I have always been a fan of SteelSeries’s products, particularly its headsets. While they might not offer the highest audio quality in their price range, SteelSeries’s headsets excel in many aspects crucial for gaming. For full disclosure, SteelSeries was one of the first companies to support FullCleared. The company sent us the H Wireless Headset and 5Hv3 Headset for review when I first started the site a decade ago. The swappable battery technology from the H Wireless Headset was its standout feature, and when it came time to upgrade, I happily purchased the Arctis Pro Wireless to replace the aging H Wireless Headset. Recently, I decided it was time to upgrade once again, so I opted for the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset, which a fellow contributor to the site has enjoyed using for the past year.
Throughout my five years owning the Arctis Pro Wireless, I never encountered any issues. The same reliability applied to the H Wireless Headset. I also use and recommend the Arctis Nova 7 Wireless Headset with my Switch and PlayStation 5. Needless to say, I was a bit surprised when I received my Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset and experienced intermittent sound issues. Like most users, I decided to check the internet to see if anyone had any solutions and I found plenty of threads on Reddit about it.
Essentially, every so often, the headset’s audio would get distorted as if there was interference with the wireless signal. The proposed fixes I found online ranged from swapping out the USB cable to using a different USB port to moving it away from other devices that use the 2.4GHz wireless frequency. Some users found their only solution to the problem was to disable 2.4GHz from their router entirely. To troubleshoot, I moved my router over 10 feet away from the headset’s base station, but the issue persisted. I tried swapping USB cables and tested every USB port on my PC. I even tested it on my PlayStation 5 and while it wasn’t as problematic, I did experience the same issue playing on console. Finally, I followed every step SteelSeries recommends, which includes resetting the base station, re-pairing the headset, and unplugging the base station and removing the battery for two hours. I even uninstalled the software and reinstalled it, in case certain settings from my previous Arctis Pro Wireless was causing the issue. Unfortunately, disabling the 2.4GHz signal isn’t possible with my router setup, and I don’t think that should be a viable solution.
I chose to buy the headset from SteelSeries’s website to support the company directly, which meant I would now have to reach out to its customer service to see what SteelSeries could do for me. I was hoping for an easy exchange, since that would have been the case had I purchased from Amazon or Best Buy. Unfortunately, the customer service responses I received were unexpectedly disappointing. This experience, from a company whose products I highly recommend, was a bit of a shock. Generally, we don’t have to deal with a company’s customer service when we review a product, but after this, I have decided it should be part of our comprehensive review process.
When I submitted my ticket, I explained exactly the issue I was experiencing and specifically mentioned that I had already tried troubleshooting it with the recommended steps on the website. I wasn’t surprised to received a generic, canned response asking me to do the exact same steps I already said I tried. I responded by saying I had already tried those steps and would like to setup a replacement to see if it’s a manufacturing issue. This was the following reply I received from SteelSeries customer service:
Greetings me!
I’m sorry to hear that!
In this case, I need to ask you for a video demonstration of the issue before we can move to the next stage.
Please follow my instructions below thoroughly. If the video will not be in accordance with the instructions, I will just have to ask you to retake it,Instructions for the clip:
Use this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TWJaFD6R2s-No background noise and Audio is clearly being played through the headset
-Lower the recording device to each earcup
-It should be clear that one earcup sound is being covered by hand while the recording device is being lowered to the other
-Rinse and repeat for the opposite earcup
-Do a close-up of the product’s serial number in the same clipYou will need to upload this file to the ticket as an attachment. I am unable to view files stored on public clouds such as Gdrive/DropBox/Etc. If the file is too large to attach to the ticket I would recommend uploading it to a video upload service (YouTube, Vimeo, etc).
Thanks for understanding
GLHF! 馃憡锔忦煄笍
Given the issue is very intermittent and only happens for a few seconds, I personally believe that request is unreasonable. If I had purchased this product from any retailer, I wouldn’t have to jump through all these hoops to get a replacement, or to even return the product. While I understand these are standard responses, I am nonetheless disappointed with SteelSeries’s policy in this situation.
I still highly recommend SteelSeries’s products for their quality. However, based on my experience, I advise against purchasing directly from SteelSeries in case of any issues. Defects are inevitable in any manufacturing process, but what truly matters is how a company supports its customers post-purchase. In this regard, SteelSeries has unfortunately fallen short of expectations.
