Yes, I'm sure.

January 15, 2023 9:44 AM

Why don't my cheap wired earbuds work in direct sunlight?

So I bought these things. The first weird thing I observed about them was that, while they absolutely plug in and do not work if not plugged in, they also only work if they connect to Bluetooth.

I then started to notice that sometimes, while I was walking around, the volume would cut out. It wouldn't mute itself, but rapidly race down to 0 on the volume slider. Trying to turn the volume back up resulted in a bizarre "race" between my thumb and the plummeting slider which I cannot win. At first I assumed this was a faulty connection issue caused by jostling while walking, but then one day I noticed it happened the instant I stepped from a patch of shade into sunlight.

I have since tested this extensively, including switching devices, and the issues I'm describing absolutely always and absolutely only happen when direct sunlight strikes the earbuds. I feel the need to give this caveat because everyone I have described this issue to IRL says "wait, are you sure?" I am, and I am absolutely DYING to know what the hell could possibly cause this.

I know I can and should replace these stupid things, and I will, but first, can anyone explain this??

posted by showbiz_liz to Technology (9 answers total)

I take it that you saw the reviews that others had the same problem.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:49 AM on January 15, 2023

Response by poster: I see other people describing the volume issue, but searching “sun” or “light” yielded nothing for me…
posted by showbiz_liz at 9:51 AM on January 15, 2023

Apple AirPods have an “in ear detector” that you can turn on to automatically pair when you put them in, or automatically pause your music when you take them out. I wonder if these knockoffs have some cheaper version of that that’s just a light sensor. Walking in direct sunlight trips the sensor and makes them think you’ve taken them out? That’s my best guess anyway.
posted by Aznable at 9:56 AM on January 15, 2023 [19 favorites]

So these are like, bluetooth headphones that don't have an internal battery? Weird.

My first guess would have been heat, but if it happens the instant you enter sunlight as you say that couldn't be it. Is it when the earpieces are in sunlight, or the control doodad? If the latter then maybe the sensors are somehow susceptible to ultraviolet or some other wavelength of sunlight.
posted by rodlymight at 10:45 AM on January 15, 2023

Could heat be causing something to expand thus shorting, say, the volume controls on the headset?
posted by Iteki at 11:02 AM on January 15, 2023

Response by poster: It can’t be heat - literally I can be walking down a street with patches of sun and shade, and the problem goes away the instant I pass into shade (in that I can turn the volume back up) and comes back the instant I step into the sun. It happened this morning indoors when I leaned in toward a window to water plants. And, it happens in winter as well as summer.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:06 AM on January 15, 2023

What happens if you wear a headband over your ears so it's always dark around the earbuds?
posted by Jacqueline at 11:29 AM on January 15, 2023 [1 favorite]

Is it sun on either earpiece, sun on one specific earpiece, or sun on the switch unit in the cable that causes this? Because I have a theory...

They don't look like particularly intelligent headphones, so I would guess that the earpieces are nothing but speaker coils. If there's anything clever in them, I would expect it to be in the in-cable unit. If that's the case, and that's where this light sensor lives (maybe something to do with the switches, given the effect) then wrapping it in something that blocks light might do the trick.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 12:01 PM on January 15, 2023

Can you detect where the light sensor is and tape or paint over it?
posted by TimHare at 8:38 PM on January 15, 2023