Only One Earbud Works? How to Fix headphones only playing in one ear Easily

There can be many reason for which you get issue of Only One Earbud Works. Here we will show how to fix the issue of headphones only playing in one ear. So lets begin.

Many of you come here looking for solution of issue left earbud not working or right earbud not working. sound only coming out of one side of headphones is the most common issue faced by majority of headphone users. Most of us when we face this issue, We just go for buying a new headphone. But if it is a costly earphone or headphone then it is better to repair it. It will save you cost and time. But before doing any troubleshooting of only one side of headphones working, you should check warranty. If warranty is still covered, You can go to service center and get it repaired. If not then lets proceed to next step.

Reasons Why Only One Earbud Works

You will be getting headphones only playing sound from one side  due to many reasons. We need to diagnose first to find the exact issue and then go for the fix. One of the most common reason of only one earbuds works is due to constant usage the wires near the audio jack will fell stress and may become bent and short-circuit the wiring. So to fix this issue, you will require few tools and electric materials ( You can buy on Amazon or any nearby electrical shop) for fixing this short-circuiting issue.

Quick Fix of Only One Earbud Works

You will notice that when you twist bend wire and try for a bit, You will see that headphone will work for small time and you can hear sound from both earbuds. If you notice this, You will know that wire is short circuited and which side it is. So to fix this issue, Just take the damaged wire and fix it by applying electrical tape to it where you have noticed it worked. Just keep trying and keep bending the wire till you are able to identify the short circuit wire. So apply the electrical tape to it, It will fix the earbuds only one sound issue for some time. For permanent solution, Please read below.

Tools and Equipment require to fix Issue of Only One Earbud Works

1. Electrical Tape
2. Masking Tape Roll
3. Wirecutters
4. wire Strippers
5. Solder gun repair kit ( may be required)
6. sandpaper.
7. shrink tubing may be required

Please note that below solution to fix only one earbud works should be done only if you know the risk and willing to do it. You should follow this solution only as the last solution. We hope that below DIY will work with earbuds, headphones, earphones or any audio hearing set.

1. Please plug the earbuds headphone to a audio source such as laptop or mobile.
2. Listen to some audio and then twist the headphone’s wire up and down to identify faulty wire.
3. after this hit and trial once you are able to hear audio on both earbuds, you have found the shpt circuit wire.
4. Once you found the faulty wire, isolate it by taping it with masking tape.
5. Now use the wire cutters and very carefully cut and remove the shorted area by inch or so.
6. Now use the wire strippers to strip back the wire shielding the exposed wires.
7. When the wire shielding is stripped and complete, You will take the exposed wire and reconnect both.
8. If the wire is small, use sandpaper to get the wire underneath and strip those wire using wire strippers.
9. Once the above steps are completed, reconnect the wires using your preferred method.  You can either splice them or you can use a solder gun.
10. Now test your headphone and see if its working correctly. Once it is working and you hear sound from bothe left and right earbud, use electrical tape or shrink tubing to wrap the faulty wire and give it extra protection.

Video of Only One Earbud Works FIX

So This is all for how to fix Only one Earbud work problem. If your headphone is costly then it may be still covered in warranty and you can check the headphone service center for free repair. Please do comment with any question or queries.