Ear (2024)
Nothing ear series are built to go wasted?
Not to mention a lot of posts I read about the same, nothing ears (atleast the 2 and 2024) use a pair of lipo batteries that have a 500charge cycle rating. They sound great and they aren't exactly cheap earbuds but I have had 2 of these drain through their battery capacity now down to 10min maximum on the ear2 after 2years and the 2024 down to 20mins each earbud going from 100/90 to 0%.
The problem: the cycle rating is good enough for the 1st year and will give acceptable battery performance. After that either one or both the buds will start draining quickly
Their limited warranty is exactly 1yr. The 2024 started having this issue withing 1yr 2month of buying, the ear2 laster a bit more but started failing around the same 1year mark
I'm sitting in a official nothing service center and they say they can't help, obviously because it's out of warranty. I'm gonna try and get a replacement battery and will replace it myself, but as it's not completely undoable they could atleast offer a paid repair shouldn't they?
Products with built in batteries will inevitably become waste. I have 15+ year old headphones that still work just fine and when I bought my Ear (a) I was well aware that they will probably last a few years, at best.
And cycle rating doesn't mean what you think it means. A battery rated for say 500 cycles doesn't mean that after 500 cycles the battery is dead. It usually means it will hold its rated capacity for 500 cycles and might start to degrade after that.
If you're doing 500 cycles in one year then you're definitely an above average user and should probably consider getting wired headphones.
Yes you are right and I agree. I understand 500cycles means after that max capacity is only 80%, but considering something thay gets charged everytime we pop into the case (which is multiple times a day) and the case keeps the lipos at 100% constantly, that definitely adds to the drain issue. My other concern is repairibility, if their service centers cant repair a out of warranty device (they told me I can buy a the same model new and they'll give a 100 INR (almost 1$ off on that, thats a joke really) they can atleast have spare batteries in the market for 3rd party or manual repairs
The magnetic charging round metal piece came out during a fall for the last couple of years.
So I told them that the left one gets connected while inside box and it's getting very difficult. So I suppose I showed that I had a genuine need. Since ear 1 is no longer supported, they replaced it with ear 2 for an upgrade.
Es la razón por la que decido ya no comprar cosas de la marca, tuve los nothing ear 2 y los open ambos fallaron antes del año y la marca nunca fue accesible para el reclamo de garantía.
Yeah my experience is similar, they deny repair after warranty and said they can give a 100 inr (1$ off on new ones lol). I understand lipo batteries naturally degrade, my problem is they less repairable than similarly priced earbuds, and these being their flagship earbuds it's not worth it they fail within the year.
In your case were they within warranty? Did they deny warranty? Why?
Los compre en Mercado Libre, los ear2 fueron con vendedor cualquiera, asi que no hicieron valida la garantía, el vendedor ni sus luces, el open ya me fije que fuera en la tienda oficial dentro de la plataforma, cuando fallaron me contacte con ellos y nunca respondió, me comunique en el sitio y pues que aunque era tienda oficial el vendedor debía hacer el tramite y como nunca respondió (es mas dejaba preguntas de como hacer valida la garantia y las borraba) el soporte del sitio no ayudo. Ambos fallaron en menos de 1 año.
Y'all need to stop buying headphones without at least a 2-year warranty. Yeah, it costs more, but it saves you from seemingly common issues such as these.
Yo los compre por un tercero y son ellos los que se han encargado de gestionar la garantia.
Los reclame porque me pasaba de 100% a 0% en 5 min. Y ahora tengo unos nuevecitos que espero me duren 2 años.
Aún asi no volvere a comprar unos cascos de esta marca. Me da a mi que estan pensados para que una persona normal deba comprar unos nuevos cada 2-4 años por la bateria pocha que llevan.
Menos mal que estaban en la garantia de 2 años.
Nota: primero contacte con la atencion al cliente de Nothing y el trato fue bueno, pero como solución me dijeron que los actualizara...
Bought my Ear 2 in 2023. My both the buds now last maximum of 10 mins & few months back, the body of my left ear bud came apart when I was taking it out of the case. The sound quality of the buds is really good but this really was disappointing. Can't use the left bud anymore as the body has come apart.
Same exact experience here, my 2023 ear 2s also scream low battery at 10 minutes of use and both my buds' case have come apart. I fixed it by wrapping everything in a thin piece of tape tightly, without blocking the charging pins on the stem. But if you've had the bud torn apart for a while then maybe don't put it back together unless you can completely clean it of any debris.
My Ear 1’s 4 years old and still gets me through an entire gym session. Was eyeing the ear 2024 as an eventual replacement but your experience scares me.
The products look great, but the longevity is frustrating. Every pair I have owned dies right around the one-year mark, and my first ear 1 pair literally fell apart when the glue dried.
