How to fix earphones?

Headphones are an indispensable attribute of the daily life of a young modern person. This device allows you to enjoy your favorite music, listen to audio books anywhere and at any time. But unfortunately, this indispensable electronic gadget often breaks, and in such a situation you are thinking about how to fix the headphones. When consumers break down, many consumers throw away old headphones and go for a new accessory. However, this is not necessary at all. We will tell you how to fix the device yourself, since you still have nothing to lose.

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How do headphones break?

To understand how to fix the headphones with your own hands, first of all, you need to determine what exactly broke. There are 4 main problems:

• wire break near the plug;
• wire break near the earphone;
• membrane breakdown;
• channel clogging.

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How to fix headphones if the wire breaks?

Before proceeding to the solution of the problem, determine the breakdown by the following signs: in one of the headphones or both there is a rustling sound with its subsequent disappearance. This means that there was a break in the core at the bend.

In order to identify the place of wire breakage in the cord, turn on the headphones in any device and walk your hand along the entire cord, while moving and rotating it. As soon as you heard the rustling, the place of breakage was found.

To fix such a breakdown is very simple:

1. Mark the place of the break with electrical tape, a marker or whatever is convenient.
2. Disconnect the headphones from the device.
3. Use a pair of pliers to remove the broken wire.
4. Strip the edges of the wires and solder them together.
5. Check the sound.
6. If everything works, wind up the repair site with electrical tape.

Important! Since we carry the gadget in a pocket, or in a bag, or in a backpack, clippings most often occur near the plug. The place near the jack becomes the most mobile and therefore more susceptible to various bending and wringing.

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How to fix the headphone plug?

A plug break is one of the most frequent breakdowns, especially if it is not made very high quality. There are 2 types of plugs 2.5 ”and 3.5“, but both are affected with the same success.

Mechanism design

To fix the headphone plug, first delve into the theory and study the device of the plug, as well as the purpose of the wires that are on the cord.

Plug device:

1. Left channel.
2. Right channel.
3. Common channel.

Important! In addition, there are also 3 wires in the headphone cord that are responsible for the respective channels.

Tools for work

For the repair process you need to prepare and purchase special tools, and in case of replacing the plug (jack) - a new element. Tools required:

• soldering iron and eternal companions: tin and rosin;
• stationery knife;
• vise;
• glue;
• lighter;
• shrink cambric.

Repair plug

1. Cut the plug from the cable just above the fracture site.
2. Release the connector from excess plastic (as an option, you can buy a new connector).
3. Strip the wire 2 cm.
4. Determine the purpose of the wire by trial and error (left, right, general): connect a pair of wires in one of the speakers until sound appears (change the wires in a pair).
5. As soon as you find a sounding pair, for example, the right channel, the remaining wire refers to the left channel. Now determine which of the two wires in the pair is common.To do this, alternately bring each of them to the left channel, the one that will sound is common.
6. Solder the found wires to the corresponding channels. You need to do this as follows:
   • irradiate the ends of the cores and channels;
   • fasten the plug in a vice;
   • solder the wires to the corresponding channels.
7. It is necessary to refine the appearance and protect the adhesions:
   • glue the kapron thread that was in the wire to the plug - this will be protection against wire breakage from the plug;
   • hide the weld point and bare wires using heat-shrink cambric: cut the required length, put on the weld place and gently warm it over the lighter fire. If necessary and for more protection (convenience), use several cambrics.
   • Remove excess cambric with a clerical knife.

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How to fix headphones if one does not work?

To fix the headphones, if one does not work, you need to determine the source of the problem. In order to visually identify this place, you need to inspect the earpiece.

For this:

1. Open the earpiece.
2. Inspect the membrane: if it is wrinkled, straighten and level it.
3. If the membrane is clogged, you can also hear cracking and rattling, so remove the specks.
4. Rinse with alcohol the mesh that separates the earpiece membrane from the outside.
5. Having identified the problem, decide for yourself the feasibility of repair: if the membrane is badly damaged, then you will not repair it at home, and after-sales service costs the same as buying new headphones.

Important! Perhaps one earphone does not work due to a broken wire. For repair, it is also necessary to disassemble the earpiece. As fastenings, plastic latches or screws are used. In the headphones “shells” an adhesive connection is used. After you open the headphones, cut the wire, strip it and solder in the same way as it was before the breakdown. Make sure the structure is working properly and assemble the “ear” halves.

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Useful Tips:

1. If the breakage occurred inside the cord, and you do not have a soldering iron, then connect the wires by simply twisting them in a spiral: take both wires and hold them with your fingers, fix their ends and rotate together. Thus, you can fix the headphones with little effort.
2. Sometimes it is difficult to determine the location of a wire break. We recommend solving this problem with a multimeter (it can be purchased at any electronics store). The device must operate in resistance mode. Using a clerical knife, make 2 cuts around the proposed clipping site at a distance of 2 cm, remove the plastic in the places of the cut with which they are covered (it is better to do this with a lighter). Attach the probes of the multimeter to the cut points. If the device did not whistle or “0” lights up on the display, then the place of failure has been found.
3. In order not to waste time on repairs, follow the rules for storing headphones. The easiest way - store in special cases or purses. Before you hide the “ears”, carefully rewind them without bending the wire and not tightening it much.
4. In order for the headphones not only not to break, but also not to get confused, use the means at hand. For example, wind on a spool of thread.

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Stock footage

If you went through all the steps described, but the problem could not be solved, then take the advice of frugal people: take the old plug from the inoperative headphones and solder with the working top. Combine different parts if these “ears” are really dear to you. In other cases, it is better to buy a new gadget, and take care of it carefully so that you do not have to deal with the problem of how to fix the headphones at home. Have a good listening to your favorite music!