Your BlueParrott B450-XT Cushions Don't Fit? Check These Two Things First

A customer left us a one-star review on our B450-XT cushion kit. The complaint: the foam ear covers were "very skimpy" and wouldn't stay in place when the headset went on or came off. The suggestion was that we add half an inch all the way around so they'd actually hold.

We've been thinking about it, because that's not an isolated complaint, and the fix isn't the one being asked for.

There are two things that go wrong with B450-XT cushions. Neither is obvious, and both are easy to check in about thirty seconds.

First: which generation of B450-XT do you own?

This is the one that catches the most people.

BlueParrott updated the B450-XT in May 2020. The name stayed exactly the same. The box says B450-XT, the headset says B450-XT, and there is nothing on the product announcing which version you're holding.

The two generations take different cushions. First-generation cushions will not seat correctly on a second-generation headset.

The quickest way to tell them apart is the charging port.

• Micro-USB port: the older, flatter, trapezoid-shaped connector. You have a first-generation B450-XT, part number 204010 or 204019-B.
• USB-C port: the small connector with rounded ends that plugs in either way up. You have a second-generation headset.

The second generation also added an IP54 dust and water rating and on-the-go firmware updates, but you don't need to know any of that. Look at the port.

A second check, if you still have the old cushions. The housing was redesigned between generations, so the pads are shaped differently. First-generation pads are a teardrop shape. Second-generation pads are an oval. Put the wrong generation on and they won't seat or grip the ear piece properly, no matter how hard you press.

If you want to confirm, BlueParrott maintains a product identifier tool on their support site.

Our cushion kit fits the first generation only. It's stated on the listing, but it's stated in the kind of place people skim past when they're ordering a replacement for a headset they've had for four years. If you have the USB-C version, our kit is the wrong part, and we'd rather you knew that before it arrives.

Second: you have two different ear pieces in the kit, and only one of them is the cushion

This is what we think happened to our reviewer, though there's no way for us to know for certain which piece was in hand.

Open the kit and you'll find eight pieces:

• Memory-foam leatherette ear pads (2): these are your ear cushions. 14mm of slow-rebound foam in a leatherette shell. They seat onto the ear pieces and stay there.
• Breathable fabric covers (2): optional. They slip over the leatherette pads for airflow.
• Mic windscreens (4): foam socks for the boom mic. They tame wind and engine noise.

The thick leatherette pads are the replacement cushions. That's the part doing the work: the padding, the seal, the noise isolation, the thing that grips the ear piece.

The thin flat foam rounds are covers. They're an extra layer you can add on top of the leatherette pad if you're running hot in a cab, a warehouse, or a summer loading dock. They're deliberately light and thin, because their job is airflow, not padding.

If you put the fabric cover directly on the ear piece and skip the leatherette pad, it will feel skimpy, because it is. And it will slide off when you pull the headset on, because nothing is holding it.

That's a packaging problem on our end, not a user error. The pieces look like alternatives when you tip them out of the bag. They aren't. They're a base layer and an optional top layer.

When new cushions won't fix your problem

Worth saying plainly, because we'd rather you keep your money.

• If the headband has lost its clamp, no cushion will restore the seal. The pads press against your head because the band pushes them there. A band that's been stretched out over years of use, or left splayed open in a hot cab, won't recover with new foam.
• If the ear piece housing is cracked, the cushion has nothing solid to seat against. Check the plastic rim before you order.
• If the noise cancellation has gotten worse, look at the mic windscreen before the ear cushions. The B450-XT's 96% noise cancellation is a microphone specification, not an ear-seal one. A clogged or missing windscreen affects what your callers hear far more than a flat ear pad does.
• If the headset is many years old and the battery is the real complaint, cushions are cosmetic. That's a replacement decision, not a refresh.

The short version

Before you order B450-XT cushions:

1. Look at the charging port. Micro-USB is first generation and takes our kit. USB-C is second generation and doesn't. If you still have the old pads, teardrop shape means first generation, oval means second.
2. When the kit arrives, use the thick leatherette pads as your cushions. The thin fabric rounds are optional covers that go over them.
3. Check the headband and the ear piece housing first. If either has failed, cushions won't bring the seal back.

Replacing cushions every three to four months keeps the seal and the hygiene where they should be on a headset you wear all day. But only if you've got the right part in the box.

Our reviewer wanted a bigger foam cover. What was probably needed was the piece sitting underneath it in the same bag. That's a fair thing to be annoyed about, and we're working on making the kit explain itself better.

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