How to distinguish apple earpods from fakes. How to distinguish original EarPods
1 place
If you're serious about headphones, buy them from manufacturers' official websites, authorized distributors, or reputable electronics stores.
Of course, the original product can also be found on bulletin boards, but the risk of running into a fake in this case increases. You should also be suspicious of AliExpress sellers: some of them offer real headphones, but most are counterfeit.
Check the reputation of the store where you looked at the product. Deceived customers often share information about unsuccessful purchases. If a store has been caught selling counterfeits or reviews about it cannot be found, it is better to refuse the purchase.
2. Price
If the headphones you find are 70% cheaper than in the official store, most likely they are not real. As a rule, the high price of the original is due not only to the popularity of the brand, but also to the use of high-quality components. Selling such headphones from big discount It's just not practical.
3. Packaging
Sometimes it is not at all difficult to distinguish an original from a fake. Counterfeit manufacturers rarely copy packaging designs, fonts and materials with 100% accuracy. Find a photo of the actual headphones in the box and compare them to what they sell you.
4. Appearance and quality of materials
Visible burrs and uneven seams, traces of hardened glue, cheap plastic and a flimsy cable indicate low quality of the product. Naturally, these signs cannot be found in genuine headphones from a reputable manufacturer.
On top the case is from original Audio-Technica headphones, on the bottom - from fake ones. The fake is given out by poor-quality printing and stitches / doctorhead.ru
5. Sound
They are even good in different ways: they differ in the emphasis on specific frequencies, nuances of detail and other characteristics. But if the sound is flat, the bass is unreadable, and high frequencies too loud, most likely you are dealing with a fake.
6. Popularity of the model
As a rule, an abundance of fakes is the lot of prestigious headphones. If you buy EarPods or any Beats not in official stores, most likely you will get a fake. But if you focus on less popular models, then the risk will be significantly reduced even when buying secondhand.
The fact is that the production of copies popular goods pays off much faster. There is no point in counterfeiting something that is not so popular. For example, you can be almost sure of the authenticity of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or Grado SR80E.
Which headphones are most often counterfeited?
1.EarPods
Original EarPods / walmart.com EarPods are headphones included in the basic package of iPhone and iPod. It is difficult for users to give up their usual headphones when they get lost or break. That’s why EarPods are in constant demand.
There are dozens of fakes that copy apple headphones with varying degrees of accuracy. Some manufacturers forget to put the company logo on the box, others give themselves away through the cracks in the headphone mounts.
With the original EarPods, the gap between the plastic elements is almost invisible. A visible gap, like the model above, is a sign of a fake / macster.ru Most reliable way identify a fake - compare the dubious product with the original EarPods.
2. AirPods
Original AirPods / apple.com AirPods - wireless headphones from Apple. Having gone on sale at the end of last year, the plugs attracted the attention of users with their signature laconic design, compactness and convenience. But these headphones also have a significant drawback - their high price.
This is what sparked the demand for budget alternatives. As a rule, manufacturers do not try to sell pseudo-AirPods under the guise of the original, but openly call them replicas. There are quite a few types of such headphones. Some of them really turn out to be quite good, others are just an ordinary Chinese marriage.
The main factor when buying AirPods is the price: even a used original is unlikely to cost $50.
3. Sennheiser headphones
Original Sennheiser HD 650 / majorhifi.com Sennheiser is a German company that makes high-quality equipment for more than 70 years. Over the past decades, it has released dozens of headphone models, many of which have become popular and spawned thousands of fakes.
A common feature of many fake German plugs is that they are insufficiently elastic and too thick cable. For the rest, you should rely on your feelings and comparison of the product with the original.
WITH full-size headphones everything is less obvious, so try to follow the general rules.
Sennheiser is fighting counterfeits. The company's official website contains a list of models that are discontinued and cannot be sold in stores. The manufacturer also recommends that you pay attention to the presence of a QR code and a sticker on the packaging indicating that the importer is Sennheiser Audio LLC.
QR code on the original packaging Sennheiser headphones/ old.sennheiser.ru 4. Beats Electronics headphones
Original Beats Solo 2 / apple.com Many criticize the frequency response of Beats Electronics for biased sound, others consider the headphones to be unreasonably expensive. High price and popularity are the main reasons why counterfeits are found on sale no less often than original headphones.
Many fakes copy the originals very faithfully. But you can still draw up basic rules when buying Beats.
Please note the serial number on the bottom of the package: it should be printed on a sticker, not on the box itself. Too much a large number of hieroglyphs are a sign of counterfeit. Inside the packaging of fake headphones there may be no tab that helps you pull the tray out of the box (this is important for Beats models with a removable tray). The tray itself should be made of textured material, not glossy plastic.
