Apple investigating iPhone issues with Monster-branded headphones

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple is said to have advised its support employees of iPhone and iPod issues caused by some Monster headphones with integrated microphones and controls.



An anonymous tipster provided Engadget with information claimed to be from an internal memo from Apple detailing the purported issues. The documentation shows issues with a variety of Monster-branded headphones, including Jamz, Turbine and Heartbeats models.



"Several Monster headphone models using Apple's Remote and Mic technology do not meet Apple's technical specifications," the alleged memo reads. "These headphones use conductive flanges, which can result in electrical shorts that can cause an iPod or iPhone to pause and play erratically."



The information was apparently provided to support personnel at Apple because the company has received complaints from customers who believe the issue is the fault of their Apple device. The documentation states that the headphones can cause issues with Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod lines of products.



"Customers may not be aware that the issue is caused by the headphones and may believe that the iPod or iPhone is defective instead," the memo reads. "There are no known safety concerns and no known risk of damage to the iPod/iPhone or headphones."



Symptoms of the apparent issue include pausing, playing and skipping forward or back through songs. Engadget noted that the list of problem headphones does not include any of the "Beats" line of products that Apple sells in its own stores.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 34
    I'm having trouble with apple branded headphones for iphone4. I have returned 3 within warranty so far. The microphone is failing.



    Apple has been great sending me the headphones for each warranty event.
  • Reply 2 of 34
    I thought Monster made the best engineered cables and such on the plant. This is why a 6ft HDMI cable costs half a months paycheck. You mean to tell me their products are no better or worse than anything else, and sometimes defective and non-functional? /sarcasm
  • Reply 3 of 34
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    crazy since Monster is a premium brand
  • Reply 4 of 34
    Interesting....



    I plugged my sons Skull Candy headphones into my iPad a few weeks back and couldn't get a sound out of them. I then tried them in my iPhone4 and again no sound.



    I thought he'd broken them but i've seen him wandering around the house and walking to college with them plugged into his iPod. He assures me they work perfectly well.



    Very odd.
  • Reply 5 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mr Underhill View Post


    Interesting....



    I plugged my sons Skull Candy headphones into my iPad a few weeks back and couldn't get a sound out of them. I then tried them in my iPhone4 and again no sound.



    I thought he'd broken them but i've seen him wandering around the house and walking to college with them plugged into his iPod. He assures me they work perfectly well.



    Very odd.



    my skull candy Full Metal Jacket earbuds+mic work great on the iPhone 4 for listening... as soon as you try to hook up to a mic-enabled program (phone , recorder, google voice search), they freak out. If I had my druthers, my guess is the noise cancellation logic on the iPhone4 is totally confused by the noice cancellation of the SC mic.



    I reported this, and no action has occurred (thought 4.1 would fix it, but nope).



    I bought my Skull Candy FMJ at an Apple Store... when I went there last, they were not on the shelves. Likely a new spec for mics and noise cancellation is the issue.
  • Reply 6 of 34
    Monster stinks. Funny how the peeps that sell it at stores swear by it.
  • Reply 7 of 34
    I had this with my first set of Dr Dre Beat earphones! I took it back to the Apple store the next day and swapped it for another, identical, pair which are fine, I've been using them for about 3 months now.
  • Reply 8 of 34
    sockrolidsockrolid Posts: 2,789member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    Monster stinks. Funny how the peeps that sell it at stores swear by it.



    Agree. Remember when a 6 ft. Monster HDMI cable cost $100?



    Monster's cables are cheaply made to resemble real high-end audio cables.

    And they're sold at high-end prices. How else do you think Monster could

    afford to put their name on Candlestick Park?



    In the digital era, even a coat hanger wire will deliver as pure an audio signal as

    silver plated Linear Crystal Oxygen Free Copper. For one ten-thousandth the price.

    (Of course, speaker cables, which are still analog, do require high-quality

    interconnects...)
  • Reply 9 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff View Post


    my skull candy Full Metal Jacket earbuds+mic work great on the iPhone 4 for listening... as soon as you try to hook up to a mic-enabled program (phone , recorder, google voice search), they freak out. If I had my druthers, my guess is the noise cancellation logic on the iPhone4 is totally confused by the noice cancellation of the SC mic.



    I reported this, and no action has occurred (thought 4.1 would fix it, but nope).



    I bought my Skull Candy FMJ at an Apple Store... when I went there last, they were not on the shelves. Likely a new spec for mics and noise cancellation is the issue.



    My sons are over the ear types with what looks like a mic built into the cable. I'll have to have another try.
  • Reply 10 of 34
    I work for at&t and all but the cheapest Skullcandy earbuds are doing the same thing, but, additionally, the microphone seems to way too sensitive, or the peak levels within the iPhone are too sensitive for the microphones included with these earbuds.
  • Reply 11 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by revilre View Post


    I thought Monster made the best engineered cables and such on the plant. This is why a 6ft HDMI cable costs half a months paycheck. You mean to tell me their products are no better or worse than anything else, and sometimes defective and non-functional? /sarcasm



    They don't (sarcasm noted). And although another user described them as a 'premium brand', they are that in name only. They make generally good products which are marked up to ridiculous levels, not very unlike Bose and other would be 'top-tier' brands which have such strong brand recognition. A consumer is almost always better off avoiding Monster unless they can get the product on an exceptional sale. (A good example is that fine $4 HDMI cable from MonoPrice performing just as reliably as that made-from-genuine-angel-feathers-and-unicorn-horn-dust $150 Monster HDMI cable).



