I saw a comment from someone on a riding forum thread about headphones/ear buds for riding indoors.
Someone ripped the Powerbeats Pro's for charging issues. One guy said that he had 'the solution'. It's kinda gross, but so far is working well: Lick the contacts on the buds, dry them off, wipe the prongs, and drop them in the case.
I am surprised how salty they get, so can only wonder that the sweat drying on those contacts is causing some, if not most of the charging issues. It might work for people having charging issues. It's just salty... YUCK, but...
Hi guys.
Definitely, licking on the earbud is a good quick fix to improve contact and get a charge started asap when you've discovered your earbud is at zero.
I've discovered however, that the secondary (and very real) issue is that earbuds often do not keep contact with the charging electrods while the lid is closed, resulting in bud activation and loss of usually all of charge.
To resolve this, a very primitive but effective work around is to use two small rubber bands as follows to stabilize the buds inside and keep the lid good and tight:
1. Strap one small rubber band of appropriate size and tension (thinner is better) so that it loops just over the section of the earbuds that connects to the charger, and around the bottom of the charge case to anchor the buds firmly in place.
This does a really good job of maintaining the contact while the lid is closed and no matter what position the charge case is in. The problem is, no matter how thin a rubber band you use here, it will cause the lid to be slightly open, maybe just a couple of millimeters. Obviously, that's not good, so the solution to this is to
2. Use a second, similarly sized rubber band to hold the case firmly shut.
I've tested this configuration by inverting the charge case, placing it on its side, lightly tossing it onto a bed or a table, and tossing it from hand to hand. I then further tested by attemping to get a bluetooth connection with the case closed to see if the buds had lost their contact from the movement. Every time I tested, I was unable to establish Bluetooth connection while the case was closed.
If you want to check to see your battery level just remove the rubber band on the outside and open the case with the red rubber band in place.
Naturally (and unfortunately), the part where you have to wiggle them around to get a good charge contact is just as tedious, but the bands keep you from losing that. If you're not at the gym and in an emergency situation you can always use an alcohol solution to wipe off the contacts instead of licking. This is probably better for you and the earbuds.
Give it a try if you want, good luck!
ps.
I've been using this config for about a week on one single case charge and I haven't lost a significant amount of charge. Both earbuds are at 100% every time I open the case and I believe the case itself is now at 91%. So, it actually looks like the case is performing per my original expectations.
