Have you ever dropped your headphones in the water? If so, then you know how disappointing it can be when they stop working. There is no reason to throw them away, though. Read on to learn how to fix water damaged headphones!
If your headphones are still working after dropping them in water , then they can be saved.
However, if the liquid got inside the housing of your headset (i.e. into the electronics), then there isn’t much you can do . Usually when this happens, it will stop working within a few days or weeks because moisture causes corrosion and rust which makes electronic components stop functioning properly.
Also, if liquid got inside your earphone, it may have corroded the wire terminals so that further use would be quite dangerous as you run the risk of short-circuiting them with another conductive material such as metal, your conductive skin, etc.
If you have a warranty on these headphones then there is no need to fix them yourself. Just take them back to the store where you bought them and they should be covered under warranty.
If your headphones are out of warranty, then you can still fix them yourself.
Table of Contents
How To Fix Water Damaged Headphone
Step 1- Dry The Exterior
First , try to dry the exterior of your headset with a microfiber cloth . Use a hair dryer or something else similar to speed up the process and make sure that it is COMPLETELY dried; do not use too much heat though! Failure to completely dry it may cause more water damage and short circuit your headphones.
Step 2 – Dissemble
Next , open up the housing carefully using a thin screwdriver if necessary. Be careful not to scratch or break anything while trying to pry open the casing. Once opened, remove all visible moisture from inside as well by brushing it away gently with a toothbrush or soft bristled paint brush (not metal) on low speed.
If you have a can of air available, now is the time to use it. If not, you can gently brush away the moisture with a soft cloth and then let your headphones sit in a warm place to allow any residual moisture to evaporate naturally. Using heat to speed up the drying process may cause more damage so be careful how much heat you apply.
Step 3 – Examine Each Component
Next , look over how each component looks visually through the housing’s window(s). Chances are that some parts are rusted or oxidized from moisture which will make them stop working eventually as corrosion leads to stress fractures on conductive surfaces which result in contact failure . Also check how clean their connection points is(are) since any foreign material such as dirt/oxidation on point-to-point connections can lead to short circuit as well.
Step 4 – Check Wires and Fix
Make sure that the wires connecting each part of your headphone are clean and damage free. If you notice any frayed ends, then you should try to fix them. Simply strip off a small length of wire insulation using a sharp X-acto knife or a pair of scissors (be careful not to cut into the wires themselves). Remember how long it is since headphones often use twisted pairs which must be soldered together with pin 1 in the center. After removing about 1 inch (2.5 cm) – 2 inches (4 cm) of insulation, twist them back together two at a time and then solder them back together again. This will prevent any short circuits in the future.
If you notice any rust or corrosion, then this can be removed using a fine grit sandpaper . Just make sure that your sandpaper is very clean since even small traces of metal particles left on your paper from before may cause more damage when used to remove rust.
Step 5 – ReAssemble
After inspecting how each part looks and how securely it fits into place, reassemble everything back together again in reverse order of how you took it apart ( keep track how long each wire/braid is if you removed any ). Be careful not to apply too much force when closing up the housing as it could crack or break easily due to how thin plastic components are; wrapping some tape around the housing yourself over cracked areas can help reinforce them to prevent them from breaking apart if the pressure they are under increases (such as how when you have over-the-ear headphones on).
If everything looks clean and in place, then try hooking your headphone back up to a music player or mobile phone and see how it sounds. If there is still a problem, then this could indicate that some circuits/connectors may be damaged beyond repair due to how much more resistant metals like gold are against rust compared to the aluminum used for most of its parts . If there is any noticeable difference in how your headset sounds after reassembling it, then this probably means that part(s) might need replacement.
Step 6 – Replace and Fix some Parts
Next , if you wish to replace any parts that were rusted or oxidized, then you can do so. The easiest way is to visit your nearest electronics store to get it replaced for about $5-$10 depending how much damage there was and how many parts needed replacing. Alternatively if you plan on using the same model again in the future, then you could just replacing only those that are damaged while leaving any others alone ( this varies with different headphone models however ).
Step 7 – RePlace Wire if Necessary
If absolutely necessary , you may need to replace the wires connecting from each part of your audio headset together as well since most thin wires aren’t designed to hold up against rust or corrosion very well due how electrical currents causes water molecules trapped within them to expand which leads to stress fractures on their conductive surfaces; however this will depend on how thick they were originally ( how much force is required to stretch the braid out ) since if it was very thin, then you will probably need to replace them. There are many different types of wire available depending how your headphone was originally designed; for example there are common (which is easy to find), flat ribbon/ribbon-cable (used for thinner wires like how most laptop keyboards have), and unusual wiring such as round which can be difficult to locate due how uncommon they are).
What I did was look on how each part was connected together using an ohm meter (sometimes known as a multimeter) and noted how thick they were before taking them apart; after disassembling everything, I looked at how corroded/rusted each one looked and how stiff it was before reassembling everything again with new wiring for the parts I noticed were damaged.
If you are unable to get a replacement wire, then you can attempt to repair how they look by using fine grit sandpaper or even steel wool; however instead of using something hard like sandpaper (which could possibly damage how the wire looks if used incorrectly), this is recommended since the worn out material will still be soft and easier to remove via traction than how harder materials are. After taking off any excess rust/oxidation/corrosion, simply wrap any new wires in electrical tape on how how old ones looked before trying to hook them up again.
Step 8 – Last Check
After all repairs have been made, try testing your headphones again to see how it sounds and looks since these are the last steps one usually takes; if everything goes well, then your audio headset should be good as new!
Hope this helped
