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Airpods Max keep breaking due to condensation?

rx-tx

rx-tx

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 26, 2021
6
1
Hey everyone,

I have a strange issue with my Airpods Max. Here is the story. I bought the Airpods PRO right away when they were released and I love them. Yes, I had the "rattling" issue with them but Apple exchanged them and everything is fine since then. What I love most about the Airpods PRO is that they can switch between Apple devices. I use them for work when I am working from home and I use the on the weekends for private stuff. So I decided to buy the Airpods MAX once they were available for pre-order because I love my Airpüods PRO so much. The Airpods MAX worked really well when I first got them but I ran into problems four months after I got them. They started disconnecting from my devices while using them, they did not wake up when I took them out of my smart case and I had to reset them multiple times. At the end I wasnt even able to reset them anymore. The button and the digital crown did not seem to work anymore. I called Apple and answered all their questions. I told them that I never wore the Airpods MAX outside but I wear them all day when I am working. This means I have them on my ears for 8 - 9 hours every day. I do not take them off during lunch break. I didnt drop them or anything - I just noticed quite an amount of condensation on the inside of my Airpods Max. I took the cushions off every evening and wiped the inside carefully.

I read about a potential condensation issue with them once the first Airpods Max were shipped to customers that´s why I got mine with Apple Care+ right away. I know that the Airpods Max are not water resistent and thats why I came ot the conclusion that my Max keep breaking because of the condensation. I got my third (!!!) pair of Airpods Max from Apple today and the technician told me that they would refund me if they break again.

I love my Airpods Max and I love using them. I am just wondering if anybody else from the Forum here noticed something similar with the Airpods Max.

Thanks in advance!

- Henry
 
Hi again,

this is the condensation after 9h on my ears.
0 - 3.JPG
0 - 2.JPG
 
Hi! No i don’t. I work from home. I live on Europe so no cold ac air either. The temperature is always around 22-25C (72-77F I believe). So nothing unusual. I just use them at home and always between 8-9h a day.
 
Condensation in them does seem to be quite an issue (just look on the apple forums) and probably caused (in your case) extended periods of use, best to remove every few hours to air (and wipe down if any forming). Bit of a kicker and caused by the metal cups and closed backs. A fairly major design flaw for such a premium product.
 
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I don’t take them off every few hours because even my 300 Euros Sony MDR-1ABT Headphones work fine with having them on all day for the past years. I expect that the Airpods Max can handle this issue especially you keep in mind that they cost more than double what my Sony’s cost.

I never wiped any headphones after using them. Of course do i clean them from time to time but i won’t take them off every let’s say two hours just to wipe them. I wipe them every day after i am done with my work tho.

Again … those are premium headphones and they should even if you keep wearing them for an extended period of time.
 
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Hey! Thanks for getting back. Do you also have a lot of condensation in your ear cubs?
 
I look occasionally and have never seen signs of any, even when I know I’m a bit overheated.
 
i do where my for 8-9h a day during work and they never break or similar.

I have not looked for condens. But I can’t look next week and write here.

I do agree with you premium product should handle this. Also you should not need to wipe them off. That’s something I never will remember when I’m sitting coding and listen to music.
 
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rx-tx said:
Hey everyone,

I have a strange issue with my Airpods Max. Here is the story. I bought the Airpods PRO right away when they were released and I love them. Yes, I had the "rattling" issue with them but Apple exchanged them and everything is fine since then. What I love most about the Airpods PRO is that they can switch between Apple devices. I use them for work when I am working from home and I use the on the weekends for private stuff. So I decided to buy the Airpods MAX once they were available for pre-order because I love my Airpüods PRO so much. The Airpods MAX worked really well when I first got them but I ran into problems four months after I got them. They started disconnecting from my devices while using them, they did not wake up when I took them out of my smart case and I had to reset them multiple times. At the end I wasnt even able to reset them anymore. The button and the digital crown did not seem to work anymore. I called Apple and answered all their questions. I told them that I never wore the Airpods MAX outside but I wear them all day when I am working. This means I have them on my ears for 8 - 9 hours every day. I do not take them off during lunch break. I didnt drop them or anything - I just noticed quite an amount of condensation on the inside of my Airpods Max. I took the cushions off every evening and wiped the inside carefully.

I read about a potential condensation issue with them once the first Airpods Max were shipped to customers that´s why I got mine with Apple Care+ right away. I know that the Airpods Max are not water resistent and thats why I came ot the conclusion that my Max keep breaking because of the condensation. I got my third (!!!) pair of Airpods Max from Apple today and the technician told me that they would refund me if they break again.

I love my Airpods Max and I love using them. I am just wondering if anybody else from the Forum here noticed something similar with the Airpods Max.

Thanks in advance!

- Henry
Click to expand...
I'm not being a wise guy. I'm tempted to store mine in my camera Dry Cabinet when not in use if I see any hint of moisture. That would be crazy, I know. But I do like them a lot!
 
