I tested $5 earbuds and they didn’t even last a week – here’s what I learned

Cheap wireless earbuds against block with pink background and plant, alongside the words '$5 challenge'

(Image credit: Future / Harry Padoan)

Looking for some cheap wireless earbuds? Well, if you head over to Amazon, you’re gonna find a treasure trove of options, believe me. And it got us thinking. Do these unspeakably cheap models sound OK? Do they even work? Do they truly exist, or are they simply a construct…a mere mirage?

Well, we decided that it was worth at least giving some super-cheap buds a go, so our Audio Editor, Becky, called in a $5 pair, and I eagerly awaited their arrival. Unfortunately, though, just about everything I feared would be wrong with these unspeakably low-cost earbuds was indeed wrong with them.

So, by now you must be interested. What was so bad about these pocket change buds? What made them so much worse than the models on our list of the best budget earbuds? Well, if you’re sitting comfortably, I’ll tell you everything. Here goes.

A design disasterclass

Cheap wireless earbuds balanced against block — (Image credit: Future / Harry Padoan)

After unboxing these budget wireless earbuds, I instantly knew something was off. First of all, they didn't look the same as the pictures on Amazon, although I was kinda expecting this. No, the real problem was the charging case.

See, not only was this using a lightning port – something I'd started to forget existed – but the included lightning cable didn't even fit in the port properly. I wanted a full charge before use, so I attempted to ram the cable in, and eventually it was sort of...half in. Was it charging? Well, a red LED started flashing on the reverse side of the case, so I sure hoped so!

After a short while, I decided it was time to use the buds. I took them out of their case, popped them in, and...realized another clunky design choice. I had to hold down on the underside of each bud to turn them on. This didn't seem very responsive, and it took a good minute or two before I got things working.

Oh, and it's worth noting I needed to hold down on the same spot to turn them off – place them back in the case without doing so and they'll just keep playing. Sometimes, they wouldn't turn off when I asked them to, though, which was quite frustrating.

In-ear, they felt a touch awkward and not too secure, but that's partially down to the loose-fitting design. In fact, looks-wise, you may think they're Apple AirPods at a glance. Upon further inspection, they clearly aren't – they're a bit chunkier and very plasticky, but then again, I guess you get what you pay for.

Next to no features and sonically dull

Cheap wireless earbuds balanced on top of block — (Image credit: Future / Harry Padoan)

We've only spoken about design so far, and these buds are already stinkers. So, did they at least sound alright? Well, sorry to be so negative, but they did not. They did not sound alright at all.

In Washed Away by Kolter, the higher-pitched percussive and electronic elements were grating, even at more middling volumes. Let's not even discuss what they sounded like after I ramped things up. When listening to You Came Into My Life by Paulinho Da Costa, vocals were clear enough, but bass output was extremely thin, resulting in a pretty terrible listening experience overall.

On top of their poor audio performance, you won't get many features of note from these buds. They have Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, and you can activate your voice assistant with touch controls.

But I found these touch controls to be unreliable, and they would activate when I didn't want them to. Controversially, I actually like touch controls. Earbuds like the LG Tone Free T90S and headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM6 absolutely nailed them. But not these. These can stay away.

And now, for the real kicker

Just when I thought things couldn't get much worse...they did. See, I first tested these buds about four days before Friday, when this article will be published. But on Friday afternoon, I decided I wanted to give them one more chance. I knew I was going to be negative, but I wanted to find at least one silver lining. However, that's when it happened.

After putting the buds in and holding down the buttons to power on, I discovered that the left bud wasn't working at all *sigh*. I tried a number of times to get it working, and it just wouldn't play ball. There were no issues with the right bud, by the way.

It turned out that the left bud hadn't been charging at all. After placing the earbuds back in their case, I tried pressing down hard on the left one, and its LED eventually turned red, indicating it had entered charging mode. Having to do this every time you use these buds would be very irritating.

Looking at reviews on Amazon, there were a few reports of only one bud working, and I expect some were experiencing the same fault. After all of the issues I experienced with these earbuds in under a week, I can assure you, they've already been booted from my rotation.

Despite that, it's not all doom and gloom. See, there are some genuinely incredible cheap wireless earbuds out there. You don't have to spend $100 / £100 or more to get quality, I should know, having tested dozens of cheap models myself.

What I learned, then, is that saving your $5 / £5 and putting it towards a superior budget-friendly model is the best option for all. Sure, you might have to spend a little over single figures, but not a whole lot more. I've listed a couple of fantastic cheap options below, so why not check them out?

What to get instead

JLab Go Pop ANC inside charging case being held in someone's hand — (Image credit: Future)