A headset can stop working on one side for a variety of reasons. In addition, the reason may be different if it is a wireless Bluetooth headset, as there are more variables that can cause problems. Thinking about it, the most common causes that occur to make a headset only work on one side will be listed here. Check it out now and don’t throw away your phone!
How to fix a headphone that only works one way
For clarity, we’ll separate common issues into three categories (general, wired headphones and Bluetooth headphones). This way, you will be able to find out more quickly why your headphone is only working on one side or playing softer on one side.
1 – Most common problems that can be found in any type of headphones
Dirty sound output nozzle filter
The mouthpiece where the sound (nozzle) comes out of the in-ear headphones usually has a dirty filter. The filter is usually behind a metal screen, which needs to be removed to access it. Sometimes, with the natural use of headphones, wax builds up in the filters and this ends up muffling the sound, leaving the volume low.
As there are wired and Bluetooth earphones, this type of problem can happen to anyone, especially if the person exercises frequently. You may be able to resolve it if you have tools to remove the grid or surface protection from the mouthpiece where the sound (nozzle) comes out of the in-ear.
Funky (speaker) driver
For some reason, the glue that secures the driver (speaker) inside the headphone jack may weaken. This can cause changes in the sound or even poor contact of the wires that connect to the driver. In this case, it is recommended that you seek technical assistance, as there is a need to open the headphone housing to analyze what happened and try to return everything to its places.
Burned speaker (driver)
Yes, it is possible to burn a driver from a headset. Undoubtedly it is something difficult to happen, but it is possible. If the person raises the volume excessively and goes beyond the limit supported by the speaker’s diaphragm, the driver will simply stop working or start to present failures in the reproduced sound. For this, only replacing it with an identical (original) one would solve the problem and it is likely that you will have to take the headphones to a technical assistance center to carry out the replacement procedure.
There are also cases in which the driver (speaker) burns when we forget the volume of the device is too high, we connect the headphones and start playing the music.
2 – Most common problems that can be encountered with wired headphones
Bad contact in the cable due to bad soldering
Poor contact in a headphone cable can be caused by poor soldering by the manufacturer. This can be resolved by soldering the cable contact points to the plugs (connectors) again, but if you cannot do this, take it to a technical assistance facility.
Bad contact due to use
Bad contact in a headphone cable can simply occur due to twisting that occurs with natural use. As you bend the cable to store the phone or tuck it into your pants pocket, the metal in the cable’s filaments will weaken and eventually break. To solve this problem, just weld the region where the cable filaments broke, but if you don’t know how to do the procedure, take it to a technical assistance.
3 – Most common problems that can be found in Bluetooth headphones
Headphone firmware is not up to date
It may sound like a silly thing, but updating your Bluetooth headphones firmware is essential, necessary. This helps correct a variety of malfunctions, including sound reproduction from the headset. It is usually only possible to install the firmware using the manufacturer’s application, which can be downloaded from the Android (Play Store) and iOS (App Store) app stores.
Outdated or buggy Windows audio driver
Unfortunately, there are times when Microsoft releases Windows updates that disrupt the operation of the audio driver used by the computer’s sound card and consequently the Bluetooth headset. Therefore, it is important to verify that the driver is in its most recent version, where generally all errors are corrected. However, there are cases where the latest driver has problems, and it is necessary to install a previous version to solve the problem connecting the Bluetooth headset to the computer.
Bluetooth headset not charging battery
One of the most common causes for Bluetooth True Wireless Stereo (TWS) headphones to stop charging the battery is poor contact in the regions where power is transmitted from the charging case to the headphones. This can be resolved by cleaning the contact points on the case and headphone using cotton and isopropyl alcohol.