Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AirPods case bad standby battery life

This firmware update has made a massive difference for me.

I listened for a little while, brought the case down to 95%, I avoided using them for almost 2 days, I checked again, and the case is still at 95%.

If this keeps up, then I can say that the battery drain issue has been 100% fixed for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MathersMahmood
mark.macrumors said:
If I don't open my case to check battery without using the pods, my Airpods battery is fine. Now try this, open it and check battery without taking the pods out for a few times throughout the day, to see if the battery goes down by itself after that.
Click to expand...

I've done that about 10 times today. Just checked my AirPods just now. Case at 72%. Very pleased!
 
WilliamG said:
I've done that about 10 times today. Just checked my AirPods just now. Case at 72%. Very pleased!
Click to expand...

heyyoudvd said:
This firmware update has made a massive difference for me.

I listened for a little while, brought the case down to 95%, I avoided using them for almost 2 days, I checked again, and the case is still at 95%.

If this keeps up, then I can say that the battery drain issue has been 100% fixed for me.
Click to expand...


I agree. I'm very happy with this update and it's even better than I expected them to work originally. Great update from Apple.
[doublepost=1486203800][/doublepost]I have used the AirPods for about threee hours yesterday. Case was on 84%. Charged them when they were both around 64% and left it overnight. The case battery is now 79%!

And I have tried multiple times opening and closing the case without taking them out and this does not effect the battery either. Very pleased indeed.
 
I was having normal battery drain from the case (3% in 12 hours or so overnight) and since the update it has been better. The case stayed at 100% after 24 hours of no use. Really pleased with the standby time now.
[doublepost=1486229935][/doublepost]
mgenerator said:
Hi, i've been following this thread for a while. Got my AirPods start of january and replaced them a couple of days ago due to this battery drain. New ones are just the same. New firmware, no difference. Sigh.
I don't look so much at the case as the pods themselves. They constantly drain 5 percent/hour on standby, out of the case. 'Constantly' is pretty literal here: every hour cuts between 4 and 6 percent.

Sad! Very bad! :D
Click to expand...

The AirPods are "always on" which is why they're draining for you still while not in the case. They need to be put back in the case after use and not left out, otherwise the battery will continue to drain. This isn't a defect, it's the way the product was designed. There's essentially no way of turning them off due to the fact that they're always paired with the phone when removed from the case.
 
Last edited:
Kyle4 said:
The AirPods are "always on" which is why they're draining for you still while not in the case. They need to be put back in the case after use and not left out, otherwise the battery will continue to drain. This isn't a defect, it's the way the product was designed. There's essentially no way of turning them off due to the fact that they're always paired with the phone when removed from the case.
Click to expand...

Eh. That can't be right. Really. Just can't.

Edit: also, one hour of listening to music = 20 % drain. That's absolutely not as promised.
 
mgenerator said:
Eh. That can't be right. Really. Just can't.

Edit: also, one hour of listening to music = 20 % drain. That's absolutely not as promised.
Click to expand...

Huh? One hour of music = 20% drain, is dead on. That's what I get. As advertised.
[doublepost=1486236507][/doublepost]
WilliamG said:
I've done that about 10 times today. Just checked my AirPods just now. Case at 72%. Very pleased!
Click to expand...

And today when I woke up, case still at 72%. I'm pretty darn convinced the battery drain issue is solved.
 
WilliamG said:
Huh? One hour of music = 20% drain, is dead on. That's what I get. As advertised.
[doublepost=1486236507][/doublepost]
Click to expand...

Terribly sorry! You're absolutely right.
My head is getting all fudged up by all this measuring and counting...
 
WilliamG said:
Happens to us all. I'm SURE I felt the same way at some point until I did the maths. :D
Click to expand...
Thanks for understanding. Sorry for my flippant tone also. Had a bad day.
I might as well ask again if I'm really wrong about the other thing, airpods out of the case and standby battery consumption. What sort of figures do you guys get/expect there? Like I said, mine drains 5%/hour out of the case.
 
I had problems with the battery before I updated to the last firmware. As soon as I updated I still had problems. I read on this forum to let the battery die and do a complete cycle of charge. It's now been 24 hours and used the headphone for a quick two minute call and the case still is 99% and AirPods 100%
 
  • Like
Reactions: tomaustin44
My battery problems are now gone as well. Right after the update to firmware 3.5.1, I noticed no difference with the case battery drain, still going down like 4-5% everything I open the lid. But I let the case go down to 4% coincidentally, and charged up to 100%. Then I removed the AirPods from iCloud, reset the AirPods themselves by holding down the button on the case, waited around an hour before pairing them to all my devices again. Now I see pratically no battery drain at all. Checked the battery last night, it was 91%, the same this morning when I woke up. Checking the battery by opening the lid without taking out the AirPods makes no difference, they do not discharge as before. They seem to work as they should now.
 
