its ur cable or your plug

dont put them in your pockets

put them in your pockets so they don't get wet

Buy your next pair with a warranty so you can get a free pair when they break

If you have to put them in your pockets get a pouch/case to keep them in. Some earbuds come with them.

$20 earbuds are generally just overpriced variants of $10 earbuds
so buy more expensive earbuds or buy more less expensive earbuds

iPhone earbuds with warranty, no longer a problem

i remember when earbuds used to be like 24 keys

Ok so here are some things.

Besides you doing something wacky, like spilling water directly onto the earbuds or the cord itself (not all cords are water resistant - they will TELL YOU SO on the cord itself usually by the plug - an important thing when shopping for any electrical appliance) or running your earbuds through some kind of amplifier that blows out the speakers.

Now, wiring - a short in the wiring somewhere is what is going to cause an ear to stop functioning - the reason why is that the wiring itself is made of copper. Copper has a special thing about it in that it work-hardens. That means, the more times you flex that cord, the copper is going to get harder and harder each time you flex it. That *sounds* good but eventually after you flex the cord enough times the copper is going to get so hard that it becomes brittle and ultimately breaks or frays. This is why *most* consumer electronics short out at or near any kind of joint. So the junction where the 2 earbud wires split off or where the cord meets the bud itself, where your xbox controller wires meet the big rubber bit that plugs into the board, or where the extension connector is, or headphones at the volume control, because you have copper wiring held rigidly inside of a container of some sort, with loose copper wiring just outside that will flex a bunch and eventually become so hard that it snaps. You can see the effects of hardening on mouse cords and extension cords - you've likely seen cords where the wire simply won't be straight anymore - it's because that particular segment of wire has flexed so many times that it's now way harder than the other wiring above and below it on the cord.

So general things you can do is try to stiffen up the outside of your chords as much as possible - plenty of ways to do it from additional electrical tape to just general maintenance stuff like not wadding the wiring up, wrapping it super tight around things, or stuffing it into small containers, or stretching the cord a bunch.

But since you've acquired a large stash of broken earbuds, your best bet would be to try to fix them at this point. A nice protip is never to throw away broken electronics because they can almost always be fixed with relative ease.

You should be able to find TONS of videos on youtube on how to strip, cut, splice, and solder earbud wires back together. It's not at all difficult, and the equipment you need to do it costs less than 20$ and will generally last you years and years. In fact I *regularly* look for broken electronics and tend to take them from friends so I can fix and resell; because it's seriously a 15 minute procedure that can net me a decent return on ebay lol.

Buy earbuds with a jack shaped like this,

L

They last forever in your pocket compared to ones shaped like this,

I

Being in your pocket will keep bending the 2nd to be shaped like the 1st, resulting in quick wear at the jack. I have literally no idea why all buds are not made with an L shaped jack, unless it's to sell more buds.

i will try this. thank you friend

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Venture-Electronic-VE-MONK-earbud-earphone/32417311324.html

at 4$ a pop just buy a dozen of these (they probably sound better than your $20 headphones anyway)

Get a tiny lil case to wrap them up and keep them in. Makes them last so much longer no matter their quality

those are awful dont they hurt your ears?

If ur going for high-ish end earbuds, this is a massive game changer. u gotta try finding stuff like that

this why he doesnt want a sponsorship

EDIT wrong thrjead

That's what boggles my mind about straight jacks! Sure they're just fine for larger headphones or 'at home' use, but anything you plug into your phone which rides in your pocket while doing things will get destroyed unless said pocket is tight enough that your source device will not turn, and the cable stays straight. There are probably good quality L shaped adapters to save your buds, though. I hadn't even thought about looking for those before today.

what loot said.. ve monk

probly sounds better than whatever ur using and so cheap you can just buy 20

Says shipping is 6$ to where I live so theyre like 11$. Doesn't seem worth it.

that's why you order in bulk

honestly they are better than the sennheiser earbuds I used to use

even at 11$ you will never find something better at that price

I actually thought it was a troll when I read reviews for them on headfi and other nerd sites