iFixit - Answers With Device "Sony WH-1000XM3"

Sony WH-1000XM3: Won't turn on, only works with cable.

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 02:42:29 -0700

Already tried hard and soft resetting it, with no luck. Light turns red when charging. Just won't turn on.

⟐ Commented March 31, 2026 at 2:42 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Left speaker driver is not working

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:19:19 -0700

Does anyone recommend disassembly of this device or can I send it back to Sony?

⟐ Answered October 28, 2025 at 16:19 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Crackling noise in speakers

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 09:06:44 -0700

i have two separate issues currently with my Sony WH1000-XM3s. I'll talk about the one the title mentions first.

1. A couple of days ago my right earcup speaker started making this god awful sparkling/crackling noise that made the headphones practically unusable. I opened up the earcup to see if there was moisture damage or anything. However I couldn't find anything except a little bit of corrosion on some of the screws, which I don't think should do anything. The odd thing is that the issue got fixed and the only thing I actually did was unplug/replug the gesture control cable.

This COULD be the issue because the gesture control "self activated" a couple of times during the day the problem occured. However this doesn't seem like a permanent solution to me. So what I'm wondering is, does this seem like a sensible cause, or is there any way I can diagnose further? Does anyone have any tips on a "permanent" fix?

2. The extension sliders are both broken, and have been for a couple of years (I'm lazy so I just taped them). I'm now trying to find a way to permanently repair them but can't seem to find any reliable spare parts that are not ludicrously expensive (Sony's seem to be like 50€ PER SLIDER. Does anyone have any tips on how to find such replacement parts?

Example of cracked extender i found online:

This is exactly what happened on both sides of my headphones, it seems to be quite a common issue.
Thanks a lot for answers! I'm a student so don't really wanna drop 300€ on new ones if these ones can be repaired :).

EDIT: Issue has been solved so I figured I'd post what fixed it for me. The crackling was due to corrosion on the connector to the gesture control touch board. Probably caused some sort of short that then messed with the speakers. So get some Isopropyl alcohol and rub it off :)

I also fixed the sliders with the help of a friend that does 3D printing. There apparently are existing 3D models of the parts, so they can easily be printed and replaced. There are guides for this online that explains it better than I ever could.
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⟐ Commented February 24, 2023 at 9:06 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Crackling noise on left speaker when walking or in a moving vehicle

Wed, 14 May 2025 19:10:32 -0700

I started noticing lately that when I walk without music playing and ANC on I hear a crackling noise with each step I take on the left speaker. This seems to happen when my body is absorving vibrations, for example, sitting on a bus the noise happens when I'm leaning against the chair or a wall, but it stops when I no longer touch that surface with my back.
What could be the issue here? Has anyone experienced this?

⟐ Answer edited May 14, 2025 at 19:10 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Won't turn on, won't charge (no red indicator light)

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 07:23:29 -0700

Hi everybody ✌️

My headphones don't turn on at all. No lights come on either.

They also don't seem to charge. There is no red light turning on when I plug it in.

I though maybe the battery died after the headphones where in the car on a hot day. But the battery seems fine visually.

I also tied to unplug it for 20mim or so. Nothing changed.

I checked the USB board visually but it seems fine too.

The flexcable connecting the USB board with the Mainboard in the right earspears looks a little suspicious. It looked like this already before I pulled it out. Maybe that's the issue? 🤔

I just don't know where to get the right one. I'm located in Germany.

Does someone have an idea? That would be awesome.

Cheers Sam

⟐ Answered November 04, 2024 at 7:23 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: How do I replace the main board

Mon, 02 Jan 2023 08:02:45 -0700

Hello I have a pair of Sony WH1000M3 they are 3 years old and have stopped working. I returned them to Sony who diagnosed the main board requires replacing. The very unhelpful Sony staff are unable to get the part so they can’t repair it so my alternatives are to throw them away or try to find a replacement part and try to repair them myself.

