Why you should never buy Sony earphones until they fix battery defects!
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
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Is that Chanel bottle a paid product placement? :)
No, "real" brands would sooner become 501c3s than pay to be sponsored on this channel.
I brought it in my room to put on yesterday because I was in a hurry so for some reason I was changing in my work room instead of the bathroom, and I forgot to put it back. Eau De Toilettes is the cologne of champions amzn.to/3ER3tuJ My receptionist got this for me for Christmas 10 years ago, I still use it. It's my favorite by far.
Don't leave it in sunlight.
@@rossmanngroup Funny, I watched a clip of a RUclipsr by the name of Josh Strife Hayes yesterday where he jokingly explained that men don't choose their perfumes, they just one day get gifted one and use it for the rest of their life
@@Caphalem Omg that is the truest thing ever 😂
@Caphalem 😂 I always used my dad's perfume until my wife bought me chanel bleu 8 years ago, and I am still using it lol
99% of users won't complain and just throw them out. They know this.
I got a pair of LG over the neck headphones and man I've had them over 5+ years and the battery is still decent. I swear the older simpler things are so much better.
Well, if you get wired iems, as opposed to true wireless, you are reducing the chances of something going wrong significantly.
It's just drivers wires and crossovers. Also detachable cables, you can even get with really cheap iems nowdays.
No software to worry about, no battery, no mics, touch controls, no circuit boards. You just plug them in and they work.
Bro ive been using the same 25 follar jbuds off a shelf at best buy for like 3 years. Sometimes the cheep stuff just works
tbh if you buy 'nice' Chinese brands with actual good reviews they're usually better and way cheaper. You have to really do research and risk it with no warranty, but I mean... effectively that is true anyway, which is why we're here.
Chinese consumers, unlike brainless, corporation enslaved Americans, actually just don't buy things if they are bad, so companies sell them better things. Only true for things made in china btw.
There are headphones I bought from china because even though they sell a similar design here via amazon, they would die or stop working in a year. The Chinese sourced ones that look similar are priced at a fraction of the US versions, so I figured I would just buy them if I have to replace them. Well they look the same in form but have BETTER build quality and have been going two years. Basically they make them in china and sell the reject stock to the US because they know people here will just be like "oh I need to spend more for them not to break" 😵😵
Americans...
What kind of music does your neck like to listen to?
@@Alepap. I''m onboard with everything louis is preaching, but I do have to say that the cable on wired in-ear headphones has never last me significantly longer than the true wireless ones I use now
Im 100% with you on this Louis. My XM4s are experiencing the battery issue, and I was refused warranty replacement because they were 3 months out of the warranty period.
It started with just the left ear and now has also affected the right. They stay on for about 10 minutes before abruptly powering off.
I will never buy their headphones ever again.
The WH series is still better than most of their competitors, as they make official parts available. Very limited subset (they can still die on $1 parts and you have no official choice but to replace the whole thing, also no calibration software) but still they are available.
Better business beaural
I don't like Anker as a company but I've had a set of sound core 2s for.. 2? Years at least probably.. still decent battery
On the topic I don't know why would anybody buy TWS buds, they're like, disposable e-cigs of audio
I bought my xm4's back in 2020 both the in ear and headphone models. Earlier this year I started having battery issues, needless to say I'm out of warranty. I really love these headphones but I will never buy anything from Sony again!
I’ve experienced this on my XM4’s. Battery life of 5 minutes. They refused to replace them under warranty.
Then you talked to the wrong person as just about everyone I know has had no issue getting them replaced even out of warranty.
@@Ryan_DeWittyou can’t pin the blame on the customer. I’m innocent in this. I suggest you don’t lick corporate boot.
Even better I had warranty and Asurion insurance because I wanted them to last me at least 3 years. Denied by both.
What?! Denied both? That’s ridiculous.
I would try contacting their support again. Should you have to? Of course not. I told them I had one earbud where the battery would drain extremely fast (almost a percent a minute). They ended up replacing them, even though they were almost two years old.
Hoping you can eventually get them replaced. It shouldn't be a hard process, but unfortunately many companies make it that way.
I also had this issue, they wanted to charge me 136 pounds ($170) for the repair 4 weeks out of warranty.
Luckily I've been repairing circuits since I was a kid, heat gunned the earbud, 2 ribbon cables unplugged and replaced with Zenimax Z55H batteries.
Sony are a despicable company, their "Technical Team" are glorified customer service.
I'm in the UK, if anyone has this issue with there headphones and Sony wont deal with them I'll happily replace the batteries for you for the cost of the batteries and postage, this would be roughly 20 pounds ($25).
Thank you for everything you do Louis.
Are the replacement batteries still correctly holding a charge? I'm panning to replace mine and trying to determine if the problem will just reoccur and if I need to run a specific firmware?
I think the reason they might say right to repair is dangerous is because they might have their flaws exposed. I think more and more people should push for this.
BINGO
well, as long as there are reviewers who do teardowns, their anti-reparability measures don't make a difference in this regard.
I'm so happy you decided to make a video about this. I had this exact issue, and Sony ignored all my attempts at communication even though I was within the warranty period. I feel scammed, and let me tell you, I'm never buying any of Sony's products ever again. I don't want anything to do with this shitty company.
I also had the same issue. My right bud was always out of charge even when it was sitting in the case.
I had the same issue but luckily got mine replaced. they only asked for the receipt
I didn't even know this was a common and known issue until this video. Have had mine for over a year now and just thought the battery rapidly declined. So I bought new earbuds but avoided Sony because of the shit lifespan. Now knowing this I will be contacting them. They'll probably try and claim they are out of warranty. So I'll just have to try his mom's return trick and order some new xn4s and return them. If these little shits are gonna scam me, I'll do it right back.
I had an extremely hassle free experience. Try going through Sony Canada if that's even possible US users. I was 6 months out of warranty and did not provide a receipt. Got a brand new pair in 1 week.
@@LoyalSoldid you clean the metal pins? Maybe it had oil on it? I’m sure you heard this already and are getting poed reading this lol.
While the logic here is likely correct, just wanted to point out that it's typically perfectly safe to charge a 3.7V Li-ion battery to 3.85V, the typical safe charge cutoff is somewhere around 4.2V. As far as I can tell these 3.85V batteries are a newer chemistry with an even higher cutoff (Grepow refers to them as "LiHV") with a cutoff up to 4.4V.
