How do I repair my headphones? What could have broken?

If your headphones are starting to refuse to work and are breaking down? You can still try to fix them. In this case, it is a good idea to evaluate what is not working. That way, you can choose the right repair method.

For some, the first step is to go to an electronics store and repair the headphones or buy brand new ones. Professionals are usually highly regarded for their services, even if the malfunction is minor and the repair takes a few minutes. In such a situation we can safely decide to repair broken headphones ourselves. In this article we explain how to get started.

What could be wrong with the headphones?

If our favorite headphones are broken, it is certainly not pleasant. But before we decide that nothing can be done about them, we often try to find a cable arrangement in which they will work properly. However, the problem can get worse. Therefore, we should focus on finding the cause of the failure

Here are some possible forms of headphone failure:

• damaged mini jack or cable right next to it – usually, you can talk about this if the headphones start working better when you spin the mini jack in the input from the electronic device. This suggests that the problem may be the cable right at the input;
• one headphone or both headphones break at the same time – if the headphones start to work when you move the cable, it could mean that at some stage the cable has become worn out;
• design flaws – this is especially common with relatively new headphones that didn’t cost very much. There is usually not much you can do about such defects.

How to repair headphones?

Each of the described types of damage requires a slightly different approach to repair. Construction defects usually mean deeper problems that you can’t fix on your own. In this case, it is better to bet on better headphones. What can we do in other situations?

Starting with cable damage at the mini jack, we can find that twisting the cable and the mini jack itself “fixes” the problem. This is a temporary solution, as any movement of the cable can break the connection. In this case, it is necessary to replace the mini jack, while shortening the headphone cable by a few centimeters.

A similar situation occurs when the sound breaks in one of the headphones. Again, you can shorten the cable for a particular headphone. The difficulty may be the specific design of some models, which sometimes makes it impossible to change the cable.

What if the same headphone keeps breaking down?

It is worth mentioning that in some situations repairing and replacing cables does not help, because the same handset keeps breaking. In that case, we should look at our habits. Sometimes we tend to unconsciously wrap the headphones around the player because the cable is too long. As a result, we strain the section at the plug, for example. Headphones worn in a tight pocket are similarly damaged. Although you still need to repair the damaged headphones, it is worth changing this behavior for the future.

Is it better to repair headphones yourself or go to a repair shop?

In some situations, it is possible to repair headphones yourself. However, it is worth considering whether you have the right materials, time, and most importantly skills. Trying to repair expensive equipment may turn out to be even more damage and, for example, fruitless shortening of the cable. In this situation it is better to go to a professional service salon

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