Bluetooth Adapters for Wired Earphones
Have an old pair of wired earphones you want to re-use?
What if you already have wired earphones but want to enjoy the freedom of wireless ones without buying a new pair?
You can plug a pair of wired earphones into a rechargeable Bluetooth audio receiver, which can then be clipped onto a pocket or shirt collar.
Some earphone manufacturers also offer this as an add-on to some models of earphones, though these are usually model-specific.
What you lose in convenience, you gain in freedom.
A Bluetooth receiver gives users the freedom of choosing any pair of wired earphones and turning them wireless.
The ability to detach and reattach earphones freely means you can swap earphones for different scenarios, for example, using one pair for jogging and another for home listening.
Many receivers have convenience features such as a shirt clip, pause/play buttons and volume control (pictured). Many also come with a built-in microphone, allowing you to take hands-free calls.
How does this reduce e-waste?
It allows you to adapt your existing wired earphones to different situations.
For example, when I am stationary at a computer, I simply unplug the headphones from the Bluetooth receiver and plug them directly into the computer.
This means I can use my headphones all day without having to worry about charging the batteries. When it's time to get back on the move, I just plug the headphones back into my receiver and have instant wireless convenience.
When the battery in the receiver wears down over time, I can simply replace the receiver by unplugging the earphones instead of recycling the entire set of earphones.
Prefer a factory solution? Check out our page about repairable Bluetooth earphones.