Never Loose Earbud Tips Again!

by andrewaxley

43K810

Intro: Never Loose Earbud Tips Again!

Heres a simple trick that I've been using to keep the silicone earbud tips on my earbuds and not on the floor of the subway, sidewalk, or whenever else they might want to fall off. If you have these type of earbuds you know what I'm talking about- you pull the earbuds out of your pocket and the tips fall off. Hopefully you noticed, but if you not you're stuck moving up to the larger size tips that were supplied with the earbuds or buying new ones. With this simple tip you'll prevent that from happing with a few minutes of your time a couple dabs of super glue!

STEP 1: How to Do It

Its about as simple as it gets-
  1. Take off the tips of the earbud
  2. Place a small dab of superglue on the rim of the earbud where the tip sits (In this case I am demonstrating with rubber cement which I think will work equally well). Be careful not to get any glue down the channel to the driver.
  3. Quickly put the tip back on. It should slide into the right position due to the ribbed edge of the earbud which normally is the only part which holds the earbud on.
  4. Bask in the glory of your invincible earbuds
By the way, if you don't use too much glue, you should be able to still remove the tips and change them for a different size if needed.  

I hope you enjoyed the photos in this instructable- I took them using the DIY Softboxes I made!

7 Comments

MaliaC2 6 years ago

But leather is pourious so that might make a difference

MaliaC2 6 years ago

I wonder if something along the lines of beeswax would be helpful or hinder the earbud situation. We put wax on the inside of our riding boots and it helps with grip the leather more as well as protects it.

SteveM8 9 years ago

It's spelled "lose"

AlexEvensen 8 years ago

That depends. Never loose earbud tips again could mean you'll never have loose earbud tips again. That's how I read it. If it is that you'll never lose them again, sure. But in this context, both words works.

SirC7 7 years ago

Eh, not really. It's "Never loose earbud tips again"... What does the "again" mean? First of all, it would actually be "Never-loose", and second of all "again" implies that this would either be his second instructable on this subject, or that the earbuds have somehow never been loose before. Given this awkward phrasing and grammar error, it's very safe to assume "lose" was actually meant. If there wasn't the "again" though, you're right and it would be a lot more ambiguous.

stubbsonic 8 years ago

I've been using super glue for years and it seems to work ok, but is not really that permanent. The tips can still come off. The glue doesn't really permeate the silicone tips. I'm going to try a couple different glues (like maybe even a silicone based glue) to see if I can get any better results.

I almost wish there was a way to improve the notch that the tips "snap" into, to make it less rounded and much harder to pull out.

I suppose another approach might be to wrap thread or thin wire around where the tip and the earbud meet. Or maybe to use needle and thread and somehow sew it in, but that would compromise the silicone.

The other thing I've done is order a bunch of replacement tips.

gpavlovsky 10 years ago

Any ideas for a less permanent solution? My headphones have cleanable foam in the sound channel (plastic tube), so I need to remove the tips every now and then.