Reporting last charge Saturday morning disconnected from charger and 2 minutes of use only and case is 98%.
 
mgenerator said:
Thanks for understanding. Sorry for my flippant tone also. Had a bad day.
I might as well ask again if I'm really wrong about the other thing, airpods out of the case and standby battery consumption. What sort of figures do you guys get/expect there? Like I said, mine drains 5%/hour out of the case.
Click to expand...
Are you referring to 5% per hour for the case, or the for the airpods

If for the airpods, then I would say this is normal. They are on, and using/trying to use bluetooth for the whole duration they are out of the case. When they are put in the case, the lid is then used to shut them off (put them in sleep mode)
 
Lihp8270 said:
Are you referring to 5% per hour for the case, or the for the airpods
If for the airpods, then I would say this is normal. They are on, and using/trying to use bluetooth for the whole duration they are out of the case. When they are put in the case, the lid is then used to shut them off (put them in sleep mode)
Click to expand...

Thank you! I'm talking about the pods. I assumed they were asleep when out of the case, just lying around.
I just don't like lugging around the case everywhere I go. Small pockets etc. Plus, I need earhoox or similar to make them fit my ears, and those have to come off every time I put them back in the case. And on. And off. Quite the hassle.
To fix the second problem I've now made my own mod with a sort of soft adhesive pads that I cut into shape and put on the pods. Now they stay in my ears AND fit in the case.

Anyone think it's possible that the 5%/hour drain on pods-out-of-the-case could ever be, say, 1%?
 
mgenerator said:
Thank you! I'm talking about the pods. I assumed they were asleep when out of the case, just lying around.
I just don't like lugging around the case everywhere I go. Small pockets etc. Plus, I need earhoox or similar to make them fit my ears, and those have to come off every time I put them back in the case. And on. And off. Quite the hassle.
To fix the second problem I've now made my own mod with a sort of soft adhesive pads that I cut into shape and put on the pods. Now they stay in my ears AND fit in the case.

Anyone think it's possible that the 5%/hour drain on pods-out-of-the-case could ever be, say, 1%?
Click to expand...
I don't think so.

When they're out of the case. They're either maintaining a connection, or trying to make one.

When they do disconnect after a time, they are still powering the accelerometers and sensors to know when they're back in your ear.

For such a tiny battery and tiny device there's actually quite a lot going on
 
  • Like
Reactions: mgenerator
I think I am experiencing this problem, too. I noticed while not in use (but not inside the charger case) the battery drops about 5-6% every hour, so yesterday at 7:00 PM it was 90% and about 12, 13 hours later (even not being used) it was 30-40%. I will let both the Airpods and the case fully discharge to a point there's not even 1% left, and will recharge them and pay attention if the problem is still happening.

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comm...s_case_battery_drain/?st=j24unw2u&sh=24528ea6

The suggestion to reset and fully discharge was made on Reddit. One thing I need to add is that I have two IPPs 9.7 and the ATV 4 connected to these phones. Still, once they are not used, it should last for a lot longer.

P.S. I already tried resetting. Didn't change anything.
 
Last edited:
My suggestion would be to make sure that you're updated to the most recent version of iOS and that the firmware on your AirPods is updated. (Currently 3.5.1).

(Check the version by following these directions: http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/140...e-how-to-check-for-and-install-latest-version )

I wound up getting a replacement for, and then returning the first set of AirPods I had, which I got in December, when nothing seemed to fix the slow draining case issue. I then bought another pair in March, and found that the issue was gone, which would lead me to believe that the firmware was the issue, not the battery.


Perene said:
I think I am experiencing this problem, too. I noticed while not in use (but not inside the charger case) the battery drops about 5-6% every hour, so yesterday at 7:00 PM it was 90% and about 12, 13 hours later (even not being used) it was 30-40%. I will let both the Airpods and the case fully discharge to a point there's not even 1% left, and will recharge them and pay attention if the problem is still happening.

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comm...s_case_battery_drain/?st=j24unw2u&sh=24528ea6

The suggestion to reset and fully discharge was made on Reddit. One thing I need to add is that I have two IPPs 9.7 and the ATV 4 connected to these phones. Still, once they are not used, it should last for a lot longer.

P.S. I already tried resetting. Didn't change anything.
Click to expand...
 
I was able to determine mine are using the last version.

First of all, that checking can't be done using an iPAD. My mother has an iPhone, so I checked with it.

Here's proof:
http://imgur.com/a/hoNdg

I don't know if my complaints are valid... but like I said, the way I use these phones is this:

- They are paired with my two iPADs. In fact I didn't have to press the button in the back of the charger case, only let bluetooth enabled. Also paired with ATV 4.

- When I am not using them I let them in my drawer. However they still broadcast the battery % charge from there.

- Over time, these phones drop their battery about 4, 5% each hour.

Is this normal? I don't want them to lose so much charge in a matter of 24 hours, if not being used. And I also don't want to put them back in the charger case.

So my alternative now is to fully discharge both the charger case and them, and wait and see if the battery keeps dropping at this pace?

P.S. When not using, should I unpair in the iPAD settings (forget this device), disable bluetooth or anything else? Bluetooth is always on in these 3 devices.
 