Original Beats Studio. Serial number located on sticker / snapguide.com 5. Bluedio headphones
Original Bluedio T2 / megaelectronics.com Bluedio appeared on the Bluetooth headphone market recently, but you can already come across fakes of various models.
There is a hologram on the packaging of Bluedio headphones. For the original product it is blue with a noticeable iridescence, for fakes it is blue, the iridescence is barely noticeable.
Hologram on the packaging of the original Bluedio / expert-auto.com.ua If we are talking about earbuds, pay attention to the ear pads: they should be elastic and retain their shape even after compression.
What to do if you bought a fake
If you discover that you bought a counterfeit secondhand, contact the seller. Perhaps he did not know that he was selling a fake and would agree to return the money. If you purchased the product in a store, contact its management. The chances of resolving the situation in your favor are small, but perhaps the sale of counterfeit goods occurred due to a misunderstanding.
And please, do not try to sell a fake you accidentally bought under the guise of an original. Better help others: spread information about an unscrupulous store, tell us in the comments about your bad experience.
1 place
If you're serious about headphones, buy them from manufacturers' official websites, authorized distributors, or reputable electronics stores.
Of course, the original product can also be found on bulletin boards, but the risk of running into a fake in this case increases. You should also be suspicious of AliExpress sellers: some of them offer real headphones, but most are counterfeit.
Check the reputation of the store where you looked at the product. Deceived customers often share information about unsuccessful purchases. If a store has been caught selling counterfeits or reviews about it cannot be found, it is better to refuse the purchase.
2. Price
If the headphones you find are 70% cheaper than in the official store, most likely they are not real. As a rule, the high price of the original is due not only to the popularity of the brand, but also to the use of high-quality components. Selling such headphones at a deep discount is simply not practical.
3. Packaging
Sometimes it is not at all difficult to distinguish an original from a fake. Counterfeit manufacturers rarely copy packaging designs, fonts and materials with 100% accuracy. Find a photo of the actual headphones in the box and compare them to what they sell you.
4. Appearance and quality of materials
Visible burrs and uneven seams, traces of hardened glue, cheap plastic and a flimsy cable indicate low quality of the product. Naturally, these signs cannot be found in genuine headphones from a reputable manufacturer.
On top the case is from original Audio-Technica headphones, on the bottom - from fake ones. The fake is given out by poor-quality printing and stitches / doctorhead.ru
5. Sound
They are even good in different ways: they differ in the emphasis on specific frequencies, nuances of detail and other characteristics. But if the sound is flat, the bass is unreadable, and the highs are too loud, most likely you are dealing with a fake.
6. Popularity of the model
As a rule, an abundance of fakes is the lot of prestigious headphones. If you buy EarPods or any Beats from other than official stores, most likely you will get a fake. But if you focus on less popular models, the risk will be significantly reduced, even when buying second-hand.
The fact is that the production of copies of popular goods pays off much faster. There is no point in counterfeiting something that is not so popular. For example, you can be almost sure of the authenticity of the Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro or Grado SR80E.
Which headphones are most often counterfeited?
1.EarPods
Original EarPods / walmart.com EarPods are headphones included in the basic package of iPhone and iPod. It is difficult for users to give up their usual headphones when they get lost or break. That’s why EarPods are in constant demand.
There are dozens of fakes that copy Apple headphones with varying degrees of accuracy. Some manufacturers forget to put the company logo on the box, others give themselves away through the cracks in the headphone mounts.
With the original EarPods, the gap between the plastic elements is almost invisible. A visible gap, like the model above, is a sign of a fake / macster.ru The most reliable way to identify a fake is to compare the dubious product with the original EarPods.
2. AirPods
Original AirPods / apple.com AirPods are wireless headphones from Apple. Having gone on sale at the end of last year, the plugs attracted the attention of users with their signature laconic design, compactness and convenience. But these headphones also have a significant drawback - their high price.
This is what sparked the demand for budget alternatives. As a rule, manufacturers do not try to sell pseudo-AirPods under the guise of the original, but openly call them replicas. There are quite a few types of such headphones. Some of them really turn out to be quite good, others are just an ordinary Chinese marriage.
The main factor when buying AirPods is the price: even a used original is unlikely to cost $50.
3. Sennheiser headphones
Original Sennheiser HD 650 / majorhifi.com Sennheiser is a German company that has been making quality equipment for over 70 years. Over the past decades, it has released dozens of headphone models, many of which have become popular and spawned thousands of fakes.
A common feature of many counterfeits of German plugs is that the cable is insufficiently elastic and too thick. For the rest, you should rely on your feelings and comparison of the product with the original.
With full-size headphones, everything is less obvious, so try to follow the general rules.
Sennheiser is fighting counterfeits. The company's official website contains a list of models that are discontinued and cannot be sold in stores. The manufacturer also recommends that you pay attention to the presence of a QR code and a sticker on the packaging indicating that the importer is Sennheiser Audio LLC.
