. They do not disconnect when gaming, only when in the app. I checked and verified the power saving auto power off is set to 30 minutes. But they power off after only a few minutes of inactivity. The buds also won’t play streaming audio from the phone despite being connected via Bluetooth. I fiddled with the settings for a while before abandoning the idea of phone use. I primarily ordered these for console use anyhow. It just seems odd that these buds have a smartphone companion app, yet don’t work with my smartphone. The buds connect to gaming devices via USB dongle or Bluetooth. I have to go into the app to manually switch between Bluetooth to 2.4Ghz mode. It does not switch dynamically when alternating between the receiver and Bluetooth. The dongle is USB C with a USB A converter cable included. There is a switch on the dongle to select PC or Series X compatibility. Another odd issue I’m experiencing is that the buds stay connected to devices even when stored inside the case. Oddly, I can’t detect or manage the buds with the Arctic app while they’re inside the case, but my laptop stays connected to them and sends all audio to them inside the case. Sound quality is acceptably good, although these buds are no match for a decent quality full-sized headset. However, they excel at portability and they sound good enough for occasional use. Primary and foreground sounds are clear and easily decipherable. Background sounds are well executed most times, but frequently sound too quiet or muffled. It has good sound effects isolation and positioning, but again not great. Sound reproduction is true and generated sounds are realistic and lifelike at times. Music sounds okay, but somewhat flat and lacks any oomph. The biggest issue with these buds is low volume. Even with volume maxed out, these buds sound much quieter than my headsets or even my music focused buds. The mic is okay. I haven’t used it a lot because I prefer the boom mic of a regular headset. It does reproduce my voice faithfully and I haven’t received any complaints from the remote gamers I chat with. The Arctic app contains dozens of presets for popular games. Most of the games I currently play are in there but a few aren’t. The presets are helpful for emphasizing the main sounds of certain games. There is also a customizable graphic equalizer for creating personalized presets. unfortunately, the only way to currently use it is to create an EQ preset in the SteelSeries GG desktop app and import it into the Arctic app. ANC is somewhat weak. There is a barely noticeable difference in moderate or loud background noise when toggled on or off. I’ve tried experimenting with different tips trying to get a tighter seal, but had no luck getting ANC to perform better. Overall, the biggest advantage of these buds is portability. I also like that they work well with the notoriously finicky Series X. However, the frequent random disconnects, failure to work with my phone, less than stellar sound quality, and weak ANC will likely keep these buds sidelined for now. I’ll try again after a few firmware updates which hopefully will address some of these issues.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Battery life, Comfort, Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Footsteps Pro - Volume Poor

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

    Travel a lot for work and needed a new headset for Warzone and hearing footsteps. Comparing to Astro A40TR Pros, Astro A50s and Steel Series Arctis Nova Pros. Best to Worst 1. Steel Series Gamebuds 2. Steel Series Arctis Nova Pro 3. Astro A40 TR Pro 4. Astro A50 Pros: With custom EQ that I use, these by far have the best footstep hearing capability. Comfortable in ears. Music and video playback is better than my Sony wf-1000xm4. Playback time and compactness. Cons: The volume is lacking. In order to hear footsteps, I had to remove the Audio Limiter and max out volume on pc and earbuds. With the largest ear silicones on, they are still not snug feeling and would fall out if you tried to use them for say, running. If you are concerned about noise cancelling, these are garbage compared to my sony earbuds but they sound better and fit in ear better. Custom EQs: You can use your companion app or the steel series gg. At this time I still cannot save a custom eq to the earbuds/software is dumb. If you are using the steel series sonar on your pc, then you are good to go. Per friends in Discord, they mic quality is poor byt they can still hear me fine. Primary Use: PC and Phone Would I recommened? If you are looking for quality sound and hearing footsteps, 100%.

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Fit, Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Best Gaming Earbuds Yet

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

    I’ve been looking for a great pair of gaming buds that offered Bluetooth and a 2.4 dongle and I always preferred Steelseries in the gaming headset department, but they never made a pair of buds until now. I didn’t really like the offerings from Inzone, Razer and others so this was on my radar when they released. The sound quality, connectivity, fit and sonar eq software for pc make this my top choice. The volume can be a little low for some but the master volume can be tweaked in the sonar software to push these a bit further. Whether it be for music, movies, and games for essentially all gaming platforms and mobile devices I think people will find these as their top choice for gaming buds.