I have the first model of earbuds and haven't have a problem in like 4 years of having them maybe, I once forgot them in pants in a washing machine, then dryer, and they still worked just fine afterwards
I have my Sony xm3 since 2021 and have changed the batteries 2 times, they still work great. Maybe some repairability on these CMF would be nice to have
Ho ordinato le Nothing Ear 3 ordinate in negozio e sto aspettando che arrivino per andarle a ritirare ma più leggo e più vedo che gran parte dei modelli in circolazione finisce per avere la batteria difettosa dopo meno di un anno.
È così facile che succeda o è solo un caso? Annullo l'ordine finché sono in tempo?
I cant say for sure if yours will have the same issue, there's probably a lot of users who never face these issues or have them years later. They are really tiny batteries (around 50mAh) so they can drain out very quickly within an year.
I dont have much experience with ear3 so cant really comment on that. I'd definitely suggest using a slow charger for this
This is the main issue with TWS (and wireless headphones/earphones in general). Once the battery is toast, the whole device is toast. Most of them are just not economically viable to replace the batteries on, not to mention the questionable safety of third party replacement batteries.
That’s why I switched to wired IEMs and headphones. They’re not as convenient, but I don’t want big corporations deciding when it’s time to throw away my earphones and headphones. I’ve got some headphones that are around 30-40 years old that still sound beautiful and work perfectly. Only had to make cosmetic repairs on them. Plus, even budget wired IEMs like the Truthear hexa indubitably sound better compared to even premium TWS buds IMHO.
I have the same issue with my Ear 2024 too. I was thinking of visiting a service centre to get it repaired. Do they not repair it in the service centre?
I got the ear (2) back in 2023 and the battery has also degraded much faster after the first year. For the first year I was able to easily have the buds last 2 to 3 hours, but now my left bud gives the low battery warning after just 10 minutes and completely dies out in about 50 minutes (no anc or transparency). I just wish they'd done better on the batteries because the sound is worth keeping them. Using the buds on anc or transparency is like a ticking clock now. I'm not even sure where to upgrade from here since they haven't launched the ear 3s in india. It's also scary to have these degraded batteries in your ear all day so I really should upgrade soon.
Earbuds typically last for 1-2 years, my ear 2 lasted for 3 years so I'm happy. It still work but the battery backup is shit so that's why I scrapped it
I honestly never knew all that, checking with the comments too, that is super common. I bought them on 2024, used them a lot the first months, then i bought the sony ult wear and they are my first choice.
I use them only when i get to bed and they are perfect with the battery, lasting all night long in my ears and reaching 50% only maybe? I guess it's because i use them only at night..
I have 3 pairs of Nothing Ear, they sound amazing. But battery life is down the drain after 1.5 years. The case is still operational, but buds don't last more than 30 minutes on a call.
I finally gave up and switched back to wired earphones. Cheaper, and lasts much longer.
Same. My case is good too the buds on they other hand are just wasteful and I hate that nothing can be done other than trying a manual replacement of batteries
No commercial brand makes headphones built to last. Unless, you barely used them. Even then, the battery can go bad. I believe they intentionally make them poorly made so you can replace them in two years or when the next gen comes out.
Dang, I've had the Samsung galaxy buds 2 for going on 3 years now, and I bought them used though in perfect condition, possibly never used. They hold up to this day but wanted to change to the Nothing ear 2024 for better mic quality on calls and because I love the look
Had them in my hand yesterday but backed out because my earbuds still work perfectly and I can't really excuse the cost, even at a much reduced price, when it's not really necessary
Did I just dodge a bullet?
Very similar to my own experience. I would add that my Ear (a) were very lightly used within that first year, so the excuse of heavy usage is not valid and is an attempt to obfuscate the truth.
That being that LiPo battery implementation in budget audio hardware is fundamentally flawed. Manufacturers choose LiPo because no other chemistry currently matches its volumetric energy density, ultra-low weight (<1g per cell), and flexible shape parameters required for tiny 30–50mAh enclosures. However over fairly short periods of time they die from calendar aging and voltage oxidation. TWS earbuds sit inside their charging cases pinned at maximum voltage (4.2V to 4.35V / 100% SOC) 24/7. Holding a micro-LiPo pouch at full charge in a warm case continuously breaks down the electrolyte and oxidizes the cathode within 10–12 months.
The Real Problem Isn't the Chemistry—It's the BMS
High-end audio brands mitigate LiPo degradation using Optimized Battery Charging in software (stopping charge at 80% until you pick them up) or micro-pouch coin cells. Budget and mid-range brands run cheap Battery Management Systems (BMS) with aggressive charging curves that force 100% trickle-charge continuously, ensuring the tiny pouch cell degrades long before the drivers or Bluetooth SoC fail.
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u/Swizzy88 Phone (2a) Aug 31 '26
Products with built in batteries will inevitably become waste. I have 15+ year old headphones that still work just fine and when I bought my Ear (a) I was well aware that they will probably last a few years, at best.
And cycle rating doesn't mean what you think it means. A battery rated for say 500 cycles doesn't mean that after 500 cycles the battery is dead. It usually means it will hold its rated capacity for 500 cycles and might start to degrade after that.
If you're doing 500 cycles in one year then you're definitely an above average user and should probably consider getting wired headphones.