Skullcandy Ink'd+ Wireless: problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-19

Summary

The Skullcandy Ink’d+ Wireless (model S2IQW) is a discontinued 2019 budget Bluetooth collar earphone whose main failure is battery wear: owners report noticeably less charge after about 18 months and a dead unit between 2 and 3 years, and some pairs last only 3-5 months under heavy use. It has no subscription ecosystem and no proprietary consumable, so the only recurring cost is replacement ear tips. At $30 or less it is a defensible budget collar earphone for calls and casual listening; above $50 it is not worth buying as new-old-stock.

Common problems and fixes

Battery degradation and eventual death — owners report significantly less charge after about 18 months and the headphones stopping between 2 and 3 years when the battery dies; some report pairs lasting only 3-5 months under heavy use. The battery is not owner-replaceable, so end of life usually means replacing the earphones. [8][9]
Will not connect or turn off — an owner reported an Ink’d+ that would not connect or power off until a button-combo reset. [10]
Collar design and thin cords — the prior generation drew complaints that the collar is not for everyone, the cords are thin, the buds are not magnetized and there is no cord-length adjustment. [1][2]
No active noise cancellation — isolation is passive from the ear-tip seal only, so cafes and planes stay noisy. [7]

Parts and consumables

Yearly running cost

There is no subscription ecosystem and no proprietary consumable, so the running cost is effectively nothing beyond replacement ear tips, and no ear-tip price was found in the sources. The battery is not user-replaceable, so a dead cell is a replacement rather than a repair. Historical anchors: the prior-generation Ink’d Wireless carried an MSRP of $49.99 in 2016, and the Ink’d+ Active was tested at a $60 price in 2020. [1][3]

When it is a good buy

No store street price could be established because the product is discontinued and absent from Skullcandy’s current US support catalog. Historical anchors are a $49.99 MSRP for the 2016 predecessor (PCMag) and a $60 test price for the Ink’d+ Active in 2020 (BikeMag). [1][3] The value thresholds: at $30 or less the Ink’d+ Wireless is a defensible budget collar earphone for calls, podcasts and casual listening, with the caveat that old-stock battery health is unknown and there is no warranty support; between $30 and $50 the value is marginal because the product is discontinued, untested by any major outlet and uses micro USB; above $50 it is not defensible for new-old-stock with an aging battery and no manufacturer support. The only named alternatives in the sources are the sibling Ink’d+ Active (S2MHW), the sweat-resistant sport model, which is the better choice when you need sweat resistance, and Skullcandy’s current true-wireless Ink’d line, which is the better choice when you want current warranty support. [4][3][11]