How To Fix Right Headset Sound Problems

When your headset is playing simply in i ear, dominion out possible device setting issues and then follow these quick fixes to get your earphones working again.

Having headsets playing only in one ear tin can be frustrating, specially if listening to music or watching videos is part of your daily routine.

Plus, if y'all've relied on your earphones and your favorite songs to block off noise equally you work, then this issue is bound to hurt your productivity too.

Below are several tips and quick fixes you can do if only ane of your earbuds is working. With these tips, you lot can have a working pair of headphones in merely a few minutes. Let's dive in!

Headphones Merely Work in I Ear: Ruling Out Phone or PC Bug

When audio problems crop up, such as static noises or hearing sound in only one ear, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to presume your headphones are broken. As such, information technology'due south only natural to start considering getting them replaced.

About of the time, however, incorrect sound settings or a temporary (and hands fixable) device malfunction are at the root of these bug.

So, before discarding your headphones or attempting to repair them yourself, try determining the bodily source of the issue showtime.

Here are some methods that'll assist y'all figure out if your telephone, laptop, or PC is at the root of your sound issues:

Attempt another pair of headphones
Restart the device
Check the settings
Update the software and drivers
Clean the headphone jack

Try another pair of headphones

The quickest mode to find out what'due south causing your audio bug is past getting a pair of perfectly working headphones or earbuds and connecting them to your device.

If they're working every bit they should, you'll know that the trouble truly lies with your headphones. In this instance, but follow the tips below for fixing wired and Bluetooth headphones.

Withal, if the functioning headset also starts playing merely in 1 ear, you may need to remedy them using one of the solutions in the following sections.

Restart the device

Another simple fix y'all may want to effort is restarting your device.

A constant sleep-wake bike swamps your phone or calculator's RAM with unnecessary logs, cache files, and background processes. This eventually causes a memory leak, leading to errors and system slowdowns.

Shutting downwardly isn't plenty if you want to reboot a sluggish device. Doing so doesn't really kill any processes but instead places them in hibernation way.

Restarting your device shuts down all running programs and deletes all caches, finer refreshing your device. This could be peculiarly helpful if your audio issue occurred afterward a software update, since certain components are removed or replaced during this process.

Once you've done this, cheque if you can hear from both headphone speakers. If your headphones are still playing in simply i ear, check your device's audio settings by following the steps in the adjacent department.

Check the settings

Having sound in only 1 headphone or earbud speaker could outcome from incorrect audio settings. Hither's what you can do to address that:

Arrange the sound residue

Windows' sound residual office lets y'all conform the left and correct sound output then that both signals are equally loud and articulate. Sound becomes unbalanced when, for instance, the audio signals are directed more towards i speaker than the other. When this happens, you'll have noticeably softer or no sound at all in ane speaker.

To remedy this, ensure both channels are equal by adjusting the sound balance. Hither's how to practise that on Windows:

Become to Settings.

'Settings' highlighted in Windows.
Select Audio.

'Sound' highlighted in Windows Settings.
Nether Advanced, click on More sound settings.

'More sound settings' highlighted in Windows Sound settings.
In the Playback tab, double-click on your audio output device.

Sound output device highlighted.
In the Levels tab, select Balance.

'Balance' highlighted in Speaker Backdrop.
Accommodate the sliders for left and right audio until they're identical, and then click OK.

Make sure both remainder sliders are equal.

Disable Sound Enhancements

When yous have Windows' audio enhancements feature enabled, your sound undergoes additional processing to meliorate its quality further. These enhancements (or audio processing objects, as they're chosen) include bass boost, surround sound, loudness equalization, room correction, etc.

As great every bit that sounds, these extra enhancements tin bear upon playback on your headphones due to how they manipulate the different audio frequencies, sometimes causing no sound output on one side.

To fix this, simply disable the sound enhancements with these steps:

Go to Settings.

'Settings' highlighted in Windows PC.
Select Sound.

'Sound' highlighted in Windows Settings.
Under Avant-garde, click on More sound settings.

'More audio settings' highlighted in Windows Sound settings.
In the Playback tab, double-click on your audio output device.

Audio output device highlighted.
In the Advanced tab, uncheck Enable audio enhancements, then click Utilise and OK.

'Enable sound enhancements' highlighted.

Update the software and drivers

Outdated software and drivers can cause errors in how your organisation'due south sound card functions. This can lead to various sound bug, from your headphones non being detected by your computer to hearing audio in just ane ear. To avoid this, ensure your Windows OS and sound drivers are updated.

Here's how to update your Windows OS:

Become to Settings.

'Settings' highlighted on Windows.
Click Windows Update.