If Sony really is pulling a bait and switch as described everything remains the same, charging a standard Li-ion to 4.4 volts will definitely damage the cell, just wanted to point out the small mistake.
yes
3.7 or 3.85 is called "nominal rating" is has nothing to do with any charge voltage. You are right, the normal charge end point is 4.2V. Basicly every cell can be charged higher, but for standard cells this will result in internal damage (permanent).
To make any valid statement here, someone had to track the charge process and measure what's the top voltage is. Nothing else matters.
It sounds like the CMR/SMR drama except this time it might be genuinely unsafe.
@@ranxerox10 no what?
tbh I don't get the logic they're using to say the 3.7 is the worse one. I would say it's the other way around, installing a 3.85V battery in a charging circuit made to charge the 3.7V would not charge the 3.85 fully.
That said, I don't think that can explain such a low charge state. Just pointing out the logic is backwards.
I am glad that this problem is getting more attention. I have had my XM4s for 18 months and their battery performance has deteriorated significantly after the first year. I contacted the Sony service center in my region, and they agreed to replace the faulty buds under the EU's limited second year warranty policy. However, the process was very slow. They only replaced one bud after 1,5 months of waiting, claiming the other one passed their internal testing. But when I got it back, the old bud couldn't be used more than 2 hours and within 2 weeks that reduced to even further to 40-70 minutes, so I had to take it back a second time. It's been another month since then and I'm still waiting.
Moreover, they told me that the warranty is going to expire after two years and does not apply to the replaced parts. Also, reading other stories they are only willing to provide paid service beyond the 2 years. But they do not replace batteries, only provide replacement buds. One bud almost half the cost of a new set.
heard it happened after an update right?
@@myqaveli I'm not sure, I haven't been tracking the updates. When I noticed mine is having noticeably worse battery performance it was on 1.6.x firmware, then after upgrading to 2.0.0 it felt as if every charge cycle is reducing the battery life with ~10 minutes.
Also, it was after the 2.0.0 upgrade that I noticed another thing. The buds were no longer reporting 100% when removing from the case. If charged freshly, they were 9x%. If left in the case unattended for a couple of day, then more like 8x% or 7x%.
Check your countries laws for warranty information. In Europe it's normal for the warranty period to be "paused" during the time you send it back for repair and receive back. Additionally, repairs should have a 1 year warranty, if the same issues happens again within one year, they still need to warranty the repair.
Listen to the end of the video mate. Yes it works exactly this way
@@waxonandreluis I already did. The problem is that there are two types of warranties defined by law. The product has been sold with a 1-year full warranty, as law mandates. During this period the warranty would have been extended with the repair time, any main components (or the full device) replaced would have been covered by a restarting warranty period, and after 30 days spent in service I would have had the option to ask for a full refund.
But during the second year I'm only covered by a limited guarantee that I haven't been sold a defective product. The burden of proof that the fault has not been caused by normal wear or misuse is on me, so even the fact that Sony is willing to take the product in for "investigation" and provide replacements without a third-party expert opinion I would have to pay for, can be seen as rebate. The aforementioned rules also don't apply to this second year, so no extension, no restarting warranty, nor any time limit is mandated on the repair by law. I'm only entitled to a refund if a repair or replacement cannot be provided.
As an owner of the XM4, it’s frustrating to see that Sony seems to want to sweep this huge issue under the rug and the customers will just buy their new model which they should not do. I hope more famous personalities picks up this story because it needs to be publicly known although big RUclipsrs won’t do it probably because they are sponsored by Sony.
Couldn't agree more. Its shameful the amount of so called journalists who refuse to call this Sony consumer fraud out.
i laugh at the idea of anti monopoly midwits actively creating these monpolies in the first place by purchasing only name brand items. i have never bought an apply or sony product. there are plenty of smaller competition you can support that offer comparable performance. people just trick themselves into thinking they're paying for more, when in reality they just want the security of the brand name. it's really quite pathetic.
sucks theres really no Better option :/ i was thinking bose but there bulky in comparison idk
While I agree it's definitely frustrating, I thought I'd let you know that Sony is replacing my XM4s and they were 14 months out of warranty. Worth a shot trying with Sony Support.
I've done some research and seen many, countless reviews where a majority of them have pointed out the battery drain issue after a firmware update
I just didn't update anything, they have survived 1 year already
I was about to buy these, I was just looking for reviews on RUclips, this video came up amongst the search results. You do provide a public service on your channel with these types of videos, for which I thank you.
I bought ~200$ earphones that I love from a relatively small company. They had a minor design defect where the inside of the earpiece would unstick from the casing. It didn't affect the sound, it was just a bit annoying because you could feel it rattle in the casing when there wasn't any sound playing. I shot an email to customer support. They asked for a proof of purchase and just sent me a replacement pair, not even asking for a return. THIS is how you should handle design defects.
What company?
@@TOBBBBBI got the exact same question
I am interested too
WHICH!? Just say it
WHO WAS IT!!!
This is why I refuse to give up the headphone jack, as wired headphones just don't suffer from these issues and good ones can last almost forever. Ironically, the only manufacturer who still makes flagship smartphones with headphone jacks and expandable storage is Sony, but at least their phones aren't known for major battery failures.
Their Xperia phones are cool, wish it were more widely available
Should note the us models have a locked boot loader. Of course there are some ways to get around it, although I haven't tried any yet.
Safe to say that it was an unwelcome surprise with my new 5 Mark IV. Still a great phone.
The only reason why I have wireless earbuds was because the XM3s came bundled with my Sony Xperia 1 III. I, personally, haven't had issues with XM3s, but I just don't use them ever since I got a bluetooth amp/DAC - now I just my Beyerdynamic DT 770 via BT Amp/DAC, or my Koss KPH40 Utility via headphone jack, depending if I'm going to be moving around the office or not. Bonus points since I have long hair, and the headband doubles as a hair band.
I have a friend who tries, at least once a year, to give me wireless earbuds or one of their extra voice-activated in-home spy devices.
I refuse every time.
I am still mourning the loss of LG in the smartphone market... I loved their phones. I still use an LG V60 dual screen as my main. The idea of having to switch to Sony mortifies me...
This is how apple handles all their recall warranty bs. When they figure out an issue they sneakily open a recall/replacement program and figure out the exact time where most people will have that problem and end the recall just as everyone needs the fix and they never reached out to people to let them know of the issue.