I am after a step by step guide to replace the main board any help would be appreciated

Thank you

⟐ Commented January 02, 2023 at 8:02 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Can't find sparepart of WH-1000 mx3

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 08:58:16 -0700

broke the outer part of the slider on the right side.
Can’t find a spare part even though it seems like an easy fix.

Any advice?

⟐ Answered July 12, 2022 at 8:58 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Noise cancelling suddenly not working on right side.

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 05:27:22 -0700

Hello all,

Today I was surprised when I turned on my headphones when I noticed that noise cancelling did not work on the right side.

Sound works fine and has no issues playing, they sound the same as they always did with noise cancelling turned off.

I already reset them, tried the calibration setting in the app but nothing worked.

Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?

Any troubleshooting steps?

Also, when I turn on noise cancelling the sound on the right is much louder than the left.

edit: after having switched around the mics, the effect is still the same.

⟐ Commented October 09, 2024 at 5:27 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Vocal frequence almost gone

Sat, 26 Jul 2025 08:04:14 -0700

Hi, I have these once wonderful headphones, but it seems they now won’t work as before. They seemingly charge, with the light showing red, but the power button really doesn’t evoke them, except very seldom. Sometime also randomly, on its own and then they won’t turn off.

As for the sound quality, the whole middle register, especially vocals, seem to almost vanish into the background. This is regular, even when playing cable only.

I’ve disassembled them according to the given instructions without finding any obvious weak connections. A little rust on the head of two of the long screws was all I could spot.

Any hints? Are they worth repairing, or should I consider recycling them?

-Glenn

⟐ Answered July 26, 2025 at 8:04 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Headset won't charge or turn on

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:13:06 -0700

I dropped my headphones and broke the headband on the right earcup. Was able to to reassemble the head band and the headset worked for a while but now it won't turn on or charge anymore. The wire in the headset is kinked but I'm not sure if that's the cause

⟐ Answered June 18, 2025 at 9:13 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: What is the Thin Soft Black Tape used inside the Ear-Cup?

Tue, 23 May 2023 12:33:41 -0700

While cleaning my headphones of ear-wax, I was forced to remove this tape to get to the silver microphone piece inside the headphone. The tape was unusable and could not be put back on.

What is this tape, What does it do, Is it necessary for the safe function of the headphones, and where can I buy more of it to replace what I had to remove.

I am afraid of using my headphones without it because I don't want to risk damaging them in any way. I have tested the "Tesla" tape available here, but I do not believe it is the same thing. It caused issues with the sound of the headphones.

⟐ Answer accepted May 23, 2023 at 12:33 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Battery connector broke when doing repair

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 07:05:04 -0700

I was attempting to replace my battery for these headphones, and the one I used instead had a different connector that just looked very visually similar, and when I put it into the battery connector it did not work, and in attempting to remove it, I snapped off the battery attachment accidentally. I assume I will need to resolder the battery connector if I am to have any hope, but am wondering if people know how it connects to the circuit board, and the best way to resolder it.

If this is impossible, is there a way to replace the whole circuit board, or would it be better to just replace the headphones entirely? I am open to going to an outside person as my experience with soldering is still somewhat limited.

⟐ Commented February 27, 2026 at 7:05 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Only power on after resetting, quickly turn themselves off.

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 09:55:05 -0700

Hello, I've had these headphones for around 4 years now.

a year ago I had an issue where the headphones wouldn't turn on properly, but I solved that by packing in some cotton buds, I believe it was the same issue as described here:

Won't turn on, only works with cable..

Now I have a different issue, I can't seem to turn them on at all, except when I do a hard reset (This applies to both holding the power and anc buttons when it is charging to perform a reset, and when performing an initialization, which is doing the same thing for 7 seconds after removing the charging cable.). After this the headphones turn on but will turn themselves off abruptly anywhere between instantly and around the 10 minute mark. There is no shut down noise, sometimes there is a pop through the speakers, although this doesn't happen all the time. When this happens I can't turn it back on without performing the reset.

