Harman International Industries
Reviews and Complaints

Acquired a JBL PartyBox 310 on April 16 from an online retailer. The JBL product website states: "The JBL Partybox 310 is compatible with most speaker stands." The speaker has a 36MM receptacle cup for tripod mounting. JBL only sells tripods with 35MM polls, requiring an adapter. I contacted parts at JBL about this and they told me JBL does not make a stand or adapter for the Partybox 310. After searching, 36MM tripods are quite rare. When I reached out to JBL customer service, they were dismissive and suggested I find an adapter elsewhere. My attempts were fruitless. The recommended adapter on Harmon's website, which is shipped from an external supplier, costs $80CAD, excluding potential CBSA duties. Harmon Audio customer service confirmed this is the only adapter available. Local audio stores don't stock 36MM and confirmed their rarity.

Hello, I bought wireless headphones on 11/29 with a 12-month warranty. Within 3 months, the battery failed. After a complex return process, I got a replacement. Still under warranty, the second pair also broke; a piece of plastic snapped, leaving an earpiece dangling. I use them sparingly while my other device charges. Customer service denied warranty coverage, citing accidental damage, and offered a 10% discount on a new purchase. However, the breakage seems like normal wear and tear, questioning the material quality.

The ear buds I purchased only work intermittently both ear buds do not always work at the same time one or the other continually turns off and on also they do not stay connected to my phone even when it is in my hand. On top of all of this the do not stay in my ears regardless of what size tip I use or what size sleeve I use I have tried them all and they fall out as soon as I move my head. Due to this issue of not staying in my ears one fell into the toilet I was cleaning and was flushed down and is now gone. I called the retailer and told them of all of these issues and then called manufacturer to be told they would not help me. I have since researched and found 100's of reviews complaining of the same issues and of the awful customer service this company gives their customers. Paying $149.99 for headphones I would expect much better quality than this and some kind of resolution offered by the company when I called. I now only have one earbud which is completely useless because they only function together and am out the money I wasted on them

I purchased 2 floor standing speakers sold separately and one of them came in damaged. I started a replacement process the very same day i received it and i was then asked to send pictures of the damaged speaker to get the replacement approved. After about 5 weeks waiting and several calls to customer service (talked to a person named Eric all the time) my claim was approved but instead of getting a replacement, *** picked up the damaged speaker and i was issued a refund. Then i called customer service again and talked to Eric again and asked for my case to be elevated or to speak to a supervisor or a manager. After half hour wait the connection dropped. Meanwhile the price of the product has increased while i was waiting and instead of honoring the original price i paid, jbl/harman asked me to pay the full price last time i contacted customer service. Now i am left for over 5 weeks with only one speaker that i cant use that i will probably have to return as well since i cant complete the stereo system with only one speaker and none of this frustrating experience was due to my fault.

I bought a device advertised to have a 10hr battery life and that 15 min of charging equaled 1 hr of music playtime. After a few months, the device only held a charge for 45 min and would at times not even charge or turn on. I informed the company regarding the problem and asked for a device exchange and they told me to check to make sure it was indeed charging and that I should let it charge for 24 hours to make sure it was fully charged. That is not the product I purchased, and even so, charging overnight did not make a difference. The company will not respond now to my claim and I am unable to exercise my right to a product replacement under the factory warranty standards for a defective device. It has been over a week since they advised me to perform tasks that even if they worked, absolutely showed the device was defective. I no longer want a replacement and would like a full refund.

I bought items in December, by February only one worked, I contacted support and a return was initiated (RA [protected]). I returned my item but never received a replacement or the repaired items. On May 28, I was told the replacement had been shipped to me and was delivered. Tracking revealed the shipment was returned to sender. On May 28, I was told a new replacement would ship and I provided my full address again. I asked for a tracking number and was assured they were working on my replacement. On June 4, I was told I would receive a refund to my account (the organization had no account details to issue a refund to). On June 4, I received another email asking for my address. I called on June 4, spoke with a representative, explained everything, and was assured I would get a replacement with a tracking number within 48 hours. No number was received. On June 17, I was told the item was shipped and I would receive a tracking number in 24 hours, but received no tracking information. On June 23, I was informed the item is awaiting pick up at their location to be shipped to me and I would receive tracking information in 24 to 48 hours.

