Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (Renewed) Review: 7.6/10
“After 10mins on a exercise bike they kept slipping out my ears.” That one line captures why Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (Renewed, Mystic Black) inspires both loyalty and rage—then still lands around the low-to-mid 4-star range across big retail platforms. Verdict: Conditional buy, 7.6/10.
Quick Verdict
Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (Renewed, Mystic Black) can be a comfort-first, all-day earbud for people who hate in-ear pressure—if your ears match the “bean” shape and you’re not buying them for heavy noise blocking.
| What people agree on | Evidence from user feedback | Who it’s best for | Who should avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Comfort can be exceptional | Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” said: “first buds… that don't hurt my ears after using it for hours.” | Desk workers, long calls, sensitive ears | Anyone needing a sealed fit |
| Sound quality is often praised | Best Buy reviewer “ecbc” said: “excellent sound… great bass… clear voices.” | Music + meetings | Bass-heads wanting a tight seal |
| Fit is highly personal | Samsung Community poster said: “they kept slipping out my ears.” | People willing to adjust/try tips | Runners/cyclists who need lock-in |
| ANC is limited by open design | Best Buy reviewer “the angry beard” said: “noise cancelling is only so-so as the speaker design doesn't allow for a snug fit.” | Light commuting, office hum | Flights, loud gyms, isolation seekers |
| Refurb quality varies | Best Buy reviewer “marcus” said: “the left bud will not charge.” | Buyers with easy returns | Anyone who can’t risk DOA hardware |
Claims vs Reality
Samsung and Amazon marketing leans hard into comfort and a new kind of ANC. The official positioning is “open type” earbuds with “Active Noise Cancellation” that “keeps the noise out, but lets the world in,” plus “all-day comfort.” Digging deeper into user reports, the comfort claim is where the product earns its fiercest defenders—and the fit claim is where it falls apart for others.
On comfort, the stories are unusually specific. Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” framed it as a breakthrough after trying multiple brands: “these things are the first buds… that don't hurt my ears after using it for hours.” Another Best Buy reviewer, “miranda,” tied comfort to a concrete problem: “they don't put pressure on my ears… other headphones… cause me to have intense tension headaches.” For office workers and call-heavy users, that “no pressure” theme reads like the point of the entire design.
The ANC story is more conflicted. Official materials describe meaningful reduction—Samsung even references verification “for cutting background noise by up to 97% in low-frequency bands.” Yet user experiences repeatedly circle back to the same limitation: the buds “don't make a solid ear seal.” Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” said exactly that, adding “bass can be a little muted at times,” while Best Buy reviewer “the angry beard” called ANC “only so-so.” The pattern suggests ANC may help with low-frequency hum, but it doesn’t deliver the cocooned silence some shoppers expect from the “noise cancelling” label.
Reliability and connectivity are where marketing simplicity (“pair easily”) clashes with messy real-world reports. One Samsung Community thread is blunt: “useless when walking… they constantly break up,” and another poster escalated to a multi-device test: “same issue… on… two different iphones so the issue is with the buds.” Meanwhile, Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” reported “great distance… without issues” across Android, iPhone, and Windows 10—showing the experience can swing dramatically by unit, environment, or fit.
Cross-Platform Consensus
Universally Praised
A recurring pattern emerged around comfort as the signature win—especially for people who can’t tolerate traditional in-ear tips. The “bean” shape keeps showing up not as a gimmick but as a workaround for pain. Best Buy reviewer “miranda” connected it to avoiding “intense tension headaches,” while Best Buy reviewer “ecbc” described the kind of wearability people chase: “comfortable, forget i have them in my ears.” For remote workers, that translates into being able to sit through hours of calls without the constant “ear fatigue” spiral.
Sound quality is another consistent bright spot, often described as better than expected given the open design. Best Buy reviewer “ecbc” credited it with “great bass, tremble, clear voices, good mids,” and Best Buy reviewer “chase 2727” said the buds “exceeded all my expectations,” pointing to the app tuning as part of the experience. Even when users acknowledge limitations like a weaker seal, they still return to “sound really good” once the buds are positioned correctly—Samsung Community’s reviewer said: “when they stay were they should they sound really good.”
Battery life and day-to-day convenience also come through strongly, particularly in work scenarios. Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” reported “25-30 hours of microsoft teams meetings” across devices, and “miranda” emphasized endurance: “The battery lasts me all day.” This matters most for people using one earbud at a time across long shifts—Best Buy reviewer “justing” said they work construction “12 16 hours a day,” noting the pods can last “through the entire day if i wear one at a time.”
Common Complaints
Fit inconsistency is the most repeated complaint, and it’s not mild—it’s the difference between “forget they’re in” and “impossible to enjoy.” Samsung Community’s “exercise bike” story is the clearest version: “after 10mins… they kept slipping out my ears.” Another Best Buy reviewer, “kaylee,” liked the concept for safety—“i can wear them and also hear things happening around me”—but still warned: “they do fall out quite easily,” solving it only after buying “larger silicone rubber pieces.”
Connectivity dropouts while moving are a second major pain point, especially for outdoor walkers/runners. In Samsung Community, one user wrote: “they are useless when walking… constantly break up,” and another narrowed it down: “the left bud constantly drops out when outside walking or running.” The frustration escalates when support experiences stack up; a poster described multiple repair cycles: “away for repair for the fourth time… shocking buds, and shocking service!” These accounts contrast sharply with users reporting rock-solid performance, suggesting either unit variance, environment sensitivity, or a subset of defective hardware.
Refurb/renewed condition risk shows up most clearly in “won’t charge” stories. Best Buy reviewer “marcus” said: “the left bud will not charge,” and “mr something” described a case defect: “one of the charging prongs… popped out.” For renewed buyers, these reports function as a caution: the value is real, but so is the chance you’ll spend time troubleshooting or returning.
