Zolo Wireless Ear buds improved or obsolete?

I participated in the kickstarter campaign for the Zolo wireless ear buds and received mine in December of 2017. I was thrilled with them for about 4 weeks and then the right ear piece stopped working - very faint sound and no one could hear me on a phone call. I checked the online chat and saw it was being experienced by several people and was disappointed with the Anker responders (take it apart and clean the ear was, etc.). I did make sure I didn’t have ear wax build up (did NOT take it apart) and the problem never resolved. I travel a lot and didn’t pursue. I quit using the ear buds all together in April. I pulled them out of my back pack just now and remembered how much I liked them at first. Is it possible for me to get a replacement set? Is it possible that these are now fixable? I figure I tossed $99 away (not going to do another kickstarter more than likely) but if it’s possible to redeem these I want to give that a go. If someone could give me direction on how to proceed I’d appreciate your sharing that information.

Also, I bought a 26A Second generation Astro E7, 3 port “brick” external battery. THAT alone was reason enough to trust Anker for the earbuds as far as I was concerned. It was worth every penny. I’ve had it 3 or 4 years and earlier this year when I plugged it in to recharge, the receptacle for the micro USB dislodged. Is this a replaceable item (and it is worth the cost - or just buy a new one?) ?

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Check my fix here

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Thanks Elmo. I had read your fix – looked at the buds and didn’t have anything I felt comfortable with using as a tool. Has Anker retooled their production so that this doesn’t happen in the future? I may attempt this fix. Since I’m not using the buds I won’t be any worse off I guess.

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I can’t speak for anker and their manufacturing, but if you dont have any tools you can still use the tip of a knife to pull up the gold mesh. In fact that’s what i used when i removed the mesh covering from the replacement ones i had received. I did this as a preventative so i didnt run into the same situation as i did with the first pair. Luckily the replacement didn’t have any gunk inside so maybe they did fix the way they made them

Also you do get a 18 month warranty so it wouldnt hurt to message Support: service@zoloaudio.com
Or call them
United States +1 (800) 988 7973 Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM (PT)

  1. United Kingdom +44 (0) 1604 936 200 Mon-Fri 6AM-11AM (GMT)

  2. Germany +49 (0) 69 9579 7960 Mon-Fri 6:00-11:00

  3. Japan +81 03 4455 7823 Mon-Fri 9:00-17:00

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I would first try to get a replacement this is a widely known problem and you should not have any trouble getting a replacement set. I do not believe the problem was ever resolved and they still use the same glue and black filter behind the mesh. It is my understanding that once you get a replacement set that is it. If the problem comes back with your second pair or if you would just like to fix your first set I have included an easy fix below that doesn’t require any pick tools or tweezers.

Tools needed (90% rubbing alcohol, X1 cotton ball Super Glue, toothpick to apply tiny dots of super glue)
The rubbing alcohol will dissolve the glue holding the mesh in place.

  1. soak a cotton ball in 90% rubbing alcohol
  2. position the bud so it is facing mesh down on the cotton ball
  3. let sit for 3 to 5 minutes
  4. spin the bud on the cotton ball while applying very light pressure
  5. the mesh and black filter should simply released from the bud at this point
  6. remove black filter
  7. clean mesh thoroughly
  8. squeeze a small amount of super glue disposable hard surface
  9. dip the end of the toothpick in the Super Glue
  10. apply two or three tiny dots
  11. reinstall mesh
  12. done​:tada::confetti_ball::tada::confetti_ball::tada:
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Thank you Jesse.

Thanks for that contact information Elmo.

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No problem let me know how it works out for you, mine sound better then ever.

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Zolo support got back with me withing 48 hours of my first email (through the contact page). I resent pictures of the champagne gold ones that I have and the email that came as a receipt for my purchase during the kickstarter. They asked me to do one final reset, I did and they are sending me a replacement set, albeit only the black ones are available since the CG were a limited edition. Zolo is sending a return address for me to send my current set back, so I won’t be attempting the “ear wax clean out” though I fell that may be what is wrong with these as well. Thank you for your suggestions in comments. If I get to keep these I’ll definitely follow the “ear wax protocol” and see if that redeems these. I’ll post back once I get my new set.

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Hopefully you get to keep the gold ones. I’m 99% sure the glue/wax/black filter behind mesh is the problem. Try to clean them out it only takes 5 or 10 minutes if you have rubbing alcohol. 90% works best but 70© will do the trick but might take a little longer.

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Email from support today with the return label. I got the understanding from the email that I have to mail the CG (case and all) back before they send the black set. Definitely ending my participation in kickstarters in the future. I wouldn’t mind if I was getting a direct replacement. But, they get the CG’s back, do the quick fix and then resell them to someone for what I paid for them. Not my idea of good business. I have 20 days to decide whether to go for the ear wax removal or just send them back and accept the black ones. What to y’all think?

Doesn’t hurt to try the fix first, I’m actually surprised they asked you to send them back. But at the same time it means they are acknowledging an issue and want them back to test and see if they can find a better fix. I doubt they will sell them as they would most likely dissect them to pinpoint the failure areas and improve on n it in future iterations of it

I sent my defective ones back (they sent a postage paid label) and will see what happens when I get the new ones.

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Anker said they were going to update the grill but the problem lies in the fabric filter under the grill and is easy remove/fix search Zolo liberty fix