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Last week we had a client call and said he couldn’t play Pandora on his Bose Soundtouch system. After a brief conversation with our client, it was determined that the client was trying to play Pandora directly from his phone and not through the Bose Soundtouch app. Remember to play your music services on your Bose Soundtouch system, you must first open the Bose Soundtouch app and then select your music service. If you try to access your music services directly from your phone

With the holidays approaching, our clients are asking if they purchase Bose Bluetooth speakers such as Soundlink Mini or Revolver, as gifts for family members, can these Bluetooth speakers be added to their home wide Soundtouch system? The answer is no. Bose Soundtouch products are Wi-Fi based products and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are different technologies. What adds to the confusion is you can Bluetooth music to a Soundtouch device, but remember, Bluetooth speakers cannot connec

Clients will often ask if they can use Bose speakers with Sonos amps? The answer depends on the speakers. The Sonos amps can be used with all of the Bose 4-8 ohm speakers including the Bose in-ceiling/in-wall speakers, Bose outdoor speakers, Bose bookshelves speakers, and the Bose AM-5 speaker system. Bose Lifestyle Home Theater systems and Soundbar systems cannot be used with Sonos amps. Bose speakers with Sonos amps are a good solution for those clients looking to expand th

After last week, some clients were ready to upgrade their routers and asked what were the highest rated routers. According to a CNET article published January 2019, the top router was Asus RT-AC68U Dual-band Wireless-AC1900. This router had the highest rating in Set-up (9), Features, (9), and Performance (10). This was followed by the Asus AC2900 dual-band Wi-Fi router. This router was specifically recommended for larger homes and scored a 9 in all performance metrics. Acco

Most of our clients are adding network-connected devices to their Wi-Fi network. As you can easily understand, this increase in connected devices will slow down your network speed and create connectivity issues. Clients are constantly asking how can I improve my Wi-Fi network. Before you invest in a new router, there are a couple of things you can try. First is the location of your router. The router should be centered in your home for the best coverage for your entire home

A client recently purchased a new device and downloaded the Bose Soundtouch app but couldn’t log in because they had forgotten their login password. Here are a few simple steps to reset your password. First, open the Soundtouch app and select menu in the upper left corner. From the drop down menu, select SETTINGS. Next select ACCOUNT and then the SIGN OUT option at the bottom of the screen. Confirm you want the sign out option. On the next screen, select MORE OPTIONS at the

When adding Bose Soundtouch products to your home, we all add the Soundtouch app to our phone, but often fail to add it to our home computer. There are 2 good reasons to add the Soundtouch app to your home computer. First, it allows you to play themusic that is stored on your computer throughout your Bose Soundtouch system. Second, in the event the person with the app on their phone is not home, the other family members can enjoy the Bose Soundtouch system. It’s easy to add

This past week, a client asked if he could connect a Bose Soundtouch Adapter directly to his speakers. The answer is a qualified no. Unless the speakers are self-powered with an aux input, connecting a Bose Soundtouch Adapter to a pair of passive speakers will not work. Passive speakers require power and the Adapter supplies audio signal not power. I further explained that the Bose SA-5 amplifier had Soundtouch ability built in and could power the passive speakers. He then qu

In working with a client this week to expand their Bose system, the question arose, “Can’t I just install a Solo 5 for my bedroom TV and play my Soundtouch music through the Solo 5?”. The answer is no. Although the Solo 5 is an inexpensive way to improve TV sound, it is not Soundtouch compatible. When purchasing new Bose products for your system, always confirm they are Soundtouch compatible. In addition to the Solo 5, a few of the more popular Bose products that are not Sou

During a consultation, our client wanted to know if he needed to start with a Bose Home Theater system in order to add outdoor speakers. The answer is no. In the past, the answer would have been different. A Bose Lifestyle Home Theater system was required to add additional zones using Boselink to connect the various zones. With today’s Bose Wi-Fi streaming Soundtouch platform and SA-5 amplifiers, each zone operates independently and connects with other zones using the Bose

As spring approaches and we begin to shop or add electronic devices for our outdoor living spaces, it’s a good time to review and understand the differences between weather proof and weather resistant. For most manufacturers, weather resistant products are designed for outdoor use but not directly exposed to the various weather elements. An example would be speakers used in an enclosed porch or under a deck. On the other hand, weatherproof products are designed to be expos

As crazy as that sounds, we have had that happen to a couple of clients in the past. Whether your dog ate your remote, the remote is lost or no longer working, it’s best to order a remote replacement direct from Bose parts. You can reach Bose @ 877-633-4405. Many older remotes are still available. Before you call and you still have your remote, be sure to replace the batteries first. Please note, when you receive your new remote, you will need to program it to control 3rdpar

Due to unfortunate circumstances, there are times when our clients need to file an insurance claim for their A/V system. First, unless it’s a total loss, have a professional A/V company determine and write a report for what and what is not in good working order. Although some equipment may appear to be in good working order, unless tested, there is no way to know if your system is working properly. When selecting the A/V Company, confirm beforehand, the company is willing to

There is an old adage; sometimes the student is the better teacher. That happened this week during a consultation. I was struggling trying to explain the Bose Alexa skill, and Alexa skills in general. After what seemed to be an eternity, the client looked at me and said, “It appears that these skills work like the apps on my phone”. Bingo! The client just taught me the perfect way to explain Alexa Skills, apps for your Alexa. Like an app, Alexa skills help you accomplish var

Many manufacturers promote wireless rear speakers for their home theater systems. This has led to much confusion during installations since many clients expect that a speaker is mounted on the wall, programmed and then ready to go. This is not the case. All speakers require power, rear speakers included, and power is not wireless. This wireless feature does eliminate the need to run wires from the console/receiver to the rear speakers. This is especially helpful when there i

Everyone’s preferred sound is different, some like a natural sound; others want the bass to shake the house. After our installers run Adapt IQ, which adjusts the Bose Lifestyle system, based your room’s acoustic characteristics, clients often ask our installers how to increase the bass. This can be done in 2 ways. First for minor adjustments, you can increase the bass output though your remote control. First select the More button, AV settings, and then bass. From here, you c

Last week’s article, “What you need to know about upgrading your Bose Lifestyle system”triggered quite a response and follow up questions. The most prevalent question centered on the fact their system was relatively new and is there any parts of the old Lifestyle system that can be used? The answer is a qualified yes. Depending on the age of the system, the existing Bose cube speakers can be used for the upgrade. With this option, you need to only add the new Bose 600 console

Many people are upgrading their older Bose Lifestyle Home Theater systems to the new Lifestyle 600, 650, and BIV systems to take advantage of some of the new great features such as Soundtouch streaming music and 4K video capabilities. There are 3 important things everyone should know regarding installing the new system. First, the 5 speaker wires that are currently connected to the bass speaker will need to be relocated to the rear of the new system console. The home theater

Clients have asked what is the difference between Bose Soundtouch speakers and Bose Smart speakers. There are a couple of significant differences to consider when selecting between the two product lines. The first is the Alexa control. With the Smart speaker products, Alexa control is built into the product. With the Soundtouch products, control is through an external Alexa device using the Bose Alexa skill set. The 2ndconsideration, a larger one, is the number of available S

Many people are getting the Amazon Alexa device for the holidays and want to know if their Bose Soundtouch music system can be controlled with Alexa. The answer is yes. You can control most Bose Soundtouch systems with Amazon Echo, Echo Dot, Tap or any Alexa-enabled device. The 1ststep is to download the Bose Soundtouch Control Skill into your Amazon account. Once you have done this, you will need to enter your Bose Soundtouch account’s username and password. That’s it, your