Problems After Two Years
On January 7, 2023, I paid €199.99 for the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 in-ear headphones at SATURN. Certainly not a bargain, but good audio quality is still pricey these days. I’m not actually a huge fan of in-ear headphones; I prefer over-ear ones. But for on the go and at the gym, earbuds are more practical.
For the past few weeks, however, I haven’t needed the headphones, and they just sat at home for a month. Right where they were left after their last use, without being recharged first. That turned out to be my downfall. A few days ago, I took the headphones to the gym and discovered that the left earbud wasn’t working. Luckily, Sennheiser has included an LED, and it quickly became clear - the earbud had no power, even though the charging case was now fully charged. The right earbud was also fully charged. Only the left one was unresponsive.
The Cause is the Charging Electronics
A quick internet search later, I found out that this is a known issue with these true wireless headphones. If they discharge too deeply, the charging electronics prevent the earbud from recharging. There’s even a guide on how to bypass the charging electronics with a heat gun, fine-tipped pliers, a wire, and three AA batteries. This method charges the battery for a minute to get it above the charging electronics’ minimum threshold, and after reassembly, the earbud can be charged again via the case.
Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3
Bluetooth in-ear headphones for music and calls with adaptive noise cancellation and 28-hour battery life, black
Buy on Amazon\
But the Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 3 aren’t that old. Unfortunately, they are exactly two months past the warranty period. With such perfect timing, one could almost call it planned obsolescence. I wasn’t willing to just accept that. Sennheiser has the image of a premium manufacturer and charges premium prices. So, naturally, I expect premium service. Accordingly, I wrote to Sennheiser’s customer service, described the problem, and expressed my disappointment.
Contacting Customer Service
Three days later (I was informed beforehand about delays in customer service due to a high workload), I received a reply. I was told to try taking the earbud out of the case for five seconds, then putting it back in for ten seconds. After repeating this process ten times, I should leave the earbud in the charging case for an hour. The hope, presumably, is to briefly bypass the charging electronics through this cycling and get the battery voltage above the limit. Unfortunately, it didn’t help, not even after several attempts.
I reported this back to the customer service representative and received a new reply the next day. Follow the link, create a warranty claim, and send them the case number. The representative would then mark the warranty claim as a goodwill gesture, and I should send the headphones to Sennheiser for replacement using the provided label. To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised by this course of action. Even though I had asked for it, I didn’t really expect Sennheiser to be so accommodating. But they are, and it seems they are living up to their premium claim after all.
Now I’m just waiting for the repair or replacement. I suspect the latter. With devices like these, repairs have simply become too expensive, unfortunately. The YouTube guide is good for a DIY fix, but it’s certainly not something a manufacturer, who has to comply with regulations, would do.