Where Is The Serial Number On Beats Wireless Headphones

It involves the serial number and software update for your Beats Studio Wireless 2.0. I first started worry when I plugged in my headphones to Beats Updater and they weren't recognized. Do solo beats have serial number? Is the serial number etched into beats by dr dre solo hd headphones. Post to Facebook. Post to Twitter. Subscribe me. Can you help us by answering one of these related questions? How to tighten beats by dre solo? Mar 4, 2016 - The difference between real and fake Beats Headphones. On my Fake Beats, the serial number was on my left ear. That was my first clue that.

Headphones are, simply put, portable and personal speakers made for listening to music and audio. However, in recent years, even casual everyday headphones have become fashion accessories or status symbols that boast big name brands and big price tags to match.

Naturally, some manufacturers figured out ways to profit off this, by making cheap copies and counterfeits of popular headphone models from brands like Apple, Beats, Bose, Marshall, Shure, and many more.

We've decided to get 5 of these knockoff models to compare them to the originals based on their design, sound quality, noise isolation, and active features. Should you get the real or the fake version? Are there considerable differences between the two? Let's begin with the difference in price.

The counterfeits and knockoff headphones come in varying qualities depending on the price range. We purchased the highest tier of fake headphones that we could find to have more comparable results with the originals. Below is a brief summary table of the 4 main sections we used to compare real vs fake headphones.

Design

In the Box

There's very little difference in the packaging and in-the-box accessories for both the Beats Solo2 and the BeatsX.

Looking closely, you can see that the carabiner hook of the Solo2 is a different color and the manual booklet is a little faded. The Beats logo sticker is glossier, and the box is a slightly different shade of red.

As for the BeatsX, we couldn't get the same grey color variant of the real BeatsX we reviewed. However, they have pretty much the same content in the box. The only difference is the slightly off-color case and the free Apple Music card, which does not have a legitimate serial number to register the (fake) headphones.

There's also not much difference in the packaging and content of the Bose QuietComfort 25 and Bose SoundSport Wireless compared to the fakes.

For the QC25, the slightly off color of the Bose logo on the case and the slightly faded box is an indication of the fakes, but it's hard to tell the difference without having both headphones side by side.

The SoundSport Wireless are also difficult to distinguish without a side-by-side comparison, but as you can see in the picture above, the box is also slightly faded and the carabiner hook is not completely black like that of the original.

Lastly, for the Apple EarPods, since they do not have any additional accessories they're even harder to tell apart from simply the case and its content. The real and fake headphones look identical and only the slight blue tint of the original plastic cover is distinguishable from the fakes.

Winner: Draw

Comfort

The most noticeable differences in comfort are with the over-ears. The fake Bose QuietComfort 25, especially, do not have the same degree of motion for their swivel hinge as the originals. While they are still very comfortable, especially for a knock-off, they do not have the same fit and padding as the real QuietComfort 25.

The Beats Solo2 also are a bit different when it comes to comfort. While the original Solo 2 have always been a bit tight on the head, the padding of the fake Solo 2 makes the fit even tighter. The pads on the original are a bit more foldable, similar to memory foam, unlike the fakes which feel like cheap foam cushions. The padding on the fakes is also a bit thicker.

The in-ears and earbuds, on the other hand, have pretty much the same fit as the originals. Even the StayHear+ tips of the Bose SoundSport Wireless are the same and as comfortable as the originals.

Winner: Real

Buttons

Buttons are not the most important aspect of a headphone's design but it can help you spot copies and counterfeits.

Kumpulan Serial Number Idm

The fake BeatsX have poor feedback for their control scheme compared to the original. It's most noticeable with the volume down button, which barely clicks when pressed.

The fake Bose QuietComfort 25 have decent buttons, but the inline remote is cheaply built and of lower quality to the original. It rattles when you shake the cable, and it's also a different color to the real QC25's remote.

On the other hand, the fake Bose SoundSport Wireless have better, clickier buttons than the original. The real SoundSport Wireless have a pretty thick rubber coating on their inline remote (for sweat resistance), which makes the buttons difficult to press.

Lastly, the Apple EarPods and the Beats Solo2 had pretty much the same button layout and feedback as the fakes. They provided the same ease-of-use and level of control.

