Home

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Only for Indoor Use

Written by CA from Vancouver

Apr 27, 2009

I purchased these earphones a month ago and have been using them regularly. Loved the functionality and design. Sound quality was not high-end but decent.

However they are not durable. If any moisture gets into the remote unit while exercising or, well, being outside, it will stop functioning. There also is no support for this product that I could find on the website. The price isn't that high but I expected better from an Apple product.

105 of 123 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

CONSUMER WARNING!! ALERT.

Written by BD from Surrey

Aug 3, 2009

I am a fan of Apple. A Big Fan. I have a house full of Apple gear, some going back to 1990.

Every so often, Apple puts a clunker out, and this little headset rates with the most infamous.

It's not sealed, so when you sweat on it, or get a bit of moisture near the controller, it quits working permanently. Utterly useless. DO NOT BUY the new talking shuffle and the controller headset unless you plan to keep it perfectly dry. NOT SUITABLE FOR RUNNING, BIKING, PHYSICAL EXERTION or anything involving perspiration.

BE WARNED.

83 of 88 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

moisture (sweat) intolerant

Written by DO from Chicago

Jun 12, 2009

I bought a 3rd gen iPod shuffle when it first came out specifically for the gym. Unfortunately these earphones quit working after the least bit of exercise. They are very intolerant to moisture, yet the controls land right on my neck, which gets quite wet when I run. I've ruined six pairs of them in less than two months and have finally put my new iPod shuffle in the drawer and gone back to using my clunky iPhone with third-party earphones by Bang & Olufsen during my workouts.

88 of 102 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Very Disappointed

Written by JM from Romulus

May 20, 2009

I use these earphones and the ipod Shuffle only during my workout. After about 3 workouts the controls stopped working and the Voice Over feature spontaneously started repeating the names of the tunes. I returned the whole unit to the Apple store where it was cheerfully replaced. The new unit didn't make it 20 minutes into my workout before it started doing the same thing. My appointment with an Apple genius yielded no useful suggestions for fixing the problem. Now after some trial and error, the only way I can use it is to wrap a tissue around the control lead in order to catch the sweat that I believe is causing the problem. The control is also awkwardly placed out of sight too close to the earpiece.

73 of 79 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

great when sitting, broken whilst running

Written by DJ from Fitzroy

Sep 10, 2009

the product works great when you are sitting or stationary, but whilst exercising the smallest drop of sweat sends the contol panel haywire and it shuts down or skips randomly through tracks every 3 to 4 seconds.

please make a waterproof version

75 of 88 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Awful

Written by FF from MIami

Jul 6, 2009

If you're going to use this earphone to workout, it'll break down within minutes. This results (1) in a diminishing volume level, (2) if you have the 3d generation iPod Shuffle, the Voice Over telling you what song is playing constantly, and (3) your iPod shutting off. Seeing as the iPod Shuffle was made for working out, the design of these earphones can only be defined as an engineering fail. Good job Apple.

85 of 110 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

NO GOOD, A HORRIBLE UNTESTED MISTAKE, MOISTURE KILLS IT

Written by 2S from philadelphia

Aug 31, 2009

DIES WITH SLIGHT BIT OF MOISTURE. A serious quality control error. What were they thinking? The premier workout device on the planet cannot work if the slightest bit of moisture or sweat touches it? And it don't mean immersion, I mean contact with a slightly sweaty cheek. I have to wrap the mic in a sandwich bag and duct tape which makes me look like an idiot. Interestingly the mic worked reasonably well wrapped in 7 layers of plastic as I folded the bag over a few times. Unprotected,the mic would die and recover when I brought it in for a replacement to the apple store and die on the next run. That was very funny...NOT. I had to use a 2 gen iphone earphone and mic which is sealed better but does not have all the awesome controls. It too will die when very wet, but recover later. Apple replaced the remote and mic earphones covered with duct tape and saran wrap (first attempt at sealing it did not work) no questions asked. Next one did the same thing, recovered and got wrapped in the sandwich bag and duct tape. I get strange looks from people now. Yes, I know Apollo 13 was fixed by duct tape.....but really guys. Redesign it and replace it for free. Here is hoping that is sooner than later but not never....please.

62 of 66 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Planned obsolescence gone wild.

Written by JG from Oakland

Sep 9, 2009

These headphones break. Easily and often. They're made to be replaced, no question.

The rubber around the part you put in your ears gradually loosens until it snaps. Then you either have little pieces of rubber hanging off or you have to peel the whole thing off. It's not that much less comfortable without it, but you'd think they wouldn't even bother with the rubber if it doesn't stay on.

Also, eventually the remote stops working with the iPhone.

Don't bother wasting your money on these. Unfortunately, I don't know of a good cheap alternative.

63 of 74 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

It broke.

Written by TN from Syosset

Jun 3, 2009

The control on the earphone, especially by your neck, is the worst idea.
I got the shuffle for when I work out and run.
Unfortunately I found out the hard way that this earphone loses control when exposed to moisture.
I noticed this problem the first time I ran with it, after about 15 minutes when I began to sweat.
At first the problem was temporary and the earphone functioned normally after I left it for few hours.
But recently it completely broke down and now I have absolutely no control.
I've only had the shuffle for 2 months.
I am really dissappointed, and am not willing to re-purchase it for 30 bucks (before I do that I'll get the 2nd gen for $15 more).
I just hope someone comes out with an alternative earphone or adapter.