I bought a brand new electronic device manufactured by HARMAN International and sold through *** it was valued at over +$220 it was working fine for approx. 1 month and then malfunctioned (clearly due to low quality control) and stopped working. Luckily it still fell under the warranty, though. So I contacted Harman who directed me to take it to my nearest approved repair shop. Well it's been sitting in that repair shop for MONTHS. The contact at the repair shop told me that they've been calling HARMAN every day for months asking for an update. Evidently HARMAN has been dragging their feet as they can't decide what's the cheapest option for them, to repair my device or replace it. Part of the issue is the closest warehouse to the repair shop is out-of-stock of the specific circuit/motherboard that my device needs replaced, oh no! So that complicates things and now they just can't decide if they'd like to ship the warehouse the motherboard or just send my device a replacement device. This device is essential to my work-flow and everyday I don't have it is a day I can not work. I explained that to the repair shop when I dropped it off in hopes that would help expedite the process. And I explained that to a HARMAN representative as well when I called to speak to someone, but they were able to accomplish NOTHING. Currently my device is still sitting on a shelf and NOTHING has changed. I have called and called and emailed and emailed asking for updates, to no avail. I literally paid hundreds of dollars for an item that I can't even use, as it's literally been sitting in a repair shop awaiting repair or replacement LONGER THAN I EVER HAD IT!

Hello, I began a defective item return process with Diana Galvez yet due to a miss step on her end the item went to my old address. She was supposed to send me a form via email for me to complete with my new information, once she received my invoice from ***, but didn't and sent the replacement to my old address. After two weeks of emailing them and notifiying them of the mishap no replacement was sent. Fast forward to present day, I got a representative named Bob who told me the policy changed and that I have to send the defective speaker to them first, no problem. My concern is that I will not receive the replacement and that this will be an unresolved issue yet again. The reason for my suspicion is the fact that I was placed on hold for 40 minutes when I attempted to find out what the delay was and after the forty minute hold I was hung up on twice until finally I got a representative who stated I could use the old shipping label for me to go ahead and send the defective item with, knowing full well that the old label has the wrong address and that this was the issue from the beginning. After a lot of my pressing for them to change the address and submit a new one via email to me (please note that she claims that it would take at least a day just for them to change the address and send me a new correct label hmm?!). My point in short is, that they are stone walling and have no intention of replacing the defective speaker. I am sending them defective item as they requested today and can video the submission of the package to *** and submit to you guys if needed. Please assist in the completion of their claim to rectify this matter. Best regards

There was an issue when placing a headphone order off of JBL.com (by Harman), where the site crashed and my order went through twice. This led to me being charged twice and two of the product shipping. I attempted to contact the company multiple times for assistance with this issue. The order was placed on 07/12. I emailed the company that same day immediately after realizing the issue. On 09/12 I called the company, where I got an answering machine. I left a message then emailed again just in case something happened to my message. A week later (I don't know the exact day as I called from a landline) I called again. This time I actually spoke to someone who transferred me, then that person transferred me, then I got another answering machine where I left yet again another message. On 26/12 I went back on the website to look for more methods of contact and found the form at this link: https://ca.jbl.com/support-contact.html I filled out that email form and sent it. Then received an unhelpful email a few hours later where I was told to contact *** support and was given the email and phone numbers I had already contacted. I emailed yet again on 03/01/22 and have still not heard back from anyone by phone or by email. I would call again but due to my current situation calling is very difficult. I've run out of ideas on how I can contact them and am at a loss of what to do. I've attached a few sections copied from the most recent email I sent as it shares more of the specifics and details I wouldn't be able to fit in this box. I would like to add that I'm putting the complaint against Harman since they own JBL, and JBL has no business location (which was information I had to supply for this).

In November , I went to the JBL/Harman website and purchased two ***3 speakers (one pink and one red) from for the sale price of $29.95 each + free shipping. I received the pink ***3 approximately three weeks later. I never received the second, red ***3, nor did I get a status update from JBL/Harman on when it would be delivered. On or around January 12, I went to the JBL/Harman website to obtain their customer service phone number to inquire about my second ***3. No phone number was available, but I found an online inquiry form on their website that I filled out - asking the status. On January 14, Emrose from JBL Customer Service contacted me via email saying: "Thank you for contacting Harman Customer Support. We understand that you want to track the status of your order. Upon checking order number *** is in pending authorization since JBL***3 in color RED is in backorder and stock will replenish on 11/30. Please let us know, if you want to keep the order or cancel it." I replied to Emrose saying I'd like to keep the order and to please send me ANY COLOR that is currently in stock. Emrose replied back, saying: "Thank you for reaching out to us. An order cancellation request for ***3 in color Red has been sent, we will give you an update once we received a response from our internal team. I replied back saying I did not want to cancel the order, I simply wanted my second ***3 -- in ANY COLOR - for the sale price of $29.99, not the regular price of $59.99. I sent approximately 5 more email requests to Emrose asking him to please send me the ***3 in ANY COLOR. I have not received a response from him. Can you please help? I simply want the second ***3 - in ANY COLOR - that I paid for last November! Shame on JBL/Harman for this very poor customer service experience.