Sony needs not be like Apple same with Samsung
Glad to see this video. My XM-4's died right after the 1 year warranty period, so i end up with dead earbuds for 300$ which served me a bit over a year. Never buying any Sony earphones again!
I worked for Sony Vaio for a time... I still remember reading a "snag" sheet for known issues with products, one that still stands out to me was this laptop. It was an ultra thin and if the user opened the lid "wrong" the screen would eventually split in half.
So.... yeah that's fun lol.
Really Sony VAIO was known for high quality and miss Sony VAIO as Apple Macbook Pro are underspec for the price is ridiculous Mac OS is boring . Sony VAIO was part Sony Electronics not it's own division.
Back to back in my sub list with an LTT thumbnail saying ‘You’re gonna wanna buy these’ 😂😂😂😂
Exactly! 🤣
The chad influencer vs the virgin anti influencer
Someday I'll be a real influencer :'(
@@rossmanngroup you're already the chad
@@rossmanngroup I’ll take your word over theirs any day! Thank you for all you do!
@@rossmanngroupLTT is morally bankrupt. You constantly call out the bad consumer practices of the corpos. I know who I'd rather pay attention to.
You seem to be on a good path and are making strides to improve things.
I must go and buy Chanel right away, because Louis placed it in the corner.
Eau De Toilettes is the cologne of champions amzn.to/3ER3tuJ My receptionist got this for me for Christmas 10 years ago, I still use it. It's my favorite by far.
Antaeus since I was 18.
This absolutely happened to my pair. One day it has an excellent battery life and the next barely 4 hours. Not upgrading, Sony has lost me as their wireless earbuds customer.
Do you have $300 to try the "lifetime warranty" for your broken headphones?
@@onpoint2292 it's not about the money, it's the principle
I'm glad you made a video about this. I've got the exact same issues, funnily it started just after the 1 year period. I was so satisfied with the quality these earphones provided that I was willing to put up with their terrible software. But no, after they screwed me over with their firmware update with no replacement, I'm never buying Sony earphones/headphones. Even if they replaced them now, I've already made up my mind, because it wouldn't count if they did it after a backlash.
I know that I'm not going to bankrupt them, but I still enjoy the thought that they rather saved 300 bucks (way less of course to make for them) and not replace them than keeping me satisfied and losing thousands of dollars off of me.
same for me....have u used airpods pro? r they reliable?
@@bhavyamalik3239 Yeah, I'm using the USB C Airpods Pro. I only encountered little problems 2-3 times, and putting them in the case and taking them out always resolved the issue.
Thank you louis rossmann for speaking on this.
I was a satisfied customer 2 years ago when i picked up my xm4s. 1 year later, 1 week before my warrenty expired my left earbud was having a 10 minute battery life.
I got that covered under warrenty.
1 year later almost exactly i ran into the same problem.
I popped the earbud open to repair them and the old battery was definitely inflating.
I replaced the battery so fingers crossed they'll last a little longer but i destroyed the button on my left earbud i think so now i can only pair to one device and lost a bunch of other functionality.
I am now a sony hater. I need a new top of the line ANC earbud from a different company.
My father was right when he stated;
"They won't do anything until something happens".
I bet if one of these little firecrackers goes off in someone's ear and they sue Sony, they might actually issue a recall, if only to prevent future lawsuits
I've allegedly lesson when it comes to phones and laptops, I say allegedly because I've still learned it again recently. Unless you're buying a current flagship or midgrade model from a "trusted" brand , chances are youre too late or never will have enough numbers for them to care about you. Unfortunately you may not know many devices will be sold or even manufactured at your time of purchase even if you do your due diligence of research.
My first lesson was with my fist laptop purchased from gateway. I thought the specs looked good, Gateway was a well known successful company at the time. I don't even recall how I found this out , but it turned out that the best buy models were only available through Best buy and probably only sold in the thousand to tens of thousands max. Windows vista on am underpowered AMD board with automatic updates would constantly reset my lower settings to maximum from my preferred optomised ( throttled clock) which would make board practically overheat. Add to that me licking up the laptop haphazardly with one hand causing a cantilever, and I cracked parts of the board. I take partial responsibility for the issue, i do believe it was made worse by the overheating issue. And Gateway didn't sell enough of these units to ever care, even if every single one of the best buy models sold had an issie.
I do liquidation and resale of returned/warrantied goods from major retailers, and wondered why we were getting so many of this specific model of headphones. I also noticed these earbuds tended to overheat, so this would explain that as well.
We sell these as separate pieces so people can replace the singular defective earbud, but Sony makes it exceedingly challenging to do so. The earbuds MUST match the top level firmware version number to pair them with each other.
Oh, and that "lifetime warranty" your mother had, it's unreal how many of those we get! 😂
I've been observing your channel for a month or two now...great content, very passionate arguments, and heartfelt solidarity with fellow consumers. You're a true champion of the people. Liked and Subscribed Louis! Thank you for your courage to stand up to the bullshit !
Had huge battery issues with the WF 1000 xm4, lasting 10min when fully charged! Unacceptable?!
By the way, loved your mama's wisdom, may she rest in peace
Thanks for the top video
I was affected by this issue i had them send to them they only switch one new bud and they sent it back, then after 1 month i send it back again this time for the other bud, my milage was 1 year and 6 months... but out of 24/8h declared i was getting 3/4h total.. But now i have 2 new buds with firmare 2.0.x somthing... not they are good but i agree with what you described..
Louis, thank you. Last week my XM4s started to develop the issues described in your video and in the comments section. I've had them over 1 year and figured I had caused issue because I use them while running and biking in a humid climate. Today (before watching your video) I figured I'd just buy the XM5s because at the end of the day the noise cancelling is really good. You just saved me $250.
Never update, and go ahead and order a battery
Same here for my XM4 s, I will not buy Sony again.
@@chrishyde7798 I'm a little late to this video but contact Sony! They sent me a check for my entire purchase price over 2 years after I bought my XM4s.
I got the older version of their over-ears, I think it’s the XM3. What a tank! I’ve worn them for hours and hours while working outside, dropped them by accident at the gym, let them go flat a few times; they still boot right up and work. It’s a shame Sony decided to throw away the good reputation they built with the engineers’ hard work, because I’d otherwise be happy to buy some XM5’s when the XM3’s eventually pass on. Sony pulling an ASUS/Apple/John Deere.
Over ears may still be safe. This defect is in regards to the earbuds. But yea, bad look overall.
