Logitech H800 Bluetooth Wireless Headset with Microphone - Noise Cancelling Headphones for PC, Laptop, Tablet & Smartphone (Black) - Perfect for Online Meetings, Gaming & Music Listening

Amazon Logitech H800 product review:In short, my advice to other buyers is: Keep returning this product until you get a headset that works right.This headset is pricey for what it does. There are a lot of “gamer-oriented” hands-free headsets with better audio fidelity and superior comfort for sale for significantly less money. But I really need the MUTE function for business calls, so I sprung for the higher price.The packout contained no documentation of any kind. I had to search out blog entries of other complaining customers on the internet to even find out in detail what the functionality of the product is. Eventually I found some on-line documentation which told me to hold the “UP-VOLUME” and “FAST-FORWARD” buttons simultaneously for 10 seconds to get the headset to enter the bluetooth “pairing” mode. HOW THE ‘H’ ARE WE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT WITHOUT SOME KIND OF DOCUMENTATION ACCOMPANYING THE PRODUCT TO TELL US??? There was NO useful documentation in the box with the product. All there was were 2 different pieces of printed media telling the same story, in excruciating detail, and in many languages, how NOT to dispose of the battery. Sheesh!The first time I tried to plug the microUSB connector on the included charging cable into the headset, it wouldn’t go in. I looked in the socket in the headset, and noticed that the tiny “printed-circuit board” “tongue” in the middle of the microUSB socket was BENT severely toward the outside of the socket to the point that the “upper edge” of it was in contact with the socket housing. I bent the PCB-like wafer in the headset socket back to approximately where it was supposed to be – in the middle of the socket hole – and I was henceforward able to plug the supplied charging connector into it. The unit arrived with the battery partially charged, so you can try it out right out of the box without waiting for hours for it to charge. That’s a nice feature of the “customer unboxing experience,” but it makes you wonder, “HOW DID THEY CHARGE THE BATTERY IN THE HEADSET WITHOUT NOTICING THAT THE CHARGING CONNECTOR WAS BROKEN?” It makes me think their own factory personnel broke it after charging it, and before putting it in the box.Between the lack of enclosed documentation, and the broken charger port, it kind of makes me think that this was a RETURNED ITEM they secretly (and illegally) sent to me as if it were a new, unused, unopened, and unblemished item. Was it? How will we ever know for sure?The ON/OFF switch has 3 positions. They are labeled: Off, bluetooth logo, and teeny-tiny USB dongle pix. It was difficult to decode what these modes really do, and the description of their function IS WRONG in the other reviews and FAQs I read before purchasing this headset, so I will clarify:The headset comes "out of the box" initialized to pair with whatever first-come, first-served bluetooth device it sees. This makes the first pairing so simple that it makes it next to impossible to comprehend that you have to Google all over hell-and-gone to find out the secret machinations required to force the headset into a mode where it can "pair" with a SECOND device – presumably your phone or tablet.When you do finally get the unit to work as a bluetooth remote device, the sound levels go low and distorted for no apparent reason. It turns out that in addition to popping into a mode in which the audio volume level is low, and the EQ of the sound mimics a transistor radio contained in a far-off cardboard box, using the unit with your phone or comptuter in bluetooth mode leaves some of the various volume controls on your host devices turned down to about half-amplitude. Sometimes. It’s not bad enough that it screws up the settings of your host device. You could learn to adapt to that. But it only does it SOMETIMES – intermittently – so the variable-ratio reinforcement makes it difficult to learn to always go check the various audio amplitude levels on your host devices when this product has been switched through bluetooth mode in the area! If you forget to do this, you risk being unable to hear the caller’s voice in the next call that comes in until you figure out what is going on, quickly click around, and turn the volume up. I’m pretty fast on my machines, but if you’re not a lot faster than I am, typically the caller has hung up by the time you figure out that Logitech’s bad design (or engineering, or testing) has screwed you out of business yet again!Since you wear the headset on your head, the lights and controls on the earpiece are out of range of your sight. Even when you can see it, the single LED provides virtually NO useful feedback. There are “ringtone-like" beeps that the device provides as a form of in-band signaling, but these are so quiet compared to the program material (voice at the other end of the line) that it is usually truly impossible for me to identify which "ring-tone notification" I am hearing. I can only sometimes detect that a beep has been inserted into the audio channel when I am listening to music, let alone whether it is ascending or descending in pitch. The to remember whether “up-tone” means connected, or “muted” or whatever is often beyond me.I bought this headset to use as professional hands-free communications gear. I had an original logitech headset, but the plastic comprising the earpieces rotted, and turned to little plastic crumbs that they shed throughout my office. But I learned I could adapt to that, because the foam inner cushion still worked as an earpiece (much like the NEW design on this current product.) The problem is that the signal fades after you are on a call for a reasonably long while. (You EEs figure that one out! I can't even venture an hypothesis for what would cause this kind