Hey, everything we do is based on requests, so if we have a ton of folks coming back to us, after ~40,000 hrs of listening (roughly the battery lifetime), and want replacement batteries, we'll create a solution. Battery replacement for a small fee, designating an authorized repair center, or posting DIY guides are all good examples.
I'd love nothing more than to replace thousands of batteries on gen1 Pandas because it's still the best wireless headphone in 2025 and nobody wants to upgrade... but let's take a step back and think about the wireless audio industry for a minute.
In the five+ years between now and when Panda batteries start to die, wireless technology will have gone through 5-8 generations, and there will be a host of desirable new features. How many wireless products have you upgraded through in the last five years? Panda is still going to be an outstanding BT headphone in five years, but there will be better technology that we can't anticipate today. Checkout WISA if you want an interesting example, it's a wireless audio transfer standard with lag measured in micro seconds and bandwidth to support 24bit/192khz.
Panda comes with a two year warranty and uses an off-the-shelf battery that you can access by taking apart the right earcup. There's no removable panel, that would have made the acoustic design pretty impossible, but if you've got a screw driver and some patience, you can replace the battery. Replacement batteries can be purchased from most electronic component suppliers. Mouser, digikey, etc.
So to summarize:
- I'd love to see a pile of battery replacement requests and we'll work with customers if we do get those requests after our two year warranty period, either directly or via authorized repair shops.
- I doubt the electronic components of Panda will still be dominant in 2025, there will be updated wireless standards with exciting new features that the community will want. Rather than deal with batteries, I expect most people will sell Gen 1 units as passive headphones for $200 on the secondary market (it's basically a PM-3 with better tuning at that point and stock PM-3's fetch between $400-$600 these day) and put those funds toward Panda 2 (or whatever is the best wireless headphone in 2025).
- If you want to replace the battery yourself, you can, by taking apart the right earcup and buying a replacement battery from digikey (or any other retail component supplier). If this becomes popular, we can post assets to help.