Hello again fellow readers and fixers! Today, we have a quick fix idea for people who use earphones with built-in microphones. Microphones are a useful feature that lets people answer phone calls in a hands-free way. But sometimes, the casing of the microphone can break apart. And so, you may end up losing parts of it, possibly for good.
What happened in my case…
I have a pair of Rock Jaw Alfa Genus v2 earphones with a microphone built-in to the wire for the left earphone. It served me very well as a daily driver for listening to music since 2015. But one day, I wanted to listen to some music while I was having some lunch. Unfortunately, the mic casing broke apart just as I took the earphones out! And while I saved the front piece and the button for phone calls, I lost the back piece for good…
My earphones are still in good working order though, despite the loss of the back piece. So, I looked online for a replacement back mic cover for my earphones. But all they had for sale was brand new pairs of Rock Jaw Alfa Genus v2 earphones. (And maybe a couple of second-hand ones.)
A quick-fix solution
Thankfully, at least I can still use it for hands-free phone calls. So I am going to recreate the missing back cover by using some Sugru. Sugru is a mould-able form of glue that turns into silicone rubber when it cures. This makes it useful for fixing small low current, low voltage electronic items. For example, you can seal damaged coverings on USB charging cables with Sugru.
I used the black adhesive, since it matches with the wire coat of my earphones. To apply the adhesive, I took out the adhesive from the wrapper, covered the mic PCB with it, and then wrapped it around to the plastic front cover to seal it.
This is how it looks a short while after I finished applying the adhesive! Okay, I admit it’s not the finest handiwork of mine, as it’s the first time I used it for small electrical repair jobs. It takes up to 48 hours to cure, depending on the amount of adhesive used. But when it’s fully cured, it’ll help protect the mic from the elements!
After it fully cures, I’ll give it a try and see how well it holds up when I use it as a daily driver again! In the meantime, keep calm and just keep on fixing!