of "fading signal strength" or “fading audio amplitude” symptom in a digital, tethered, externally-powered system.) But I bought another Logitech product, because I absolutely must have the MUTE function so when I am on interminable business or customer service calls, people can't hear me pee. While the gamer-type headsets may have MUTE, none of their Amazon ads say so.The USB charging cable supplied with the headset is too short to conveniently keep it connected while wearing the headset. How could Logitech NOT know this? They have a longer record of experience in this market than virtually any other company!I hate having to send things back...especially when this headset kind of works. But the microUSB connector being broken "out of the box" is a gating item. These connectors are so prone to failure when they are undamaged that it is irresponsible for anyone to design them into a product. What are the odds this connector will continue working properly (IF IT IS WORKING PROPERLY) for the long-haul? And after 30 days or whatever, if I don’t return this unit, I’ll be stuck with having to shop for, and pay for, yet another replacement for a failed Logitech headset. So I guess I will go to the trouble of exchanging them, and hope they send me a complete packout of a non-returned working item next time. As I recall, I had to do this with my prior original Logitech headset. The first had a signal so weak that I couldn't go 10 feet from my computer without it cutting out. I thought it was a bad design, but returned it for an exchange at the urging of Logitech customer service, and the replacement product looked exactly the same, but worked perfectly. How can they even tell them apart to be able to ship bad product the first iteration of the exchange dance which has come to characterize Amazon on-line sales???Connecting to a cell phone doesn’t work right. I previously paired with my cellphone. Now, anytime I turn the headset on to bluetooth position, it automatically connects with my cell phone, even if my intention was to use it with my computer or tablet. BUT IT NEVER SUCCESSFULLY CONNECTS. The bluetooth display on my phone says it is connected, and the “bluetooth status light” next to the ON/OFF bluetooth switch on the headset goes solid green (almost immediately upon turning on within arms length of the phone), but it NEVER receives any audio from the phone. I can play music, phone calls, etc, but the sound keeps coming from the phone, and is never sent to the headset. One must “re-pair” the headset to any bluetooth device other than the original first bluetooth device it paired with to get the audio to be sent to the device. Apparently the engineers at Logitech did NOT know how bluetooth works. They must not have bothered to learn the difference between “pairing” devices, and “connecting” to a device which is already paired. Or waiting to be instructed to CONNECT instead of simply connecting with anything it detects in the area.The “USB dongle” communications mode seems to work well up to 25 feet from the computer. BUT when I select the bluetooth communications channel, I begin experiencing drop outs in the audio at less than 10 feet from the computer, and they get worse as you walk farther away until the bluetooth connectivity completely quits at about 15-to-20 feet.If you connect and connect and connect again to the previously paired headset from a computer, it will eventually actually connect to the headphones, and send audio both from the computer to the headset, and from the headset mic back to the computer. The problem is that when this connection is made, the headset automatically adjusts the volume of the microphone to about halfway, which is too quiet to use. Then when you set the mic level back up, it “pops” the headset connection into some kind of low-volume connection with a terrible EQ. In this mode, there are no “highs” in music received by the headset at all. When you check the output amplitude of the headset in the preferences, it is still set to max, but when you go back to the audio input display (NOT CHANGING ANYTHING), the headset “pops” back into working at full volume, and with great, flat EQ, to boot.Furthermore, when you select the bluetooth headset as an output device, it also “drags along” the selection of the bluetooth mic as an input device. At all times this selection is made (whether newly connected output, or deselected and reconnected), the audio amplitude level for the mic jumps back to about half, which, again IS TOO LOW TO USE. If you are on a call, it completely screws up the continuity and flow of the call.To turn the headset on, or change between the “USB dongle” and “bluetooth” mode injects about 10 seconds of “dead time” into an ongoing telephone or skype call. This is long enough that people hang up thinking you have been disconnected. And, actually, you have. Just not forever.Later: It turns out that NOT ONLY are there problems with the reliability of the electronics in the headset, the “dongle” which plugs into the USB to transceive the Logitech-proprietary signal “locks up” and needs to be reset from time-to-time by unplugging the dongle from the USB port, and reconnecting it. Who’d ever a thunk Logitech could screw up something with as few electronics in it as a dongle???Basically, because of the long times it takes to work around the bluetooth pairing and connection state machine being completely screwed up and erroneously implemented, this headset is impossible to use in any environment where you want to sound like you know what you are doing on a telephone call, or need to maintain a reliable or robust connection. It’s a shame, really, because when the connection is working, the headset delivers top-of-the-line excellent audio. It’s too bad there is no procedure that I can discover which allows the user to initiate a connection reliably or in a reasonable (or predictable) amount of time.What is wrong with Logitech that has