QR code on the packaging of original Sennheiser headphones / old.sennheiser.ru 4. Beats Electronics headphones
Original Beats Solo 2 / apple.com Many criticize the frequency response of Beats Electronics for biased sound, others consider the headphones to be unreasonably expensive. High price and popularity are the main reasons why counterfeits are found on sale no less often than original headphones.
Many fakes copy the originals very faithfully. But you can still draw up basic rules when buying Beats.
Please note the serial number on the bottom of the package: it should be printed on a sticker, not on the box itself. Too many hieroglyphs are a sign of counterfeit. Inside the packaging of fake headphones there may be no tab that helps you pull the tray out of the box (this is important for Beats models with a removable tray). The tray itself should be made of textured material, not glossy plastic.
Original Beats Studio. The serial number is located on the sticker / snapguide.com 5. Bluedio headphones
Original Bluedio T2 / megaelectronics.com Bluedio appeared on the Bluetooth headphone market recently, but you can already come across fakes of various models.
There is a hologram on the packaging of Bluedio headphones. For the original product it is blue with a noticeable iridescence, for fakes it is blue, the iridescence is barely noticeable.
Hologram on the packaging of the original Bluedio / expert-auto.com.ua If we are talking about earbuds, pay attention to the ear pads: they should be elastic and retain their shape even after compression.
What to do if you bought a fake
If you discover that you bought a counterfeit secondhand, contact the seller. Perhaps he did not know that he was selling a fake and would agree to return the money. If you purchased the product in a store, contact its management. The chances of resolving the situation in your favor are small, but perhaps the sale of counterfeit goods occurred due to a misunderstanding.
And please, do not try to sell a fake you accidentally bought under the guise of an original. Better help others: spread information about an unscrupulous store, tell us in the comments about your bad experience.
Then you shouldn’t go to the market for them - you definitely won’t find a headset there good quality, unless it's a copy or a fake. So, if you go to a good, trusted store, then you are unlikely to need to check the headphones for originality. But if you find yourself in some unknown market, then one or two minutes will be enough for you to determine whether the AirPods in front of you are a fake or an original.
7 main signs of fake AirPods
We list 7 main aspects by which you can distinguish a fake from the original:
- too much low price. For the original AKG K872 you will pay at least $200;
- you don't see a barcode on the package. For example, if the original Beats have a barcode, then the fake ones only have a barcode sticker;
- the sound quality is not encouraging (suspiciously muffled sound);
- the quality of the packaging itself is significantly different from the original one. If the seller tries to convince you that the headphones are really branded, while the box is yellowish in color and does not have a logo, then it is better to refrain from buying such “branded” headphones;
- the structure differs significantly from the original;
- special errors in the title. Always check the headphone model number by letter;
- too many advertisements on the packaging. The original manufacturers try to avoid excessive advertising, since Apple products are known throughout the world for their quality and superiority. That is why the sellers of this company do not need to praise their products. So if you see that there is an overabundance on the packaging advertising messages, such as “Ultra-Super Bass”, then treat this inscription with skepticism and distrust.
Sometimes original AirPods do not fit well in the ears, so this indicator cannot be used to determine the authenticity of the device.
2 main signs of a quality copy
Now we have figured out how to distinguish a fake from the original. But what to do with a copy of headphones? After all, copies have the maximum resemblance to the original headphones. That's why do some serious preparation before going to the store. Download some of your tracks at Flac format, WV, or APE.
Some obvious signs of a fake (copy):
- Connect AirPods to your Android gadget or iPhone and turn on music. If you hear a sound that sounds like it's coming from your head, it's fake. This shouldn't happen. If you buy a not particularly expensive sports model, then you can somehow come to terms with this drawback. But if you are buying a luxury model, then such things are unacceptable.
- The sound has an unbalanced sound. This shouldn't happen either. There shouldn't be any problems with frequencies.
Where you shouldn't buy AirPods
Try to purchase such products from trusted stores that provide customers with documents and a guarantee. Such stores are reliable, because even if you damage the headphones through your fault or not, you can return the goods.
You definitely shouldn't buy a headset in the following places:
- In the online store. If you are looking for headphones from the Middle-End category, then you should not take risks and use Internet services.
- On Avito. Buying electrical equipment secondhand is risky. Buying from hand cannot be called safe. Most likely, the battery charge of AirPods purchased second-hand will not last long.
- In supermarkets, kiosks and markets. Here you will definitely find only copies and fakes.
- In the underground. This is the most unreliable place to buy quality headphones; they will last you no more than three weeks.
How else to distinguish original Apple Earpods
By what characteristics can one distinguish original headphones Apple Earpods for iPhone from a copy or fake:
- You can easily notice the seams.
- There is no original manufacturer's logo. The logo must be embossed.
