A classic. One bud charges like a model citizen, the other lies in the case like a teenager on a sofa: not reacting to anything. The case light is on, so there's clearly power available. The problem is somewhere between the earbud and the case.
The good news: most of the time this gets fixed at home without a repair. The bad news: sometimes it doesn't. Let's go through both scenarios.
Check these first
Before you start suspecting the worst, go through the basics:
- Protective film on the contacts. If the earbuds are new, check that there isn't still a thin plastic film over the charging points on the bottom of the bud. It needs to come off. Sounds stupid, but this is a surprisingly common cause.
- Dirt on the contacts. The case and the bottom of the bud have small metal charging points. Earwax, pocket lint and the rest of life's grime collects on them over time. Wipe them with a dry cotton swab or a microfibre cloth. A bit of isopropyl alcohol is fine too, just don't pour it on by the bucket.
- The bud's position in the case. Make sure the earbud sits properly in the case. Press it down gently and check that it clicks into place. Sometimes a memory foam tip holds the bud slightly off the contacts.
Factory reset
If the contacts are clean and the bud sits correctly in the case, try a reset:
- Put both buds in the case
- Leave the lid open
- Press and hold the case button for five seconds
- Let go of the button: factory settings restored
- Remove the old NL25 pairing from your phone's Bluetooth list
- Take the buds out of the case and pair them again
The reset clears the earbuds' pairing and starts the charging process from scratch. Often that's enough to bring the slacking bud back to life.
Try this too
If the reset didn't help, try charging the case with a USB-C cable for at least an hour before trying again. Sometimes the case battery is so empty it can't manage to charge both buds at the same time: even if the light is on.
Also try charging the lazy bud on its own, without the other bud in the case. If it charges alone but not together, the case battery can't handle two at once. If it won't charge even on its own, the fault is in the bud or its charging slot. This information is useful to us.
If that doesn't help
If none of the above worked, the fault is most likely either in the bud's battery or the case's charging contact. Either way, this is handled with a warranty replacement.
Send us an email at info@valco.fi and include:
- Your order number
- A photo of the earbud in the case (so we can see the condition of the contacts)
- A short description of what you tried
The warranty is 24 months, and a fault covered by the warranty is handled by replacing the device with a working one at no extra cost.
We don't throw earbuds in the bin over one faulty component. That would be properly mad: and exactly what the big brands would love us to do.
