Gaming headsets are an essential accessory for those who enjoy playing video games or listening to games-themed music. They allow you to immerse yourself in the virtual world while chatting with your friends and teammates, or watching a YouTube video.
Gaming headsets come with a lot of features that make them more than just a piece of hardware for playing games. They have a microphone, a speaker, and even a volume dial so that you can hear your gaming audio.
However, these features also make gaming headsets vulnerable to various problems. They are specifically designed to withstand a lot of stress and pressure, which makes them prone to breakage.
Even the most durable gaming headsets have their limitations, but knowing the causes and solutions for them can help you prolong the lifespan of your headset and save you money.
And while they are an essential piece of gaming accessories, gaming headsets can also break down from time to time. Are Airpods good for gaming PCs? And what makes gaming headsets such a fragile category?
They’re heavy and quite expensive, and they’re often subjected to rough handling. With so much stress on a single accessory, you might wonder why gaming headsets break so often. Here’s why.
Why do gaming headsets break?
It’s not uncommon for a gaming headset to break. However, what makes them so fragile?
- Gaming headsets are heavy and expensive: The weight of the headset is often more than the average person can bear, which causes the headband to be subjected to too much stress. Gaming headsets also cost a lot of money, which means that people tend to handle them with care.
- People who use gaming headsets are often engaged in rigorous physical activity: Gamers are usually immersed in their game and sometimes are up and about or even fighting with someone in person. This causes the headset to be treated as an extra appendage.
- People wear gaming headsets for extended periods of time: It's common for gamers to spend hours at a time playing PC games or watching Twitch streams, wearing their gaming headsets for most of this period. If you're wearing your gaming headphone for an extended period of time, there's a good chance that sweat will accumulate on the headband, making it slippery and therefore more prone to breaking.
- They may have been overused: Gaming headphones are designed with many features including microphones, speakers, and volume dials. With so many buttons on one device, they run a high risk of being overused or even damaged by water spills.
Gaming Headsets Are Fragile
Gaming headsets are usually made of plastic, which makes them susceptible to breakage. It would take very little for the materials to crack and shatter if they are dropped or treated roughly.
The other reason is that gaming headsets were designed with a lot of intricate parts, making them more prone to breakage.
They Have Weak Parts
One of the reasons why gaming headsets break is because they have weak parts.
The internal wiring of a microphone can break, for example, which would then stop your headset from functioning. The wires in the speakers may also start to wear down, causing your headset to make cracking sounds or cut out at random intervals.
This can be fixed by replacing the wire or by getting a new headset altogether.
They Are Exposed to Water Damage
One of the most common gaming headset problems is water damage. Whether you’re in a hot place or not, your headset can still be exposed to water from a spilled drink or rain.
If this happens, the first thing you should do is remove the ear pads and try to dry them off with a towel. You should also carefully dab at any spilled liquid on the outside of your gaming headset with a cloth.
If there’s too much liquid on the headset, then it may be time to replace it altogether.
They Are Subjected to Humidity
Exposure to moisture, humidity and sweat for extended periods can cause a gaming headset to break.
One of the most common causes of a broken gaming headset is being subjected to humidity. The constant exposure to moisture and humidity can wreak havoc on your gaming headset, as it can cause corrosion on the internal wiring.
It’s also difficult for a gamer when they are trying to play their game with an unresponsive microphone or earphones. It’s not always easy to avoid humidity, but you may be able to help prevent damage by storing your gaming headphones in a dry place like a drawer or closet.
This can help protect them from corrosion and any other damage that could occur due to excessive exposure.
Carrying headphones without a case
The first major cause of breakage is not storing the headset properly. The most common way gaming headsets break is by being placed in a bag or pocket without a case.
A lot of people carry their headphones around with them in their pockets or purses, which can lead to an increased chance of breakage. When you have headphones that are exposed to this kind of rough handling, the cords can get tangled and stressed too much, leading to a short lifespan for your expensive accessory.
- Be sure to store your gaming headset in a case when you’re not using it!
- Keep it away from sharp objects like pens that might poke through the fabric covering
- Make sure cords aren't tangled together or rubbing against each other
Winding the cord (wire) into a knot
Winding the cord into a knot can damage the wires if done during or after gaming. The other most common cause of this type of breakage is winding the cord into a knot.
Winding the cord into a knot can damage the wires when they're subjected to a lot of strain and pressure. The headphones are heavy, and if you twist them tightly around each other it can break the wire inside.
So, be sure not to wind your headphones up tightly around each other after or during gameplay as this may lead to unnecessary breakage.
Using them at high volume for long periods
Many gamers like to keep their volume levels as high as possible so they can hear the game’s audio and any other sound effects that might be happening in the game.
However, this level of loudness can put stress on the speakers, which can lead to them breaking down. This especially happens when you’re wearing your headset for a long period of time without listening to anything else (e.g., paired beats headphones listening to music on your phone).
The speakers are then subjected to excessive sound pressure and this puts them at risk of malfunctioning and even breaking down.
Their Mic Is Faulty
The mic is the most susceptible part of gaming headsets. The mic is designed to be a durable feature, but it can still break down and cause other parts of the headset to malfunction.
One common issue with gaming headsets is when the microphone doesn’t pick up sound, so you can’t communicate with your teammates or friends during your game.
If you have an issue with your mic, there are a few troubleshooting steps that you can take to try and fix the problem first before trying anything more drastic. One option is to clean the dirt built up around the area where the mic attaches to the headset.
This might just solve issues like static or humming sounds in your audio. If that doesn’t work, then there may be an issue with the wires leading up to the ear cups.
You will have to open them up and check for damage or wear on any cable that connects from the inside of your ear cups to your mic. If these wires seem damaged or frayed, then you might need to replace them altogether or get a repair done by a professional technician.
Conclusion
Gaming headsets are an investment and must be taken care of just like any other piece of hardware. They break in a variety of ways, but it is largely due to how we treat them. In order to prevent your headset from breaking, make sure to never:
- Carry your headphones without a case
- Wind the cord into a knot
- Use them at high volume for long periods
- Leave them on when not in use
- Let them sit in a humid environment for extended periods of time.