[LinXitoW]

Have batteries actually ever FAILED in wireless headphones? Sure, they degrade and charge becomes lower, but I've never had them outright fail. A headphone that lasts my 2-3 hours of commute/daily use is completely useable, even if it's original charge lasted 5 hours.

Cables do fail though, completely. They become unusable.

In my entire life time of using headphones/earbuds since school with the PSP, ALL wired options have failed after 1-2 years for purely mechanical cable reasons. Not a single wireless failed for electronic reasons. The did fail for me dropping them and stepping on them reasons, though.

[mtlmtlmtlmtl]

My sennheiser earbuds are now down to 15 minutes of battery life. Less if it's a cold day. Sure, they're not completely dead yet, but they're effectively useless. And it's not like I can easily replace the batteries. Most wired earbuds or headphones at a similar price point have replaceable cables.

[vladvasiliu]

Shure sells wireless earbuds where the BT / battery sits outside the earbud itself and can be user-replaced. You can even attach them to good ol' 3.5 mm cables! And, since the connector on the earbud is standard, you can actually attach either other-brand earbuds or other-brand BT adapters. Other brands probably have something similar.

I have a pair or Shure IEMs I bought as wired over a decade ago. I've converted them to a lighting cable when I bought my iphone 7, then switched to BT when that cable failed.

Sure, the IEMs are bigger than airpods or similar models, but I find it's a good compromise. I wouldn't go back to wired headphones while at work, and certainly not while on the go.

[2000UltraDeluxe]

Batteries fail completely too, on occasion especially with cheaper brands or 5+ year-old headphones.

[analog31]

My daughter had to replace the LiPo battery in her headphones twice after they would not charge at all.

[monkey26]

A couple months ago, the battery in my Sony wh1000xm3’s failed to hold any charge at all. Was an easy replacement tho and they’re as good as new.

[vladvasiliu]

I also have that model, and even though the battery still seems to last for ages, I was wondering if it was replaceable.

Does Sony sell a replacement, or do you have to go through a 3rd party? Is everything held in place with screws, or do you need to mess around with glue and whatnot?