Not many wireless headphones make it easy to change the battery. Are you finding yours are lasting far less time than when you first purchased them?
I owned a great pair of wireless headphones back when commuting used to be part of my daily life. Very portable, great sound quality, and the eight hours of battery life would get me to and from work on a single charge. Or, at least until they hit 30% charge.
30% was a cliff edge after which my batteries would freefall into oblivion in the span of 10 minutes.
It began to get worse, with 40% becoming the new 30%, and then 50%. Eventually, when I saw my headphones losing 10% charge with each passing station, I switched back to my wired ones.
Impossible to repair?
Through regular usage (charging and discharging), wireless headphone batteries inevitably grow weaker over time. What seems an easy solution though – replacing the batteries – proves to be anything but.
Headphones are very difficult to take apart and put back together. Many parts are glued together or require special tools to access. Apple’s Airpods are a good example, with repair advocates iFixit giving the AirPod Pro a zero for repairability.
(Important note: we do not recommend taking your headphones apart. This could invalidate your warranty, and you could put yourself at risk of injury in doing so).
While some manufacturers will enable you to send your phone away for a battery replacement, it’s a very patchy picture that varies by manufacturer. The price some charge for repairs can also put-off many.
For example, Apple charges £45 to replace all the batteries in its popular AirPods, plus an additional £45 to replace those in the charging case.
If you needed to replace both for £90, that’s not too far off getting a brand new pair, with prices starting around £130.
Tell us your stories
As you know, we’re not fans of not being able to change the battery on products. We’d like to hear your experiences where your headphone batteries are letting you down.Â
Tell us about your experience with your wireless headphones – when you bought them and for how much, and whether you’re still satisfied with the battery life.
Have you had headphones you’ve had to retire early due to battery failure or poor performance? Â
Have you attempted to replace the batteries in your headphones, either by yourself or through the manufacturer or retailer? If so, what was the experience like?Â
What other devices have you had let you down due to poor battery performance?
We’ll be writing about this in a future edition of Which? Magazine and are keen to include your stories.