How to Spot Fake Sony WH-1000XM4 Headphones

We know fake Sony WH-1000XM5 headsets exist, but I never noticed any fakes, until now. A reddit user posted a thread with some photos of the fakes from a foreign marketplace. I suspect the WH-1000XM4 fakes were already on marketplaces, they just were not that widespread.

This guide is strictly educational and designed to help consumers identify authentic products and avoid fraudulent online sellers and products. TheWalkmanBlog does not sell, promote, facilitate the sale of, or provide links to counterfeit, replica, or unauthorized goods. We actively support consumer protection and encourage purchasing exclusively from authorized retailers.

There are quite a few listings on Aliexpress and DHgate, meaning eventually these fakes will make their way to western marketplaces like Ebay or Facebook marketplace.

Time to examine the fakes and compare them to the real thing. Starting off with the retail packaging.

Some issues are pretty obvious, but you will have to look closely to catch the smaller differences.

1. The headset design is similar but there are differences, like the logo which is very wrong.
2. The NC logo in the right bottom corner is wrong. It uses incorrect font and colours.
3. The WH-1000XM4 logo is too high up and the font is wrong, the 1 in WH-1000XM4 should not have a line at the bottom.
4. The various logos in the bottom left are incorrect:
   • • The Hi-Res logo should be Hi-Res Audio Wireless
   • The Bluetooth logo is the wrong shape
   • The 30 h font is incorrect
   • The 360 RA logo has the wrong colours

Here is a photo of a real retail box. There might be extra stickers, like logos from Tech sites with a review rating.

Turning to the back of the box, again lots of issues here.

1. The top 3 photos are wrong and do not match the real box.
2. The text here has a few spelling mistakes (ex. DSEE Extremo) and incorrect formatting.
3. Incorrect logos and wrong font on Sense Engine and LDAC, and DSEE Extreme logo missing.
4. The right side feature list is completely different and has wrong photos for the functions.
5. No colour code in bottom right.
6. No model number in bottom left.

Here is the real box for comparison. Mind you retail boxes will vary from region to region, but the basic design of the retail packaging should not change.

In certain fakes, the text on the box may look pixelated and certain logos can look blurry. The real packaging will be covered by plastic film and it should be tight against the box. Of course unless it is a used unit, then there will be no plastic film.

Looking at the side of the fake, we can see an M4 and Sony logo. The funny text is the model M4. no idea who came up with this.

Here are the sides of the real retail packaging. We can see that one side is closed in, with just the Sony logo horizontally. While the other side is exposed with the black sleeve visible, which contains the headset.

Disclaimer: Some scammer can and will use a real retail box and fill it with either dead weight or in certain cases the knockoff headsets. So if a price is too good to be true, it usually is. But if you really need to buy something, use a payment method with fraud protection in case you receive a dud.

Turning to the actual headset itself now, there are many issues which are pretty evident upon on initial inspection. I will go over most of the major discrepancies but not all angles were provided in the online listings.

First, the headset ships in a cheap plastic holder, and there is no black sleeve like the real model. No carrying case ships with headset, only a usb and 3.5mm cables are provided.

Second, there are some obvious issue with the design and look of certain parts:

1. The Sony logo is very wrong and has a border around it.
2. The feedforward NC mic mesh is just plastic, with no holes it.
3. The headband does not taper into the arch like in the real model (see top right).

Next, if we look closer at the cup support, the design on the end is closer to the WH-1000XM3 rather than WH-1000XM4. So if you ever ask a seller for photos and they claim it is a WH-1000XM4, look at this area to see the design to confirm it is correct.