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Warning: Popular earbuds at risk of overheating – here’s how to fix them
Amazon has diversified its portfolio quite a bit in recent years. Following the debut of Prime, Amazon introduced multiple products and services that have greatly impacted the digital ecosystem.
And Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, is probably the best example of how the company’s technology continues to impact our lives each day. Alexa is compatible with the majority of smart home products on the market, and you can even find it inside of items like Amazon’s Echo Buds headphones. Tap or click here to see why the Echo Buds are worth picking up.
But Echo Bud users got a rude awakening this week when they received an email from Amazon regarding a design issue that can potentially pose a safety risk. Echo Buds appear to be overheating, and if the problem isn’t addressed, it could be enough to spark a fire. Here’s how you can fix the issue and keep the music going.
Echo Buds: Call ’em ‘Amazon Fire Buds’ instead
Amazon has issued an urgent warning to owners of its popular Echo Buds product. In an email that was sent out on July 15, a safety advisory was included that pointed to a flaw in how the earbuds’ batteries charge in their battery case:
The safety of our customers is our top priority. We recently determined that in very rare cases it is possible for Echo Buds to overheat while in the charging case. Out of an abundance of caution, we have released a software update that addresses this potential safety risk and improves the long-term performance of Echo Buds’ batteries.
If left unaddressed, overheating batteries can pose a serious fire risk — regardless of what kind of device is having the problem. Tap or click here to see how to prevent your work-from-home setup from becoming a fire hazard.
As it stands, listening to the Echo Buds or putting them in your ears won’t put you in harm’s way. The issue lies in how the earbuds charge in their included case, which is plugged into a power source for energy.
To protect users, Amazon has released a software update that can prevent the overheating issue from occurring at all. Yes, you read that right, there is no recall necessary. Apparently, the flaw is software-related and this update allows the device to monitor its battery temperature and adjust its charging accordingly.
How can I get the update installed on my Echo Buds?
If anyone has ever owned an Apple Watch before, you know how annoying it can be to sync data between your smartphone and Bluetooth device. Tap or click here to see how to make your Apple Watch and iPhone play nice with each other.
But updating the Echo Buds won’t be anything like that. Amazon has designed the update to be automatic, so all you’ll need to do is make sure they’re charged and connected to your device like usual.
Once you connect your Echo Buds to your device, open the Alexa app on your phone to check if the update was successful. Open the Devices menu and click Echo & Alexa > Echo Buds > About.
Keep an eye out for software version 318119151 or higher. This will indicate the update was successful.
If the update hasn’t come through yet, try powering your device off and on again. As long as it’s connected and your earbuds are charged, it should automatically install itself.
We’d recommend waiting approximately 30 minutes after connecting your earbuds to make sure the update installs successfully. Once it’s on your device, however, you’re good to go. For such a “hot” issue, the solution turned out pretty cool, huh?
It’s unclear if there have been any incidents related to Amazon’s Echo Buds overheating, or how Amazon came to be aware of the problem. If you know of anyone who had this issue leave a comment and tell us about it.
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Echo Buds, Apple Watch, charging, digital ecosystem, Fire risk, Overheating, Prime, smart home products, software update
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