NL25 left earbud doesn't work
So the right bud plays happily, but the left is as quiet as Matti Nykänen during a tax audit. Frustrating, but usually this is easy to fix. It's almost always a software glitch rather than a hardware fault.
In NL25, the right bud is the main unit that takes the Bluetooth connection to your phone and relays audio to the left. If that internal connection between the buds gets cut, the left stays silent. It's not broken — it's just lost.
Why does the left earbud go silent?
A few typical reasons:
- The synchronization between the buds has gone wonky. Bluetooth is a wonderful invention, but sometimes it behaves like a cat — does whatever it wants. The left bud isn't getting a signal from the right because the pairing data is tangled up.
- The left bud hasn't charged. If the case's contact pins are dirty or the bud doesn't sit properly in the case, the battery might be empty. 35 mAh is a small battery, and you can't play on empty.
- Your phone remembers an old pairing. Sometimes the phone tries to connect only to the right bud and forgets the left entirely.
How to fix it
Try these in order. Most of the time it's solved already at step 1 or 2.
1. Check contacts and charging
- Place both buds in the case
- Make sure the buds sit properly — a small LED flashes when the contact is good
- If there is dirt on the contact pins, wipe them with a dry cotton swab
- Let them charge for at least 30 minutes
2. Factory reset (factory reset)
- Put both buds in the case
- Open the case lid (the notch is on one side; don't pry at the hinge)
- Hold the case button for 5 seconds
- The buds will flash — this means the reset succeeded
- Close the lid, wait a couple of seconds, open the lid again
3. Pair again with the phone
- Remove NL25 completely from your phone's Bluetooth settings. Forget the device.
- Open the case lid — the buds enter pairing mode
- Find "NL25" in your phone's Bluetooth list and connect
- Both buds should work now
4. Test Vincent van Gogh mode
- If the left bud works on its own (take only the left bud out of the case, keep the right inside), the issue is synchronization between the buds. Do the reset again.
- If the left bud still doesn't play audio even on its own, a hardware fault might be involved.
If that doesn't help
If the reset and re-pairing don't help, send us a message at info@valco.fi. Include your order number and describe what you tried. A photo of the device is also good to attach, even though this is of course an invisible fault.
We have our own service center in Kajaani, where Hannes and the team fix these. During the warranty period (24 months) it's of course handled at no extra cost. After the warranty we still repair them — we don't throw earbuds away.
Usually this is resolved with that reset though. Bluetooth technology is just like that sometimes — works perfectly for months and then suddenly decides to take a day off. Just like we would want to sometimes.