'Windows Update' highlighted in Settings.
Select Check for Updates.

'Cheque for updates' highlighted under Windows Update.
Once the updates are downloaded, you can proceed to install them.

To cheque and update your audio drivers, follow these steps:

Right-click on the Start menu icon in the taskbar and select Device Manager.

Start menu icon and 'Device Managing director' highlighted.
Double-click Audio, video, and game controllers from the list.

'Audio, video and game controllers' highlighted nether Device Manager.
Right-click your audio output device and select Update commuter.

'Update commuter' highlighted in Device Manager.

Clean the headphone jack

People bring their phones everywhere–from their bedrooms to the rugged outdoors. Eventually, lint and dirt get trapped in the headphone jack. This loosens the connexion between the plug and jack, thus affecting audio output.

That said, if your headphones play in only 1 ear when plugged into your device, but play the usual manner when connected to other gadgets, consider cleaning your device'due south headphone jack.

One style to practise this is by using the pointed tip of a castor toothpick (a.k.a. Interdental brush) to loosen any dirt, so using the brush side to scoop it out.

Interdental brush inside phone jack — Interdental brush within phone jack

What to Do When Wired Headphones Merely Piece of work in One Ear

Headphone wires are notoriously frail due to their thinness. As such, it's one of the near mutual reasons we observe ourselves with one headphone that's stopped working. This is even more true for those who take a habit of wadding up their headphones' wire at the stop of a listening session.

If you doubtable a wiring issue is causing your headphones' audio problems, here are three means to diagnose the exact problem and how to solve them.

Go on in listen that DIY-ing headphone wires can be a complex procedure for the inexperienced. Doing unauthorized repairs tin also consequence in voiding its warranty. So, if your headset starts playing but in one ear within the warranty catamenia, it's best to take it serviced by the manufacturer.

Diagnosis: Damaged or disconnected wire near the plug
Diagnosis: Shorted wire
Diagnosis: Faulty wiring inside the lacking earbud

Diagnosis: Damaged or disconnected wire nigh the plug

When hurrying, some people yank out their headphones by tugging the cord instead of the plug's plastic base.

Repeatedly tugging on your headphones' cord strains the weak spot where the plug meets the string. Over time, this action wears down on the protective safe casing, exposing the wires to harm and making them prone to shorting. Sometimes, doing this with enough force can even result in a bent headphone plug.

Headphone "plugs" and "jacks" are ii terms ofttimes mistakenly interchanged. Think that the "plug" is the role at the cease of your headphones' wire that you plug into a socket. On the other hand, the "jack" is the socket into which you plug your headphones.

So, if you're simply getting sound in one ear and seeing signs of wear-and-tear nearly the headphone plug, y'all'll need to fix the damaged portion of the wire. To do that, follow the steps below.

How to prepare damaged wires

Using a knife or cutter, piece through the protective plastic base around the earphone plug and the string near it.
Locate the department with the damaged wires and cut information technology off.

Slicing the protective comprehend using wire cutter
Remove the plastic cable effectually one end of your headset cord.

Exposed ends of internal wires
Use a match or lighter to briefly fire off the wire's insulation.

Utilize lighter to burn insulation on wires
Solder the wires to the earphone jack following the analogy below.

Brand sure to connect the correct wires to their corresponding section on the earphone jack.
Embrace the newly joined section with a heat-compress tube or electrical record.

Securing wire with heat-shrink tube

Diagnosis: Shorted wire

Unlike damaged wires that evidence external signs of breakage, it's not ever easy to tell if there'south a brusk in your headphone wire.

Shorted wires occur when a powered wire touches a neutral wire, exposing it to excessive electricity and causing information technology to short-excursion. This problem typically happens in wired headphones and earbuds if they're always tangled or wrapped improperly.

You'll know you have a shorted wire if you can hear static in your audio or if it cuts out when yous move the wire. A quick fashion to ready this is past doing a "jerk test." Here'southward how:

How to gear up shorted wires

Plug your headphones into your device and play an sound or video file.
Locate the short past bending the headphone cord every half inch. Proceed doing this until you start hearing audio coming off both headphones.
Remove the damaged portion of the wire.

Remove the damaged wire
Get the remaining sections of the headphone cord. Slice through both tips of the plastic cord to expose the wires.

Utilise cutter to expose the internal wires
Dissever the copper wires (ground wires), insulation (white wires), and the colored wire.
The colored wire will be cherry if you are repairing the headset's right portion or green or blue if you're working on the left section.

Isolate internal wires based on color
Cut the insulation wires. Meanwhile, twist the copper wires to keep them together.
Apply a lucifer or lighter to briefly burn off the enamel at the tip of the colored wires.

