Skullcandy Earbuds – One Side Not Working (6 Easy Solutions!)

That frustration is natural when one of your wireless earbuds stops working during an important meeting or in the middle of your favorite movie.

This article will take you through six possible solutions if your Skullcandy Earbuds’ left or right side is not working or playing any music.

Keep reading!

Table of Contents

Solution 1: Choose the Right Mode

There is a Mono mode in these earbuds that lets the user listen through just one earbud. If this mode is selected by mistake, the user might think one side is not working.

Imagine a situation where you take out both earbuds from the case, and they get paired. Now you put the left earbud back in the case and keep using the right bud. In this case, the mono mode was enabled, and now if you try using the left earbud, it won’t work.

To disable the mono mode, put the earbuds back in the case, take them out together, and let them pair with each other and the device.

Please remember that the mono mode is enabled only when you use the primary earbud, which might be the left or the right depending on the brand you are using. For example, the right earbud is the primary earbud in the case of Skullcandy Indy wireless and the left one is the primary earbud in case of Skullcandy Sesh.

The table below shows the primary earbud for each Skullcandy earbud.

Skullcandy ProductPrimary Earbud
IndyRight
GrindRight
Grind FuelRight
SeshLeft
Skullcandy Sesh Evo True Wireless In-Ear Earbud - True Black

Solution 2: Clean Your Earbuds

Although trivial, sometimes this is the only solution to the problem of earbuds not working. There might be ear wax or dust built up inside the buds that can cause slow or no audio. Try cleaning the buds using cotton buds or a simple cotton ball.

If cleaning the buds doesn’t work, try the next solution.

Solution 3: Check for Firmware Update

Most Skullcandy products like Grind Fuel, Indy, and Sesh are compatible with the Skullcandy app. You can check here if your earbuds are compatible with the app or not.

If your earbuds are compatible with the App, download the App from Google Play or Apple Store. Then connect your earbuds with your phone/tablet and link them with the App. Then open the App, and if the latest firmware update is available, you will be prompted with the message. Follow the steps and update the firmware of your earbuds.

If your earbuds model is incompatible with the Skullcandy app, you can skip this solution and try the next one.

Skullcandy Grind True Wireless in-Ear Earbuds - True Black

Solution 4: Troubleshoot the Buds Pairing

As mentioned earlier, depending upon the model of your Skullcandy earbuds, one of the two is the primary earbud. The primary earbud means that this earbud starts the pairing process.

So, if the right earbud is the primary one and you take the left earbud out of the case, pairing of the two buds won’t happen; hence, the bud won’t work.

Sometimes the buds won’t pair for some reason, even if you took out both the buds at the same time. In that case, reset and then repair both the earbuds.

To reset the earbud:

  1. Take the primary bud out of the case and tap on its center for 6 to 10 seconds or until a red light blinks. (It usually takes 4 taps). This will reset and turn off the earbud automatically.
  2. Repeat the process for the left earbud and place both the buds back in the case.
  3. Now to repair the buds, bring them out of the case to turn on automatically.
  4. Put them closer to each other or put them in your ears. You will hear a beep and a voice prompting the pairing to be done. Now the earbuds are ready to connect to your device.

If this solution doesn’t work for you, try the next solution.

Solution 5: Forget the Buds from the Device Bluetooth List

Sometimes forgetting the earbuds from your device’s Bluetooth list works. All you have to do is

  1. Turn off the Bluetooth of your device.
  2. Go to the paired devices list and remove the Skullcandy earbuds from the list.
  3. Reset both the earbuds and put them back in their case.
  4. After some time, take both out of the case and let them pair with each other.
  5. Now turn your device Bluetooth on and connect the earbuds. They are ready to use now.

We have yet another solution for you if the above solutions don’t bring your earbuds back to life.

Solution 6: Drain the Battery and Recharge

This solution works mainly for the Skullcandy Sesh wireless earbuds, but you can also try the other brands. Try draining the full battery of the earbuds and the container and recharge both the container and earbuds. To discharge the earbuds, take them out of the container and let them pair with each other. Keep them out for at least three to four hours. Make sure there is no nearby device with a Bluetooth connection turned on.

Wait for the earbuds to discharge completely. Also, keep the lid of the container open so that its battery drains out too. The right earbud will have its blue light on until the buds go out of battery. Once completely drained out, recharge the container and put the buds back in for charging. It will resolve the issue.

Summary

In this article, we addressed the common issue with the Skullcandy wireless earbuds, i.e., one of its earbuds is not working. The solutions we proposed are:

  • Choose the right mode
  • Clean the buds
  • Check for firmware update
  • Troubleshoot the pairing
  • Forget the buds from the Bluetooth list
  • Drain and recharge the battery.

Skullcandy Indy Evo True Wireless In-Ear Earbuds - Deep Red