Earbuds always die. No matter how much you take care of them, they’re going to give out on you at some point, and it’s often the same thing: the battery.
Around the two- or three-year mark, your battery just stops responding to charging, and just like that, your earbuds are dead, and you have very little recourse to fix them. There is no easy-to-remove cover or flip-open slot to reveal the hardware you need to change.
You’d think that in 2026, this wouldn’t be an issue anymore. If the EU had stuck to its word, it would be partially resolved in 2027. But that’s not happening anymore, and we’re set for another trek through the doldrums of earbud battery failures.
Wireless earbuds always die from the same failure
It’s rarely the diaphragm or Bluetooth chip that fails first
In my experience, the battery on my wireless earbuds is always the first thing to go. Lithium-ion batteries have a finite life span, and each time they charge and discharge, some capacity is lost. After a few hundred full cycles, your earbud battery that once lasted 12 hours could be cut in half, and it’ll only get worse from there.
The problem is that when your earbud batteries give up the ghost, they leave behind the rest of the hardware. The Bluetooth chip, microphones, drivers, and indeed, the earbud itself, are all still in working order, but because of how most earbuds are designed, they’re also effectively scrap.
That’s because, understandably, earbud manufacturers pack those components in tightly to help fit the tiny and lightweight sizes we demand. Then there is the super-strength glue, or even ultrasonic welding, to keep dust, dirt, sweat, and water out of the components. This makes it even more difficult to replace the battery, and oftentimes, even if you could, you risk permanently damaging the casing, internals, or otherwise.
Simply put, most earbuds were never designed to be opened.
The EU was supposed to force the final fix for this in 2027
But earbud battery replacements are on the back burner
One of my favorite tech announcements in recent years came from the EU. In 2023, it passed a law requiring most portable electronics to have fully swappable batteries easily accessible with basic tools, typically without requiring heat guns, proprietary screws, or similar.
The EU ruling was originally meant to come into force in February 2027, covering laptops, smartphones, tablets, headphones, and, of course, earbuds.
However, in July 2026, everything changed. The European Commission added six exemptions, and wouldn’t you just know it? Earbuds made it to the list.
The Commission is now adding six new product categories to the existing list of exemptions. This includes wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers, electric toys, and products within the scope of the ATEX Directive
That alone doesn’t sound too much like earbuds. But the devil is in the details, and the EU Delegated Act reveals exactly why earbuds are getting a pass on the EU’s battery ruling.
The miniaturization of wearable devices and the portable batteries powering them may result in situations where the battery is so tightly encapsulated in its receptacle that its removal may create a non-negligible risk of damage or piercing of the battery. Where the nature of the product hinders its redesign (anatomic or ergonomic considerations), it is justified that such small batteries be removable and replaceable only by independent professionals.
On the one hand, it tracks. Earbuds are tiny, and anyone opening them without the right tools could be liable to damage or pierce the existing cell inside. Waterproofing of earbuds is also reasonably important for many folks who use them for working out, and anything that decreases that protection becomes a weaker selling point.
That’s why earbuds have been shifted into the same category as electric toothbrushes and other similar electronics: you need a professional to replace the battery, and even then, it might not be possible.
But one earbud has already proven the fix isn’t that hard
When will the big brands pull it together?
If you’re even remotely interested in sustainability and technology, you’ve heard of Fairphone, the Dutch company that makes fully-fixable smartphones. It also produces Fairbuds, completely regular-looking earbuds with 11mm drivers, ANC, multi-point connectivity — and a fully replaceable battery.
Each earbud holds a standard coin-cell battery behind a silicone gasket, swappable with a fingernail. iFixit tore them down and handed them the first 10/10 repairability score any wireless earbuds have earned — a contrast to the 0/10 iFixit gave the original AirPods, sealed so tightly that opening one meant destroying it.
The most important bit of information here, though, isn’t the replaceable battery. That alone is excellent, but it’s that the Fairbuds still have a decent IP54 rating. This means the buds with a replaceable battery are rated for the same level of protection as Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 4/5, Anker’s Soundcore P30i, Shockz OpenFit Air, and plenty of other alternatives. All without replaceable batteries.
It just shows that it absolutely can be done, and done in a way that is sustainable. The big tech companies just prefer not to. But if you’re in the market for earbuds that don’t give up on you completely after a couple of years, Fairphone’s Fairbuds are the answer.