How Long Should Earbuds Last

I love my wireless earbuds. Putting them on is akin to slipping into my favorite sweatpants—I instantly experience comforted and insulated from the outside world. My headphones provide me with motivation when I'grand working out, help me focus at work, give me information when I'1000 commuting, and assistance me relax before bed. But as much every bit I love them, something has been gnawing at my censor lately: Is in that location a subconscious dark side to my favorite earbuds?

In the tertiary quarter of 2019 alone, 33 million true wireless earbuds, the style with no connecting cable between the earbuds (call back AirPods), were sold. And that sales number is expected to grow. According to a written report by Futuresource Consulting, true wireless earbuds are expected to account for ii-thirds of the earbuds marketplace by 2023.

It's no surprise: Advances in technology take made true wireless earbuds smaller, lighter, and more than affordable. For well-nigh people, the first fourth dimension y'all endeavour them, you lot instantly beloved how freeing they feel. But here's the awful truth: In a few years, nearly every one of those millions of pairs of earbuds volition exist in a landfill.

The hard truth well-nigh rechargeable batteries

Even if your Bluetooth earbuds don't physically suspension, their batteries will eventually lose their ability to charge. This isn't due to an evil corporate plot. All rechargeable batteries somewhen die. It'south just physics. Batteries lose capacity over time due to a layer of crystalline buildup that slowly coats the battery'due south inside walls. This aging process increases electrical resistance and results in a gradual reduction in the amount of juice the batteries take available every time y'all fully charge them. Wirecutter senior editor and powering expert Marker Smirniotis wrote an explanation of this phenomenon, and the curt version is this: Every time you recharge your earbuds, they get a fiddling less listening time. At first, the consequence is barely noticeable. But over a few years, you may discover that your wireless earbuds, which played music for five hours per accuse when you first got them, at present provide you with only an hour of play fourth dimension. Somewhen they simply won't hold a charge at all, and in near cases you lot tin't merely bandy out the battery—it'due south glued in, and getting to it effectively destroys whatever parts you might promise to salvage.

The reason earbud companies use non-replaceable rechargeable batteries is simple: It makes the earbuds smaller. Earbud buyers generally adopt more than compact devices, but that means the earbuds accept less room inside for all the necessary components. Designers need to cram a Bluetooth chip and processor, an antenna, a battery, drivers, controls, and microphones into something that's often the size of a thimble. Replaceable battery compartments require more than earbud real estate, and in a competitive field where tiny is currently king, companies don't want to risk their earbuds existence flops by making them bigger.

Several pairs of wireless bluetooth earbuds. — The pocket-size size of true wireless earbuds may exist great for comfort and convenience, but it doesn't leave much room for a battery—and the smaller the bombardment, the shorter its lifespan. Photo: Rozette Rago

How long should you await your earbuds' batteries to terminal? Information technology depends. As Mark explained to us, a lot of factors tin affect bombardment life—including how frequently you use your earbuds, how frequently you charge them and leave them plugged in, how oft you expose them to farthermost temperatures, and how ofttimes yous have calls or use active noise cancellation (both of which draw a high corporeality of power). So the same pair of headphones that craps out on ane person later on two years might concluding another person closer to four years. Simply it'due south only a thing of fourth dimension earlier the technology grim reaper comes calling.

This information may come as a shock to folks who are accustomed to the lifespan of wired headphones. I've known people who have owned traditional wired headphones for a decade or more, provided they did some balmy maintenance now and again. When y'all realize that the $200 earbuds you love may concluding you lot only three years with daily use, it can experience similar a punch to the gut. Then again, with the progression of engineering science, many people have grown accustomed to the obsolescence of their gear. They accept that phones and laptops aren't lifelong purchases. For headphone lovers like me, the value per year of regular utilise may seem worth the purchase toll.

Just what's eating at me is the ecology impact. Very frequently, people just drib broken earbuds into the trash (which yous shouldn't do, as it could lead to a literal trash burn). And even those who endeavor to recycle properly may observe that the organisation they trust to reduce and reuse is securely flawed. A 2017 United Nations Global E-waste matter Monitor study (PDF) stated that, of the globe'due south nearly 45 one thousand thousand metric tons of due east-waste, only twenty pct was recycled through proper channels. Many "recyclers" ship the due east-waste product away, where much of it isn't truly recycled. A modest amount of usable parts might exist repurposed, and valuable minerals are extracted, just this procedure has negative environmental impacts of its own. The prevailing methods can lead to unsafe conditions for workers and the surrounding areas. For example, the process for recovering gold (which is ordinarily used in electronics due to its conductive abilities) involves "bathing circuit boards in nitric and hydrochloric acid, thus poisoning waterways and communities." Any is not deemed useful is dumped in the ground.