I've also had a great experience with my over ear xm3. Still kicking good. I was seriously looking at picking up the xm5 earbuds. Now I see this video and think I may need to find another option
same, i've dropped them so much i lost count. on hard surfaces from pretty high up at times too. no issue. the battery is still going strong after 2 years of regular use and tons of recharges. the only slight gripe is they are a tiny bit on the large side, but i'd gladly take that if that comes with the reliability
And the xm5 tips don't fit or seal properly
I bought the over the ear xm3s a couple years ago when they were sold by Costco. My most favorite pair of headphones. I dropped them one too many times and in typical Costco fashion they let me return them 2/3 years after I bought them. I upgraded to the xm5 over ear and I also love them. They’re better made and fantastic sound. My only gripe is self induced with how they get dirty because I wear them to the gym and now there’s stains inside the ear cups 😅. I bought a pair of AirPods Pro to workout in and I HATE them. Falling out constantly because my ears are shaped weird and sound quality is far below because they’re earbuds.
I still use my 10-15 year old sony xb500. I have really expensive studio headphones, and the old sony's still hold up, and are super comfortable. I try to avoid battery products, they never last. I don't bother with bluetooth anymore.
I love my xb500. So comfy and they sound amazing. I cant believe Sony messed up the next gen of them so bad. I bought several pairs of extra pads so they last forever.
Bluetooth doesn't sound as good as corded anyway, so that's definitely the way to go. Plus, I grew up with corded products anyway, so it doesn't bother me one bit, but YMMV.👍
XB500 was my intro to "better" audio. Never for a second regretted them.
Do you know where I can find a pair of the older xb500 to buy?
I'm in the exact same boat in having xm4 earbuds that have had the right earbud drain in 10 minutes, have basically stopped using them, and been looking at replacing that pair. I'm thinking of reverting back to wired earbuds due to all the BS and hassle!
@@rachel_sjxb500’s are a very fun headphone, they are cheaply built but robust, I gave mine to my friend a while back back. They are not balanced and have a LOT of thick, creamy bass but aren’t unenjoyable by any means
My XM4s were out of warranty and the battery fried after a troublesome software update. Sony replaced the headphones via a contracted repair facility in Rochester, NY without question or hassle. They paid for the shipping and everything.
The update and overheating were first noticed in July 2023. The warranty ended in September. I procrastinated getting it fixed until October.
I did not have to argue with support like the nightmare stories I was reading. I explained the timeline of events as above and the rep made a repair order for them right away.
Because I was satisfied with the experience, I purchased the XM5s which I am enjoying very much. My XM4s still work great so far. I alternate between the two devices because I like the XM4’s bass a little more. I also like the smaller form fit of the XM5s and better passthrough.
I own an Onkyo receiver.
It broke when it was 2 months out of warranty.
Onkyo still honoured my warranty, replaced the faulty card, at no charge.
Great company!
My XM4's are literally at the repair location Sony had me send them into right now; sent them in on Saturday. They told me yesterday they are replacing them (over a year out of warranty) left bud would die in 30 min the past few weeks.
Update: New pair should arrive Monday, pretty painless. Thanks everyone for posting about this!
I thought I was the only going through this with my XM4's...The left ear bud just doesn't charge all the way AND the power drains way faster than the right one! Damn SONY, I really liked those buds up until this...they were way better than iPods Pros that I had...you're now DEAD to me...Not that you care. Thanks for the video Louis.
Talk to sony support about it. They replaced mine for free even with them out of warranty.
I've had the Shure SE535 for 6 years now. I think Louis has quite high standards, because the sound quality is great. They are not wireless though, which may put some people off. my next ones may be, but the longer I wait, the less issues with battery life and codec support. And these Shures could last another 6 years, and I can replace the bits that go into the ear if necessary. (they do make a module to add BT support, like the ones in the video)
I had the exact issue with my XM4's last week after the update, I tried everything without reaching any solution then I simply decided to switch to Samsung buds 2 pro when I saw it on sale in a retail store for 100 $...Thank you always Lois for clearing this up and for warning us.
Huh, finally a video that I've got direct experience with. I've been using the XM4s for about a year and a half now, and suddenly the batteries got fried out of nowhere, just like is described here. Sony customer support was challenging to get ahold of due to only being available during business hours, but even though it was outside warranty, they replaced them completely for free. It's a damn shame that they haven't been treating all their customers with the same courtesy.
I LOVE the XM4s overall. Due to some medical issues I can't regularly use normal headphones, and I require good noise cancelling. So I'm wearing these earbuds for 8+ hours a day. Doing that with most earbuds is painful but the XM4s are extremely comfortable, and the only earbuds that I can wear for this long. I want to stick with Sony whenever these earbuds properly die, but knowing that they're screwing their other customers over, I may have to look elsewhere, even if they've treated me well personally.
Makes me happy that my Sony XM3s have such a easily replaceable battery, just a guitar pick, a bit of prying, a common battery and my buds will be back in tip-top shape. Now if only they were comfortable…
iDon't believe U = maybe a 'plant'? Wearing in-ear phones even more than a few hours makes me dizzy = ears need 2 'vent'. The extra moisture fux with your 'balance system' =P
@@Deathrape-if4kl not a plant I promise lol Trust me, I have plenty of complaints about Sony's return policy. It took multiple days of contacting them and doing things like upgrading the firmware and resetting the earbuds to get anything more from them. But eventually they just offered the repair and I jumped at the chance. I honestly think I just got lucky.
Also I hadn't updated my firmware in forever and I might have actually been on 1.4.1? I can't remember now, but maybe my case was different if I didn't have the bad update.
@@Deathrape-if4kl different people have different tolerances and preferences. Personally, I own the XM3s, and as much as I’ll complain about how uncomfortable they can be when doing things like eating, I didn’t have any real issue wearing them for 6-8 hours a day back when all I really needed from them was the noise canceling
I experienced the same thing with Sony's customer service. However, I am in the US, and it certainly isn't fair for Sony to only treat customers from certain areas with this level of courtesy.
You're a lifesaver bud. My headphones went through this exact issue, and this month reached the point of being unusable. I was getting ready to purchase the latest pair because I assumed it was an issue on my end, but will now be seeking warranty coverage. If they're replaced, I'll probably keep them until they die, but I won't be trusting Sony headphones for a new purchase ever again...
