Quick Answer: No, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones don’t advertise any ingress protection rating. This means they aren’t suitable for use in wet conditions and cannot be submerged in water.

The newest Bose QuietComfort Headphones have been available since June 18, 2025, and have faithfully built on the foundation of 2021’s QuietComfort 45 Headphones.In a head-to-head matchup, it might be hard to tell them apart at first glance, but with improved digital signal processing and richer sonic tones throughout the range, the new model is a surefire winner and amongBose’s best audio options out there.

A pair of headphones hanging around someone’s neck.

The headphones sport Bose’s signature ear cups and soft, supple leather to create a comfortable fit that’s perfect for use throughout a long day of work or study. But many shopping for new headphones might wonder about the QuietComfort’s ability to resist water.

Are the Bose QuietComfort Headphones waterproof?

The QuietComfort Headphones from Bose offer a wealth of features. From Quiet and Aware Modes to help listeners identify background sounds or tune them out to the ability to connect through a cable or Bluetooth, Bose users are able to enjoy a lot of great features. However, waterproof and dustproof use isn’t one of them.

Bose doesn’t offer any ingress protection rating on the QuietComfort Headphones (nor is there an IP rating on the brand’s Ultra build). This might be a letdown for some buyers looking for premium audio alongside splash or dunk protection, but the reality is that waterproofing isn’t often found on higher-end over-ear headphones like this.

A woman in a city setting wearing green headphones

Instead, if you’re shopping for great sound quality and active noise cancellation, then features like comfort, battery performance, and tone should be the priority. The QuietComfort Headphones offer a 24-hour battery with a 2.5-hour recharge time (or a 15-minute boost function for four hours of playback), immaculate over-ear comfort, and crystal sonic clarity.

What kind of ANC features do the Bose QuietComfort Headphones offer?

Bose’s active noise cancelling technology makes for two primary preset modes: Quiet Mode offers noise cancellation to block out environmental sounds that might otherwise interrupt your jam session or productivity push. Alternatively, the headphones’ Aware Mode offers transparency through the ear cups to allow for great awareness of your surroundings. Bose even notes that the full audio transparency of this mode makes it possible to hold a conversation with the earphones still in place, although you might not want to! You can even define a Custom Mode with fine-tuned ANC.

Wind Block adds another dimension to a fully customizable suite of ANC options. With this feature engaged, you’re able to even tune out the loud and flow-disrupting gusts of wind that may be present in outdoor environments.

Over-the-shoulder photo of someone wearing headphones and using a laptop.

The one ANC-adjacent feature the Bose QuietComfort Headphones don’t offer is Bose’s Immersive Audio, which creates the illusion that sound is coming from in front of you, rather than right in your ears. That feature is reserved for theBose QuietComfort Ultra HeadphonesandUltra Earbuds.

The Bose QuietComfort Headphones are the real deal

While Bose’s newest QuietComfort range might not provide listeners with much reassurance when it comes to protection from water, there are plenty of other great attributes to celebrate in the headphones. From the minute tweaks you can make to dial in the perfect ANC settings to remarkable sonic clarity in the Bluetooth over ear headphones, the QuietComfort’s style and audio performance is something to behold.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones

Even without an ingress protection rating, the Bose QuietComfort Headphones offer phenomenal sound quality, excellent comfort for easy all day wear, and legendary ANC tools to dial in the perfect sound profile for any needs. They also offer 24-hour battery life and a quick charge boost function to keep the tunes pumping.

Bose QuietComfort Headphones in white background