It had been raining for weeks. Not the dramatic kind of rain that makes for a good story, just the relentless, gray, no-end-in-sight kind that keeps you off the road. So when the sun finally showed up a day or two ago, I grabbed my Shokz OpenMove and pressed the power button, ready for a quick run.
Nothing happened.
My first assumption was the obvious one: dead battery. I plugged it in and left for my run anyway, headphone-less. When I got back, the light was blue, fully charged. I tried turning it on again.
Still nothing.
Shokz Doesn’t Repair Headphones. They Replace Them.
That’s when it stopped being a battery problem and started being a real problem. I went online looking for the nearest repair center, somewhere I could bring the unit in and have someone look at it.
There isn’t one. Shokz’ policy is straightforward about this: they don’t repair headphones at all. If something’s wrong with the unit, your only option is a warranty replacement for manufacturing defects, not a fix.
So I started resigning myself to buying a new pair. Maybe even use it as an excuse to upgrade. But while I was reading reviews and half-heartedly looking for workarounds, I came across a detail I hadn’t paid attention to before: Shokz backs its headphones with a 2-year limited international warranty in most countries.
I opened my Lazada purchase history to check the date. March 25, 2025. Still within the window.
I wasn’t expecting much, honestly. Best case, I figured, was a voucher I could put toward a new unit.
Filing the Claim
I messaged the Lazada store directly and explained the situation, the OpenMove wouldn’t turn on, and asked about the 2-year warranty.
The first thing they asked for was my order number. The second was a 30-second video showing the unit charging but failing to turn on.
I sent it. The next day, they came back asking for a follow-up video: charge it again, film the blue light confirming a full charge, then unplug it and try to turn it on. I recorded and sent that too.
That second video was apparently enough. They confirmed there was an issue with the unit and asked for the serial number, which they said would be on the warranty card, inside the box, or printed near the charging port.
I checked the headphones themselves first. No luck. Then I had to go looking for a box I honestly wasn’t sure still existed. I tore through my room with no results, then remembered I might have brought it to the office. I dug through my cabinets there and found it, warranty card and all. I sent the serial number over immediately, and they verified it.
Cutting My Own Headphones in Half
This is the part I did not see coming.
To move forward with the claim, they asked me to cut the headphones into two pieces and send them a photo. Their reasoning was that since Shokz doesn’t recycle returned units, the photo serves as proof that the defective unit was disposed of.
So I cut my OpenMove in half and sent the picture.
A few minutes later, they told me they were preparing a voucher. I was already satisfied with that outcome, a voucher toward my next pair felt fair. Instead, they sent me a replacement OpenMove, and the only thing I had to pay was ₱19.50 for shipping.
I wasn’t prepared for customer service to actually work this well. No back and forth about fault, no runaround, no fine print excuse. Just a clear process, a few honest steps, and a resolution that exceeded what I was hoping for.
If you own a pair of Shokz headphones, don’t throw away the box, and don’t lose the warranty card inside it. You might not need it for two years. You might need it in two weeks. Either way, you’ll be glad it’s still around.
My replacement is on its way now, timed well enough that it should arrive before my first trail run in Vietnam this September.