Any 'wireless anything' with a built in or expensive battery is a $cam & should ALWAYS B avoided =) It's iPhone level 'when the battery dies buy a new $1,000 phone from us again' nonsense =P
@@Deathrape-if4kl New batteries installed by apple are $69-99 depending on how new the phone is, you don't have to buy a new phone if the battery dies
@@dwindeyerhowever they will do everything to nickel and dime you to spend 1000$ for a new phone than repair the phone you sent in
My XM4s (bought in Japan) developed this issue when I was overseas, which kind of defeated the whole purpose I got them in the first place during the return flight (noise-cancelling the plane noise). Thanks to that particular post on the site that shall not be named, I was able to contact the Sony, since they had no acknowledgement of it on their site, and sure as shit they made it quite a labyrinthine process to get the necessary contact. Though I was able to get a full replacement even though the earphones were out of warranty by a couple of months.
Im surprised I missed this video from you! Just happened to be looking on repair methods for my XM4 buds ugh, worked for a great 2 years till now with lots of use, even got them for free from Amazon because post office was late lol. But because it was free i lack warranty which lets me suffer with everyone else. Thanks for this insightful video man!
Lol haha i had the free too, but they reimbursed me i do not know why
I have Shure wireless over-ear earphones. My father has high-end Sony earphones which had a broken wire and were written off as being unfixable. It was tricky, but after finding out how to open the buggers, my father helped me hold the broken wire while I soldered it back together. It hasn't skipped a beat since😊.
I have the XM4s and I love them but I just recently started having really odd issues with charging the case/earbuds. It's a real shame because I've not even considered getting another pair of earbuds since they used to work perfectly seamlessly. Good timing on the video, I didn't know this was a widespread issue. :/
When they work they are awesome, when one head phone dies nearly instantly not so much...I have this exact issue, bought an Ecellant refurbished replacement on amazon and see how it goes. Die out on me again then I know the XMs are a crap product
I'm suffering the same problem nowadays,different percentage on charge intermittently so I'm never sure if I can use them.I WAS a Sony fan over all their products but not any longer
This is why I like my Sony WF-1000XM*3*s. If you're careful, you can actually replace the battery in the ear buds, which is a rechargeable coin cell you can get pretty easily (not proprietary)
No, they don't sound as good as the XM4 or XM5 earbuds, but they don't sound bad. You can also buy them refurbished for ~$60
EDIT: I bought my pair about 2 years ago for that price. Apparently you can't find them for that price anymore as easily.
Or just get fairphone earbuds
You can do the same with the WF-1000 XM-4s. I've done it before.
the linkbuds s are also great in that regard
@@actually_tes1 oooh, I might look into that more.
@@CreativityNull Does the noise cancelling works with your XM3? Because mine is useless.
One of my fav things is when you "shout out" products you actually use be it a chair, headphones, printer, etc. It's nice to have something someone actually recommends based on their experience with the product instead of being paid to shill the product.
Your mom’s advice is amazing. My mom does that but only for manufacturer defects, and so do I, but only if it’s a manufacturer defect and not my fault. If I break it by accident, then I buy another one.
I replaced the Z55 batteries in my xm4s a few days ago, currently in my 3rd hour of playback since charging with L53% & R49% remaining.
The batteries I removed were 3.85v Z55h, the same.
SW vers 2.0.1, the problem appears to be fixed but was extremely disappointing to have in first place.
I have been a Sony fan for decades, since I was a studio engineer in the 90s, but this issue has really tested my loyalty.
I had this exact issue. Actually, I emailed you about it, so thanks for covering it! They replaced mine out of warranty for free, but you're right. They should have been recalled.
Modern conglomerate companies should be put to customer court review audits regularly, after which antitrust level fines imposed on them if found guilty of causing harm to customers. And yeah previous CEOs and CFOs should be brought to court and stood trual for their hand in it too. That's the only way this anti-right-to-repair mess can ever be fixed.
The ftc if they did their job
To whose standards though the US? Japan? South Korea? Or do you want a global court for monopolies because that’s just a dumb idea
@@Alphoric each to their own brother.. and it's not as if these countries don't copy the EU standards for the most part. It just took good-ol EU to force Apple to give C-type chargers to the iphones from now on. It just takes 3 powerful countries, with good leaders. Besides.. do you have any better ideas? I'm all ears if you have anything practical to add. This fantasy seems better right?
@@kshere
A global court may be a dumb idea, but if every national court could band together and punish these conglomerate companies and their CEOs and CFOs, we'd at least be one step closer.
Remember:
_Divided, we fall._
*United, we stand.*
@@Alphoric
To US standards in US, to EU standards in EU and so on, just like they already have to do so.
My xm4's die in 30 minutes after only a year after a firmware update
Ask for a replacement, they replaced mine.
Same. I will ask them for a replacement. The New update killed the battery , I was fine 3 months ago.
One of mine is doing this weird thing where it'll power down, 10 or 20 minutes later I'll tap them and they'll power up at 80% battery
Mine did in about an hour. However I contacted Sony and although I bought them over a year after I called them, they did send me a brand new replacement no question asked as they know about the problem. I would contact them if you already haven't. It is a known issue.
Asked for a replacement. Was 6? Months out of sonys warranty. They replaced both buds free of charge (albeit it took 5 weeks 😂) Haven't watched the video yet but just sharing my experience.
Ok so it seems that this was a manufacturing defect on their part so they should at least inform customers and take more responsibility with the issue (especially considering safety risks). Not really surprising coming from sony...
Whilie it's ridiculous that this issue even happened in the first place, my experience with Sony Support has been very good. They agreed to give a full refund due to the defect despite me purchasing the headphones more than 14 months ago, which is respectable. Because of this, I have decided to use the refund to upgrade to an XM5, as I want to reward this comparitively good behavior.
I will update this post once the return goes through. If sony doesn't accept the return, then I'm returning the XM5s and buying the much cheaper Galaxy Buds Pro 2
(Update) Sony has agreed to give a full refund for the product, tax included! Although the process isn't exactly convenient, they're sending a check. I will update again once I receive the check.
Two years ago I bought Sony Linkbuds S, which also suffer from the battery drain issue. I sent them for fixing and they replaced the right earbud, but half a year later even the left earbud was bad. It got to the point where the left earbud lasted about 30 minutes. Sent them for repair again and I actually got my money back. They were the best wireless earbuds I ever had (loved the size and sound quality), but the issues made me decide to not buy Sony headphones again.
After watching this video I decided to see what wireless headphones / earphones Shure have and I was pleasantly surprised that they have a wireless adapter that fits all their existing IEM via the same connector for their removable cables! Definitely considering their solution for wireless headphones now that I know that they also care about their customer!
