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I work remotely year-round, so headphones are an essential part of my work-from-home setup. Currently, I use the Anker Soundcore Q20+ that I bought in 2021, and the pair is still going strong despite a few dents here and there. Sure, the battery life isn’t as great as it used to be when I first unboxed them, but I’ve managed to keep them going for about five years without any serious issue (and I’m confident they’ll last a few more).
There’s a reason they’ve held up this long. You could say it’s luck, but it isn’t. Or the build quality is impeccable, but, well, these aren’t high-end models (I prefer consumer headphones over high-end ones). The trick to making your headphones last longer is how you treat them.
How headphones fail so quickly
The common way to kill your headphones fast
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Regardless of how much you bought your headphones, they’re bound to fail sooner rather than later if you don’t take good care of them. If you drop your pair now and then, for example, you’re certainly setting them up for failure. That could cause the hinges to crack, headbands to break, and even internal components to shift or break, impacting sound quality.
Physical damage is a major factor that can not only affect sound quality but also cause one speaker to sound muffled or fail completely. One drop may not be enough to damage your headphones, but a hard impact or repeated soft impacts could.
It happened to me before with my last pair of headphones — they dropped a few times, and before long, their physical structure was damaged. It didn’t make sense to keep them, so I got rid of them safely. That’s what made me upgrade to my current Anker Soundcore Q20+. If I were the DIY type, I bet I could’ve found a way to repair my headphones instead of sending them to the landfill.
The secret to making headphones last
How I extend my headphones' lifespan
As said, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that the longevity of your headphones has less to do with brand names or price tags and more to do with how you treat them. Even if you buy high-end models from the most reputable headphone brands, they’ll eventually give up if you’re careless.
If you upgrade your headphones yearly (or even every two years) or have several pairs you switch between daily, you likely don’t think about longevity. After all, you’re always a few months away from an upgrade, or you can pick up another pair from your rotation. But if you’re like me and aim to make your headphones last longer, you should adopt a few simple habits that, when done consistently, make a world of difference.
1. Handling headphones like fragile gear
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Although I have dropped my headphones a few times (and maybe a little more than I’d like to admit), I’m always intentional about how I handle them. My rule of thumb is they’re fragile gear, not throwaway accessories. It doesn’t matter what the company’s marketing department says about how sturdy or durable this pair is — I’m not buying it. That’s the same mantra I use for all my electronic gadgets, not just my headphones, and clearly it hasn’t failed me, at least not yet.
To me, that means no tossing them into a backpack without a protective case, no yanking the cable to unplug them (I grasp close to the connector when unplugging), handling them gently when putting them on or taking them off, and wrapping cables loosely in broad loops instead of tight coils (no tangling up wires). However, it’s worth noting that the Q20+ doesn’t come with a protective case. I’m lucky to have a protective case from my previous headphones that I use when packing them in a backpack.
If your headphones didn’t come with a case either, you can pick up a unit on Amazon like the Ginsco Universal Headphone Case or ProCase’s Hard Headphone Case. Just make sure that your specific headphone can comfortably fit in the case before hitting the buy button.
2. Cleaning your headphones regularly
Credit: Alvin Wanjala / MakeUseOf
Cleaning is just as important when it comes to extending the lifespan of your headphones. This is especially true if you live an active lifestyle and use your headphones while exercising like I do. Regardless, using your headphones will lead to the accumulation of sweat, oils, and dirt. I follow a strict routine of cleaning my headphones every week because, among other benefits, it helps in slowing down material breakdown, such as foam degradation or leather cracking.
I have a simple cleaning routine for my headphones: I dampen a cloth with fresh water mixed with a little soap, then use it to wipe both the ear pads and the headband. I do it carefully to avoid soaking, as you would when cleaning your earbuds.
While the top protective film has worn off the ear pads, they’ve still held strong, and I haven’t seen the need to replace them yet. If yours are completely worn out, you can check online for replacements. On Amazon, you can search for «ear pad replacement» and append your headphone brand. You’ll probably find a perfect fit for your model.
3. Avoid playing music at maximum volume
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Blasting your favorite music at full volume feels good from time to time, and I’m guilty of doing this as well. But it’s neither good for your ears nor for headphones. Although your headphones can play sound up to a given maximum volume, they aren’t designed to sustain listening at those levels for long.
Every time you play music at very high volume, it pushes your headphone drivers beyond their operating range, which leads to strain. As a result, doing so for an extended period will shorten the lifespan of internal components such as drivers, which can eventually impact sound quality and make you upgrade sooner than you should.
It’s even worse with wireless headphones, since playing at maximum volume drains the battery faster. As a result, you’ll need to charge your headphones often, which can quickly degrade the battery’s health.
3. Listening over the wire as much as I can
My Anker headphones have two connection options. For this model, I can connect via the available 3.5mm jack or use Bluetooth. Personally, having multiple connection options is one feature I don't compromise on when buying a new pair of headphones. As said, batteries degrade as you use them. So I avoid using Bluetooth as much as possible.
When working from home, for example, I don’t need to use the pair wirelessly. My laptop has a headphone jack, hence I plug in a cable and fire up my Spotify background music playlists when working. It’s only in situations where I need Bluetooth’s convenience that I power them up and listen wirelessly, such as when working out at the gym.
Of course, not all headphones give you two connection options, so you might not be able to do this. However, if your headphones have a single USB-C port, check the user manual to see whether it supports USB-C audio. If they do, you can listen over the wire using compatible cables.
You don't need to upgrade your headphones often
Your headphones can last if you take good care of them, and my nearly five-year-old Anker Soundcore Q20+ are proof of that. They’re budget consumer headphones, which is extra proof that you can make any model last if you take good care of it. Like smartphones, you don’t need to upgrade your headphones every year or every other year.
