Defective by Design: Apple iPhone Headphones
I’ve owned quite a few iPods (at least five to date). Many people complain about the iPod headphones. I’ve never been overly enthusiastic about them, but they did the job and sounded decent enough. The iPhone headphones are essentially the same as the iPod headphones, with a microphone/clicker on the right side wire, about 5 inches from the earbud. The micrphone/clicker is about half an inch long, and protrudes from the wire.
When wearing the headphones, you will notice that if you turn your head to the left or right, and you are wearing a shirt with a collar, that the microphone/clicker routinely gets snared on the collar. The reason I say they are defective by design is this: After several months of usage, that constant snaring takes a toll on the wiring in the ear bud connection. Eventually, it will short out, and ultimately, it will stop producing audio altogether.
Obviously, I’ve experienced this problem personally. Normally I wouldn’t care too much, except that because Apple made the headphone jack non-standard on the iPhone, I can’t just replace the included headphones with a new set (the market has changed – see below). I’m not interested in an adapter either, as I would lose the microphone and clicker (one of the coolest things about the iPod functionality in an iPhone).
So I called Apple Technical Support about a replacement. I am, after all, still under warranty. At first the nice lady said no problem. They would need a credit card number, just in case I didn’t return my defective pair. This was not a problem for me.
However, as we were wrapping up the call, she informed me that I would have to take the ‘phones to an Apple Retail store for the swap. There are a couple near me (within 30 miles), but frankly, I don’t have the time to drive down there, wait for a Genius, and drive back. I’m kind of stunned that Apple is making me jump through this hoop for a replacement pair.
So, sometime this weekend, I’ll be pulling my grumpy self in to an Apple Store for a replacement pair. Hopefully I won’t be made to wait too long.
Side note – I looked around for some 3rd party replacement ‘phones, and found a set for $12.95 from HD Accessories. I don’t have high hopes for them, but I’ll let everyone know if they are worthy of their price.
