Why am I getting shocked by my iPhone headphones?

Why am I getting shocked by my iPhone headphones?

Static electricity buildup is causing your headphones to discharge small amounts of electricity into your ears. This is more likely to happen in a dry environment.

apple iphone headphones

The electrostatic buildup occurs in the device and is discharged through the earbuds connected to the iPhone or iPod. Although harmless, this can be uncomfortable.

Static buildup can occur for several reasons:

A low humidity (dry) environment.
A very windy environment.
Moving the iPhone in and out of a pocket.
Synthetic fibers such as nylon are easily charged.
Jogging or exercising with the iPhone.

To alleviate the problem, touch an unpainted, grounded metal object before putting on the headphones. According to Apple, there are also other ways to reduce static electricity:

Indoors
Try raising the moisture level in the air of the local environment by using a portable humidifier or adjusting the humidity control on your air conditioner.

There are a number of anti-static sprays that can be sprayed into the air that can be used to reduce static.

If you have dry skin, try anti-static hand lotion.

Try wearing different clothes. Try clothes with natural fibers since synthetic fibers are more likely to hold a static charge.

Outdoors
Try to keep your device out of the wind by using a case, or leaving it in your bag or pocket.

Avoid removing your device from your pockets frequently as rubbing the device on certain materials can cause a static build up.

Comments

This is not static built up and discharging. that little lie is a convenient explanation for Apple. the shock can be reproduced at any time when the wires are pulled taught by moving your head too far away from the device while the earpods are plugged in. once the wires are tight they begin to short and shock the wearer. the harder u pull away, the more intense the shock gets. and its worse in the left side so its certainly not static its a flaw in design or production.

This exact thing just happened to me tonight!! My phone was on the couch, I was sitting beside it and was wearing the left side earbud. My dog stepped directly near the connectors and I got shocked. Weird....

PROBLEM SOLVED: for me at least.

I was getting shocked about 100 times a day from this and I couldn't figure it out. Until I figured it was happening whenever I moved my feet. I have a plastic carpet protector under my work desk so I took off my shoes, and WALLAH! No more shocks! And no need to replace earbuds.

Let me know if this works for you also.

*VOILA