The use of wireless headphones is very widespread, we have them at hand with all kinds of qualities and prices, the range of options is endless. The convenience of removing the cord is also the biggest headache. Let’s look at the most common problems with wireless headphones and their solutions .
The vast majority of wireless headphones connect via Bluetooth to the player device. This can be your smartphone, tablet, computer or Smart TV. The Bluetooth connection is composed of several factors that involve both devices (headphones and smartphone, for example) such as the different standards and codecs with which they are compatible, each with its peculiarities.
Connection issues
As we said before, the great advantage of working without cables is also the great problem. The connection between devices generates various problems that also have their own solution.
They do not pair
Most commonly, you cannot pair or link the wireless headphones with your smartphone, tablet, or computer. You go to the bluetooth connection settings on your mobile and you don’t see your headphones on the list. Pairing the headphones is a process that is done only the first time you are going to use them with a specific device.
For this it is important that you know how to activate the Pairing Mode in the headphones. They usually have a button with the “B” of the Bluetooth logo that you have to keep pressed until a blue light flashes, this means that Pairing Mode has been activated and the headphones should already appear in the list of available devices on your smartphone. . We can also find the problem in the smartphone or player device having the Bluetooth connection disabled.
It is important to know that if the headphones are plugged in, for safety, Pairing Mode will not be activated . Or they have enough battery to be paired, on certain occasions, with low battery they are able to turn on, but not to activate for Pairing Mode. More precisely, although most headphones are compatible with the most popular Bluetooth standards, we must make sure that both the headphones and the smartphone are compatible with the same Bluetooth standard and the same codecs .
Paired, but not connected
Once you have carried out the pairing process with the smartphone correctly, we can find problems for the connection in subsequent uses. For this type of case we have to look at the physical environment that surrounds the headphones and the device. The first thing is to look at the distance that separates the two, generally, the Bluetooth connection works correctly within a radius of 10 meters maximum .
Another important aspect is knowing the number of devices that can be connected simultaneously to your headphones. If the limit is 1, it is likely that they are already connected to another device and that is why you do not see them from your mobile. Disabling them from the other linked devices would be your solution in this case.
In the case of connection problems in headphones with NFC function , which allows you to connect only by bringing the headphones closer to the device, the problem is usually that the one-touch connection function is disabled on the device.
They disconnect continuously
The main cause of disconnections from wireless headphones is interference and distance (10 meters maximum) or physical elements that come between the devices (walls, houses …). Some of these causes are all those cases or covers that we use for our smartphones, this can easily generate interference. Another element incompatible with the bluetooth connection is having one of the devices near the router , the Wi-Fi signal they emit is the cause of interference with the Bluetooth connection, or the microwave for the same reason.
Listening problems
Once the “gulp” of pairing wireless headphones and having them activated, we can face problems with the audio .
Only one earphone can be heard
This is usually one of the usual symptoms when the energy battery is running out headphones, they begin to fail on a headset to finish shutting down of the whole. The obvious solution is to charge the headphones. Another interesting check if the problem is not in the battery is to check the sound balance settings on the device, willingly or not, we may have configured it so that it can only be heard through one of the headphones.
Another cause that can cause an error in the headphones is when one of the headphones is the one that is exclusively connected to the smartphone, forwarding the signal by cable or wirelessly to the other headset. The solution to this problem would be to unpair the headphones, restart them and start the pairing process again.
Distorted audio
As often happens in these cases, when a mobile device begins to fail, the first thing we have to do is check the battery level . In some models we can do it directly on the smartphone screen , in others we will have to check if an LED , usually red, lights up to indicate that the battery is about to run out. A low battery can cause any kind of service error, only heard through one earphone, distorted audio being received, etc.
By not blaming the headphones directly, it is true that distorted audio can be due to excessively high volume , do the test by turning it down to see if the audio distortion is eliminated. The low quality of the broadcast itself can cause the audio to be distorted when we turn up the volume. Another factor to consider is that it may be normal to hear distorted or poor quality sound in the first few seconds of the connection until the connection is completed properly.
Battery problems
Traditional headphones, those that were connected through the 3.5 mm Jack plug. They receive the energy you need through this connection, so they do not incorporate internal batteries. Wireless headphones, on the other hand, need an internal battery to work and, as you can imagine, it is a source of problems.
Runs out too fast
The first thing to keep in mind are the common factors that affect batteries in general. On the one hand, be aware of the lifespan of a battery. This is shortened depending on how we use the headphones, since the useful life of all batteries is limited. If we have been using the same headphones for 5 years, daily, that its battery drains quickly is completely normal.
The solution would be to go to the manufacturer and request the replacement of the batteries or, directly, buy new ones if this is within our possibilities. Next, we must inform ourselves of the autonomy that the headphones have, the batteries they incorporate are small and we cannot pretend to make continuous use without having to recharge. An autonomy of up to 12 hours, for example, can be considered optimal. Another option, to “ stretch ” the autonomy is to configure the player device so that it does not play sounds in notifications, keyboard clicks, music in games, etc.
No load
This failure is quite descriptive and does not speak well of the battery status of the headphones or the headphones themselves. The first thing we must do is rule out that the problem is in the plug or charger used, we will do that by testing the charger in another plug or charger. As absurd as it may seem, we also have to check that the battery is already 100% charged .
Once we make sure that there are no problems unrelated to the headphones, the best solution is to approach the nearest technical service so that they can access the batteries and their connectors and check where the problem may be.
General Bluetooth problems
If after reading all the solutions given above you still have pairing or listening problems, it is interesting that you try to pair the headphones with another device and use them. It is about ruling out problems in the device you use as a player. If they work properly we will know that the problem was with the device itself (smartphone, etc.). Another way to check if the problem is caused by the player device is to connect other headphones, even with a cable, to see if they are working properly.
For this type of generic problems in which we do not detect the cause, it is good to try generic solutions. Like, for example, updating the operating system of the device and the drivers of the computer. This way we can solve some problems generated by conflicts between hardware and software. For the most animated, or the most desperate with the subject, it may be interesting to restore the factory settings and data , although it is essential to analyze the consequences that this may have, loss of information, etc.