My XM4's only lasted a little more than a year before the batteries started to drain really fast. My right earbud would last 30 minutes with Transparency on at 50% volume. The left earbud would last 50 minutes before turning off as well. I used their customer service live chat and told me to send them for repair. I am not sure if it will be for free, but these buds should last at least 2 years without problem for them to be worth the price point. I'll update once I receive them fixed.
Yeah that sounds consistent with the major QC issues a lot of people had. One earbud would rapidly drain. That's disappointing, I mean I still have true wireless earbuds that are 3 years old and they all still work... Part of that is because I have several pairs of wired headphones and Bluetooth neck bands so no singular pair gets used up a ton.
@@michaelcorcoran8768It's firmware update not QC issue but big in software can easily be fixed with another update of not Sony should replace broken xm4s
Thanks for speaking on this! It’s odd that only the Sony earbuds are affected by this issue, and not their headphones.
Different battery part. Different production run.
Probably easier to get batteries for headphones where the form factor isn't as constrictive.
Headphones wouldn't use the minuscule parts of the earbuds (incl. battery), it's normal that what appears to be a firmware screw-up only affected the device it was written for.
Thanks for this, I was almost about to buy a pair of Sony buds. Now I know better.
I agree with everything you said!
I bought the Sony WF-1000xm4 about 2 years ago, after a year the battery went from 8 hours to 4-2 hours of activity, and the case went from 4 full charging to about 2.5.
Now, after 2 years, I can wear them for only 10 minutes before it drain from 100% to 10% and says "Low battery, please recharge headset"
In the past I had pretty good customer experience with Sennheiser. I had HD280s where the headband fell apart, and they just sent me new headphones. But the company was sold so I'm not sure it will be a good experience anymore. I still use a pile of their products bought before and after the sale so I hope I'm lucky.
I use the Momentum 3 wireless earbuds literally every day while I'm working.
That's what I switched too as well after my xm4s died on me
For what it's worth, based on my limited experience with flight batteries for remote control craft such as airplanes and helicopters, lithium ion batteries are considered "discharged" at 3.7 volts, and fully charged at 4.2 volts. As I understand it, the charging voltage is 4.2 volts. Maybe this does not apply for tiny earbud batteries.
Used my XM4s for walking last winter and the ear warming feature was really nice tbh
I actually bought a second handed one(lightly used) knowing that they have the battery problem, before i bought it I called Sony and they said they would replace the battery for free. In the end, Sony replaced the entire earbud. so I pretty much got a new pair for 100$(Sony WF 1000M4). still used them to this day, been a year. Works Great! sounds Great.
Louis, your mother, sounds like a smart and great lady. Good for her not letting people or companies screw her over. You can learn a lot from her. I'm sure you have.
Many users, including myself (it happened after 1 year of use for me), have complained that their Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones lets out high-frequency noises and strange crackling sounds when they activate the noise-cancelling mode. These sounds are loud enough to potentially cause permanent hearing damage. Surprisingly, many popular content creators, who often hail these as the "best noise-cancelling headphones," have not addressed this issue. I've discovered that a design flaw makes the headphones' microphones highly sensitive to condensation. This vulnerability can cause the headphones to malfunction, producing loud noises when noise-cancelling is on. Sony has yet to recognize or address this problem.
I had exactly this problem, too...
U should report them as a DANGEROUS INJURY RISK to the various legal agencies, & also $ue them 4 'damage$' =) BTW: Nobody can know what U can really hear in a test, kind of like 'back pain' $ettlements. Like say, hypothetically, if U practiced what frequencies sound like & were consistent with your 'results', nobody could tell the difference. My mom used 2 do 'brain damage analysis' for insurance companies & U could tell who was doing fraud by whether the 'disability' matched up with the part of the brain that was supposedly hurt, etc., because different parts do different things.
I have this exact issue with mine. First with left buds, send to service, they replaced the left side bud. Then the right one, send to service, they said a factory reset fixed it.😮💨 More than half a year later, right one again. Now waiting for it to come back. What a shame, Sony. It's your top of the line product but filled with issue.
I have the XM4s and experienced this battery issue. I bought the proprietary battery from a sketchy eBay listing and replaced the batteries and the issue went away.
However, it's not that simple of a repair. I could barely do it and damaged an earbud in the process, because the contact that connects the battery to the PCB is EXTREMELY fragile. It's too small to solder back on, at least with the tools I have, so I just replaced it with a big ball of solder and now the adhesive isn't strong enough to keep constant pressure so it cuts in and out occasionally.
Replacing the battery has fixed the battery life and heat issue, but now the other ear bud is having this issue so I have to replace that battery too. I hope I don't damage that one too.
A $20 pack of 2 batteries is better than buying new headphones.
Tip of the day: other than critical security updates, there is little value in updating something that is working properly. Minor features or promises vs the risk of breaking a working device is not worth it.
Noticed the described problem with my xm4 few months ago, but since I haven't used them often did nothing to fix it. And today, I just bumped into this vid. God bless this Man for morals and NO suggestions for the solution!
I loved my Sony 1000Xm4 UNTIL I updated the firmware and then I went from this summer - using them ALL DAY - to now - UNDER AN HOUR. Oof. So I wrote to customer service and they are offering me a repair or a FULL REFUND. Awesome. I only think I’m getting one because of all the complaints! They’re great sounding headphones so I’m glad I can continue using their brand. BTW I bought the headphones October 2021 and the warranty had expired.
I have experienced something similar to this with my XM-4. The battery lasts for 30 minutes when it used to last all day long. This recently happened to them maybe a few weeks ago. I figured the battery was just weak and needed to be replaced since I have had them for about a year now. But this seems like a lot more like what has happened.
A firmware update broke the headphones. Mine worked great for a year, then when I went through a bad firmware update path, I immediately noticed battery degradation. You can get them replaced, often even out of warranty (mine were 5 months out of warranty).
@@wontontiger3838how did u go about the process???
@@riccidaligdig6878 I went to sony Canada product website and called the support number. These headphones weren't cheap, so I kind of expected them to offer free replacement, especially since it was their update that broke the headphones.
I've also been having this issue. It's infuriating that I paid $300 to have my earbuds messing up after owning them for less than 2 years. Hopefully more light on this incident will make them give some kind of compensation for their shitty practices.
Unfortunately I think the only thing these gaslighting clowns understand is when people stop buying their products.
