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Herrpod

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2019
1,000
1,979
I've been having problems with mine for the last several weeks. Heck, I couldn't get them to charge past 75% for the first 2 weeks of ownership. Finally spoke with again Apple about it today, we were able to diagnose that it was still connected to one of my devices (iPad) even though the headphones were in the case. This caused them to lose 70% of their charge overnight. They did set up a replacement, but I have little faith that this will fix the issue. I suspect that there is something to do with the headphones that are leaving them connected to a device.

A simple power switch would have eliminated this problem from ever happening. Although, I've used the regular AirPod Pro's for years and never had this problem.
AirPods Pro constantly drain battery as well. You just don't notice it because the case they're in tops them off constantly. But if you notice, the case loses 5-10 percent battery life each night because of having to top off the ear buds.
 

Jordillav22

macrumors newbie
Jul 1, 2020
28
42
Tortosa, España
I have activated the battery widget on the iPhone. When I put the AirPods Max in its case, I find that the headphones disappear from the battery widget. If they are still active in the widget, I take the AirPods out of their case and put them back. So I have solved the problem.
 
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Mikeeee

macrumors 6502a
Sep 27, 2017
552
534
For what it’s worth I’ve been tracking the battery drain in case vs no case over 5 days. These numbers were straight from charger and just letting them sit. Here are the results:

No Case


10:00 AM 100%

24 hours 96%

48 hours 86%

72 hours Ultra Low Power Mode

96 hours Ultra low power mode

5 days + 3.5 hours 74%


In case


10:15 AM 100%

24 hours 100%

48 hours 95%

72 hours 87%

96 hours 80%

5 days + 3.5 hours 71%

So after 5 days, 3.5 hours no case was a little better. Doesn’t seem to be any advantage to using the case from a battery conservation perspective. Also 30% battery gone in 5 days is a big fail Apple. Time to offer a power off option.
 

Bazooka-joe

macrumors 603
Mar 12, 2012
5,347
3,743
Swindon, England
I have activated the battery widget on the iPhone. When I put the AirPods Max in its case, I find that the headphones disappear from the battery widget. If they are still active in the widget, I take the AirPods out of their case and put them back. So I have solved the problem.
And that’s exactly why I don’t have a battery issue because as soon as I put the APM‘s in the case, the battery widget disappears which is what I would expect it to do
 

UKapple73

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2014
623
577
For what it’s worth I’ve been tracking the battery drain in case vs no case over 5 days. These numbers were straight from charger and just letting them sit. Here are the results:

No Case


10:00 AM 100%

24 hours 96%

48 hours 86%

72 hours Ultra Low Power Mode

96 hours Ultra low power mode

5 days + 3.5 hours 74%


In case


10:15 AM 100%

24 hours 100%

48 hours 95%

72 hours 87%

96 hours 80%

5 days + 3.5 hours 71%

So after 5 days, 3.5 hours no case was a little better. Doesn’t seem to be any advantage to using the case from a battery conservation perspective. Also 30% battery gone in 5 days is a big fail Apple. Time to offer a power off option.
Totally agree with you. It’s actually worse than you say, because when you use them the clock resets and it’s another 18/72 hours before they go into ULPM, and so in reality the drain will be much faster, in my usage of 1-2 hrs per day, I’m lucky to get 5 days from these
There needs to be a power off option. No ifs no buts
 

Bazooka-joe

macrumors 603
Mar 12, 2012
5,347
3,743
Swindon, England
Do you have a Mac with the Bluetooth on? Or an Apple TV?
No and that’s another reason why I don’t seem to have the issue. I have automatic switching turned off on my iPhone and iPad. I do not connect my headphones to my MacBook and I have watched movies on Apple TV but again I disconnect the headphones from ATV after I have finished
 

Herrpod

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2019
1,000
1,979
For what it’s worth I’ve been tracking the battery drain in case vs no case over 5 days. These numbers were straight from charger and just letting them sit. Here are the results:

No Case


10:00 AM 100%

24 hours 96%

48 hours 86%

72 hours Ultra Low Power Mode

96 hours Ultra low power mode

5 days + 3.5 hours 74%


In case


10:15 AM 100%

24 hours 100%

48 hours 95%

72 hours 87%

96 hours 80%

5 days + 3.5 hours 71%

So after 5 days, 3.5 hours no case was a little better. Doesn’t seem to be any advantage to using the case from a battery conservation perspective. Also 30% battery gone in 5 days is a big fail Apple. Time to offer a power off option.
They did the next best thing to adding a power off option - they convinced their fans that battery loss is OK.
 

b76302

macrumors newbie
Jun 11, 2011
16
4
FWIW, I contacted Apple support about this issue today to see if there was anything new they could offer. Basically, the gist is Apple is aware of the issue and to wait for a firmware update. - Transcript below.

