Jabra Elite 65t review: an older wireless headset for calls and music

When the Jabra Elite 65t arrived, the reviews were glowing. The Gadgeteer’s review in April 2018 called them “the best sounding earbuds I have ever used or tried,” at a listed $169.99. If you see a pair at a low price, how they age matters more than how good they were, and the owner reports on that are not kind.

Product image from the Amazon listing.

One warning about sources. Jabra also sold the Elite Active 65t, a sportier model with a similar name. Listings and forum threads mix the two. I have kept to reports on the plain 65t, and I will say where a report is unclear.

What Made Them Good

The design still makes sense on paper. The Gadgeteer lists a claimed five hours of listening per charge, with two more charges in the case, and over an hour from a 10 to 15 minute top-up. Each earbud has two microphones aimed at cutting wind and room noise. Three sizes of EarGel tips help with fit, and the Jabra Sound+ app offers a five-band equalizer and firmware updates.

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That reviewer also describes a handy moment: a video on his laptop paused for an incoming phone call and resumed when the call ended. On OzBargain, a 2020 thread has one owner calling them “super solid, so good I rebought them” after losing the first pair. Another writes that they have never had the faults others describe. On ProductReview, one owner found them “super comfortable” and says they do not fall out.

So this was a real product with real fans. Keep that in mind, because the next part is grim.

One Earbud Tends to Go First

The clearest pattern is a single earbud failing, usually the left one. ProductReview reads like a list of the same fault: “the left ear bud died suddenly,” “left earbud continuously cuts out,” “left earbud went extremely quiet,” and one owner whose left earbud stopped charging and would not power on. Another owner lost the right one.

The left bud matters for a reason. As I understand the design, the right earbud talks to the phone and passes audio to the left, so a weak link between the two shows up on the left side first. I cannot prove that any of these failures came from that.

There is an interesting partial fix. On iFixit Answers, a question from 2019 about a left bud cutting in and out drew several replies. The most helpful answer, from 2021, was to clean the small hole on the inner surface of the earbud with a toothpick. Later commenters in 2023 and 2024 said that worked for them too. Earwax in a small opening is a far happier cause than a dead part, so try this first, gently, if you own a pair. It costs nothing.

Other replies there help less. One owner fixed the fault with a Jabra firmware update. Another tried a reset and an update and still ended up with a silent left earbud, which he planned to return. A reader warned that a low left battery can look like a fault, because the two buds do not always drain evenly. Charge both fully before you judge them.

Product image from the Amazon listing.

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The Battery Is Now the Main Concern

Small batteries wear out, and earbud batteries are sealed in. On ProductReview, an older pair gets this blunt report: “Only lasts 30m to an hour now.” That is one owner, with no count of how long they had them. Early owners were happier, and one wrote “I forget when I need to charge them.”

You should assume any unit now has age on its side. Even a sealed box has been sitting for years, and one owner on ProductReview reports that Jabra told them damage can occur after six months of non-use, after a pair stopped working following a long break. I would treat “new old stock” with care. Earbuds that sit flat for years may not come back in good health. If you buy a pair, charge them as soon as they arrive and check both sides for a full listening session within the return window.

Several owners also describe case faults. An OzBargain owner found that after about a year the buds turned on instead of off when placed in the case. Another owner there reports a case that failed after a month, though that comment is unclear on which model.

Work Calls: Better in a Quiet Room

Opinions split here, and I think the split has a simple cause. In quiet places, people are happy. One ProductReview owner wrote that “calls were clear.” The Gadgeteer’s reviewer praised call quality as well.

In noise, the picture changes. One owner says “the background noise is awful,” and another that “the receiver takes a lot of background noise” even if normal calls are fine. So for a home office, the 65t can still do the job. For a street, a train or an open office, your colleagues will hear what you hear.

Comfort over a working day is mixed too. One owner finds the earbuds fall out regularly, another says the medium tips are too big and ache after long wear, and a third reports soreness after hours. All of that is normal for sealed earbuds with no wings, but it matters more if you wear them through a day of meetings. Fit varies by ear, and nobody can predict yours.

On a Mac, the evidence is slight. One OzBargain owner of the Active model says the 65t range works well with a phone and a Mac. These are ordinary Bluetooth earbuds, so they will pair, but I found no owner describing how well they hold up in long calls on macOS. I also cannot tell you when firmware support stopped or whether the app still supports them on your phone. If you depend on the equalizer or on updates, check that the Sound+ app still lists this model before you pay.

Product image from the Amazon listing.

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Warranty and Support

Early buyers often had good cover. One ProductReview owner mentions a two-year warranty, and another was glad of it after a fault at around 10 months. But ProductReview now lists this model as discontinued, and any pair you buy is likely outside that sort of cover unless the seller offers its own. A couple of owners complain about Jabra’s support after a failure, which fits the wider grumbling there. At a low price, you are betting on the unit and on your seller’s return policy, and there is no one else to call.

Only at a Clearance Price

My opinion is straightforward. The 65t was a good product for its moment, and many of the reasons people loved it still hold in a quiet room. But sealed batteries, a repeat left-earbud fault and doubtful software support make it a hard thing to recommend for daily work. A newer budget pair will likely have better battery life and fewer unknowns.

I would only consider a pair if the price is very low, the seller takes returns, and you just want a spare set for home calls. Skip them if earbuds are your main way of taking meetings, if you take calls outside, or if you need them to last for years.

For that low-risk spare role, the Jabra Elite 65t can still make sense, as long as you test both earbuds and the battery the day they arrive. This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.