Burn off the enamel using lighter
Join the colored wires by twisting them together. Secure these with electrical record.
Link the basis wires in the same way and wrap electrical tape around these as well.
Ensure that the ground wires do not touch on the colored wires.
Wrap electrical tape around this newly linked section.

Wrap repaired wire with electrical tape

For further guidance, scout this tutorial by RichsMethods. On the other mitt, if you're looking for solutions to other headphone wiring-related problems, check out our guide on how to fix headphone wires.

Diagnosis: Faulty wiring inside the defective earbud

Sometimes, loose or broken wires can occur within the earbud speaker itself and not along the cord. Like to the previous problems, faulty wiring arises from poor handling or, in some cases, a manufacturer defect.

Regardless of the cause, this issue will manifest as your earbuds having no sound in one or both speakers or your earbuds' mic not working. And if there'due south no damage to the earbud's string, you'll know the problem is likely inside the earbud itself.

If you're sure this is the cause of your audio problem, follow the steps beneath to open and ready the earbud.

How to set faulty wires inside earbuds

Open the earbud casing using a small flat-blade screwdriver. You can too detach your nail clipper'south lever and pop the earbud'south front instance or ear tip open.
Practice non pull at the case to fully open the earbud – doing and then tin can further rip the wires if they're attached to the front end instance. Instead, push the cord up through the earbud'southward upper housing. This volition shove the front case and betrayal the internal components.
Resolder the loose wire and let it cool before testing the earbuds.

Soldering loose wire

What to Do When Wireless Headphones Only Work in One Ear

Wireless headphones and earbuds eliminate the hassle of untangling messy cords. All the same, that doesn't mean you lot're free from the issues that cause headphones to play only in one ear.

Here are three mutual causes of malfunctioning wireless headphones and cursory guides on how to fix each.

Diagnosis: Needs reset
Diagnosis: Halfway point issue
Diagnosis: Depression battery on i earbud
Diagnosis: Cleaved internal wires

Diagnosis: Needs reset

When you aren't getting audio on 1 side of your wireless headphones, sometimes a quick factory reset is all it takes to set things right.

Bluetooth connections tin can become bogged down later on a while, especially if your devices haven't undergone important firmware updates or take multiple paired devices. This eventually causes errors in how your headphones office, leading to audio and pairing bug.

By resetting your Bluetooth headphones, you're returning them to their default configuration and clearing out all the extra information stored on the device. Basically, it's like wiping the slate clean.

If you think your Bluetooth headphones need a reset, refer to the steps below.

Remember that although these steps will work on well-nigh standard Bluetooth headphones, some branded headphones may crave more specific reset instructions.

With that out of the way, hither's what you demand to do:

How to reset Bluetooth headphones

Press your device's ability button.

Bluetooth headphones power push button
Agree it down until the headset's light flashes bluish or reddish.

Property down the power button
Pair the headphones again with your device.

Pairing bluetooth headphones with device

Diagnosis: Halfway bespeak issue

Most wireless headphones come with detachable cords that let y'all switch easily from wired to wireless mode. However, if y'all notice that your audio goes from normal to merely working on one side whenever you detach the cord, you may be dealing with a halfway point issue.

Wireless headphone jacks incorporate small springs attached to metal balls. These human action like mechanical triggers that turn off Bluetooth functionality upon contacting a headphone plug'southward conductors.

To amend understand what this looks like, check out the illustration created by mewoosh in their video on how to excerpt a broken headphone plug from the jack.

If you lot're still not getting sound in 1 ear later removing the headphone plug, these switches may be stuck in a halfway position, thus causing one of your headphone speakers to malfunction.

Fortunately, the solution is quite simple and is a affair of trial and error.

How to set the halfway bespeak outcome

Insert, then remove the AUX plug from the jack.
Echo the first stride using diverse angles. The goal is to endeavour and push the mechanical trigger dorsum into its original position.
Test your Bluetooth headphones to come across if this resolves the outcome.

Diagnosis: Low battery on one earbud

True wireless earbuds have separate battery lives and need private charging. In some cases, one may bleed faster than the other, especially if you prefer using but i earbud to maintain awareness of your surroundings while working or commuting.

Additionally, one earbud (usually the right 1) performs more than functions than the left earbud. That'due south considering i earbud manages the connection between the earbuds and your mobile device, while the other earbud simply connects to the offset i. So, it makes sense that 1 drains faster than the other.

That said, this could be some other reason you lot're non getting audio in ane speaker. Luckily, the solution to this is as well quite straightforward.

