I’ve had these for maybe close to two years now and the left AirPod is 95% battery and right AirPod is at 100%. Is that pretty normal? What are the typical life span for these? May consider looking into 2nd gen or the pro if it eventually craps out.
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Airpods 1st gen.. How long does the battery last?
- Thread starter heyyitssusan
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Are you talking about charge % or the battery capacity %? These are two different things. For example, the battery might have lost 50% of its original charging capacity, but will still charge to a 100%, just discharging much faster in this case. Basically, if you can get about 4 hours use of your 100% charged AirPod, all is good, if not - the battery is worn out. How long the batteries will last will depend on your particular use and charging patterns. Two years is an average before people start reporting a noticeable drop in their AirPod battery performance.
I was a launch day (2016) user of the 1st generation AirPods and used them everyday for about three hours in the mornings. I could tell after about a year and a half I was getting significantly lower battery life. I also noticed that as time went on they weren't balanced in life. Meaning when I was done using them one would be at 40 percent and the other 15 percent. I think because of the shear number of cycles that these go through coupled with the small size of the battery itself they are good for 2 years max maybe a little more if you are a light user. When I upgraded to the Pro's one of the things that I noticed the most was the battery life of a fresh set.
I have a pair of the 1st gen that I bought Sept 2018 and now they last about an hour during phone calls. They can go from 100% to 70 just being in my ears without being used. I’ve been thinking of going for the battery service since I have an extra charging case but the battery life definitely sucks now.
A great trick for extending life out of an anging set of 'Pods is by using one at a time. When the first one runs out, swap it for the one in the case. You'll always have a fully charged pod by the time one dies. Good for another year or two I suppose.
In my own personal experience, About 2 years.
I bought Gen 1 Air Pods in Jan. 2018 with some limited use for a while because these would NOT stay in my ears...so they sat in the charger for long periods at a time, sometimes charging 24/7 - in hindsight that was a very big mistake. Do NOT do what I did.
Anyway, after finding some 3 party silicone in-ear tip covers, I used them much more. BUT I really noticed battery life in the ear pods really suffered. By Fall, especially early 2020, I only had about 45-50 min music playback (Once one pod dropped to 18-20%, I'd "quick charge", the Pod jumped back up to 93-95% - repeat process for the other pod - then I'd get another 40 min of playback. A slight hassle, but not normal)
With more use of these Gen 1's right now - especially with the stay at home..more time for walking outside, the battery % in the Pods were dropping faster and faster, so ...ugh (case though seems fine).
My Gen 2's came yesterday, I will not repeat what I did before. But I also did drop a few more bucks, 2 yr replacement guarantee . In the likely case these batteries start to drop again within this time period, Micro Center will replace them, I thought it was worth it.
I bought Gen 1 Air Pods in Jan. 2018 with some limited use for a while because these would NOT stay in my ears...so they sat in the charger for long periods at a time, sometimes charging 24/7 - in hindsight that was a very big mistake. Do NOT do what I did.
Anyway, after finding some 3 party silicone in-ear tip covers, I used them much more. BUT I really noticed battery life in the ear pods really suffered. By Fall, especially early 2020, I only had about 45-50 min music playback (Once one pod dropped to 18-20%, I'd "quick charge", the Pod jumped back up to 93-95% - repeat process for the other pod - then I'd get another 40 min of playback. A slight hassle, but not normal)
With more use of these Gen 1's right now - especially with the stay at home..more time for walking outside, the battery % in the Pods were dropping faster and faster, so ...ugh (case though seems fine).
My Gen 2's came yesterday, I will not repeat what I did before. But I also did drop a few more bucks, 2 yr replacement guarantee . In the likely case these batteries start to drop again within this time period, Micro Center will replace them, I thought it was worth it.
How do you stop them from wearing out by being left in the case all the time? If I take my Pods out of the case they pair and drain until 0% and dead. That's worse for the Li-ion battery IMO than keeping them charged 24/7 am I right?
Has anyone used Apple's battery replacement service? i.e. £90 for 2 new AirPods? Mine were original one that were replaced by apple under warranty in December 2017. I was losing connection with them. After 2 1/2 years battery life is about an hour, more noticeable now due to using Teams and calls while working from home. Just wondering whether I might as well bin mine and but new ones with a new case.
IIRC they don't replace the battery they just send you another set of Pods...The batteries in the Pods are so sealed you end up destroying them just to take the battery out.
I don’t think keeping them charged is a harm. Keeping them discharged on the other hand can’t be healthy on the long run.
I have for a pair of hand-me-down Gen 1s that I gave my daughter. One side lasted 3 hours and the other only 1 hour. I paid to replace the short-life one. It was worth $50 to do one but I don’t think I’d do both sides.
Word of warning though. The Airpods firmware doesn’t handle one new Airpod and one old one very well. They work fine but the battery meter for the older one isn’t very accurate. It goes down to 9% in 2 hours. And then the final 9% will last one hour.
I’ve been pretty lucky, my Airpods are now 3.5 years old and still working despite been used heavily.
Battery life has gradually gone down and is now about 70 minutes, but far quicker for phone calls.