Last edited:
Have you just bought the Airpods? Think most of us found that battery life becomes great after a month or so
 
Diiiiips said:
Have you just bought the Airpods? Think most of us found that battery life becomes great after a month or so
Click to expand...
The problem is that when I take the Airpods from my ears and put them back in my drawer, they don't show as connected, but at random moments of the day they remain CONNECTED in the iOS settings (Bluetooth) from my iPAD. Even if I hit the option DISCONNECT, the Airpods keep trying to connect later. And once connected the battery will be wasted perhaps 5, 6 % every 60 minutes.

I'll assume the reason for that is to show the ammount of charge % left, yet if I put the Apple Pencil in my drawer, even if paired, it will only show the % left if very close to the device it is currently paired. In standby mode the Pencil will continue to waste its battery, still not like this.

Perhaps the reason is because the Airpods have a stronger signal.

Sure the case charge them fast, but it's very inconvenient that we need to put them back there to recharge and to avoid this attempt to remain connected at all times (since you can't see the case battery percentage if it's closed, I will assume that once the Airpods are both there, you won't waste any battery either).

Today I listened to a few minutes and believe the battery from the Airpods was wasted even further, 5% in a very short time. As I said earlier, I will fully discharge both the case and the Airpods for the 1st time and see how things evolve from there. Maybe all that I need is to calibrate the battery.

What I want to know is if I need to completely turn the Bluetooth off from all my devices and also unpair these Airpods to avoid this unnecessary waste. Am I missing something here or Appple really did a lousy job in this area and need to update the Airpods firmware again?
 
Last edited:
After having the airpods since 12/19/16. Battery life still amazing. No noticeable battery drain. I just charged the case over night and haven't opened them yet but I know it's 100%. Usually when I start to use them from 100%. After using till the airpods reach 40% and plug it in. Next time I open the case, the airpods are at 100% and the case is at 92%

To the above poster, once the case lid is closed, the airpods itself is turned off. The case will still charge it but once it's full, the case should stop charging. But if the airpods battery % drop below 95%, the case will then top it off so that airpods are fully charged again (same goes for other apple products).

Make sure your airpods firmware is on the latest. I had this draining issue previously but the firmware update fixed it.
 
Now I noticed we can check the firmware version using the Apple-TV. There's no need to have an iPhone for that.

And another odd thing: the charger case is down to 5% and can't charge anymore these Airpods... but it doesn't drop below that. Is that normal?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7797204?start=105&tstart=0

I saw in one of the comments that replacing the charger case was the only solution, not the Airpods themselves. I'll wait for a day or two until there's a full discharge, do another reset and don't even use them, and at the same time register how much charge it's wasted after this, by taking pictures in the iPAD. If nothing changes I'll contact Apple support.

Here's the comment that got my attention:

**********
Here has been my experience with this battery drain.

TAKE AWAY: A replacement charging case was the ONLY solution for me.

I was in the same boat as everyone else on this thread. Airpods and case were draining super fast (on average 2% per hour over night). I contacted Apple Support and received replacement airpods but did not fix it. I then requested a replacement charging case and it has literally fixed my battery issues. Now I can't even get the charging case to discharge by 1% in 24 hours of non-use. It's pretty crazy the night and day difference I'm seeing.

In my case I am 100% sure it wasn't the airpods that were causing the issue. It was the charging case.

Hope this helps!

PS -- the firmware update didn't even help my old charging case.
**********
 
OK, here we go. I charged the Airpods and the case to 100%, after a full discharge. Did a reset to factory settings, and then paired with one of my iPAD Pros 9.7. In the other iPAD the Airpods are also showing, since all my devices use the same Apple-ID. Then I went to the ATV 4 and paired manually. It's now 1:30 PM local time, I have taken a photo of the Airpods and the case charge (100 / 100%), as informed by the iPAD, when the case is open. I'll see if after a day or two there's a noticeable reduction in the standby battery charge, while not opening this case or using during this period.

The next test (after this one is completed) will be looking at how much charge is drained if the Airpods are outside the charger case, while not being used.
 
Last edited:
After at least 23 hours, the charger case is down to 95% and the Airpods are still 100%. 5% in a single day can be considered too much?

I'll now fully charge both and let the Airpods out of the case, without being used, to see what happens.

Update: Airpods not being used, in my drawer, 100% charged since 1:45 PM (May 5). Now we will see how much they are going to last.

5:30 PM, same day - the iPAD says the battery from the Airpods is down to 85%. Still a loss of 4-5% each hour.

Important:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/comments/5jcvxx/does_anyone_elses_airpods_lose_charge_overnight/

Perhaps 3 full discharges are needed for this test...

Update, May 9: Still waiting for the 2nd full discharge. I'll also measure how much time it takes to fully charge them and the case.

*******
1st test concluded: after a full discharge (my 2nd) for both the Airpods and their case, in exactly 90 minutes I see these figures after opening the charger case: 100% for the Airpods and 91% for the case. So it takes more than that to fully charge them.

Note: after 2 hours it's 100 and 99%, however at this point the LED is already green, not amber. That must mean it's fully charged.

**********

Once I have a 3rd full discharge I'll do two more tests: how much the battery is drained in 24 hours with the Pods inside the case without being used, to measure the case standby battery life, and how much the Pods themselves drain if outside the case, if left alone in my drawer.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back