Winner: Real

Build Quality

Build quality is one of the key factors to look out for when purchasing fake headphones. The real Beats Solo 2, for example, are noticeably different compared to the fakes.

While they are practically the same weight size and shape, the build quality of the fakes is immediately noticeable as you put the headphones on. The headband is very creaky and its padding came loose, as you can see in the picture above. The padding for the ear cups is also different and much lower quality, as mentioned in the comfort section of this comparison.

Lastly, the casing of earcups is made of a thinner, lower grade plastic which lets the lights of the LED bleed through, unlike the original.

The fake Bose QuietComfort 25 look the part, but have quite a few distinguishing flaws from the original.

The assembly of the fakes is not as seamless as the original. Looking at the hinges and joints, you can see the gaps and excess plastic that would have been smoothed out or polished in the original.

The material cover of the fake QC25's headband already shows signs of unraveling despite minimal use, and the padding feels cheaper than the one used in the original. The fake cable is decently thick but the inline remote is cheaply made, rattles, and doesn't have a three-ringed 1/8 TRRS audio jack.

Also, during our testing procedure, the battery got stuck quite often and required a pair of tweezers to dislodge, unlike the real QC 25 which allows the battery to slide out of the compartment when tilted (as shown above).

The fake in-ears/earbuds are harder to distinguish from the real ones at a glance.

The fake BeatsX show a bit more gaps and imperfections in the casing of the ear cups and the neckband, most likely due to the lower quality control in the assembly process.

The magnets in the earbuds that help with cable management are also not as strong for the fakes as they are in the real BeatsX. You can see some of the electronics through the microphone hole of the fake BeatsX and the inline remote is not as responsive.

Serial Number Idm Gratis

The fake SoundSport Wireless are surprisingly well made and are very hard to distinguish from the real ones.

They feel solid, the cable is as thick as the original, and the earbuds are well put together with very few imperfections. The most noticeable difference is that the Power and Bluetooth Led lights slightly bleed through the plastic casing of the earbuds, as you can see in the picture above.

Lastly, the Apple EarPods are the most identical to the original. The earbud casing is as dense as the real one, the audio cables are the same thickness, and the inline remote is equally well made.

It's easy to confuse the fake and the real EarPods since they have essentially the same build quality.

Winner: Real (in-ears/earbuds are much closer to a draw)

Sound

Frequency Response

Beats Solo2 Audio Test (Fake)

Sound, unlike design, is a lot harder to copy and reproduce. Most of the fake headphones, in this comparison, are easy to detect once you look at the response measurements or listen to the provided audio clips.

The fake Beats Solo2 are one of the worst performers in this aspect. The bass response is significantly higher in the fakes, making them sound darker than the real Solo2. This extended bass continues into the mid-range, which drowns instruments and vocals and results in a boomy and muddy response that's made worse by the poorly balanced treble frequencies.

Overall, the fake Solo2 sound much worse than the real ones with a dark and muddy sound that would be a dealbreaker for even the biggest fan of the Beats Solo2.

BeatsX Audio Test (Fake)

As for the BeatsX, the fakes also sound much worse than the real ones, and the left and right channels are flipped.

The authentic BeatsX have a surprisingly balanced sound that makes them one of the most recommended in-ears in our buying guides. In contrast, the fake BeatsX are poorly balanced, mismatched, and out of phase. They have too much bass and a more inconsistent treble range. This makes them sound a bit boomy overall and noticeably darker than the real BeatsX.

Bose QuietComfort 25 Audio Test (Fake)

The fake Bose QuietComfort 25 are not as bad as the Beats Solo2 or the BeatsX but still sound noticeably different to the real Bose QC25.

The dip in the mid-range makes the fake QC25 sound less forward with instruments and vocals. The mismatched treble range is sharper and more inconsistent when compared to the real QC25. This makes their overall sound somewhat exciting but less balanced, and a bit too sharp on already bright tracks.

In this case, the fake Bose QC25 will sound decent for most and sound better than some real headphones we've tested, but they just won't be as balanced or reproduce instruments and vocals as well as the real QC25.

Bose SoundSport Wireless Audio Test (Fake)

The fake Bose SoundSport Wireless also sound better than expected but not as balanced as the real SoundSport Wireless.

