I'm a student who suffers from migraines, so I needed earbuds with good microphone quality, clear vocals, and effective ANC for attending online classes.

A Realme Buds T310 was delivered to me on 2 July at 9:25 AM through Tata CLiQ. Initially, the microphone quality and vocal clarity seemed excellent.

However, when I opened the Realme Link app, although the earbuds connected via Bluetooth, the app constantly showed "Device not connected." As a result, ANC, Transparency Mode, Dual Device Connection, EQ, and other features were unavailable.

To rule out software issues, I:

Reinstalled the app

Factory reset the earbuds

Reset my phone's network settings

Tested them on four different phones

The issue remained.

To verify it wasn't my phone, I paired my friend's genuine Realme Buds T310 with the same device, and every feature worked normally.

I also checked the serial number on Realme's authenticity page, which returned "Sorry, no information can be found."

I have a basic understanding of acoustics and how ANC works, and the noise cancellation performance also felt nowhere near the advertised 46 dB Hybrid ANC, making me even more suspicious.

Realme customer support advised me to visit their authorized service centre (around 23 km from my home). The technician verified the serial number, physically compared the earbuds with a genuine unit, and confirmed they were counterfeit. They identified:

Invalid serial number
Different ear chamber shape
Missing S/M/L markings on the silicone tips
An official job sheet was issued stating "Non-Genuine Product."

Tata CLiQ Support Experience:

The follow-up was frustrating:

2 Jul, 1:24 pm: Complaint registered after a 12-minute wait. After speaking with the Realme technician, Tata CLiQ accepted the complaint, requested supporting documents, and asked me to wait until Saturday.
4 Jul 11:15 am: No update. Another 12-minute wait. Asked to wait until Monday.
6 Jul, 2:20 pm: Waited 13 minutes and was again asked to wait. After informing them I would escalate the matter through the appropriate consumer authorities if it remained unresolved, the case was marked as Priority.
6 Jul (later), 4:15 pm: Return approved around 2 hours later.
7 Jul, 12:15 pm: Pickup completed and the full refund was processed the same day.
The product was supplied by Shiv Works (Mumbai).

After this incident, I noticed several recent customer reviews reporting similar counterfeit product experiences involving the same seller.

If you receive electronics that seem suspicious, verify the serial number immediately, test all official features using the manufacturer's app, and, if necessary, have the product inspected at an authorised service centre.

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Received Counterfeit Realme Buds T310 from Tata CLiQ (Seller: Shiv Works)

Tata CLiQ Support Experience:

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