Battery life has gradually gone down and is now about 70 minutes, but far quicker for phone calls.
If you’re a light user your pair will degrade from 5 hrs to maybe 3 hrs in 1-1.5 years. If you’re a heavy user, probably much sooner.
Most people probably change when their runtime is closer to 2 hrs or so, that usually happens in about 1.5-2 years for a light occasional user.
Most people probably change when their runtime is closer to 2 hrs or so, that usually happens in about 1.5-2 years for a light occasional user.
Yes, good tip. I do this for phone calls. Less useful for music.
2.5 years here. Daily usage for phone calls, music and podcast. If I’m on a conference call and talking a lot, I get 30 min.
I figure as much as I love the sound quality and comfort of these, I forget I have them in, it was worth ordering a new pair. They are out for delivery.
I figure as much as I love the sound quality and comfort of these, I forget I have them in, it was worth ordering a new pair. They are out for delivery.
And runtime depends strongly on the use case as well. If the microphone is used often that will drain the batteries much quicker than just listening to music - in my experience at least.
since all of you have airpods, would you recommend getting ones with the charging case? (it's $40 up-charge) the regular airpods are offered this summer free w/purchase of a Mac (and other items) on Apple EDU store - bummed pro's are out since major issues reported everywhere (guess i saved the $90 up-charge) thx for help!
If I did it again, I probably would have saved a few bucks (and it was only a few bucks - The price difference in late April was only 20 bucks, much more $$ off the regular price at Micro Center at the time compared to wired.) - and go to another pair of wired charging. No difference in sound quality from wired and wireless charge case.
Also I've had a few frustrating issues when I place my AirPod case on this goofy Morphie charger pad I picked up. The AirPod case doesn't play nicely with that thing. (I get a blinking light on the pad - meaning "error") So it takes a few tries and a specific placement in order for this to charge.
Wireless charging on my iPhone is great, just pick up and go. Wireless AirPods..if they were connected to the wire - like my 1st Gens...it's not a big fuss to simply disconnect the cable.
$40 is a bigger difference in my opinion. If you can afford it, cool...also ask yourself by saving $40, what other accessory can you buy with that?
thank you so much, really helped a lot! will stay with wired ones + pick up USB to C that I def need as have a lot of USB + a portable drive for back up (WD passport in blue, it's awesome btw)
have a great day + much appreciated
Still haven't decided what to do. Amazon have AirPods 2 for £130, Apple could charge £90 for battery replacement service. Is it worth £40 for a new case, AirPods 2 and getting to keep my old pair? Probably. Is there much difference between 1 & 2 other than battery life?
I am finally replacing my first gen AirPods. I think I got them the first or second day they came out. The battery life is trash at this point. If I take calls, I’m getting 20 minutes tops. I’m over it since I use my AirPods all the time. I’m not sure if I want the Gen 2 or Pros since there’s a $100 difference. I’m thinking the Pros.
Edit: Ordered the Pros. I figured since I'll have these for 2-3 years, I'd enjoy the Pros better.
Edit: Ordered the Pros. I figured since I'll have these for 2-3 years, I'd enjoy the Pros better.
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I'm actually at a crossroads myself with my AirPods (might start a new post...)
Due to an iPad catastrophe I had to purchase a new one and it came with new AirPod 2s. I currently have AirPod 2s that are from March 2019. My battery life is fine and based on the rumors I think there will be a new version by the time my battery life is beyond my liking (I too am using them more with work from home conference calls and such). I figure I have three options here:
1.) Keep what I have and sell the new ones (there will be a different version at some point and I think this would give me the most ROI)
2.) Sell the old ones (no clue how much people pay for 1+ year old used AirPods... but this would give my work from home wireless a bit of a boost and keep me with one pair longer to see what Apple comes out with)
3.) Keep both and just switch to the new ones in a year or two when the old ones die. I think this is the most pragmatic especially in case they change the form factor for the next version (I do NOT like the in-ear Pro style), HOWEVER, as noted earlier in the thread, I'd have to make sure they batteries always have some charge in them for the next couple years...
Due to an iPad catastrophe I had to purchase a new one and it came with new AirPod 2s. I currently have AirPod 2s that are from March 2019. My battery life is fine and based on the rumors I think there will be a new version by the time my battery life is beyond my liking (I too am using them more with work from home conference calls and such). I figure I have three options here:
1.) Keep what I have and sell the new ones (there will be a different version at some point and I think this would give me the most ROI)
2.) Sell the old ones (no clue how much people pay for 1+ year old used AirPods... but this would give my work from home wireless a bit of a boost and keep me with one pair longer to see what Apple comes out with)
3.) Keep both and just switch to the new ones in a year or two when the old ones die. I think this is the most pragmatic especially in case they change the form factor for the next version (I do NOT like the in-ear Pro style), HOWEVER, as noted earlier in the thread, I'd have to make sure they batteries always have some charge in them for the next couple years...
After two years of daily use, the battery in my AirPods first generation has completely been depleted. They won't even last half an hour on a single charge anymore. Upgraded to the AirPods Pro last year.