caused them to apparently stop testing shipments of their products to verify that they work properly? Shame on you, Logitech! Because we remember when Logitech used to build superior products, it will be a shame to them go, but with this kind of shoddy lack of management, they deserve to go out of business immediately.I’m going to return this unit, and see if Logitech can replace it with a unit that works better. I hope so, because IF this product worked as it appears it is intended to, it would be very useful. Why price has tripled to perform the same “hands-free” function in the past few years – although not as reliably, or, in terms of the comfort and blocking of external noise in the headset, not as well, period – I don’t know. I suspect a combination of price-gouging, incompetence, and disgruntled employees taking their frustrations out on the company in the form of decisions intended to vanquish Logitech.Later: I am now in receipt of the "replacement" headphones. With the exception of the bent tab inside the microUSB charging socket on the original headset unit, EVERYTHING that was wrong with the original unit is also wrong with the "replacement" headphone system. IN ADDITION, THE BLUETOOTH CONNECTION ON THE "REPLACEMENT" UNIT DOESN'T WORK AT ALL. The audio on it intermittently drops in-and-out (OFTEN AND CONTINUALLY) while it is connected via bluetooth to the Macbook Pro while you are seated in front of the Macbook Pro. It doesn't get much better when you put your head right next to the computer. When you walk away across the room, the rate of dropouts only increases. I'll return this set, too. Since the units they deliver are getting worse rather than better, I can only hope there will be a new batch delivered to Amazon soon that might actually work. What a hassle it has become to order anything from Amazon – what with the "acceptance testing" required, and constantly being forced to return items!I purchased this headset here when it was $59. Not sure I'd want to pay the regular $69 for them, but they are really good headphones.Before we begin, NOTES:- If you want the play/forward/back buttons to work when playing online content, try StreamKeys for Chrome. It works great with this headset and other devices with media keys to play and pause YouTube, SoundCloud, Netflix, and of course Amazon!- You can increase dongle range by connecting through a USB extension chord and placing somewhere high up.Okay. First up, the design.One problem with many wireless headphones is that they feel really cheap, and have bad weight distribution. These headphones use decent glossy plastic on the face, and that really high-quality rubbery plastic everywhere else, and most importantly, perfect weight distribution. They're also reasonably comfortable for long listening sessions, and it's nice how they fold up to fit in your pockets. Plus, in Logitech wireless-device tradition, they still managed to fit a storage compartment for the receiver! In headphones! The 4 buttons on the front are a little finicky (cheap click-y feeling), but the ones on the side (a forward/back rocker, and the on/off switch) are great. There's also 2 bi-color indicator LEDs. One for charging/full, and one for status.I've seen some complaints about battery life, but I always have my trusty USB OTG (and USB to Lightning for the iPhone) cables with me, so I can just use that to charge the headset as I use it. No problem. (Plus, little secret, if you're stuck somewhere with only USB headphones, iPhones and Androids work with those through the OTG adapter, too!)Next is performance.The headphones have impressive range, even working outside with the device (tested with dongle on powered hub, and iPhone 6S Plus on Bluetooth) in my room on the second level. Plus, unlike ANY other wireless headset I've ever used (BT speakers are a different matter, they typically have better range), no interruptions or momentary downgrades is sound quality. Ever. The range I'm getting is about 24ft, measured with a tape measure, before any interruption. I live in a normal single-family house in a suburban area, so if you live in some ridiculously over-crowded tourist destination, your opinion on the matter is invalid.The 4 front buttons are volume up/down, play/pause/answer, and microphone mute. The volume buttons don't actually adjust device volume on all devices (iPhone), but this is probably the fault of the phone. They do work properly on Androids and PCs (including Macs). Adapter is totally driver free, by the way. As for mic mute, at first I was worried about the headset having no mic mute indicator, but it actually plays a sound to tell you when the mic is on or off, and even better than other mic indicators, it tells you if the computer is actually using the mic!And, A little more on the adapter functionality.The headphones have a switch on the side to select between the adapter and the Bluetooth. This is important, because unlike with other Bluetooth headphones, where I'll constantly need to un-pair with the PC to pair with the phone and vice-versa, here you just leave the adapter in and use the switch to select phone or PC. Of course, if you really need the extra USB port, you can always use Bluetooth with your PC too. The unique thing about theses headphones is that you have option, instead of being stuck with one or the other.The manual also states that you can multi-device pair by holding the forward/back rocker while pairing, though I haven't tried. Also, in case you were wondering, there's no difference in sound quality or range between the dongle or Bluetooth, though you can increase the dongle's range significantly by simply connecting it through a USB extension chord and placing it someplace high and open.Finally, the all important AUDIO QUALITY!Okay, let me break it down. Great trebble, great mid-range, not the best with background sounds (this is common with headphones), but surprisingly, decent bass and even some