AirPods 2ndGen deterioration of sound quality and connectivity

[FyerFyer]

Hi guys

As title says, the sound quality of my AirPods is getting worse and worse, and the Bluetooth connection disconnects all the time now.

I have IOS15 and an 11Pro max. Phone is fine with other devices but the AP’s are losing life it seems. To add, to actually hear anything, I have to position them so the silver ring on the bottom faces forward rather than straight down.

Any suggestions?

 

[bigshot]

Is the battery dying?

 

[FyerFyer]

Is the battery dying?

Thanks for your reply
Surprisingly, the battery is really really good, a lot better than I remember.

Could the fact that I have to wear them a certain way mean anything?

Just to check my AirPods firmware version is 3E571.

 

[bigshot]

What do you mean by wear them a certain way?

 

[FyerFyer]

What do you mean by wear them a certain way?

To add, to actually hear anything, I have to position them so the silver ring on the bottom faces forward rather than straight down.

It’s really strange as to why this seems to work, but the sound quality is still quite bad

 

[bigshot]

Are you putting them in your ears with the stem pointing up, and then twisting them down to seat them in your ear?

I'm guessing there is some sort of blockage of a microphone, or perhaps a sensor that is broken. It might not be detecting that it's in your ear and turning off. Since it happened gradually, my guess is that ear wax or sweat has worked its way in where it shouldn't be. You should take them to an Apple store and get them to take a look at them. It might be repairable. I don't know.

 

[perezr10]

I had an issue with my 2nd gens losing their volume. It turned out that they were clogged. I used some poster putty to pull out all the gunk from the speaker grilles and they were nice and loud again.