Rip mrs. Rossman🌹 I Salute you 🫡
Hello I bought this same WF 1000 XM4 Headphones in Uk more than a year ago and now I have the same problem with batteries since I updated the firmware. I contacted Sony customer service here in South America because I am not in Uk and SONY gave me this answer: I have to go to the Uk again ...in other to do something about this problem but I live in South America as I told severao times to Sony customer service. So I have this earphones ( that I can not use anymore because batteries charge only last about 10 minutes ) and have to accept Sony's unaceptable lack of respect. I will never ever buy any Sony product again. NEVER again. Thanks for your video. Now I understand that I am not the only customer with this same problem that Sony does not want to cover
I was out of of warranty with my xm4's, by about a year, but Sony stepped up and replaced my earbuds. I got them back this week after about two months in the shop. United radio repaired them, and kept me updated throughout the entire process. My xm3 have never had any issues, but i haven't updated them in forever. My replacemen xm4's came in with 2.0.0 software. Im going to keep it that way.. The 2.0.1 software is what messed my original xm4's up..The right earbud specifically..Im waiting on my new xm5 earbuds coming in tomorrow. We'll see how they do, bit fir me no new updates unless absolutely necessary. Again, Sony stepped up for me. Good luck to everyone needing repairs.
Dang 2 months in the shop? Theybjjst recieved mine on Tuesday and they said it would tale 3-5 business days to fix then send out to me. But after reading all these comments on Reddit im going to ask for a refund or upgarde me to the XM5 because the problem will come back after awhile and its never fixed. Who know after another year when theybgobad Sony might not offer any replacement for them anymore and ill be stuck with a $300 paperweight. I hate Sony for this. I have their Wh/wf XM3s and theyre still working good and battery life still holds a great charge but the xm4 not so much.
I buy lots of shure stuff, mostly for music production, and have always found their stuff reasonably well built, documented, spares available and generally just know what they're doing. I thought the last take i heard here though was that shure's build quality was not that good and their connectors wore out too fast/encouraged you to rotate them when that was not supported though.
MMCX connectors are not the best in general, and they can tend to wear out if you disconnect frequently.
This is generally a rule and advantage when buying from a reputable name that produces high end professional and studio equipment, they generally always have great customer service and quality as this is how they build their customer base and loyalty, also they've probably had to deal more with audio techs who just need to keep their entertainment business going or whatever. And they are also way more involved and enthusiastic about what they do!
I don't think the solution gave by your mother is possible for electronics products now, because they have serial numbers on the product itself which is connected with the receipt 😐
As long as businesses still pay their employees in 2023 as poorly as they paid employees in 1993, they're not reading it....
In most cases, Amazon will straight up give you the refund the moment the UPS store scans the package. If not, then when it hits their return depot.
Thank you Louis for covering this!
I really loved my XM4s. Few months ago my right earbud started to have battery issues(low battery life, getting hot while charging). It has spread to my left one too. I really hate myself for thinking that Sony would care about it's customers. Could someone recommend me new airbuds that are made by an actually decent company?
Most repairable ones were ironically XM3s, a generation before this new one. Jabra ones are supposed to be nice too.
Shore
I had the same issue, and I guess I am lucky. Sony India replaced both of my earbuds, absolutely free of cost even when it was out of warranty. Again, the Sony center I went to had a very good manager who understood the issue and gave me a free replacement. Now I'm cautious. The battery lasts long. No drain issues. I don't do any firmware updates.
Same issues with mine. Gave up hope on them, but have not contacted Sony. Seems like it would have been fighting a losing battle anyway. I had no idea it was so wide spread. Keep up the great service Louis. Thank you.
This is very unfortunate, I got Sony earphones a month ago...
Bought some a few years ago, they had the battery defect. I get them replaced by Sony. They have been used every day for a year plus.
Think you will be OK. It was only certain older revisions that received a bad version of the firmware that had the issue.
just don't update the firmware for it
Sony has had a strange track record lately for me, but their hardware was always good. It feels like in the past decade, they've cut any areas that they felt were unimportant, even if they were actually vital in some capacity.
For their headphones, a lot of them sound alright which is actually very fine, because a lot of them do not sound alright. The problem I've had over the years is horrible plastic quality. Vital joints are unenforced by metal while metal is used all over the product(s) for purely aesthetic reasons.
yup, very annoying and it shouldn't cost more than 100$ in stainless steel to make swivels unbreakable, plastic just straight gets destroyed by UV rays, heat and just normal aging
@@_Circus_Clapped_ yep, the plastic swivels are really the worst. It's even worse because they use steel for the headband. I ended up having to re-engineer two different headphone set swivels before giving up and just dishing out extra cash for a Bose set
Wow just because few WF-1000xm4 doesn't automatically mean Sony is lazy like Apple how come nobody doing video sham iPhone 15 Pro Max breaking easily Apple pretending it's not happening.
@@_Circus_Clapped_Sony high end headphones don't use plastic
Yep, all my Sony Headphones broke on BOTH SIDES. I love their sound but will switch to Bose.
I was lucky enough that Amazon (EU) gave me a full refund after a year when the batteries started to die. I got a portable headphone amp with BT and a pair of nice IEMs instead and couldn't be happier. Thanks for your work Louis!
Ive had Shures before. I went with a known audio company, back when it was just the 1/8th inch plug 3 way for a much older smartphone. They sounded amazing. I currently have the Dewalt neckband earbud/speakerphone and its pretty darn good.
I bought some sure earbuds about 15 years ago. They still work and are in brand new shape because I never use them. I cant get them to stay in my ears. My bose earbuds are another story. On my 6th or so pair of various bose earbuds and they always stay put in my ears. They sound amazing! Only one pair of bluetooth ones gave me problems and that was after a couple years of daily use. They quit charging the battery. I bought another refurbished pair for $65 and they still work. I have now replaced them with newer models. My latest are the first gen quiet comforts noise cancelling buds. They are awesome at knocking down noise at my diesel mechanic job, stay in my ears is any weird positions I get into, and sound phenomenal.
At same time LTT (technically Short Circuit) publishes video telling us to buy.... Sony XM5s. Great timing from Linus :)
I literally just came right from that video rotfl XD
LTT, known for their in-depth research and upstanding integrity
@@gnomeam LTT added pinned comment:
"Heads up! If you're considering buying this product, it may be prudent to investigate some of the battery issues that have plagued the previous generation. Sony's handling of that situation could have implications for XM5 customers as well. "
Better late, then never :)
As a professional singer Shure is always a sure bet.
from the Super 55 (the new one sucks) to the SM58, then Beta 58A (still common today)...they are benchmarks!
