Sony WH-1000XM6 Hinge Issues Persist, User Reports Highlight Problems

Key Takeaways

1. Sony WH-1000XM6 headphones are designed with metal parts to improve hinge strength, addressing issues from the previous model.
2. A customer has reported a broken hinge, indicating potential ongoing durability concerns despite improvements.
3. The lower hinge assembly is still primarily plastic, raising questions about its long-term reliability.
4. Replacement parts for the WH-1000XM6, including hinges, are listed but currently out of stock, limiting repair options.
5. Affected headphones are under warranty and can be repaired at no cost, but it’s unclear if hinge issues will be widespread like with the previous model.

According to Sony, the WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones are built to be stronger than before. To fix the common hinge problems seen in the last model, Sony has used some metal parts. However, just a few weeks after the official launch of the Sony WH-1000XM6 (starting at $448 on Amazon), a customer has posted a picture showing a broken hinge on the new version.

Hinge Issues

To be specific, the metal hinge has come apart from the plastic frame, possibly because of a break in the plastic base of the headphones. The Walkman Blog points out that the bottom part of the hinge assembly is completely made of plastic, lacking any metal to support its strength. This is where the Sony logo can be found.

Repair Options

As shown in the iFixit teardown video below, this part can be changed individually, which means it can be fixed, but Sony has not yet made these spare parts available for purchase. Encompass, a supplier of replacement parts, has already listed 53 different spare parts for the Sony WH-1000XM6, including hinges, but those parts are currently out of stock.

For now, any headphones that are affected should still be under the manufacturer’s warranty, which means they can be repaired without cost. It remains uncertain if the Sony WH-1000XM6 will face widespread hinge issues due to a design flaw, like the previous WH-1000XM5 model. This might just be a one-time occurrence, and it took months for the last model’s defect to become well-known.

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