58 of 65 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Seriously Flawed Engineering

Written by MF from marina del rey

Jul 5, 2009

As many others have said, a major design flaw causes complete malfunction due to the remote getting moisture in it from sweat while working out. If you do not use these to workout, they are good earphones with a cool remote; if you workout, these are worthless (unless you do not sweat).

I had the same problems with previous iphone 1G earphones; replaced them multiple times, but eventually just bought a non-remote pair, losing the key remote functions. Not cool. Same issue now with my iPhone 3Gs. Store employees have been less than helpful; always claiming this is the first they have heard of this problem. Yeah, right.

Apple engineers need to fix this issue asap. This is fundamental design flaw preventing this product from meeting the minimum standard warranty of mechantability.

52 of 60 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Why Apple Why

Written by AS from Nacogdoches

Jul 9, 2009

when i first acquired these headphones it was great, everything worked, but then something happened. while i was running one day the song changed with out me changing it, then the volume when all the way down and now i can no longer use the remote,and the microphone does not work either. these headphones were a waste on my money WHY APPLE HWY HAVE U FORSAKEN ME.

60 of 77 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Not durable, not even for everyday use

Written by JS from Atlanta

Oct 1, 2009

I use them when I walk to and from school. During the day, they are in by backpack, in the front pocket (not like there is anything else in there). The rubber/silicon around the headphones started coming off soon after purchase. I have been desperately trying to save them but no luck. Once this comes off, they are no longer comfortable.

DO NOT BUY THESE

49 of 57 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

DO NOT BUY THESE FOR USE AT THE GYM

Written by DR from Brooklyn

Jun 9, 2009

These earphones are the worst. If the control on the cord is exposed to even the slightest bit of moisture, the controls freak out and will randomly pause/skip/adjust volume. What's worse, there is no way to lock them down and stop this from occurring, so when it starts your IPod is basically useless unless you have a spare pare of earphones. So if you use your IPod at the gym and sweat like a normal human being, these earphones are not for you.

41 of 42 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

ear phones are junk

Written by RW from Gloucester

Apr 29, 2009

I took my new shuffle out jogging and the sweat must have shorted the ear phones. if you buy the new shuffle and are an athlete, purchase a better earphone than the one that comes with it

52 of 64 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Worst HeadPhones

Written by DA from yonkers

May 5, 2009

Im a Big Apple guy. I love apple Products. These headphone were Horrible. AT First they were nice and loud. They fit in my ear so i thought the were worth the 40 dollars i spent on them. They Definitely were not. Within two weeks the speakers blew on me and broke apart. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY

86 of 133 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

 TOO FRAGILE... STILL!!!!

Written by AW from Antioch

Oct 7, 2009

I'm on my fifth pair, you think that I (or they) would wise up.

If I were designing a grapple, or an anchor, or some other type of revolutionary hook I would model it after the earbud! Seriously it'll grab or snag anything: clothes, buttons, pockets, collars, clips, cords, itself (noose), sunglasses, that brush you just walked by, hat, seat-belts, hair, shoes, my friends (don't ask), anything and everything it comes in contact with is potentially snagged and as soon as it is tugged or tangled; the wire breaks!!!

The wires are VERY fine to carry the best signal and for that they are the best sounding when new. JUST DON'T DANCE, RUN, WORK, PLAY, EXERCISE, MOVE OR ANYTHING WHEN USING THEM OR THEY WILL BREAK!!!

Get it in gear apple! You made an all new iMac, an all new Macbook air, you quadrupled the number of processors in the mac pro, you completely redesigned all the macbook pros twice, you made a revolutionary mobile phone thrice, you blew through four new iPod designs, and let's not forget EIGHT OPERATING SYSTEMS!!!!! BUT YOU STILL NEVER MADE EARBUDS THAT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

48 of 58 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Don't use for sports

Written by KR from Vancouver

Aug 19, 2009

These headphones are absolute garbage when used for sports. I have had my shuffle for two months and am on my third set of headphones. I run daily and apparently these headphones can't handle a little sweat. They will work for 20 or 30 minutes, then the controls will have a life of their own: fluctuating volume, skipping through songs, reading of the titles of play lists, or the volume controls will just stop working all together. The shuffle itself is great, but I absolutely do not recommend it for sports, and since that's the only thing I use it for, I wish I hadn't bought it at all.

42 of 48 people found this useful

Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic

Good Idea but very poor execution.

Written by JS from Westminster

Aug 7, 2009

I have had these head phones for one month and they have already broke. The left ear bud crackles during playback and I don't listen to music loudly. Also the earbuds have poor ergonomics as they do not stay in my ear, I have to wrap the wire around the back of my ear in order to use them, but then the remote is behind the ear and hard to operate. This is very frustrating since replacements cost more than a third of the entire Shuffle package. Apple needs to fix these headphones!

46 of 57 people found this useful