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post


    In the digital era, even a coat hanger wire will deliver as pure an audio signal as

    silver plated Linear Crystal Oxygen Free Copper. For one ten-thousandth the price.

    (Of course, speaker cables, which are still analog, do require high-quality

    interconnects...)



    Metal and shielding do matter, though I expect you were being sarcastic.
  • Reply 12 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Xian Zhu Xuande View Post


    They don't. And although another user described them as a 'premium brand', they are that in name only. They make generally good products which are marked up to ridiculous levels, not very unlike Bose and other would be 'top-tier' brands which have such strong brand recognition. A consumer is almost always better off avoiding Monster unless they can get the product on an exceptional sale. (A good example is that fine $4 HDMI cable from MonoPrice performing just as reliably as that made-from-genuine-angel-feathers-and-unicorn-horn-dust $150 Monster HDMI cable).





    Metal and shielding do matter, though I expect you were being sarcastic.



    Sarcasm seems to be the theme of the day when it comes ot Monster.
  • Reply 13 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by revilre View Post


    Sarcasm seems to be the theme of the day when it comes ot Monster.



    Couldn't be happier about that.



    It is nice to see that people actually recognize the company for what they are.
  • Reply 14 of 34
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Quality in name only



    Too bad people foolish enough to be suckered into buying Monster products have to find it out the hard way.
  • Reply 15 of 34
    docno42docno42 Posts: 3,755member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    Monster stinks. Funny how the peeps that sell it at stores swear by it.



    They probably get a spiff for pushing them. Enthusiastic salesmen should always be regarded with caution...
  • Reply 16 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SockRolid View Post


    Agree. Remember when a 6 ft. Monster HDMI cable cost $100?



    ... (Of course, speaker cables, which are still analog, do require high-quality

    interconnects...)



    Actually, expensive speaker cables are a big ripoff as well. Audio uses such low frequencies (< 20 kHz) that fancy cable designs have no audible affects. Double-blind listening tests have confirmed this. Regular 16-guage lamp cord sounds the same as expensive speaker cables for lengths up to 50 feet. For longer cable runs, simply use heavier-gauge lamp cord.



    See http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#reviewdares
  • Reply 17 of 34
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DocNo42 View Post


    They probably get a spiff for pushing them. Enthusiastic salesmen should always be regarded with caution...



    Curiously they are pushed heavily at stores like Best Buy, where there is no associated commission, by salesmen who believe through and through that they are the superior product. This is because displays at stores of this nature are hooked up using this type of cabling and this idea is sustained through management and other established employees (where the only people who might know better are tucked away at the Geek Squad counter).



    It is a pretty easy trap for an employee to slip into. Monster cables look like they are high quality in every way. That Belkin HDMI cable (sorely overpriced at $30-40) just looks so boring. The one that comes in the box might look even cheaper. Generally a rational person assumes that the higher level of quality in manufacturing equates to a better product (and in some cases this is true—some pre-boxed HDMI cables are actually rather poor and can result in some interference, such as a faint haze of moving red pixels upon close inspection, or may not be sufficient 1080p). Without the money and experience to really experiment with this (even most people accusing Monster of BS lack first-hand experience with these products) it is hard to draw conclusions. It isn't necessarily a shady salesman. Monster just has a good angle from which they can exploit people.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boboosta View Post


    Actually, expensive speaker cables are a big ripoff as well. Audio uses such low frequencies (< 20 kHz) that fancy cable designs have no audible affects. Double-blind listening tests have confirmed this. Regular 16-guage lamp cord sounds the same as expensive speaker cables for lengths up to 50 feet. For longer cable runs, simply use heavier-gauge lamp cord.



    Here's the gold (generally speaking; there are circumstantial exceptions to the above). For most wiring purposes you just need to make sure you're not using junk (you'll find that at the Dollar Store in many cases), and that you have the right gauge and shielding for the distance you need to cover. That shielding doesn't have to come in the form of impressive sounding precious materials as it can come from the proper presentation of cheap boring materials like plastic. Copper (boring unplated copper) does a marvelous job of transmitting data.
  • Reply 18 of 34
    kibitzerkibitzer Posts: 1,114member
    My first choice these days goes to Belkin. Long-time cable and accessories manufacturer - quality products - reasonable prices - broad range.
  • Reply 19 of 34
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    Monster stinks. Funny how the peeps that sell it at stores swear by it.



    While I had no love for Monster Cables, the Beats in-ear headphones were some of the best I had ever used from a function standpoint and general quality.



    Left them on a plane though, so my wife bought me some ER's... which are slightly better silicon, but lack the cool tangle-free cord or remote volume control.
  • Reply 20 of 34
    aaarrrggghaaarrrgggh Posts: 1,609member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by boboosta View Post


    Actually, expensive speaker cables are a big ripoff as well. Audio uses such low frequencies (< 20 kHz) that fancy cable designs have no audible affects. Double-blind listening tests have confirmed this. Regular 16-guage lamp cord sounds the same as expensive speaker cables for lengths up to 50 feet. For longer cable runs, simply use heavier-gauge lamp cord.



    Really depends on if you have any mutual inductance issues, but yeah... not worth 10x the price. "Normal" speaker cable is less than 16AWG though-- often see 18-20AWG.
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