Don't Buy New Headphones Until You Do These 5 Steps With Your Old Pair

Jada Jones/ZDNET

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Simple habits tin thief your headphones past overmuch longer.
• Regular attraction keeps headphones performing for illustration new.
• Small changes tin widen your headphones' lifespan.

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I've spent plentifulness of clip testing headphones and earbuds, and I've recovered a fistful of small, seemingly evident but mighty tips to support them successful tip-top style and performance. If your headphones aliases earbuds aren't moving for illustration they were successful their heyday, these mini fixes mightiness help.

Also: 4 headphones I committedness by (and really I usage each brace differently)

These tips tin besides thief you create patient attraction habits if you precocious purchased a caller brace of headphones aliases earbuds to switch your regular drivers.

1. Replace your earpads (and tips)

Your headphones' earpads and earbuds' eartips are much important than you think. When they're successful their champion shape, they support optimal sound quality, sound isolation, and comfort. It's normal for them to degrade complete clip from emblematic deterioration and tear, and erstwhile you announcement tears, rips, aliases excessive style distortion, it's clip to switch them.

Many celebrated headphone manufacturers, for illustration Bose, Sony, and Apple, waste OEM replacement pads and tips, which are typically nan easiest portion of nan headphone to self-repair. You tin find cheaper third-party replacements, but you whitethorn get what you salary for. Buying OEM replacements ensures nan aforesaid value and fit, moreover though they whitethorn beryllium much expensive.

2. Put your headphones successful their lawsuit

Jada Jones/ZDNET

You mightiness support your headphones retired of their lawsuit for convenience, but storing them successful their lawsuit erstwhile not successful usage keeps them safe from vulnerability to dust, debris, and humidity. Your headphones person plentifulness of mini openings, peculiarly nan holes connected nan earcups that location microphones and nan charging port.

Also: Why these headphones are still nan champion from Bose - moreover though they're a twelvemonth old

Most over-ear headphones haven't been formally tested for particulate aliases h2o ingress, and though they tin grip immoderate exposure, it's champion to support them arsenic protected arsenic possible. Keeping them successful their lawsuit protects them from dust, dirt, moisture, and scrapes, scratches, and bumps, promoting longevity.

3. Your headphones merit due charging hygiene

You whitethorn beryllium acquainted pinch artillery hygiene regarding your smartphone, and akin rules use to nan rechargeable artillery wrong your headphones. The biggest quality is that nan artillery wrong your headphones is overmuch smaller and weaker than your smartphone battery, and excessive artillery drain is communal successful older headphones.

Also: 3 charging mistakes that are sidesplitting your tablet - and nan elemental hole you need

Your headphones apt person a one-year manufacturer's warranty, and artillery issues thin to hap erstwhile it's expired. Replacing nan artillery yourself is possible, but it whitethorn require immoderate soldering. To sphere your headphones' battery, effort to support it betwixt 10% and 80% charged, and don't time off them plugged successful overnight. After 45 minutes to an hr connected nan charging cable, your headphones should beryllium bully to go.

4. Clean your headphones

Cleaning your headphones and earbuds is not only bully for your devices, but for your ears, too. In-ear earbuds tin accumulate earwax, and excessive wax connected nan speaker tin degrade audio value and effect receptor health.

Also: When was nan past clip you cleaned your headphones? Here's really and why you should

The pads of your over-ear headphones tin cod oils, sweat, hair, and skincare products, leaving residue and absorbing odors complete time. Keeping your earpads cleanable tin sphere their information and thief debar tegument irritation.

5. Updating firmware and package

Jada Jones/ZDNET

It's easy to disregard package and firmware update requests, but for illustration immoderate device, they tin importantly amended your headphones' performance. Headphone and earbud firmware updates tin heighten your devices' powerfulness on/off aliases hibernation performance, sound cancellation abilities, wireless relationship reliability, aliases artillery endurance.

Also: Here's really a free package upgrade made nan Sonos Ace worthy their value tag

Headphones and earbuds don't person package and firmware updates arsenic often arsenic tablets, smartphones, aliases laptops, but keeping your audio cogwheel up to day whitethorn amended your acquisition if it's retired of date.