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

      Hello - Thanks for your review! we are glad to learn you have enjoyed our GameBuds and found that the device functions well.

  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    So much quality in such a small package.

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

    I love these, the sound quality is great for gaming. I’ve started using these more than my Arctis Nova Pros. And I mainly bought these for my PCVR and Quest 3. And they work in both ways. Stand alone is great too just need to increase the volume.

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

      Just wanted to drop a quick message to say thanks for the awesome feedback! We're thrilled that you're enjoying our products and being a part of the SteelSeries family and community.

      Your comments mean a lot to us and we're always striving to improve and provide the best possible gaming experience for our users.

      So, without further ado, let's get back to what we all love - gaming! Good luck and have fun!

      -GLHF!

  • Pros mentioned:
    Bluetooth, Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Volume is super low!

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

    I bought these for use with ps5, series x, and pc. The bluetooth is great and the headphones sound really good. There is a vast number of equilizer settings, which is great, and the transparency and noise calcellation work well. However, they're pretty much useless to me because the volume using the dongle on ps5, series x, or pc makes the volume super low. I turned off volume limiter, turned up the console volume, and tried making custom eqs with sonar, and it didn't fix the issue. Steel series, please make the volume better. Until then, these are a 9 out of 10 would not recommend.

    No, I would not recommend this to a friend
  • Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Love in xbox hate it in ps5

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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.

    Ok lets be real here, i was a 15 minutes to take they back to best buy because the anc is broken and the volumen is low , i go to sonar edit the presets , disabled volumen limit and they now sound extreme loud and clear but in Xbox, pc and the phone , the ps5 have a great volumen problem.. In PS5 the volumen is to low that i cant hear nothing around me but this is a software problem im waiting to steelserie to fix this soon and the anc distortion problem soon or i going to take this back and really dont want

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Pros mentioned:
    Fit
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Download the app

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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.

    People were complaining that they are too quiet. I just got mine today but I had the app for my Actis pro headset the gaming buds have a volume limiter you can turn off on the app. These are actually perfect in my opinion they are the perfect and they are very comfortable.

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

      Hello - Thanks for your review of SteelSeries; we are glad to learn you have enjoyed our Arctis GameBuds and found that the device functions well. It makes us incredibly happy to hear your positive feedback!

  • Pros mentioned:
    Fit
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 2 out of 5 stars

    Not worth the price

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

    Cons outweigh the pros on these. Great fit in my ears, but they’re not very loud and the microphone is terrible. I could not get them to work properly in steel series software which they seemed to rely heavily on for quality… I'm sure that will be fixed with an update. With that being said, the sound quality wasn’t terrible but they are not worth the price in my opinion.

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

      Hello - Thank you for taking the time to write this review. Sorry to see that they did not meet your needs and satisfaction. This feedback will definitely be taken into consideration. If you have additional questions or comments, please be sure to reach out via our feedback email (letusknow@steelseries.gg). We are always here to help!

  • Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 4 out of 5 stars

    Steel serie buds

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

    Kind of a weird way to setup but when you get them setup they’re good. Volume may be a little low when online

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    A little louder

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

    Ive been using these headphones for about a month now and for what they are they're great! My only complaint would be that they don't get loud enough

    I would recommend this to a friend
  • Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 1 out of 5 stars

    Do not buy bad buy inzone buds instead

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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.

    First these r completely garbage u couldnt hear single footstep in any game bc volume is so low but if u use sonar u cannot use any of the presets bc it will cause a werid loud poping noise and wild audio distrition as these headphones cannot handle louder volume then how then come out of box bought then yesterday messed with all kinds of setting to make then louder for about 4 hours then just completely gave up bc u can get louder but without having massive audio issues then return them the following day just buy inzone buds then come out the box ready to go no screwing with setting put to 100 they loud as most overear r

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

      Hello - We are very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the Arctis GameBuds. It is not what we expect from one of our devices! We apologize for your inconvenience. For additional questions or concerns, please reach out via our feedback email (letusknow@steelseries.gg). Contact us if you have any further questions or concerns. Our team will be able to assist you in bringing the best out of our products; we are happy to help! Thank you.

  • Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 1 out of 5 stars

    Just got them today and tried them

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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.

    These are trash. Volume is so low i can't even hear my weapon fire let alone footsteps. Maybe i got a lemon, maybe its operator error or maybe theyre just trash. I was excited to get them being i had the steelseries artic 7 and theyre great so i figured to step up with these new buds. Nope not happy at all

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

      Hello - We are very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the Arctis GameBuds. It is not what we expect from one of our devices! We apologize for your inconvenience. For additional questions or concerns, please reach via our feedback email (letusknow@steelseries.gg). Contact us if you have any further questions or concerns. Our team will be able to assist you in bringing the best out of our products, we are happy to help! Thank you.

  • Cons mentioned:
    Volume

    Rated 1 out of 5 stars

    Absolute junk

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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.

    These gamebids suck. Wont connect, volpme too low, crappy build quality. -5 stars on all points. Dollar general makes better, uts sad.

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

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Arctis gamebuds PS5 version review

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

    Bought PS5 version. Satisfied with product. Bass is better than average for TWS earbuds and overall sound quality is great. However some games do have a crackling sound that emits during low sound effects. App has nice features and battery life is better than average TWS earbuds as well. Even with volume limter setting off, volume is a bit too low on PS5 but that seems to be a PlayStation problem. Maybe with future firmware updates, this can be improved. Overall, best gaming earbuds that are out right now in my opinion.

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

      Hello - Thanks for your review! we are glad to learn you have enjoyed our GameBuds and found that the device functions well.

  • Pros mentioned:
    Sound quality
    Cons mentioned:
    Volume
    Tech Insider Network Member

    Rated 3 out of 5 stars

    Overall solid wireless gaming ear buds

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    Tech Insider Network Member
    Posted .
    This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review.

    SteelSeries is a respected mainstream brand when it comes to gaming headsets, so I had high expectations when it came to the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds. While these earbuds are not without their flaws, for gaming, they work. Fit... It's very important when dealing with earbuds. It's also a very much a personal issue. I've tried so many different earbuds. Gaming earbuds, phone earbuds, earbuds for working out...lots of earbuds. I've NEVER had an issue with fit...until now. For some reason the right earbud of the SteelSeries Arctis seems to feel a little weird in my ear It doesn't necessarily fall out, but I wouldn't run to go shoot hoops with these in. It doesn't impact the noise cancellation, but it just feels like it's in my ear differently. Sound...the most important thing when it comes to headphones overall. These sound great! I tried these with my PS5 Pro, I tried these with my Rog Ally X...both of which they sounded great. Via the app, there are game presets for tons of games and they are definitely different per game. I messed with them a little bit and that's a nice little extra detail. Random, the wireless dongle has a weird design to it. When I tested these out on my phone to listen to music...it's a no. Absolute lack of volume on the highest level. I'm not sure if maybe the headphones were trying to protect me from myself. I know these are "GameBuds" but if you give people wireless earbuds with Bluetooth functionality, they're going to try them via Bluetooth. Don't. The ANC on these is very subtle. With nothing playing and the ANC on, I didn't notice it was on until I cut it off in a "Oh, it WAS on" type of way. With sound on, the ANC didn't shut out the background noise. It is there...but...subtle Originally, I had issues with the button presses. Switching modes wasn't working...but after a few days and trying them again, no problem with the button presses. Strictly for gaming, the SteelSeries Artis GameBuds are solid...the game presets is a nice little extra feature for a pair of "GameBuds." That is strictly for gaming though, as I would not recommend using these for anything else

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

    Rated 2 out of 5 stars

    Low volume

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

    Very nice audio quality and fun to mess with the preset EQs but the volume is definitely lacking. Since I’m on console I’ll be returning to out toward something I can use and feel like I’m getting enough volume

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

      Hello - We are very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the Arctis GameBuds. It is not what we expect from one of our devices! We apologize for your inconvenience. For additional questions or concerns, please reach out via our feedback email (letusknow@steelseries.gg). Contact us if you have any further questions or concerns. Our team will be able to assist you in bringing the best out of our products; we are happy to help! Thank you.