Fixing my Sony WH-1000XM3s by sticking some sponge in there

Five years ago, I bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM3s. They’re great!

Three years ago, they stopped turning on consistently. The problem got worse and worse. I Googled. I Reddit-ed. I YouTube’d. I – carefully, gently – learned how to open them up. I developed a series of incorrect hypotheses about possible problems and solutions, the funniest of which involved tapping a series of internal solder points with the tip of my screwdriver in order to, I don’t know, release some excess charge or something? It seemed to work! (For a while). When I began flying again (remember?) I packed a little screwdriver in my carry-on, in case the ol’ headphones needed a good solder-tapping during a flight. TSA only caught it once.

All of my “solutions” worked just well enough to string me along. But steadily, inevitably, they lost effectiveness. I almost gave up! Until I stuck some sponge in there.

These things have taken a dozen drops from head-height onto hard floors. Perhaps the sponge is applying pressure to some impact-loosened contact, allowing the electrons to flow? I don’t know.

What I do know is: now, my headphones turn on every time, for months at a time, and when they do occasionally start to fade on me (once a year or so?), I stick some more sponge in there, and they are revived.

The last time I performed this “repair,” I remembered to take some pictures.

First, we gather our materials.

From left to right: a precision screwdriver, a pair of Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones, some If You Care sponge cloths (very thin sheets of spongy material), and a pair of scissors.

We’re going to start by going in through the front. Pry the ear pad off of the left headphone. I remember this being difficult and nerve-wracking the first time I did it, but I must have worn the plastic bits down by doing it so often over the years – now it’s easy.

Close up on the left headphone, laying driver-up. My hand is prying the pad off.

Hand holding up the pried-off pad, showing all of the plastic tabs that hold it in place.

Remove foam.

Hand holding up an easily-removed ovular foam pad.

Here’s what the inside looks like. We’re gonna remove the four circled screws.

The inside of the headphone. There is a big driver in the middle, surrounded by complex plastic shapes and a number of Phillips-head screws. The four screws that are closest to the driver, making a rectangle around it, are circled in yellow.

I asked my parents for this set of Wiha precision screwdrivers for my ~17th birthday. I distinctly remember my dad not-quite-derisively asking me what I thought I was going to use them for. Well!

Hand holding up the handle of a narrow, small, blank Wiha precision screwdriver, with a red butt. It has some text in white which reads, “261 / PH0 x 50; Made in Germany,” alongside the Wiha logo.

Now, we open up the back. Carefully flip the headphones over and carefully lift the back shell off, using the ribbon cable that runs between outer/right side the shell and the main body of the headphone as a hinge.

Headphones are now facing driver-down. Hand is starting to lift the back off of the left headphone, revealing some gray plastic, wires, the tip of a circuitboard, and – what’s that? — some pre-existing sponge!

The back is now hinged off, to almost 90°. There are two pieces of existing sponge lying on top of a circuitboard.

Stick some sponge in there!

Hand adding a square piece of sponge sheet. There are now three bits of sponge in there.

Reassemble. All better!

Reassembled headphones lying on the table. Their blue LED power indicator is on. Hand is giving a big thumbs-up.

Now that I’m Redditing this again, it looks like other folks have also discovered this solution. Cool! All remaining WH-1000XM3 owners should know! Maybe try sticking some sponge in there? Worked for me!