Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar microphone sounds bad or is not detected

The Smart Ultra Soundbar has a built-in microphone whose state is shown by a small LED: off means the microphone and voice assistant are enabled, red means they are disabled. Bose's advice when Alexa does not answer is to check that the red light is off, remove and re-add Alexa in the Bose app, make sure the Amazon account is not already linked to another Bose account, and reset the soundbar. The mic cannot be switched by voice or from the app.

Part of Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar troubleshooting

Differential

Likely causes of “Bose Smart Ultra Soundbar microphone sounds bad or is not detected”, and how to tell them apart

1
The microphone button is disabling the mic
What separates it The microphone LED is red and there is no response
How to confirm Press the microphone button on top to turn the LED off
2
Alexa is not set up in the app
What separates it The microphone LED is off, meaning the mic is live, but nothing responds when you speak
How to confirm Add Alexa in the Bose app under the soundbar's voice assistant settings
3
The Amazon account is on another Bose account
What separates it Errors appear each time you try to complete the Alexa setup in the app
How to confirm Remove it from the other Bose account and add it to your main one
4
A stale account link
What separates it Alexa stopped answering after it had been working normally for some time
How to confirm Remove and re-add Alexa in the Bose app to re-link the two accounts

Before you touch a setting

Record this first — changing settings destroys the evidence

The color of the microphone LED
Whether Alexa is listed in the app
How many Bose accounts share the Amazon login

Try in this order

0 of 5 completed

Check the LED
Reversible
The microphone LED on the soundbar is red when the mic is disabled and off when the voice assistant is enabled.
Confirm the voice assistant
Reversible
In the Bose app open the soundbar's settings and verify Alexa (or Google) is set up under Voice Assistant.
Re-link Alexa
Reversible
Remove Alexa in the app and add the same account again. This repairs a broken link between the Bose and Amazon accounts.
Check for sharing
Reversible
An Amazon account can only link to one Bose account. Remove it from extra Bose accounts, then use product sharing for family.
Reset
Reversible
Remove power for 30 seconds and restore it. If the light bar flashes red four times afterwards, fix the internet connection first.

Model-specific

What is true of this model and not of its siblings

Alexa and accounts: An Amazon account can link to only one Bose account. Remove and re-add Alexa in the Bose app to repair a link that has gone stale.
Reconnecting devices: Selecting the Bluetooth source makes the soundbar try the last connected device first, then the others in order of last connection, which can cause a short delay. To choose a specific one open the Bose app, select the soundbar, tap Source then Bluetooth and pick from the speaker memory.
Remote details: The remote works to about 20 feet and needs a clear line to the soundbar's front sensor. If some buttons work and others do not, Bose has a separate article for buttons that fail; a remote from another Bose product may have different or no functions, so use the one that came with the Ultra.

Stop boundary

When this stops being a self-service repair

!If the mic LED stays red after pressing the button and a reset, request service
!If light bar flashes red four times, the voice assistant or internet is unavailable and needs the network fixed first

Evidence ledger