The audio reproduction of the fake SoundSport has less low-bass than the real ones. They also emphasize the mid-range more, which makes them sound boxy and boomy and a bit too forward with instruments and vocals. They also have a slight dip in the treble range, which results in a slight loss of clarity and detail.

However, the fake SoundSport do not have poor sound and would be adequate for casual listening.

Apple EarPods Audio Test (Fake)

The fake Apple EarPods are one of the worst-sounding headphones that we've measured so far.

Unlike the original EarPods, which lacked low bass and had a slightly forward and bright sound, the fake EarPods sound piercing on most tracks. They're uncomfortable to listen to and so poorly balanced that you only hear the over-emphasized treble range. The left and right channels are also flipped and out of phase by 179° which gives them a poor imaging performance.

In all the cases, the fake headphones sounded worse but the EarPods and Beats Solo2 have a noticeably poor sound quality.

Winner: Real

Imaging

In the case of imaging, most of the fake headphones do considerably worse than their real counterparts.

The QuietComfort 25 have a pretty high phase error but the Beats X and the EarPods have reversed Left and Right channels. This means whatever you're supposed to hear on the left side of your track will now be to your right, which flips the stereo image, and does not reproduce songs as intended by the artist, not considering the worse frequency response of the fakes overall.

Winner: Real

Isolation

Noise Isolation

Bose QuietComfort 25 Isolation Test (Fake)

For noise isolation, most of the fake headphones in this comparison have the same or similar measurements to the real ones.

However, since the QuietComfort 25 are active noise canceling headphones, the performance varies slightly between the fakes and the real ones. As you can see in the noise isolation graphs above, the real QC25 has more attenuation overall, especially in the high bass and throughout the mid-range.

On the upside, the fake Bose QC25 perform surprisingly well, easily beating some of the real noise-canceling headphones we've previously tested from lesser-known brands. This places them quite high in our noise isolation rankings.

Winner: Draw, except for ANC headphones

Leakage

The leakage level for the fake headphones is also quite similar to the real ones which you can check here. The most noticeable difference was with the Beats Solo2s.

The cushion material of the ear cup pads for the fake Solo2 does not block a lot of noise but, surprisingly, does not leak as much as the real ones. This may be due to a slightly better fit on our HMS than the original Solo2. The difference is also not very high.

Winner: Draw

Active Features

Wireless Range

The Apple EarPods and the Bose QuietComfort 25 are wired, so their range is based on their cable length, which is 3.8ft and 5ft respectively. The cable length is the same for the fakes and the originals.

As for the range of the wireless headphones, the most noticeable difference are with the Solo2 and the BeatsX.

The Beats X have the W1 chip which drastically improves their wireless range compared to the fakes. The W1 chip significantly impacts the efficiency and range of the headphones with the chip like the Beats Solo3 or Apple AirPods. Since this is a proprietary technology from Apple, it can't be easily replicated or copied by other manufacturers.

The Beats Solo2 do not have the W1 chip, but they still perform quite well indoors when the Bluetooth source is obstructed and decently well in direct line-of-sight. The fake Solo2, however, have the worse performance overall, with a below average obstructed range and poor direct line-of-sight range when compared to other wireless on-ears.

The fake SoundSport, on the other hand, have pretty much the same range as the real ones. However, their pairing procedure is not as easy. Holding the power button triggers a blue pairing LED in the real headphones but the LED stays white.

Winner: Real

Latency

For latency, the Apple EarPods and the Bose QuietComfort 25 are wired and have very negligible latency (below 5ms). As for the wireless headphones, the latency performance is inconsistent with the fakes.

The fake SoundSport did better latency-wise than the real ones.

The BeatsX performed about the same, although they have significantly less latency when used with an Apple device, thanks to the W1 chip. However, since we do not have a test bench to accurately measure this compensation yet, we used the default SBC connection with a regular Bluetooth 4.1 dongle.

As for the fake Beats Solo2s, they had the most latency at 300ms compared to the 192ms of the original, which is quite noticeable. The opposite is an example of how latency will affect your listening experience.

Winner: Draw

Battery Life

The Apple EarPods are wired and completely passive, so they have no battery life.

For the active headphones, the Bose QuietComfort use AAA batteries, so their battery life strongly depends on the quality and longevity of the AAA battery. There was a slight difference in the discharge time of the fake QuietComfort 25, but this is within the margin of error for AAA batteries.