How to prepare a low bombardment outcome

Identify both earbuds in their charging case.
Wait until they're fully charged, then check to see if the audio works in both earbuds.

If your sound issues stalk from the earbuds not charging properly, check out our guide for tips on how to get them working again.

Diagnosis: Cleaved internal wires

If one side of your wireless earbuds is silent, despite being fully charged, the problem could be internal.

As mentioned in the previous department on faulty wiring, if in that location are no visible signs of damage on the earbuds, your audio consequence is probably due to displaced wires in the hardware itself, especially in the control console where the Bluetooth module is stored.

To ostend this, you'll need to open up the command panel and check for disconnected wires. Read the steps below on how to repair Bluetooth headphones:

For the procedure below, we used wireless earbuds as an example. Wireless earbuds are unlike from truthful wireless earbuds. The old even so has a wire connecting both earbuds, whereas the latter is entirely wire-free.

How to fix internal wires

Using a pair of cutting pliers or a flat-blade screwdriver, pry open the casing of your earbuds' control console.

Open Bluetooth earbuds command panel
Carefully take out the internal components.
Locate any broken wires or wires separated from others and reconnect them using a soldering fe.
Return the internal components inside the casing.
Turn on your Bluetooth earbuds to test if your audio is working unremarkably, then reseal the casing if information technology'due south all good.

For a visual guide, watch this video by Artistic & Duck on how to fix the wires on your Bluetooth headphones.

How to Reuse Multiple Ane-Side Working Earbuds

If you have several wired headphones with just one earbud working, you lot tin can reuse these so long as they have the same plug type. Just keep in heed that the sound quality may no longer be as good as it was before.

If you take a couple of old Bluetooth headphones that you lot want to reuse, y'all tin can utilise an adapter. You lot can likewise set up your phone's Dual Audio feature, which will allow you to connect two unlike Bluetooth headphones simultaneously.

Here'due south how to resurrect your old wired earbuds using an audio splitter:

Use a headphone splitter to reuse one-side working earbuds. (From: Amazon)

Get an sound splitter with 2 output jacks and plug information technology into your device's AUX output.
Plug both pairs of one-side working earbuds into the audio splitter's output jacks.
Play an sound or video file to test the sound quality.
Keep your earbuds looking neat past trimming off the contrary not-working wires.
Insulate the ends of the trimmed wires with electric tape or heat-shrink tubing.
If you want to permanently join the two performance earbud wires, trim off the non-working wire from one pair of earbuds and dispose of it.
Using a cutter, take off the rubber covering of the trimmed section.
Next, using a lighter, briefly burn down off the wire's insulation.
Repeat steps 7 and 8 on the functioning wire of the other pair of earbuds.
At this point, you should have one working earbud even so fastened to its plug and a separate working earbud wire that isn't continued to annihilation.
Once the wires on both ends are clean, just twist the same-colored wires together.
Finally, insulate the exposed section with electrical tape or rut-shrink tubing.

Recommendation: Durable Headphones

If your headphones or earbuds are e'er breaking downwards, you should opt for a pair of more durable headphones. Some essential durability factors to consider include:

Sturdier materials, such as wood or metal, instead of plastic.
A rating of at least IPX4 to go along your headphones protected from h2o splashes coming from any direction.
A warranty that lasts at least iii months.

Check out our top recommendations from our "Nigh Durable Headphones" commodity:

Proper noun	Form Gene	Connectivity	Standard Warranty Menses	Cost
Five-Moda Crossfade Chiliad-100 Master Best Overall	Over-ear	Wired	2 years	Buy
Jabra Steel Strong Runner-Upwards	Mono Earbud	Wireless	v years	Purchase
Sony MDR7506 Best Upkeep	Over-ear	Wired	90 days	BUY
AfterShokz Aeropex Best IP Rating	Bone conduction	Wireless	ii years	Buy
Jabra Aristocracy Agile 75t All-time for Working Out	TWS	Wireless	2 years	BUY
Bose 700 Well-nigh Durable Dissonance Cancelling Headphones	Over-ear	Wireless	one year	BUY

Detect Ways to Extend Your Headphones' Life

If you're investing in quality headphones or earbuds, yous'll certainly want them to last for a long time. And even if yous don't ain a pricey model, it's a shame to throw out another pair just because ane headphone speaker isn't working.

With the tips above, hopefully, you can now determine if your headphones only need a quick ready before ownership a new one. By repairing your headphones, you tin quickly go back to enjoying your music playlist or watching videos, save a bit of money, and reduce electronic waste at the same time.

What are your thoughts on the fixes listed above? Do you accept other tips and tricks for repairing headphones with simply i earbud working? We'd love to hear well-nigh them in the comments section below.