Thanks for contacting Apple Support. My name is [removed]. Please give me a moment to look over your information.
Hi. I see that you’re chatting in about battery drain is that correct? Can you tell me more about the issue?

9:29 PM
I have the AirPods Max headphones and they are draining battery overnight while in the case. I intentionally charged them up to 100%, didn't use them, put them back in the case and the next morning they were down to 67%
I first noticed them when I put them on and they made the noise and were at 1%, which I had only used them for about an hour. But they sat overnight I have so far done a factory reset on them with no change.
I currently have an iPad, iPhone, Macbook Pro, and Macbook Air, all of which they have connected to at some point.
Got it. Thanks for raising this to us. I understand that your AirPods Max's battery drains quickly and no worries, be assured that I’ll do the best I can to get you on the best path to a resolution. Just to check first, may I know the serial number of your AirPods? You can detach the left magnetic ear cushion to see the serial number.
[removed]

Thank you. Since when did you noticed the issue?

9:35 PM
A few days after I got them, I had originally charged them up to 100% and thought they went down really fast. When using them they are fine, I just dont think they ever shut off even in the case, or maybe they are connecting to my devices.

9:36 PM
They seem to connect and work just fine, but if I put them down, even in the case, they will drain significantly. Since this morning, I have not used them at all and they are back at 37% right now
I fully charged them yesterday and have used them for about 10 minutes at most yesterday

9:39 PM
I see. Thanks for letting me know. I was checking my resources here and I see that Apple is already aware of this issue and an investigation is currently ongoing. While we do not have a definite timeframe for a resolution, rest assured that Apple is working on this to sort this out ASAP. A fix may come in a firmware update and you can update your AirPods firmware by simply pairing it on your devices and connect the device to Wifi. Current Firmware should be: 3C16

Ok, i'll hold off and hopefully this will fix them.
 
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mostlynameless

macrumors member
Sep 22, 2008
61
7
AirPods Pro constantly drain battery as well. You just don't notice it because the case they're in tops them off constantly. But if you notice, the case loses 5-10 percent battery life each night because of having to top off the ear buds.
I wasn‘t sure, so I tested this. From the time I read this yesterday until 11:20 tonight my pros case went from 70% to 69%. So well over 24 hours and 1% loss while not in use. Whatever problem my Max’s had, the pro’s don’t share it.
 

Herrpod

macrumors 65816
May 29, 2019
1,000
1,979
I wasn‘t sure, so I tested this. From the time I read this yesterday until 11:20 tonight my pros case went from 70% to 69%. So well over 24 hours and 1% loss while not in use. Whatever problem my Max’s had, the pro’s don’t share it.
And mine drops 5-10 percent every night. As do many people's AirPods. I returned a pair because of it and was told by Apple Support that it's as designed.
 

Marshall73

macrumors 68030
Apr 20, 2015
2,713
2,837
I use my AirPod Max with my Apple TV 4K (come on Apple, spatial sound support please), MacBook Air M1, iPhone 12 PM and 12.9 (2018) iPad Pro. I use the provided case when not in use and when in the case the battery levels barely move. They were fully charged and left on the shelf for 10 days and when I put them on the battery was at 88%. Since then I have been using them through the day for calls and music and at night with the Apple TV. Battery life has been superb. If I don’t put them in the case and they are ‘jostled’ they will randomly connect to my phone during calls which has caused some confusion when audio disappears, so I always pop then in the case when not in use.
 

magdor

macrumors newbie
Feb 26, 2021
2
4
So after a few more weeks of using the headphones, what I've noticed is that it doesn't seem to matter whether or not the headphones are in the case. They arbitrarily don't go into sleep mode either in the case (when they should sleep immediately) or after five minutes idle outside of the case. I've had them sleep properly in the case and only lose 2-3% in 3 days, also had them not sleep properly in the case and lose 50% overnight. Also had them sleep properly outside the case, and lose 50% again overnight outside the case when idle. Something with the sleep trigger code is busted and probably requires a firmware update.
If you go look through all your devices, I suspect you will find one that is still connected. That is what I found. It should disconnect when you take them off or put them in the case, but it isn't doing that. It is a firmware problem, but I feel that Apple can also implement an "off" switch which would also solve the problem.
 