Much of the global recycling procedure is driven past turn a profit, then the viability of recycling a given detail is based on the value of the raw materials that can be extracted—but margins are slim. Since earbuds are so minor, the value of extracted materials may be simply a fraction of a cent, which may not even cover the labor-intensive price of the recycling process. As a issue, many recycling companies don't bother recycling earbuds, so they terminate up in the landfill anyhow.

What you can do

Equally a reusable-purse-toting, organic-produce-buying vegan with a kid, I struggle with this information. I love using wireless earbuds, and I recommend them to people every day. But I besides desire to exist a responsible global citizen. Thankfully, at that place are some things that everyone tin can do to extend the life and value of their wireless-headphone purchases.

Outset, you lot can maximize the lifespan of the earbuds you already own. To do that, you should practice good battery-health habits. Keep your electronics at room temperature as often equally possible—never go out your headphones in a hot or common cold car, vesture them in a sauna, or store them outdoors. (Chances are, if you're uncomfortable with the temperature, so are your earbuds.) Turn your headphones off when you lot aren't using them. Don't go out your earbuds or charging case plugged in indefinitely. In one case they're fully charged, unplug the cable. And if you are going to fix aside your headphones for a week or more, check to see if the manual has any specific storage instructions. Co-ordinate to Mark, the sweet spot for storing lithium batteries is often in the eye, charged between 30 and lxx percent.

Second, when shopping for Bluetooth headphones, consider models that yous tin also utilise with a cord. For now, that may mean choosing something other than true wireless earbuds. Wireless headphones and earbuds with an optional cord still can function passively after the batteries die, as long as your mobile device has a headphone jack (or y'all have an adapter cable). Fifty-fifty if they stop to be your daily go-to headphones, they aren't garbage. I like to keep a pair like this for utilize in a compression when I forget to charge my favorite earbuds. You tin also store them in your desk, use them for travel (so you won't stress equally much about loss or theft), or go along them as a handy loaner pair for friends and family. Alternatively, you could buy a wired-only pair as a backup, knowing that they'll likely outlast current Bluetooth options past years.

If your middle is set on truthful wireless earbuds, consider the initial battery capacity when you make your purchase. That is, note how long the earbuds hold a charge. The newest Bluetooth chipsets describe less power from the battery, which means longer listening times per charge, and the recently announced Bluetooth LE Audio spec should improve things fifty-fifty further. Increasing bombardment capacity could, in theory, lengthen the headphones' lifespan because you charge them less oftentimes. Then if you're able to delay purchasing a new pair of earbuds, you lot may be rewarded with a purchase that lasts longer. However, every bit we mentioned before, this requires following expert charging practices.

What manufacturers can do

According to Kyle Wiens, CEO of iFixit, incorporating replaceable batteries into truthful wireless earbuds is absolutely achievable—if the manufacturers go on board. While some true wireless earbuds, such as Apple's AirPods and AirPods Pro, are unrepairable once the battery dies, others, such as Samsung'southward Galaxy Buds and Jabra'southward Aristocracy 75t, would need only modest alterations in design to brand them fixable. Taylor Dixon of iFixit took apart several Bluetooth earbuds and found that often the only hurdle preventing bombardment replacement would be a change in glue or using bombardment clips rather than relying on solder.

Several partially disassembled wireless earbuds. — iFixit has taken apart many wireless earbuds to notice out which batteries could become replaceable with a few design modifications. Often the but hurdle preventing battery replacement is a change in glue or the utilise of battery clips instead of solder. Photo: iFixit

Ideally, headphone manufacturers could tweak their designs, plant battery-swap services, create authorized repair centers, and even offering branded repair kits for the ambitious DIYer. Then, as the technology becomes obsolete, they could reduce their ecological footprint and advantage brand loyalty by providing free recycling programs and discounts on new earbuds with the recycling of an old prepare, similar to what JLab does. (Apple tree and Bose offer recycling, but not a trade-in incentive.)

But for these advancements to occur, the folks ownership the earbuds need to ask for them. Legislation in Massachusetts, though focused on cars, is intended to compel companies to make electronics more than repairable by requiring replacement parts to be available for sale and manuals to be accessible for free online. However, a right-to-repair law tin exist difficult to implement and slow-moving in effecting alter, specially when compared with consumer-need-driven movements. The problem is, shoppers tin can't speak with their wallets and buy earbuds with replaceable batteries until companies start producing them and supporting the repair process.

Despite the current situation, progress is possible. One startup, The Swap Guild, is a business based on refurbishing the millions of AirPods that need new batteries. Wirecutter's Jon Chase wrote about his experience exchanging his first-generation AirPods for some other pair with a new battery. (The visitor currently only can but replace commencement- and second-generation AirPods.) While this is only one model of one brand of earbud, it'southward a proof of concept that could brand a significant affect in the lifespan of battery-powered earbuds, should more than companies or brands adopt a like methodology.

Wireless earbuds aren't going away, but they must get more sustainable. Perhaps with some encouragement from everyone, brands volition brainstorm to make changes that can make a real difference.