Beats X by Dr. Dre has been in the market for a good 5 years. Although they have been largely replaced by the newer Beats Flex in the same price category, I can still see people rocking their BeatsX.
If your BeatsX has been in your use for a while and showing a sign of aging, you might see a blinking white & red light every once in a while. Even newer ones can have this common malfunction.
In this article, we are going to discuss what it means when Beats X flashing Red and White light, what the causes are, and how we can troubleshoot and fix the issue.
Why are my BeatsX flashing Red and White?
The LED indicator light on your BeatsX show different statuses for your headphones. It has two lights – White & Red.
When everything is normal, and your headphones are adequately charged, you will see a White light. When the charge drops to below 1-hour run time, you will see Red light. When the charge is critically low, you will see a blinking Red light.
However, when your BeatsX is flashing Red & White lights continuously, it means there is an issue with your battery.
This issue can be both hardware or software related. Below are a few reasons you might get a blinking Red & White light on your BeatsX.
Battery is damaged
This is probably the cause if your BeatsX headphones are old and heavily used. Like your laptop and phone battery, the Li-ion battery inside your headphones also degrades with time.
If the battery capacity is depleted below a critical level and it can’t hold any significant charge, you will get that malfunctioning indicator – a blinking Red and White light, and the beats battery won’t charge.
Its time to replace the battery (details below)
Connection problem in circuit board
Another probable cause is a broken or disrupted connection in the circuitry that will interrupt the flow of current to parts of the circuit, and your headphone will show the malfunction indicator.
There are a lot of wired connections inside your headphones. Wires go from the battery to the main circuit board (where your W1 chip lives), from the main board to the buttons, and to each earbud.
If any of these wires is damaged due to shock or aging, you might get the malfunction indicator of Red & White light blinking.
Firmware bug
Lastly, a firmware bug can also result in a malfunction that can give this error. Fortunately, firmware bugs can be easily corrected by a hard reset or a by updating to a newer version of the firmware (details below)
Beats X Flashing Red and White – Troubleshooting & Fix
So now we know that what can cause the dreaded blinking Red and White light on BeatsX, let’s see how we can troubleshoot and fix the issue.
We will start with the easy ones first so we can eliminate them before moving toward serious stuff.
1. Hard reset your BeatsX
A hard reset or factory reset can quickly fix any temporary software bug in your BeatsX headphones.
If you are getting a Red & White blinking on your headphones, try a hard reset before trying other more difficult troubleshooting steps.
To hard reset, follow the below steps.
- Hold down the POWER and VOLUME DOWN buttons for 10 seconds.
- When the LED indicator light flashes white, release the buttons.
- Your earphones will now reset and be ready to be paired again.
Remember that a hard reset will remove your headphones pairing with your phone, so you will have to pair them again.
If this doesn’t fix your issue, we will move on to the next step.
2. Update firmware
Updating BeatsX firmware used to be a bit complex using Beats Updater, but Apple has simplified the process after they acquired Beats in 2014.
Now, if you are using your BeatsX headphones with an iPhone, you don’t need to update them manually. They will be updated automatically if your phone is on the latest iOS version.
However, if you are using your BeatsX with an Android phone, you will have to download the Beats app on Google Playstore.
3. Prolong charging
Li-ion batteries are very moody when they are critically low on charge. If you over-drain your battery by leaving it uncharged for a long period of time, you might face difficulties getting it back to life.
Such over drained battery will also show a blinking red and white light when you put the headphones back on charge.
However, there is a simple fix to this that work most of the time. Leave your BeatsX on charge for up to 12 hours even if you see the blinking red and white light.
If the battery is not permanently damaged from a prolonged discharged state, it will spring back to life once the battery absorbers enough charge.
Once the battery is fully charged, the malfunction indicator will go away.
This one is a bit unconventional but it has worked for a number of users facing the same issue. I found this method while searching online for this exact same problem.
WD40 is a famous versatile cleaning spray that removes dust, dirt, and rust from metal surfaces and can be used to fix the blinking red and white light issue.
If your BeatsX headphone is malfunctioning due to accumulated dirt and dust under the button contact surface, it needs a thorough cleaning with a WD40 spray.
- Go to an open spot in your house or outside where you can use the spray freely.
- Hold the button side upwards in your hand and gently but thoroughly spray the WD40 from all sides.
- Use the included straw with your WD40 can to direct the spray accurately.
- Once done, push the button 20-30 times to get the solvent under the button and clear out any debris or dirt.
- Leave the headphone to dry for an hour and then power it on.
The WD40 spray is safe to use with electronic connections as it is non-conducting and doesn’t cause a short-circuit like water does. It will clean the contact surface and evaporate itself.
5. Check for physical damage
If none of the above methods has worked for you so far, it is time to check for some physical damage.
If you have been using your BeatsX headphones roughly over the years, chances are that some circuit board connection or wire inside is damaged.
This damage will trigger the malfunction indicator, and your headphone will start blinking red and white light.
If you are a DIY person and love to take things apart for inspection and a possible fix, you can easily open the main circuit board and battery covering from one side and have a look inside.
If you see any signs of damage, a broken wire, or a loose connection, that might be the reason. Any such damage can be fixed with a bit of soldering wire and soldering iron.
If you are not sure how to fix it, you can always get help from a professional repair shop or send it to apple for repair.
6. Change battery
Lastly, we are going to change the battery. As we discussed above, batteries are a dispensable part of any electronic device, and they decay over time even if you rarely use them.
A Li-ion battery can get you 200 to 400 cycles of charge, and after that, it will lose its capacity substantially.
A sufficiently degraded battery can also trigger the red and white blinking indicator.
Changing your BeatsX battery is quite a technical task that I would not recommend doing yourself (unless you are very handy with electronics repair).
But here is a detailed video demonstration of BeatsX battery change if you want to give it a shot yourself. You can get a BeatsX replacement battery here.
7. Contact Apple support
If none of the above solutions for the flashing red and white issue have worked, it may be necessary to contact Apple support for further assistance.
Apple offers support for Beats products, including the Beats X headphones.
To contact Apple support, you can visit the Apple website and browse the support options available. Alternatively, you can call the Apple support hotline and speak to a representative directly.
When contacting Apple support, be prepared to provide information about your headphones, such as the serial number and the date of purchase.
They might ask you to describe the issue you are facing in detail, and depending on the severity of the problem and your warranty period, they might offer you a repair or replacement.
Conclusion – BeatsX Flashing Red and White
In conclusion, the flashing red and white issue with Beats X headphones can be caused by various factors, including a critically low or damaged battery, buggy software update, or hardware malfunction.
To fix the issue, you can try charging the headphones overnight, restarting the headphones, checking for software updates, factory resetting the headphones, or, if everything fails, contacting Beats customer support.
To prevent the issue from occurring in the future, it’s essential to keep the headphones charged, avoid exposing them to extreme temperatures, keep them clean and dust-free, and handle them with care.
By following these tips and solutions, you can help keep your Beats X headphones functioning properly and avoid the flashing red and white issue.