- The control unit buttons are too tight.
- There is embossed HTP text.
- There are visible gaps.
- The packaging is very poor quality(blurry picture).
- The wire is too thin and fragile. In addition, it does not fix well.
Photo: main signs of a fake Let's look at how to distinguish a Chinese fake Apple Earpods from the original ones:
- Many Chinese copy companies produce headphones in the same box as the original ones, so it is quite difficult to distinguish them. But if you look at the base of the box, you will not see the Apple logo, which every original should have;
- the original headphones weigh three grams more than the fake ones;
Have you ever thought about the question that in the market of modern headsets, and indeed in the entire market, you can find fake earpods. In this article we will look at how to distinguish original EarPods from fake.
Most of the fakes come from everyone's favorite China. These people even fake things that they haven’t yet produced; often the fakes are practically no different from Apple EarPods, but that’s all at first glance.
Manufacturers of top products are a tasty pie for scammers in this industry. This fate did not pass by apple earpods. On sale of this product A huge number of pages have appeared on the Internet selling the product for “ridiculous” (compared to the original earpods) money.
Once we conducted a kind of experiment and counted 827 different fakes from China.
Most often the decisive sign fake apple earpods is its price, at this device There is an official specific price range, find out about it before ordering a “super promotion”. If the price is two or three times different...you understand.
There are times when the expensive price of headphones does not allow you to buy them in a store, but you have enough money for a used product. You go to the next “Avito” or other similar site where you can buy products that have already been used and start choosing your headphones...
So, how to distinguish original EarPods from fakes?!
The first thing you should do is to carefully look at the original earpods on the official website. View the entire package and generally examine the product inside and out.
After you have studied the product in detail, you can move on to inspecting the headphone box. The packaging is not always similar to the original, and most often it is completely different. Very often the “Chinese” are removed from the front of the package apple logo. Ideally, if you already have a box from Apple EarPods, then you can see how the packaging differs. Pay close attention to the color of the headphones and the color of the packaging; in the original case, the color of your headset should match the color of the packaging. With fake headphones, this is all problematic; the color of the headset rarely matches the color of the box, since they pack and assemble it all in “makeshift” conditions.
Low-quality plastic can also be used, the Chinese don’t really bother about this and in many cases the plastic will differ from the real thing. Boxing is worth paying attention to Special attention, competitors have a lot of problems when opening the box. The box closes very tightly or does not close at all.
What is the difference between plastic?! In the original packaging, the plastic has a bluish tint of color, while the Chinese one has more of a yellow color scheme.
Pay attention when purchasing a wire, the original wire is very elastic and does not get tangled as it Chinese competitor. If you have dealt with Chinese headphones, then you have probably come across a knotted coil of wires more than once and spent a lot of time untangling them. Apple saved us from such a thankless task and their wire is made of very high quality material, all this needs to be touched by touch.
You'll probably find it funny now! Our elastic cord must be marked “Made in China”. Yes guys, not everything made in China is bad. This is explained by the fact that manufacturers do not want to spend extra money and build factories in China, although the product is made in China, its quality leaves ordinary Chinese goods uncompetitive.
Very important point, the letters “R” and “L” are drawn on each of your headphones, which means “Right” and “Left”. Counterfeiters don’t bother much with these letters and either forget or simply don’t want to write them.
If the headphones were used very often and the letters were erased during use, this does not mean that the headphones are fake. The wires of the headphones must be the same length, the right earphone must be the same length as the left one and nothing else! Chinese manufacturers Often they make one earphone longer than the other.
On each of the headphones you probably noticed a hole, which in the original cases was covered with a mesh. This mesh must be made of very high quality; our “brothers” in this matter use either non-symmetrical meshes, or even some kind of rag material that will not last you long.
All buttons on the control panel should switch “like clockwork”, pressing is done with a very light finger movement, on Chinese fakes In this regard, the click of the switched toggle switch occurs. And on some copies, these buttons are simply made for beauty.
There should be no gaps between the two halves of the remote control; if there is one, it should be very small, and not the size of a match head. Sometimes the creators of fakes forget to draw a microphone icon on the remote control.
If you can hold the headphones in your hands, then be sure to do so. If you have held anything from Apple before, you will immediately feel it. If not, then just remember how “Chinese junk” behaves in the hands,
By the sound, if you heard these headphones in the original, then you can immediately identify a fake. Usually chinese headphones they creak and crackle with good bass, this should not happen with earpods, if such a problem is discovered, it happens that the speaker on the earphone itself goes dead.
Also on Chinese fakes, songs are often interrupted or slow down, since the speed of the music being played does not match the quality of the cable.
You should also check the recording quality of the microphone, the original version has a function for noise reduction, and if you record something with a microphone, then your quality will be excellent, unlike a competitor from a red country.