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Stratus Fear

macrumors 6502a
Jan 21, 2008
696
433
Atlanta, GA
If you go look through all your devices, I suspect you will find one that is still connected. That is what I found. It should disconnect when you take them off or put them in the case, but it isn't doing that. It is a firmware problem, but I feel that Apple can also implement an "off" switch which would also solve the problem.

I’ll have to look into this. Definitely seems that the headphones should be booting all connections if there has been no audio sent for a while though. Hopefully that’ll be the firmware fix.
 

Deliro

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2011
1,143
1,337
FWIW, I contacted Apple support about this issue today to see if there was anything new they could offer. Basically, the gist is Apple is aware of the issue and to wait for a firmware update. - Transcript below.

Thanks for contacting Apple Support. My name is [removed]. Please give me a moment to look over your information.
Hi. I see that you’re chatting in about battery drain is that correct? Can you tell me more about the issue?

9:29 PM
I have the AirPods Max headphones and they are draining battery overnight while in the case. I intentionally charged them up to 100%, didn't use them, put them back in the case and the next morning they were down to 67%
I first noticed them when I put them on and they made the noise and were at 1%, which I had only used them for about an hour. But they sat overnight I have so far done a factory reset on them with no change.
I currently have an iPad, iPhone, Macbook Pro, and Macbook Air, all of which they have connected to at some point.
Got it. Thanks for raising this to us. I understand that your AirPods Max's battery drains quickly and no worries, be assured that I’ll do the best I can to get you on the best path to a resolution. Just to check first, may I know the serial number of your AirPods? You can detach the left magnetic ear cushion to see the serial number.
[removed]

Thank you. Since when did you noticed the issue?

9:35 PM
A few days after I got them, I had originally charged them up to 100% and thought they went down really fast. When using them they are fine, I just dont think they ever shut off even in the case, or maybe they are connecting to my devices.

9:36 PM
They seem to connect and work just fine, but if I put them down, even in the case, they will drain significantly. Since this morning, I have not used them at all and they are back at 37% right now
I fully charged them yesterday and have used them for about 10 minutes at most yesterday

9:39 PM
I see. Thanks for letting me know. I was checking my resources here and I see that Apple is already aware of this issue and an investigation is currently ongoing. While we do not have a definite timeframe for a resolution, rest assured that Apple is working on this to sort this out ASAP. A fix may come in a firmware update and you can update your AirPods firmware by simply pairing it on your devices and connect the device to Wifi. Current Firmware should be: 3C16

Ok, i'll hold off and hopefully this will fix them.
It’s obvious Apple uses outsourced overseas customer service by looking at the transcript. By their language patterns and referring to Apple as a 3rd party. So they’re little help when it comes to this type of stuff.
 

madhu1989

macrumors regular
Nov 26, 2010
176
61
New AirPods Max firmware (3C39) has been released. Hope this fixes the battery drain issue that many of us are facing! Fingers crossed !
 
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RAMM

macrumors newbie
Mar 29, 2016
23
19
Chicago
Leave them on charge and connected to your phone

In order for the APMs to remain connected to your iPhone, slide them out of the case while still connected to the power cord. Now I have to stop obsessively checking the Settings app... Still at 3C16. ?
 

Fred Zed

macrumors 603
Aug 15, 2019
5,821
6,517
Upstate NY . Was FL.
For what it’s worth I’ve been tracking the battery drain in case vs no case over 5 days. These numbers were straight from charger and just letting them sit. Here are the results:

No Case


10:00 AM 100%

24 hours 96%

48 hours 86%

72 hours Ultra Low Power Mode

96 hours Ultra low power mode

5 days + 3.5 hours 74%


In case


10:15 AM 100%

24 hours 100%

48 hours 95%

72 hours 87%

96 hours 80%

5 days + 3.5 hours 71%

So after 5 days, 3.5 hours no case was a little better. Doesn’t seem to be any advantage to using the case from a battery conservation perspective. Also 30% battery gone in 5 days is a big fail Apple. Time to offer a power off option.
So nothing new here then behavior wise. Beats Pro also do the same and I think as do AirPods.
 
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