very-low-base (official term) frequencies.I like Logitech, but even I have to admit that, other than voice-quality wise, Logitech headphones have a tendency to sound pretty terrible, despite the "laser-tuning". Yeah, just because it uses lasers, doesn't actually make it precise. You could make a laser-cutter with an accuracy of 1 meter if you wanted.Anyway, this headset seems to be the exception, coming in close to best headset I've ever tried around this price-range. Obviously, don't expect the quality of a $300 pair, but it's still better than a pair of Beats by Dre playing anything other than rap music! I don't like rap, so I think you can tell my opinion on those. It's basically great bass at the cost of everything else. My $300 headphones of choice have better bass, and better everything else, making them suitable for all genres. Okay, getting off topic again...I tested using lots of different kinds of songs and freq tests, comparing to speakers, a surround sound system, and of course my $300 headphones, and these do quite well in mid to high range, producing accurate (and accurately loud) sounds. The bass is okay, and certainly much better than you'll get out of any old pair of headphones, as well as most wireless ones. The background audio category leaves a little to be desired, producing quieter sounds than intended, as most headphones do.The best part though, is that these headphones just barely make it into that very-low-frequency sound range (like really deep base synthesizers, base guitar, whatever that really really big violin was called...) The point is that many headphones and speakers ranging all the way into hundreds just can't produce these awesome-sounding frequencies at all, and it's not about sub-woofer size, it's about sub-woofer quality. (From my own testing at home, it seems to be based mainly on how far forward and backward the speaker coil can move, and the quality of the rubber that holds it in place, and of course careful tuning and a good amp.) This is why it's so impressive that these random headphones from Logitech (and I've used other models from them which defiantly can't) can even barely do so.The microphone is pretty good as well, but I've gotta admit, the only reason I wanted headphones with an actual fold-out mic is because they look awesome. Inline Mic = Dorky, Fold-Out Mic = NASA Control-Center Engineer.Side Note on Dolby flipping Surround Sound.Of course, if you really want to make the most out of your headset, than just get a PC with Dolby Audio. Don't let Kickstarter projects with magic boxes, and speaker company claims that the stuff they use in the lower-end models is "just as good" fool you, pretty much nothing beats Dolby flipping Surround Sound. And even with the millions of dollars they throw at it, it's still only "okay". So don't go thinking it's easy. Also, be aware that some PCs, like the Surface Pro 4, come with an outdated Realtek + Dolby driver missing the equalizer and customization utility, which you can find with some google effort.Sound from the Speakers was nice, and you can choose with a Switch on the Headset if you Switch it on for usage with the included Dongle, Bluetooth built into your Computer or if the Unit should be turned off like when being charged.However our Receptionist could barely be heard by Phone Callers,when used for Skype & Soft Phone / PABX Communication,even with the Microphone set to 100.The Software that can be downloaded from the Logitech Website is absolute rubbish.Pros:Bluetooth plus pc wireless usb....hard to find on other pricier headphonesHigh quality audioFoldable and compact..hard to find on other pricier headphonesLight....hard to find on other pricier headphonesComfortableExpandableHigh quality microphone piece that is bendable alsoEar pices do not engulf your ears so you can hear environment around you and most importantly, you can hear yourself talking on a phone call....hard to find on other pricier headphonesNice looking...not too bulkyConvenient buttons and switches.Removable and replaceable LI battery !...hard to find on other pricier headphonesConsMaximum volume can be too low in noisy surroundingsBecause the earpieces dont engulf the ears, but rather sit on the ears, its not soundproofMy last one broke after a few years of heavy use....there was a buzzing noise in the right speaker...A Great product at a good price. I've brought a cheaper wireless headphone model before which was around £30 - £40 and honestly if I knew how great these were I would've saved up and purchased these the first time around. The USB adapter is tiny but I tend to leave it in the computer, alternatively you can open up the side of the headphone and put it in a little holder and close it up securely. It seems to have about a 20 foot radius from adapter to headphones (with walls in between) which is more than enough for most people. The microphone is crisp and clear, I would only make a minor comment that it doesn't do great bass wise but it's a headset and besides the sound quality still at a good level of quality.Very lightweight (the box felt like it must have been filled with helium!), yet good build quality, signal range is impressive on the wireless USB receiver, but even more impressive on the bluetooth. I can almost walk around my house completely and not lose signal. Love how you can switch between the USB receiver and bluetooth, makes them ideal if you want to use them for PC gaming and listening to music via a bluetooth smartphone. The only minor gripe (which is really an issue with Windows), is that it's a pain to have to switch default sound device before you fire up iTunes or certain games, but doesn't really detract from the product.The head set came without any instructions. I was able to see a user guide on U-tube and set it up. It works well on bluetooth but the usb wireless connection failed even though with other logitech devices I have had no problemsI guess its just too cheap!