Thank You Louis for spreading the word for bad brands and good brands and alternative solutions we should not pursue😆
thank you for this video, just saw and and I had a pair of mx4 that broke a long while ago due to the battery issue and so i contacted sony customer support and they said send them in and we will fix/replace them no charge... so yay
Her advice is great and I have used it. If they are faulting and give me the run around, you pushed me.
I understand the principle, but for a guy who ran his own computer repair shop, why is it out of the realm of possibilities to replace the battery and update firmware on his own?
It might be worth noting that 3.7V/3.85V is just the nominal voltage. These batteries are probably being charged all the way up to 4.35V when they're only rated for 4.2V max. In the RC world, there are LiHV batteries that are designed to do this, but even those last a lot longer if you treat them like ordinary 3.7V packs.
That's absolutely not how any of this works.
@@faradaysage15 Then please, go on. Tell us how it actually works.
I had the same issue, Sony replaced them with a new pair. Altho it was 6 months out of warranty, I never showed them a receipt, nor did they ask. They did ask when I bought them, and i told them truth. I also had to go through some troubleshooting prior to them sending me a shipping label. Whole process took 1 week. In Canada.
0:44 Amazing living room design. What else would one want.
Thank you for making this video.
I was just watching reviews on the XM5 before making a decision to replace my XM4s, as the battery life in the left earbud is lasts for just over 30 minutes now, while my right one lasts considerably longer. Neither being anywhere close to the 8 hours they started out with. But to be fair, I have been using them A LOT. Both for running, cycling, workout, work, etc. (They are a life-saver, when you work as a developer in an open-office).
To be honest, I have been so happy with the quality and performance of the XM4s so far, that I am probably still going to purchase the XM5s, in some desperate hope, that they are going to have fixed the firmware issue on those.
But this video gave me the reason as to why my beloved XM4s started failing. Thank you
I've had some really good experiences with Skull Candy earbuds.
Im a very heavy user, and have had issues where one or the other of the earbuds would just fail. Probably a problem with the little wires inside wearing out, usually within the 1 year warranty.
So that part is a negative because I wish they held up better, but also they are being used for 12-18 hours a day, usually in single earbud mode, so I might have abnormal results.
That being said I've used their warranty process a few times and it has been good. Back in April I started a RMA on one pair but didn't have a bubble envelope handy and since I was using my other pair i just kind of forgot to mail it in for 6 months.
So a couple days ago I remembered that I needed to do it, found an envelope, looked at the RMA email, and noticed that it was good for 90 days. Called the company to see if I could get a new RMA number, and the very friendly agent said that the old number was still open and I should just send it in. So I did.
I haven't had to deal with them outside of warranty yet, but I'm pretty happy with the experiences that I have had.
I switched from Airpods Pro to XM4 due to crackling issues with the Airpods Pro. At first I was happy with my XM4 because the battery life literally lasts throughout my working hour. But then I got the battery drain issue and was out of warranty. In my case, the battery drain occur in both earbuds and the battery life drops from around 8 hours to 1-1.5 hours. The only silver lining for me is this issue forced me to switch back to Airpods Pro 2 and can't be happier. The auto switching works perfectly, the sound is perfect (at least for my non-discerning ears), the battery life is decent, and the comfort is top notch. Needless to say, I will try to stay away from future Sony products whenever possible.
Thank you for covering this. I had this issue with XM-4.
This is the very first time I saw you when your video accidentally popped up - man, you are good. You could have been lead actor in Nolan movies or a news anchor had you chosen to. Loved the in-depth research and thanks for this. Btw, have faced similar experience with Sennheiser momentum earphones - overheating, only one earphone charging properly - quite sure they also have manufacturing/ parts defect they don’t take ownership for.
Another very happy Shure user, same wireless model- also own the wired model. Plus a lifelong Wusthof knife person now. A 20 year old chef's knife I've used daily swelled up around the rivet which goes through the black handle, and a bit of the handle cracked off. I contacted Wusthof directly, they put me onto the country distributor (I moved to the UK from Australia since buying the knife), and they sent me a new knife no receipt needed! I had to send them photos of the knife, and send back the dead one. But THAT is what I call a lifetime warranty!!!
Back in the day Shure shipped a headphone with some nice super slim cables. The trouble is they were a bit too slim and broke easy. So instead of doing the right thing and making some cables 20% tougher or even 50% tougher, they shipped everyone these terrible cables that were monstrously thick and they wouldn't dangle naturally because they held their shape like wire and was a constant fight, like having chicken wire around your neck. Technically they made the headphones work again, but they were unusable.
BRAVO you are so fking 100% correct in EVERY SINGLE SENTENCE.
Thanks, again.
I have these as well, I live in Belgium and was able to sent them for repair got them back and they were fine for a while. However now, a few months later, I got the same issue again and will be sending them back again. If not for this problem they are absolute amazing.
I am currently using the C700N wireless earphones from Sony and this is my 3rd pair in less than a year. The previous two were giving me a lot distorted audio when walking but when staying still they were fine so the store I bought them from confirmed them as defect and gave me a replacement. Now I am hoping to god that 3rd time is the charm where they work with the least amount of probems and also taking into account the overcharging as I have learned from this video, so thank ypu for that.
From my understanding most lithium ion batteries charge to 4.2v I haven't seen a lithium ion chemistry that doesn't honestly. The voltage rating that is 3.7-3.85v is where the voltage is likely to be while under load for most of the duration. So both charge to 4.2v, one is at 3.7 for say 80% under load while the other is 3.85v for the same duration. This is probably where they are getting the higher mAh rating from. I think the firmware may of changed the applied current to the batteries so that they would charge faster. I would be very interested to see a test between 2 devices that have different firmware to see what the charge current is to the earbuds or a direct comparison between charge times. I could be completely wrong with 4.2 being a standard upper limit for lithium ion chemistry so feel free to correct me.
Out of warranty, out of luck. Fun fact: if they returned the earbuds within two years after purchase in Germany they simply would have gotten new ones or their money back.
I had similar issues sometimes with different electronics, even opened once a case (at the orignal seller) literally on the last day of the the two year period... got a new one as replacement. Important: doesn't matter if you return them after two years, only the day when the problem was reported matters.