As for the fake Beats Solo2, BeatsX, and SoundSport, there's a big difference in discharge time compared to the real ones. All three fakes lasted significantly less on a single charge, but the fake Solo 2 had only a 1/3 of the battery life of the real ones. This makes them particularly worse, especially since they take about the same time on average to fully charge.

Winner: Real

App Support

The Apple EarPods, the Bose QuietComfort 25, and the Beats Solo2 do not have any app support, much like their fake counterparts.

The BeatsX have mediocre support with Apple devices, thanks to the W1 chip. However, since there's no W1 chip in the fakes, they connect like regular Bluetooth headphones with no pop-up. You still get battery data on iOS, though, and on Android with the Oreo update.

The real SoundSport Wireless support the Bose connect app, which the fakes do not. This makes the real SoundSport a bit more customizable, although the app does not offer as many features as when it's connected to the QuietComfort 35 or QuietControl 30.

Winner: Real

Conclusion

Should you get the cheaper knockoff of a popular headphone?

If you just want the unique design and look of the headphone you like and don't really mind sacrificing performance and features, then a cheap knock-off could be a decent option. However, most of our tests conclude that you're better off getting the original headphones from an authorized seller (see our article on how to spot fake headphones and avoid buying counterfeits). Also, there are affordable wireless options from lesser known brands if you really want a simple and easy-to-use, everyday headphone (check out our best headphones under $100 recommendations).

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How to spot fake headphones

In our real vs fake headphones article, we concluded that you're better off getting the original headphones if you want performance and sound quality and do not only care about design. However, you have to be able to identify the knockoffs from real headphones before you can judge performance. While the quality and accuracy of the imitations depends on the price you're willing to pay for the fakes, we've noticed a few reoccurring flaws that may help you spot the copies before even opening the package or trying the headphones.

Packaging

The differences in packaging are most noticeable when comparing them side by side. However, as a rule, if the colors seem a bit off/faded on a brand new box, then they are most likely fakes.

For example, the real Beats Solo2 have a much deeper red color than the knockoffs. The color and font of the written text on the front, side, and back of the box are much more legible on the real packaging than on the fakes.

The Beats X, on the other hand, are a bit more difficult to tell apart since the box has a transparent cover and is mostly white.

However, the specifications on the back of the box are not translated in the same language and the spacing is a little different. Unfortunately, the difference in translation (which affects the spacing) could be attributed to different markets, so it won't be a reliable way to tell the fake BeatsX from the real ones.

The real QuietComfort25 are a bit more obvious to differentiate from the fakes due to the slight discoloration of the knockoff box.

Like the Beats Solo2, the faded color of the box is more noticeable if you have both the real and fake side by side, but if you look closely at the back of the box of the fake Bose, you can see that some of the text is cropped out whereas all the text is legible on the real box.

The Fake Bose SoundSport's box is also slightly off-color when compared to the originals. It's not very noticeable, though, and resembles the slight discoloration that you would get if you left the box out in the sun.

However, inside the box, you can clearly see that the promotional image of the fakes is of much lower quality than the original. For example, you can see the fine details in the athletes' hair for the real box, whereas the fake seems a little blurry and washed out. Also, the text font and format inside the box of the fakes differ from the real packaging, whereas the font on the outer cover does not.

The Apple EarPods are very hard to differentiate from the case alone. Only the slight blue tint of the plastic cover gives an indication between the fake and the real headphones.

Accessories

Since it can be hard to distinguish real headphones from the fakes by packaging alone, if you get the chance, open the box and have a look at the accessories. In most cases, the provided accessories for the fake headphones are of lower quality and may be a different color that doesn't match the headphones' color and packaging theme.

The fake Beats Solo2 have obvious noticeable differences in their packaging compared to the original.

The cable is completely red to match the color scheme of the headphones, unlike the fakes which have some black accents reminiscent of old Beats cable models. The fake carabiner hook is silver instead of black and does not have the Beats logo, and the carrying pouch has a slightly different texture which may be due to a lower quality fabric.

We couldn't get the same grey color theme for the fake BeatsX as the real ones. However, as you can see in the images above, the lighting USB cable is slightly shorter and the Beats logo is etched into the real cable, unlike with the fakes that are just a print.

