Why do Samsung earphones consistently break?

Perry Kitchen

New member
Apr 16, 2015
2
0
0
Visit site
Alright, so I've owned the Samsung Galaxy S3, S4, and now have the S5. My first pair of earphones from the S3 were rendered useless when the left earbud just stopped working or the sound was so low that I couldn't hear anything from it. I got the S4, and it happened again after about 3 months with the new ones. A friend of mine had a brand new extra pair and gave them to me. Well, it happened again after a couple of months. Eventually I got the Galaxy S5, and after a few months the SAME thing happened. The left or right (I can't remember which side) earbud stopped working. I got brand new Samsung headphones once again, and yesterday it happened YET again. I've now gone through 5 pairs of headphones from Samsung. All have failed.

I don't think I'm doing anything wrong, nothing out of the ordinary. I don't listen to a lot of music with them, and mainly use them to for phone conversations. No heavy use or misuse. I've tried other earbuds with the phones for a certain amount of time as well, and they haven't broken. And no, it's not just the phone where they don't work. When they stop working properly, it doesn't matter what I plug them into.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem? Are Samsung's earphones that come with their phones really just that crap or is this just happening to me?
 

Rukbat

Retired Moderator
Feb 12, 2012
44,529
26
0
Visit site
You're talking about a headphone that wholesales for under a dollar - what do you expect? (Of course, that's where dealers make money - cheap headphones and cheap cases - the markup is over 1,000%.)

Give up on Samsung and spend a few dollars more for a headset that will outlast the phone.
 

Perry Kitchen

New member
Apr 16, 2015
2
0
0
Visit site
Yeah, I suppose you're right but for an accessory that comes in the box with something that costs well over $500 you'd expect a bit more quality. Just a bit more. It's actually shocking how bad they really are. When the time comes for me to upgrade to the S6, I'm just going to throw the headphones it comes with in the trash.
 

Wayne Sanders

Well-known member
Aug 8, 2014
219
0
0
Visit site
I got 10-11 months out of the headphones that came with my s3, only used the ones that came with this note3 a few weeks, let the wife use them, and they were broken in no time.
 

Dark Penguin

Well-known member
Aug 21, 2011
414
2
18
Visit site
I'm surprised Wayne got 10 months out of the headphones that came with his S3, because right from the get-go, with just about any Android phone and the straight-in tip on the headset cord, you are stressing the plug end every time you use them. Add to that the odd snagging on a passing doorknob or other waist-high obstacles, or being yanked roughly out of the phone when you kneel to tie a shoe and then rise without first making sure the cord isn't looping under your knee, it's a wonder they last as long as they do. It's as if nobody ever stopped to think of the physical stress these headsets endure just from ordinary use. And this applies to nearly all headphones and nearly all phones.

I've usually found headset failure to result from the following proximate causes:

  1. Cats
  2. Breakage of conduit near inline control housing (e.g. mic, pause, volume)
  3. Breakage of conduit at the plug end.

I've manged to find a solution for #3 by getting two right-angle adapters which--wait for it--don't disable the inline control. They can be hard to find, but I managed to buy them from Amazon, here.

#2 continues to be an issue, because when you're done listening and coil up the headset cord as you put it away, it's all too easy to put strain on the section where the cord comes out of the control housing. In fact, it's hard not to do that if you don't pay attention. A solution for some folks might be to use only headsets that don't have controls; I can't do that myself as I've become addicted to the ability to pause and control volume without having to look at the screen.

Really, I should just get Bluetooth headphones, finally!
 

Wayne Sanders

Well-known member
Aug 8, 2014
219
0
0
Visit site
I had these, 15 bucks at big lots. They actually sound pretty good, battery life is amazing, works for phone calls, and turn by turn GPS.

6d18fea588807e1dabaa9d2ede04cf6c.jpg
 

Dark Penguin

Well-known member
Aug 21, 2011
414
2
18
Visit site
I had these, 15 bucks at big lots. They actually sound pretty good, battery life is amazing, works for phone calls,

I do a lot of my listening in bed before I fall asleep at night. Do you know if these headphones are comfortable when lying on your side with your face against the pillow? And if so, do they hold up over time?

and turn by turn GPS.
You're a lucky man if your local laws permit you to drive while wearing this over both ears. In California we have to keep one ear free while driving, which really and truly sucks after the car stereo dies. IMHO it's a stupid law that doesn't really make anyone safer, because listening to your phone with earbuds is hardly different from listening to the car radio.

 

jason hendry1

New member
Mar 17, 2016
4
0
0
Visit site
You're talking about a headphone that wholesales for under a dollar - what do you expect? (Of course, that's where dealers make money - cheap headphones and cheap cases - the markup is over 1,000%.)

Give up on Samsung and spend a few dollars more for a headset that will outlast the phone.

I expect a s7 edge phone that cost close to 600 ponds or expensive on a contract to have headphones at least that don't keep breaking. Look at all my iphones, I still have their headphones, look at my ps4, the chepo headset works that comes with it and that's after 2 years. Also I expect Samsung headphones that come with a s7 edge to work as a hold press for google now, without a third party app, I also expect them to go back a track with a triple click. Put this together you get one of the most expensive handsets the s7 edge with the worst ever earphone experience I have ever had. On a plus note Vodaphone understand my frustration and are forking out for some sennhieser 430s at no extra cost to me lol. I hope that bill goes to Samsung. I wont be buying the s8 edge until I know the headphones are decent cause at 500-600 pounds uk they should be one of the best set of free headphones going and that's for both quality and functionality.
 

fincx

Member
Mar 20, 2017
14
0
0
Visit site
I have changed my earphone for over one year, I agree with Rukbat, you can't expect for a one dollar earphone to work great.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
942,111
Messages
6,912,515
Members
3,158,232
Latest member
andrewsmith