Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

[arod]

I just purchased a broken pair of Bose QuietComfort20 earbuds from ebay. The description indicates that the headphone jack was accidentally ripped out of the main board (with the active noise canceling). I have an addition to purchasing broken electronics. The photos from this device can be found here

I have not seen anyone who has opened this device up, but it does not look like it is very intuitive (likely destruction is required). Does anyone here have any good suggestions for going about opening this device to attempt a repair on it?

[arod]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

I was able to open these quite easily. I had to peel off the ends which had a sticker type protection over them and then was able to pry the rest of the case open using a razer blade and another sharp straight edge. So, after opening this up I see where the appears to be some kind of black compound/glue where the inline TRRS adapter previously plugged in. It can be seen at the far right of the uploaded photo. Does anyone here have any advice on standard wiring practices for one of these audio plugs?

The real question is how can I tell what order each of these 4 wires from a TRRS connector will mate up to this board. I can clearly identify where the previous wires disconnected via 4 very small silver dots over the black compound/glue. My guess is they will be in the following order (from left to right in the photo): MIC, Speaker - Left, Speaker - Right, Ground. I base this on my guess that the two speaker inputs will be connected to very similar traces. The microphone input will be slightly different and the ground input is likely on the outer edge of the board where one of the larger traces can be found.

Also, any advice to remove the black stuff would be appreciated.
http://imgur.com/tNUZXcZ

[stj]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

is it hard? did you try poking it with a screwdriver?

[arod]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

is it hard? did you try poking it with a screwdriver?

It is kind of hard. I ended up just taking my soldering iron to it and melting the majority of it off. I have at least exposed the connection points. However, I seem to have uncovered a fifth connection now, whereas I previously thought there were only 4.

[Agent24]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

Possibly part of a switch mechanism inside the jack. Could be used just to detect when something is plugged in, or to re-route a signal somewhere.

[arod]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

I was able to scrape off enough of the epoxy/potting compound and reveal the silkscreen layer beneath. Luckily, each input was labeled accordingly. From left to right, the inputs are Mic -, Mic+, R, L, Gnd. I bought some cheap TRRS earbuds from walmart and used the connector to solder to the Bose headset.

After it was all said and done... it works again! I have dabbed some silicone adhesive on the newly soldered connection and will be using sugru to provide some strain relief. Hopefully, this will work out well for the future...

http://imagebin.ca/v/2NN1A5BBrCjf
http://imagebin.ca/v/2NN1WsHJvGsB

[Brokkr]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

Hi, I have a similar issue, I have the same device but the other end is torn off. There is a lot more wires on that end that I need to reconnect. Any chance you could take a few pictures of the other side?

[nstevens]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

Hi, I have a similar issue, I have the same device but the other end is torn off. There is a lot more wires on that end that I need to reconnect. Any chance you could take a few pictures of the other side?

Sounds challenging to repair since it has a lot more wires. If you need guides and complete picture and info of Bose QuietComfort 20, try browsing Headphones Unboxed

Be careful with those wires to avoid further damage. If you are still unsure, try youtube. There are lots of repair guides for headphones like Bose.

[Brokkr]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

Sounds challenging to repair since it has a lot more wires. If you need guides and complete picture and info of Bose QuietComfort 20, try browsing Headphones Unboxed

Be careful with those wires to avoid further damage. If you are still unsure, try youtube. There are lots of repair guides for headphones like Bose.

Yeah, it's a bit more challenging compared to soldering the other side. Here's some pictures of the damage and different wires.

I've been searching all over youtube, google event patent databases to find anything useful to tell me which wire goes where. But I can't seem to find anything useful. Thanks for the tip though

[simone87]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

I have the same issue as Brokkr. Any chances someone can post a picture of the wiring?

[tawy]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

arod,
you have the answer to our question, we need the wiring of your earphone.
i have the same issue as the 2 last guys who broke theirs earphones ! the long cord have been tear appart and we need the wiring color to solder it...

[grrworker]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

@AROD can you post the color of the trrs wires for each connector left right and mic + mic -
thanks

[cornucopia]

Re: Bose QuietComfort 20 Earbud Repair

Hello

Have you guys found the solution for 11 wires? The only one that I could find online has 16 wires https://www.reddit.com/r/AskElectron...mfort_20_jack/