I bought a speaker on March 1! I was excited about the 7-8 hours battery life. After charging, the battery doesn't last as promised. I was advised to turn off the lights to save power, which I did. Then, I was told the issue was the music source, but my music is already downloaded. The store exchanged the speaker, but the new one had the same problem. Contacting your company, they blamed my phone, which is irrelevant. I've used many Bluetooth speakers without such issues. After another exchange, the third speaker still had poor battery life. I've read negative reviews about your products and dislike the headphones I own from your brand. The customer service is unhelpful, reading scripted responses. I demand a working speaker or a full refund without putting a hold on my funds, as I need the speaker for work. I've been sold faulty products repeatedly. You're out of stock, yet expect me to return my speaker first, showing no concern for customers. I refuse to shop with JBL again due to this terrible experience and customer service. They expect me to lose work or pay upfront for a replacement or refund, which is unacceptable.

My issue began with ordering 10 Harman Clip3 Bluetooth Speakers from a retailer. This order was made on November 27. After noticing that one of the packages (4 speakers) stated that it was delivered but it was not delivered to our address we contacted the retailer's customer service. There was an address issue. Apparently, there was no house number on the package, the courier delivered anyway. And there was another package coming. Luckily one of our neighbors returned the first package. We were then told by the retailer that the other package was going to be returned to them and we would be refunded. We were also told that we needed to reorder the remaining 6 returned speakers again. We originally purchased the speakers for $29.95 each. We had to reorder, but they were now $39.95 each. Customer service stated that they will refund us the difference once we reorder. We reordered the remaining 6 speakers on 12/09 with delivery promised by 12/16. We received a package with 2 speakers on 12/12; the box stated that it was 2 lbs in weight. Each speaker weighs 1 lb. Then we received 2 separate packages on 12/14, each package containing one speaker apiece. We are still missing 2 speakers. After calling customer service again I was told that 4 speakers were supposed to be in the first package delivered on 12/12. So they told me to file a claim. The box states 2 lbs and each speaker weighs 1 lb so there were only 2 speakers. This original purchase of 10 speakers should have been about $299.50 and I have now spent $539.20 and I have yet to get any refunds that have been promised and I AM STILL MISSING TWO speakers that I needed by 12/17. I am really disappointed with the way things have been handled. Customer service was nice but these are not Christmas gifts. These are gifts that were meant to be given out on 12/17. I will now have two employees that will not have a speaker because I have to wait and there is no store close by where I can purchase these same speakers. This has been a frustrating process.

My product had an issue and I wanted to file a warranty claim. Their phone lines were closed because of COVID. No complaints there, waited for a week, kept trying, and that's when an automated voice said to file it through the website. Submitted my first request and got no response for 10 days, resubmitted after a 10-day wait and that's when I received a response asking for further details. I've sent in a warranty claim for my faulty J product. Those were out of stock and customer service wanted to replace it with a different model of less value than what I purchased. When questioned, they corrected it and said they'll send something of the same value. Because of the COVID situation, I was not stepping out of my home, yet because they did not provide home pickup, I went to a store to drop it off. This was during the stay-at-home order; I still did it when I was getting milk and water delivered. Then they waited until they received it and said they'd ship out a replacement and send me a confirmation email. No confirmation email was sent regarding the replacement being shipped and I received a package with a different model instead of the promised one. I replied to the previous case and also called them. Was on hold for 50 minutes then spoke to an agent named Christine. I asked to ship out my original product but she said I should send the package first and then wait for the replacement. I said that was not my mistake and why should I wait. I asked for home pickup and she took all the details and said she is sending a shipping label, upon checking she didn't request a home pickup, it was a drop-off again. Why did the company send me a wrong replacement and is troubling me now? I want my product and this company cannot force me to go to a place where I'm not comfortable to be. I'm ready to send the wrong product back and they should arrange for it. They made the error, they should fix it. Not make me wait 45+ days for a replacement in the whole process. I asked for a supervisor escalation and was promised a call back from someone named RJ, to no avail again.

I bought two refurbished subwoofers on a Black Friday sale, but despite the product being in stock, delivery has been delayed multiple times. The retailer continues to sell the same product at a higher price with prompt shipping, while my order remains unfulfilled. This discrepancy suggests deceptive advertising, as my repeated inquiries are met with suggestions to cancel my order and repurchase at the higher price. I insist on receiving the deal promised on November 27, and have documented all correspondence to hold the retailer accountable for their advertised commitment.