The Sony WH-1000XM3 over-ear noise-cancelling bluetooth headphones are great, but having worn them for a couple years, one side’s earcup padding / leather coating has started to wear out, crack and fall off:
Sony does have OEM replacement kits, but this $15 chinese replacement is almost identical to the original, and a lot cheaper. To do the replacement, just prise up the assembly gently with a prying tool (included) to pop the five plastic tabs that hold it in place:
To finish, just orient the new pad in place, matching the top single tab, and press firmly around its edges until you hear all of the tabs pop back in.
The final result is a cheap and effective repair:
The sound quality/isolation seems to be identical after the replacement, and my headphones are not shedding little leather flakes, so I’m a happy customer.
