Fake Sony WH-1000XM5 appearing on Chinese Online Marketplaces

13 June 2023 TheWalkmanBlog 0 Comments

It was bound to happen, a fake version of Sony’s WH-1000XM5 has appeared online. Thanks to user speteypaaaablo on reddit for finding this. The fakes can be found on Dhgate and Aliexpress.

So how does the fake compare to the real thing? Time to examine at the photos. First up, the headphones from Dhgate and their packaging.

Fake Sony WH-1000XM5 appearing on Chinese Online Marketplaces — Fake WH-1000XM5

Even though the fakes that use the same box, we have some differences. For example this packaging for some odd reason has WH-1000XM5 written twice, above the photo and in the bottom right corner. The lower right one label looks to be a sticker. Notice that the Sony logo is missing from the packaging, photoshopped out for the photos.

In the next set of photos (above), the grey model still has the Sony logo on the side headband, but it has been photoshopped out from the black model and from above the model name on both. Below is a screenshot from a video in the listing, which clearly shows the Sony logo on the box.

So the logos are there, but just removed for the listing. Perhaps this is not to arouse suspicion from Sony? We can compare these fake boxes to the real thing below.

This official photo from Sony shows that the real design. The packaging has very rounded corners, and there is no shiny plastic wrap. I doubt the material in the fake packaging is even recycled. This design is the major giveaway of these being fake. Hopefully the fakers will not learn and adapt and make the box closer to the real thing. If they ever do, the label might could help in identifying a fake in the future.

Here is another photo from the listing showing the front and back.

The fake attempts to copy the label and while it does a pretty decent job, there are clues that reveal it is fake. I am uploading a photo of my retail box below.

The most obvious difference is the lack of all the text around the UPC code. Next the headset photo is also much lower in the fake versus the real one. Granted my retail packaging is not Chinese which the fake seems to copy (CN logo on the fake label). The model name is also wrong on the black colour, rather than WH-1000XM5/BM, it has SM, which is for the silver version.

Like I wrote above, the fake could be copying the retail design of the Chinese domestic model but I cannot find any photos of the Chinese retail packaging, perhaps someone could link a post/photo or take a photo and upload it if they own a Chinese variant.

The other obvious difference is the lack of logos at the top of the box in the video on the product page. Such logos like 360 Reality Audio and Hi-Res Audio for example. I suspect the Chinese model lacks the assistants but no idea.

There is a photo someone posted in the review portion and we can see some logos.

Gotta love the comment the person left “Really trash bad quality Nothing like the real”. Sums it up nicely.

Another photo from a review, seems like the fakes come with a similar short USB cable. The plastic packaging inside is clearly not present in the real model.

Now before people start posting comments that I should not be posting any of this, it is not difficult to find photos of real retail packaging. Likewise the people who make the fakes could easily go buy a pair off the shelf and scan in the cover if they wanted to. The reason I am making this post/guide is for users to look for in photos to identify fakes.

The listing has a red colour option as well, but no real life photos of these on dhgate.

Checking out the Aliexpress listing, it is obvious these are are not real, but the design is close. Unlike the Dhgate fakes, these lack the Sony branding on the actual product.

The packaging uses a very different design, on all sides. Apart from the black and silver models, there is also a red and gray model. No blue though. Funny enough, it says Noise Reduction, not cancellation, so technically correct since these will muffle outside noises. Gotta love the description as well:

Independent Acousticcavity the Sound is more Full and Full

Moving to the actual headset, let us check out the Dhgate headset first.

I have numbered some design features that are missing or incorrect

L and R markers are missing on both
Sony logo has been scratched off here, but it is present on actual units
No gap/space like on the real model
No microphone hole/mesh
Headband too think compared to real model

Apart from that, the colours are wrong, and the plastic is too shiny and cheap looking.

From another angle, more differences and obvious issues:

Two screw holes, real model only has 1
No break in headband on real model
No microphone hole/mesh
Wrong earpad cushion
Headband too wide versus real model

The Sony logo has also been removed here by the person making the listing. I suspect in certain countries, where these counterfeit WH-1000XM5 will end up, could fool some people, but as always if the price is too good to be true, it probably is.

Moving to the Aliexpress headset, similar issues. but also some differences.

Two screw holes, rather than 1
No gap like in real model
Wrong earpad cushion
No microphone hole/mesh
Buttons but wrong size, shape and location
USB port on wrong side

We have visible buttons on this one, but they are wrong. In addition the space in the earpad is too small compared to the real headset. The end of the headband section with the screws is also plastic, which is not the case with the real unit.

Here we can see the controls, they lack text labels like the real model, and while we do have a USB type-C port, it is on the wrong side. There does appear to be a hole between the USB port and 3.5mm port, so perhaps for a microphone? The only one as well?

Here we have a closer look at the headband area and it looks nothing like the real mode. The plastic looks very poor and cheap. Rather than have L and R markers screen printed on the side, the fakes have L and R markers molded into the sides. We can also see the poor build quality as well.

Another look at the Aliexpress colours. Maybe these are photoshopped, but we are missing the microphone holes on the sides.

With so many obvious problems, I am sure that both the dhgate and Aliexpress models lack noise cancellation, a touch panel or any of the major features of the real WH-1000XM5. Could this WH-1000XM5 be the first fake 1000X model? I do not remember ever seeing any WH-1000XM4 or WH-1000XM3 fakes before.

I am tempted to order a pair just to tear them apart for a good laugh, but would it be worth?

Update April 2024

Something picked up a blog reader (thanks), it appears like the fakes are using a different model code, WH-1000XM5/BM, rather than WH1000XM5/B which is the correct code for Europe and most areas. But where did the fakers get the WH-1000XM5/BM code from? Simple, China. Visiting Sony China’s website, scrolling down, we can see a similar product code.

The code on the website is WH1000XM5/BMCN. No doubt the fakes have removed CN from the model code but it is still on the box. A lot more fakes are appearing online, which is a bit alarming, especially since some of the listings are are claiming them as real units. Here are some more better quality photos, showing the details which are incorrect more clearly.

Now more photos of a “grey” colour.

While the fakes are obvious once you know what to look out for, they can look pretty close if someone is able to take photos of only certain angles. The photo below is a perfectly good example.

Finally, the suspicious model code which can be see on the back of these photos. The fake retail box is the first give away, but if you see a rather too good to be priced WH-1000XM5 online, and it has the WH-1000XM5/BM model code, be suspicious and stay away from the listing.