Tips for protecting and repairing headphones

Determine the cause of the earphone malfunction

With the advent of portable music players, music playback apps, and portable consoles, earphones and/or headphones have become popular and essential for everyday life. They are now used at the gym, during a morning jog, on public transport, and at home while cleaning. Due to these multiple handlings, these small, fragile accessories get dirty and eventually deteriorate. Also due to mistreatment, since everyone slips them into a pocket or carelessly throws them at the bottom of a bag. This lack of attention exposes earphones and headphones to various alterations and dirt. Mishandling or a knock can also damage them.

In order to determine the solution to adopt to repair earphones, it is important to find the origin of the anomaly.

• First case  :

1. Insert the earbuds into the ears;
2. Stream music;
3. Bend the wire at a 90° angle;
4. Slide your thumb along the thread;
5. If the sound cuts out intermittently, the problem is with the cable .

• Second case  :

1. Plug the headphones into the music player or phone;
2. Apply pressure to the jack plug ;
3. The jack is probably faulty if the sound is only audible when it is pressed .

• Third case  :

1. Connect the headphones;
2. If no sound is transmitted, take another pair of headphones;
3. Plug in the new earbuds;
4. If they work properly, the problem is with the in-ear headphones .

Restore the headphone cable

If the problem with the earphones is with the cable, there are just a few steps you can follow to fix it.

1. Once the defective part is located, place a piece of adhesive tape on it;
2. Using a cutter or knife, cut the cable insulation and remove approximately 1 cm;
3. Continue the incision until you reach the damaged wire;
4. Split the cable in two;
5. If one of the wires inside is cut, cut on each side and adjust the length of the two parts of the cable;
6. Join the wires together, making sure to properly join the bare wires of the same color. Make a braid or line splice;
7. Using a soldering iron, melt a piece of solder at each splice to securely bond the connections;
8. Make a rubber electrical sheath to protect against cuts;
9. Wrap the cable connections in the sheath and heat with a heat gun to shrink the sheath.
   

   Restore the headphone cable

   If the problem with the earphones is with the cable, there are just a few steps you can follow to fix it.

   1. Once the defective part is located, place a piece of adhesive tape on it;
   2. Using a cutter or knife, cut the cable insulation and remove approximately 1 cm;
   3. Continue the incision until you reach the damaged wire;
   4. Split the cable in two;
   5. If one of the wires inside is cut, cut on each side and adjust the length of the two parts of the cable;
   6. Join the wires together, making sure to properly join the bare wires of the same color. Make a braid or line splice;
   7. Using a soldering iron, melt a piece of solder at each splice to securely bond the connections;
   8. Make a rubber electrical sheath to protect against cuts;
   9. Wrap the cable connections in the sheath and heat with a heat gun to shrink the sheath.