I get condensation in mine pretty much every time I wear them (within an hour or so). It’s really hot here in England at the moment though, so I do sweat quite a lot and I think it’s more to do with that, as gross as it sounds.

I’m curious to see if they will still get condensation when it’s a lot colder and I sweat less often.

I tend to take off the ear cups after a listening session to check for moisture, and if there is (which nine times out of ten there is), I wipe them down with a micro fibre cloth and then leave the ear cups off for a short while just to give them a chance to ‘breathe’. No degradation in terms of functionality or sound quality yet but we’ll see.

I’m quite patient with my tech so I don’t mind having to take these measures, but I can wholeheartedly understand why people should not feel the need to have to do this with headphones of this price. Still, looking at the replies here it would seem that your mileage may vary, as per usual.
 
I am into buying them, they are in Europe suddenly 180 euros cheaper everywhere but Apple. But I wonder the reasons to see them at 450 euros instead of 629 euros… if the reason is the condensation and want to get rid of them, like the Homepod (big one), that came with a design flaw and a lot are literally stopping working as we speak.
 
I live in Sweden and I don’t get any condensation in my. I wear them with my computer including going around at home for 9h a day. No issue at all for me anyway.
Did buy AppleCare+ for them as it was only 45 euro so I don’t really worrie either.

my order was taking forever and it was out of stock when I did order it maybe it’s some kind of fix and I got the new Mosul or similar don’t know.
 
Ikertxo40 said:
I am into buying them, they are in Europe suddenly 180 euros cheaper everywhere but Apple. But I wonder the reasons to see them at 450 euros instead of 629 euros… if the reason is the condensation and want to get rid of them, like the Homepod (big one), that came with a design flaw and a lot are literally stopping working as we speak.
Click to expand...
It’s always like that here in Europe with apple stuff. 3rd party stores always sells it cheaper then apple don’t know why
 
I was taking a look in the forum to see if this was still an issue and judging by this post looks like it.. I had the exact same scenario as OP, pre-ordered for launch week delivery, went through 3 RMAs over 4 months until eventually just giving up and asking for a refund :(

typical issues I saw were, it wouldn't charge (no reaction to physical buttons at all) or consistent loss in connection.

I went with a H95 and haven't had any condensation issues whatsoever.. I do miss the apple features though :(
 
ssong said:
I was taking a look in the forum to see if this was still an issue and judging by this post looks like it.. I had the exact same scenario as OP, pre-ordered for launch week delivery, went through 3 RMAs over 4 months until eventually just giving up and asking for a refund :(

typical issues I saw were, it wouldn't charge (no reaction to physical buttons at all) or consistent loss in connection.

I went with a H95 and haven't had any condensation issues whatsoever.. I do miss the apple features though :(
Click to expand...
As I did write I have been wearing them for 8-10h a day no issues for me. Maybe they have fixed them.
 
rx-tx said:
Hey everyone,

I have a strange issue with my Airpods Max. Here is the story. I bought the Airpods PRO right away when they were released and I love them. Yes, I had the "rattling" issue with them but Apple exchanged them and everything is fine since then. What I love most about the Airpods PRO is that they can switch between Apple devices. I use them for work when I am working from home and I use the on the weekends for private stuff. So I decided to buy the Airpods MAX once they were available for pre-order because I love my Airpüods PRO so much. The Airpods MAX worked really well when I first got them but I ran into problems four months after I got them. They started disconnecting from my devices while using them, they did not wake up when I took them out of my smart case and I had to reset them multiple times. At the end I wasnt even able to reset them anymore. The button and the digital crown did not seem to work anymore. I called Apple and answered all their questions. I told them that I never wore the Airpods MAX outside but I wear them all day when I am working. This means I have them on my ears for 8 - 9 hours every day. I do not take them off during lunch break. I didnt drop them or anything - I just noticed quite an amount of condensation on the inside of my Airpods Max. I took the cushions off every evening and wiped the inside carefully.

I read about a potential condensation issue with them once the first Airpods Max were shipped to customers that´s why I got mine with Apple Care+ right away. I know that the Airpods Max are not water resistent and thats why I came ot the conclusion that my Max keep breaking because of the condensation. I got my third (!!!) pair of Airpods Max from Apple today and the technician told me that they would refund me if they break again.

I love my Airpods Max and I love using them. I am just wondering if anybody else from the Forum here noticed something similar with the Airpods Max.

Thanks in advance!

- Henry
Click to expand...
Maaaaaaaaaaaaan Im on my second pair of broken AirPods Max!
Im pretty sure its because of the same condensation thing. I live in Lima-Peru, a pretty humid city.
 
First of all thanks to everybody who posted something in this thread. I know now that some other users experienced the same issues as I did. My third Airpods Max work fine so far. I travelled a few weeks back which also included a 7 hours flight. I would have loved to take my Max to shut down engine noise but I am still not sure if I can rely on them, so I took my Pros. ANC is really a gamechanger on a plane and I hope my Max will work fine in the future so I can take them with me on my next flights.

Take care everybody!

Henry
 
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