I'd prefer not to chuck them because I really like these headphones, but I can't seem to find anyone having a similar issue.

I've tried applying pressure to different parts of the main board, separating the wires more etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Sony WH-1000XM3: Noise cancelling is distorting sound

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 06:06:14 -0700

Hello everyone, in my headset both the speakers are working perfectly fine, but when I use the ANC the right one becomes unhearable. I believe it can be a problem with the mic on that side, how could I disassemble the unit to see what the problem could be?

⟐ Commented December 10, 2022 at 6:06 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Headphones found in the Dirt, not turning on or charging wirelessly.

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 17:41:40 -0700

So, the other day I found a pair of WH-1000XM3's outside. It looked like they got tossed over a fence and just left tbh. I spent the past few days rigorously cleaning the circuits, removing any corrosion I could find and basically dousing them in alcohol and contact spray. I made sure there are no corroded points touching each other anywhere.

Now it became time to test and lo-and-behold, they work Great wired. Sound at full volume from both sides.

Now here's the problem: I can't get them to turn on without being wired to my phone via AUX cable

At all.

Plugging them in, the charging LED also doesn't light up. Pressing the power button doesn't do anything, and pressing the NC button doesn't either. Haven't tested the touch interface yet. The only thing that happens without AUX cable, is the right side (where the charging port is) making a faint noise, while plugged in. Nothing on the left. When plugging into my PC, I get a Windows notification. I did replace the battery from the beginning, as it looked really bad after opening them up.

I have been checking some connections with a Multimeter to check for faulty wires, but without disassembling it ENTIRELY, it's kinda hard to find which cable is going where on the respective sides.

⟐ Answer edited February 24, 2023 at 17:41 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Can I swap the battery from one WH-1000XM3 to another.

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 09:21:35 -0700

I have a WH-1000XM3 that won't turn on, or respond to the reset process and I have a second WH-1000XM3 which works. Can I swap the battery from the good headphones to the faulty headphones to determine if the battery is the fault, or would this cause a safety risk? The battery replacement guide on this forum warns against re-use of a removed battery.

⟐ Answered July 02, 2025 at 9:21 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Can I add multipoint Connection?

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 03:33:12 -0700

I recently bought Bose QC headphones and I realize that I like my old Sony’s better but I want multi point connection as well as a new battery. There is barely anything I want in the new one aside from that.

Is it possible to swap out the headphones Bluetooth part for something newer? Is there a way for it to think it’s a WH 1000 XM4?

⟐ Answered December 02, 2024 at 3:33 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Why are my headphones not charging?

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 12:53:07 -0700

My headphones all of a sudden are not charging with any chord or block. They still turn on when plugged in so clearly there’s no connection at all.. They still work otherwise, battery is at 30% (and slowly declining 🥲).

⟐ Answered September 18, 2024 at 12:53 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Can't charge headphones, abnormal temperature

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 23:27:56 -0700

I can't seem to charge my headphones anymore, originally I suspected it to be the battery so I bought a new one and replaced it. Turns on fine, battery charge is at 70% but when I tried to charge it it came up with the abnormal temperature code again. I tried charging it on my pc, with the provided cable, or with a charging brick and a powerbank that I have, all do not work. The light stays read for about 20-30 seconds and then it goes flashing again. Now the only thing I feel like I can still do is update the firmware.

At this point I'm basically looking for any ideas on where the issue could lie so I can investigate it and hopefully repair it. So any ideas would be great!

⟐ Commented March 31, 2024 at 23:27 MST

Sony WH-1000XM3: Right speaker Isnt working.

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 17:34:45 -0700

The right ear cup isnt producing any audio. The swipe functions on it still work when switching songs and pause and unpausing. Also the left ear cup does produce audio. The headphones can charge and the noise cancellation features also still work.

⟐ Commented February 22, 2024 at 17:34 MST