
Ask HN: Am I the only one who keeps returning Apple's EarPods? - hvass
Hey guys,<p>Sorry for the silly question but I go to Apple every two months on average (November--January--yesterday) to replace my EarPods.<p>Every time it&#x27;s the same issue: the remote starts accidentally pausing&#x2F;playing music or activating Siri. The culprit ends up being the connection near the jack but every time I am assured by Apple employees that nobody ever goes back to them this often to replace their headphones.<p>I don&#x27;t know if they assume I am running a scam or something but am I really the only one who has such a poor experience with the EarPods?<p>I&#x27;d be happy to upgrade to something more sturdier if my experience is unique but I am curious if it actually is...
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shepardrtc
I've had the same pair for almost two years now and I use them almost every
day. I carry them around in my pocket and throw them wherever. I've never had
a problem. But I'm also extra careful about not crushing them or really
tangling up the wires. Before I put them away, I full extend them out and then
fold them up in halves until they get to the size I need to store them.
They've kept up very well this way.

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hvass
Thank you--that's helpful!

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valuearb
I've never had a problem. Probably you have some special use case that puts
extra strain on the weakest link in the cord. Don't worry about it, you are
the person warranty replacement is meant to protect.

Occams Razor tells me the Ear Pods are well made, given that Apple replaces
them for free during the warranty period, and if you are nice to Apple Store
personnel sometimes even out of warranty.

I have lots of criticisms of Apple, esp. the long delays in refreshing the Mac
lineup. But of all their flaws, not knowing their costs ain't one of them
(esp. with Tim Cook in charge), and so is not fixing them when it becomes a
problem.

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hvass
Thank you!

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mercer
I have the same issue; bought about three EarPods over the past three years!

Now, first of all, I'm not sure if I'd have been better off with other
options. Most of my friends with EarPods seem to be fine with theirs, so
there's something 'off' about how I use them. On the other hand, multiple
friends have had to buy new MagSafe adapters while I've never had to, so it's
not just that I'm rough with all my stuff.

Secondly, I went ahead and bought AirPods despite the fact that for me it's a
huge price to pay for audio thingies. In hindsight, they're the best piece of
technology I bought since my iPad 2. The main downside is not having the
forward/backward buttons, but for me the advantages _vastly_ outweigh the
disadvantages.

Third, if you're like me there's a decent change wireless might solve your
problem. I have no clue if the AirPods are actually worth the price, but I've
heard very good things about the Anker Sports thingies, which are also
bluetooth. Might want to give those a try!

By all means email me if you have any AirPod-specific questions. For what they
cost me I did a ridiculous amount of research before buying them (although I
do that kind of stuff for fun, so maybe the price didn't play much of a role).

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ciaranm
I've had every pair of EarPods I've ever used break in some form. Either
issues with the remote, or the non-dominant ear losing sound (% of volume, or
entirely). This has probably happened to 5+ pairs I've had from various Apple
devices.

I just use them until they break, then use something else.

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tarboreus
I have the same issue in the same timeline. Sometimes the sound goes out on
one side before the controller stops working. I tend to plug and unplug the
headphones frequently which I think is the culprit.

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romanovcode
So you have the same issue with a product over and over again and you still
stick to it? Gosh, the dedication to a brand in some people..

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hvass
Good point but I do get them replaced for free since my iPhone is still in
warranty. If I have to pay again, I will probably change.

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MrFoof
~10 years, every 3 to 6 months. Longest is 9 months. Shortest is 3 weeks.

The cable starts to fail underneath the strain relief boot. It unwinds,
individual strands of copper start to break, and it shorts out. The play/pause
(or ending a call) is the cable shorting causing the phone to interpret that
command.

It happens most to people who walk with a device in their front pocket while
listening to music. This accelerates the rate of failure of the cable
underneath the strain relief boot.

I even brought it up at WWDC. Twice. Still the same boot after a decade. My
AirPods show up in 4-5 weeks.

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hvass
Yep! Music in the front pocket. Nailed it.

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zer00eyz
Honestly, buy a set of NICE headphones or earbuds where the cable is
replaceable rather than integrated.

Your going to get better sound quality, a better cable and be happier with the
product in the long run.

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hvass
Interesting. I didn't know this was a thing. Thanks!

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inieves
I dont have to return mine but I have to buy new ones very often. My rabbit
(Boots) finds them tasty and ruins them with only a single nibble. This alone
makes me consider getting the AirPods, but reviews seem to state that the
audio quality is not much improved, so i'll wait.

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ConnorLeet
If a product breaks once, it could be the product, if it breaks multiple times
- you might want to rule out something you are doing that could be breaking
it.

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0942v8653
I think I'm starting to see the same problem with a pair of mine. Once I
started keeping track it hasn't happened again though…

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sixQuarks
I used to have the same problem, I would wrap mine around the phone all the
time. Get AirPods, you'll never go back.

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captaineo
Never had an issue, but the AirPods are an awesome upgrade. You might want to
try them out.