Divisive Features
The open-style design—hearing your surroundings—splits buyers into two camps. For safety-minded walkers, it’s a feature: Best Buy reviewer “kaylee” said they’re “great for walking (or running) in areas where you still need to pay attention.” For others, it’s a dealbreaker because it limits isolation; “1800 call cabe” explained “you can still hear outside noises,” and “aidan” warned upgraders not to expect the same “noise canceling” and “noise leakage” performance as other Galaxy Buds models.
Range is similarly debated. Best Buy reviewer “manny” compared directly to AirPods: “galaxy buds cut out at a shorter distance… airpods have better range without a doubt.” Yet “1800 call cabe” reported “great distance… without issues” across multiple devices. The gap reads less like a universal truth and more like a mix of setup, environment, and individual unit behavior.
Trust & Reliability
Renewed/ refurbished buying introduces a trust question: will you get “like new” value or a problem unit? Best Buy’s refurb reviews contain both extremes. “dgtl mn 56” said their set was “barely touched,” while “marcus” said “the left bud will not charge,” interpreting refurbishment harshly: “all refurbish programs send out products that partially work.” Those two narratives coexist, which is exactly why return policies matter more here than for a new sealed pair.
Longer-term durability stories in the provided Reddit data are limited, but community-style posts show polarization: one Reddit review framed the buds as becoming an “essential part of my daily life,” praising design, sound, ANC, and mic quality. In contrast, Samsung Community posters describe repeated repairs and persistent dropouts outdoors, including: “repair for the fourth time.” Taken together, the reliability picture depends heavily on the individual unit and how you use them (stationary work vs. walking/running).
Alternatives
The only consistently referenced competitors in the data are Apple AirPods and other Galaxy Buds models. If you’re choosing between Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (Renewed, Mystic Black) and AirPods, the story is nuanced. Best Buy reviewer “manny” said both “sound amazing,” but judged AirPods “a bit more clear” with “better range,” while saying the Galaxy Buds have “more base.” Comfort is also contested: “galxy buds are not as comfortable as the airpods,” even though other reviewers say the Buds Live are the only ones that don’t hurt their ears—suggesting comfort depends on ear shape more than brand.
If you’re upgrading within Samsung’s lineup, expectations matter. Best Buy reviewer “aidan” advised: “if your upgrading from the galaxy buds don't expect same quality at least in noise canceling as well as noise leakage.” In other words, the Buds Live seem to be a deliberate trade: less seal and isolation, more “no pressure” comfort and awareness.
Price & Value
Price is where sentiment shifts from “why would anyone buy beans?” to “eureka.” Amazon listings in the provided data show big swings (for example, around the mid-$60s to low-$70s), and Best Buy refurbished pricing was highlighted at $39.99 in the page snapshot. Users repeatedly anchor their satisfaction to discount pricing. Best Buy reviewer “the angry beard” said: “i would buy again at the return price of $100 but i would nt spend more,” while “dgtl mn 56” celebrated paying $79 and called them “fantastic and misunderstood.”
Resale and secondary-market signals reinforce the “depreciated bargain” narrative. eBay listings show many used/refurb/open-box options clustered far below original MSRP, plus a noticeable market for replacement single earbuds and cases—evidence that some owners end up piecing sets together after failures or losses. Community buying tips also appear indirectly: “kaylee” and “dd un” both point to aftermarket silicone pieces/covers to reduce slipping, implying small accessories can determine whether the purchase feels like a steal or a regret.
FAQ
Q: Do the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live actually stay in during workouts?
A: Not consistently. A Samsung Community reviewer said: “after 10mins on a exercise bike they kept slipping out my ears.” Some users fix fit with accessories—Best Buy reviewer “kaylee” said they “fall out quite easily” until buying “larger silicone rubber pieces.”
Q: Is the active noise cancelling strong for an open-type earbud?
A: It’s limited. While Samsung markets ANC heavily, Best Buy reviewer “the angry beard” said it’s “only so-so” because the design “doesn't allow for a snug fit.” Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” also noted they “don't make a solid close.”
Q: Are these good for long work calls and meetings?
A: For many, yes. Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe” reported “25-30 hours of microsoft teams meetings,” and “miranda” said calls sound “great” and “others can hear me as clearly as they would with a phone mic.” Comfort stories often center on long wear.
Q: Are renewed/refurbished Buds Live risky?
A: They can be. Best Buy reviewer “marcus” said: “the left bud will not charge,” and another reviewer described a charging case issue where a “charging prong… popped out.” Others had the opposite experience—“dgtl mn 56” said their refurbished pair was “barely touched.”
Q: How do they compare to AirPods (2nd gen) in real use?
A: One Best Buy reviewer, “manny,” said both “sound amazing,” but AirPods were “more clear” with “better range,” while the Galaxy Buds had “more base.” Comfort also varied: that same reviewer found Buds Live “not as comfortable,” though other users praise them as the only buds that don’t hurt.
Final Verdict
Buy Samsung Galaxy Buds Live (Renewed, Mystic Black) if you’re a comfort-first listener who wants open-style awareness for walking and long calls—like Best Buy reviewer “1800 call cabe,” who called them the “first buds… that don't hurt my ears.”
Avoid if you need lock-tight stability for workouts or can’t tolerate outdoor dropouts—Samsung Community posters called them “useless when walking” and said they “kept slipping out.”
Pro tip from the community: if fit is borderline, follow insertion guidance and consider aftermarket silicone pieces—Best Buy reviewer “kaylee” made them work by switching to “larger silicone rubber pieces.”