The case is also a lighter shade than the original, which shouldn't be due to the different color scheme, unlike the stability wingtips which match the color of the headphones.

The fake Bose QuietComfort 25 match the real headphones pretty closely. However, like most of the fake headphones in this comparison, the colors and texture of the fake accessories are slightly off.

As you can see in the pictures above, the airline adapter for the fakes does not have the gold plated jacks of the original, which is easily noticeable without a side-by-side comparison. The protective case of the fakes has a deeper shade of black and a lighter shade of blue for the materials coating the inside of the case. The fake case also has a blue zipper handle instead of a black one, like with the originals, but without the real QC25 in hand, they would be hard to notice.

Most of the accessories of the fake SoundSport are as good as the original. The carrying pouch for the fakes is a little smaller and doesn't have the charging logo on the inside pocket, but feels the same in hand.

The most noticeable difference is the carabiner hook. The fake hook is two-tone black and grey instead of the all-black theme of the real one.

Lastly, the EarPods do not have many accessories apart from their carrying case, which, as stated in the packaging section of this article, is very difficult to tell apart unless you have both the real and the fakes side by side.

Serial Numbers

The most trustworthy way to identify fakes is by checking the serial number and trying to register the headphones with the manufacturer or retailer. Not all manufacturers or retailers give you that option, but if you can find a serial number, always try to register the headphones just to confirm that it's new and unused. The serial number is often on the box but, in some cases, it's hidden on the headphones itself, as shown in the pictures above.

*For the fake Beats headphones in this comparison, we noticed that the serial number on the box did not match the serial number on the headphones. This is not the case for the real Beats models. This means if you do get the chance to compare the serial numbers before purchase, you could easily find out if the headphones are fake.

How to avoid buying counterfeits

Buy from verified and authorized dealers

An easy way to avoid buying fake or knockoff headphones is to buy directly from the manufacturer or from the brands' website. They tend to be a bit pricier than when sold by 3rd party retailers, but there's also very little chance that they will be fake. This means if you want to get the Beats Solo2 or the Bose QuietComfort 25, then purchasing them directly from beatsbydre.com or bose.com will guarantee authenticity.

However, there are quite a few verified dealers and retailers, so here are some of our recommendations for purchasing the real headphones in this comparison.

Authorized Dealers:

• bose.com - for all Bose headphones.
• beatsbydre.com - the newly released Beats headphones.
• apple.com - the more recent Beats headphones and all Apple headphones.
• amazon.com* - for most old and new headphones.
• bestbuy.com - for most old and new headphones that you can also pick up in store.
• bhphotovideo.com - for more recent and new headphones.
• walmart.com - for most old and new headphones that you can also pick up in store.

*Make sure the headphones are sold and shipped directly by Amazon and not by a third party seller using Amazon as a platform.

Check refund and return policies

This step is somewhat self-explanatory. If you buy from an authorized dealer or directly from the manufacturer/brand, then they will most likely have a refund or return policy to protect their customers from fraudulent and fake headphones. Always check the return and refund section of websites before making any big purchases.

Price

Lastly, price is often one of the easiest ways to distinguish a knockoff from the real thing. While there are sales that offer some deep discounts, if the price seems to good to be true, it probably is. Below are the prices at purchase for the models we compared in this article and the real vs fake headphones one.

Always check the actual price of the headphones directly from the manufacturer/brand website, and compare this price with some of the approved sellers. If it really is a sale, it will most likely be widespread and verifiable by cross-checking websites.

Conclusion

It's often difficult to tell the fakes from the real headphones without a side by side comparison, especially if you don't get a chance to listen to the headphones before purchase. However, below is a quick summary of the tips to help you spot fakes and knockoffs:

• Check the packaging - the fakes are often faded, worn, or have a slightly different color form the real ones.
• Check the content of the box - the fake accessories are often spare parts that do not match the color and theme of the headphones.
• Check or register the serial number - the fakes often have a false S/N or have multiple S/N for the same headphones that do not match, which is an obvious red flag.
• Buy directly from the manufacturer/brand or an authorized seller - if you want new, unused headphones, this is the best way to guarantee authenticity and a refund or return option.
• Lastly, check and compare the price - if it's a sale, it most likely won't be from a single retailer, and if the price is too good to be true, then it probably is.

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