For this reason, the sale of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro has been suspended

It’s been weeks since Samsung launched its new flagship wireless earbuds and a lot has happened since then. Sales of the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro have now been suspended, but how did it get to this point? Let’s take a moment to analyze what happened, what problems customers are experiencing, whether deliveries will resume and more.

Just over a week after the launch, the tech giant decided to take its new premium earbuds off sale. Currently, customers cannot pre-order the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro from retailers like Best Buy or Amazon. On Samsung’s own website, the shipping date has been changed from July 24 to August 28.

According to Samsung in a statement to Android Authority (Read the full statement), Quality control issues are to blame for the decision. Because of this, the company has temporarily halted shipments to its retail partners. The company also issued a statement to buyers in its home market apologizing for quality issues and offering exchanges or refunds.

Samsung says it will “conduct comprehensive quality control before delivering products to consumers.” It also says that any customers who already own Galaxy Buds 3 Pro should contact Samsung or visit their nearest Samsung service center if they experience any issues.

What problems do customers have?

When people started getting their hands on the company’s new premium earbuds, certain issues were discovered. These problems started with just the ear tips, but more issues have been discovered since then.

The fragile ear tips have been one of the most discussed issues so far. Several reports on Reddit and YouTube claim that the ear tips can snap when trying to remove them from the earbuds. It seems that the issue is related to the hard plastic ring at the base of the silicone ear tips that snaps into place on the earbuds for a snug fit. However, Samsung has published a support page that tells users how to safely remove the ear tips. Users can also contact Samsung for replacements if their ear tips are already damaged.

Recently, one of South Korea’s leading tech reviewers posted a video listing the various issues he discovered. The reviewer, known as ITSub on YouTube, purchased ten sets of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Here are the issues he found:

• The surfaces of the earphones were not flush across the contour.
• The stem ends had uneven seams.
• The earphones were at different heights in the case.
• Some cases had a sticker on the hinge that was not present on other cases.
• The earplugs were already covered in dust before they were taken out of the case.
• Blue and orange paint residues were found on the surface of the earphones of two pairs.
• One of the earbuds had a chip or dent near the LED area.
• On most models, the top of the LED light is rounded, but there were two cases where the LED light appeared to be cut straight.

Some of these issues are shown in the screenshots below. The first image shows that the right earbud sits higher than the left. In the second image we see uneven coloring around the bottom of the stem. The following image shows an issue with the LED while the last image shows the blue color residue on the ear tip.

SoundGuysour sister site, also found an issue with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and the new Siren Detect feature. Siren Detect is designed to allow sirens and alarms to penetrate the ANC so users can be aware of their surroundings. However, it turns out the feature was largely redundant, as the earbuds allow all kinds of distracting noises to enter, disrupting the listening experience. After putting the earbuds through some testing, they found that the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro’s ANC can only block 76% of outside noise. For comparison, the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro can block up to 84% of outside noise.

It’s important to note that the issues appear to only affect the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. There appear to be no reports on the base model Galaxy Buds 3.

As mentioned, there are numerous reports on Reddit and YouTube. It’s unclear how widespread these issues really are, as availability is still relatively limited.

In ITSub’s video, of the ten Buds 3 Pro the YouTuber purchased, eight were in white and two were in silver colorways. It seems that the issues discovered in the video occurred with the white variant. According to the reviewer, three of the ten units had build quality issues bad enough to warrant sending them back to Samsung.

Will the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro be shipped again?

Samsung has stated that it has “suspended shipments of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro units to distribution channels.” However, you shouldn’t worry too much. The suspension of shipments is just a temporary measure that the company is taking to give it time to assess the build quality issues with the buds. Once that’s complete, Samsung should resume shipments. On its own website, the manufacturer lists August 28 as the new shipping date, suggesting that it expects to resume shipments at some point.

Can I get a refund for my order?

Not all customers are having issues with the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, but if you have a problem with your earbuds, Samsung offers some solutions. The company recommends sending your earbuds back to the retailer for a replacement, but if you just want your money back, Samsung also offers refunds.

When Samsung first announced the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, the company (rightly) faced a lot of criticism for copying the design of Apple’s AirPods. While they’re not a direct copycat, they’re very much inspired by the Cupertino company’s design philosophy. This put Samsung in a position to be questioned from the start.

While there are no disagreements about performance, aside from the lack of ANC, the build quality issues cannot be ignored. Moreover, more and more problems seemed to be discovered before Samsung finally decided to temporarily halt shipments.

Overall, we’d say this was a nightmare of a launch for a product that has undergone a drastic design change. To make matters worse, these are supposed to be Samsung’s flagship earbuds. A recall due to poor build quality of its premium product is more than just embarrassing for a company that has been in this space for years.