Beats Flex Won't Turn On [SOLVED!]

Beats Flex by Dr. Dre is a budget wireless earbuds that come with Apple’s W1 chip. Thanks to the W1 chip, they work seamlessly across Apple devices.

I wouldn’t say they are as reliable and robust as the AirPods, but you still get good-quality wireless headphones for a price tag of $50 or less.

They work great but also run into occasional problems.

One common issue is when the Beats Flex won’t turn on and shows either a red & white blinking light or no light at all.

This is due to a battery, power circuit, or power button problem. In some cases, firmware glitches can also cause this.

In this detailed Beats Flex troubleshooting guide, we will explore all the proven fixes that will help you troubleshoot and solve the issue.

Contents show

How to turn on Beats Flex?

First, let’s see how to turn on beats flex the right way. If this is your first time using Beats Flex or any Beats headphones, this should help you.

The power button is on the right control module (oval pill-shaped thingy). To turn your Beats Flex on, press and hold the power button for 1 second.

Once your Beats are on, the LED indicator will show a white light indicating that the headphones are turned on and have enough charge.

But still, if your Beats Flex wont turn on, a detailed troubleshooting guide is below.

Beats Flex Won’t Turn On – Troubleshooting

If you already know how to turn your Beats Flex on or have been using them before, it’s time to troubleshoot and fix the issue that might be causing the malfunction.

Some of these steps are quite universal, so you can apply them to other Beats products as well.

1. Charge Your Beats Overnight

When something doesn’t turn on, your first thought should be, “Does it have enough charge?” In this case, we will start with the most obvious step – check the charge level.

The Beats Flex has an LED indicator near the power button that tells you how much charge is left in the battery.

White: More than an hour left.
Red: Less than an hour left.
Blinking red: Battery critically low.

If you have a Red or blinking Red light, put the headphones on charge for up to 3 hours using a USB-C connector.

However, if you are using your Beats Flex after a long time, the battery might be critically low or even completely drained. In such a case, you might not be able to charge them normally.

You will have to “wake” the battery up first.

To do this, put the headphones on charge for more than 12 hours even if you don’t see any charging activity light on the headphones. Just connect them and leave them overnight on the table.

If the battery is not permanently damaged, it will wake up and start charging normally. After that, you can turn your Beats Flex on normally.

2. Clean The Power Button

The power button on your Beats Flex is regularly used to turn the headphones on and off. With regular use, the button can degrade over time.

There is another issue with the button. Dust and debris particles can get under the button between the connectors and stop the button from working properly.

To check for this, we can clean the button with an appropriate electrical contact cleaner like WD-40 Spray.

The contact cleaner spray will get inside and under the button, dissolve any dust and debris particles, and restore electrical contact.

To clean the button, follow the below steps.

Find a well-ventilated area in your home or outside where you can safely use the spray.
Hold the can so the button is facing upward, and apply the WD-40 evenly on all sides of the button.
Attach the included straw to the can to target the spray precisely.
After application, press the button 20 to 30 times to flush out any dirt or debris.
Allow the headphones to air-dry for one hour before turning them on.

If a dirty power button was causing the issue, it should now be resolved, and your Beats Flex should turn on normally.

3. Reset Your Beats Flex

Sometimes your Beats Flex will not turn on because of a software glitch or bug. You can reset your Beats Flex and remove these temporary glitches in such a case.

So, how to reset beats flex? It’s quite simple.

Hold down the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons simultaneously for 15 seconds.
Release the buttons when you see the LED indicator flashing.
Your Beats Flex are now reset, and you can pair them again.

Resetting your Beats Flex will remove any previous pairing and set up your headphones fresh.

However, if your Beats Flex won’t turn ON or reset, you will have to follow further troubleshooting steps in this guide.

4. Check For Physical Damage

If you check the battery charge and power button and both seem fine, the next step is to inspect the headphones closely and look for any sign of physical damage, especially near the two control modules.

I owned the previous BeatsX headphones and now the Beats Flex, and on both of them, I have noticed that the wire is prone to damage near the neck of the control modules. It bends repeatedly during use and can get damaged.

If you find any sign of wear or tear in the wire, that must be the reason for the Beats Flex not turning on.

Especially if your Beats Flex stopped working right after an incident that involved pulling the wires at both ends, this must be the reason.

Unfortunately, you cannot repair a broken wire at home. You will either have to send them in for a repair or replacement (if you still have warranty coverage)

5. Check For Water Damage

Since Beats Flex are budget earbuds, they are not rated for water resistance. That means excessive sweat or water can potentially damage them.

The USB-C port and the buttons are potential areas for water ingress. If you go through sweaty workout sessions, you can get your Beats damaged.

Sweat has high salt content that’s why it is far more damaging than ordinary water. So it is generally a good idea to avoid ingress as much as possible.

To check for sweat damage, you can carefully open your control modules and look for any signs of dried salt or water markings. If you find white marks of dried salt inside or on the circuit board, you have a short-circuit case.

In this case, too, a professional repair service is needed as you cannot repair the miniature circuitry at home.

6. Change Beats Flex Battery

Batteries are disposable components of any rechargeable electronic device. They decompose over time and lose their capacity to hold charge.

As a rule of thumb, after 400-500 cycles of charging, you will have to replace your battery.

A common indicator of a bad battery is a flashing red and white light on Beats headphones.

If everything above seems fine, the button works, and there is no physical or water damage, then it means that the battery is dead and needs to be replaced.

The battery has probably seen its fair share of charge-recharge cycles, especially if your headphones were purchased more than two years ago.

It might seem intimidating, but Beats Flex battery replacement is not very hard. I am not saying it’s easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, but it doesn’t need much.

You can easily order a replacement battery online and watch a youtube video to replace it.

However, since these are very low-cost headphones, you are better off replacing the unit or upgrading to the newer Beats Studio true wireless earbuds.

7. Contact Apple Support

In most cases, the above troubleshooting steps will solve your problem but if you are reading this, that means you are out of luck with sefl-troubleshooting. It’s time to call the pros.

Apple provides dedicated support for all Beats branded products on its service page where you can get in touch, schedule a visit, or send the product in for repair.

Apple is not known for its affordable aftersales service, so if they quote you a repair cost that is comparable to the actual product cost, its better to get a new one.

Unless your product is under warranty, you will be happier with a brand-new product.