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dbboy

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2006
31
2
Sacramento, Ca.
My AirPod max no longer will connect. I’ve tried resetting/restoring factory defaults, leaving it charging in the case for days and still nothing. I contacted Apple and I was told they would repair them for $300 since they are now a few months out of warranty. I also tried connecting them to my other devices and none of them see it. I see quite a few people on other forums with the exact same issue. Anyone here dealt with this? $300 on a year old device that costs $500 just makes no sense to me at this point. Thanks!
 

samthegreat

Suspended
Sep 12, 2023
4
1
Japan
That's really frustrating about your AirPod Max stopping to connect! $300 for a repair seems steep considering they're only a year old. Have you looked into possibly selling them as-is on eBay? Maybe someone who's handy with electronics could fix them for less. Or you might find a third party repair shop that would do it cheaper than Apple. Otherwise, maybe see if Apple would give any discount since it's a known issue others are having too. Hopefully you're able to get them working again without paying full price for the repair. Their quality should be better for a premium product.
 

ZeChild

macrumors 6502
May 14, 2012
398
324
Glasgow, UK
I had the same issues with my 2 year old APMs, took them into the Apple store and they said the same thing with 1 key difference they said to me they would generally service them for free if they were within 2 years of purchase, mine were 2yrs & 4 mths old so no luck, but as your's are 1 yr old I'd take them into an Apple store and see what they say about that.

There is one other option I only found about a few weeks ago, Apple offer a battery replacement service that costs $80 that would solve the problem, I'm not certain but I think they just replace the full unit through that so way better than $300
 
Last edited:

dbboy

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 31, 2006
31
2
Sacramento, Ca.
Thanks, I checked and it’s not an option. I guess they go to the trash. It’s pretty bad to have them fail after a year and 4 months. I am amazed at how many people on the forums have had the exact same problem. One person paid to have his fixed and it did the same thing again a few months later. It seems like a design flaw to me. I’ll probably get a pair of Bose since they have proven to be reliable. Plus I have heard Apple will be introducing a new version of the APMs soon.
 

japanime

macrumors 68030
Feb 27, 2006
2,916
4,846
Japan
Thanks, I checked and it’s not an option. I guess they go to the trash. It’s pretty bad to have them fail after a year and 4 months. I am amazed at how many people on the forums have had the exact same problem. One person paid to have his fixed and it did the same thing again a few months later. It seems like a design flaw to me. I’ll probably get a pair of Bose since they have proven to be reliable. Plus I have heard Apple will be introducing a new version of the APMs soon.
I wonder if it might be worth purchasing the lightning to 3.5 mm audio cable Apple sells that allows and see if, upon getting connected that way, it somehow "resets" and allows your Max to connect wirelessly once again. (The cable can be returned to Apple for a refund if you do so within 14 days of purchase.)
 
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tenordrum

macrumors regular
Jan 26, 2019
170
272
DC Beltway
I had the same problem occur yesterday, and the Genius Bar rep told me the same $300 exchange/"repair" cost, and recommended of course that I don't do it. I am not going to buy another Max, as my youngest son had the same issue with his. 2 years old and it is not a shiny paperweight.
 

MBAir2010

macrumors 604
May 30, 2018
6,975
6,354
there
Wow
i was contemplating purchasing a set this week
not anymore…..

i feel bad for those who suffered, they are expensive !
 

japanime

macrumors 68030
Feb 27, 2006
2,916
4,846
Japan
This is why I keep pushing the purchase out.
It's the butterfly keyboard all over again.
No it's not. There aren't dozens of threads discussing this issue, like there were with the butterfly keyboard. It's an issue that affects some AirPods Max units, but definitely not every single one.
 

MRrainer

macrumors 68000
Aug 8, 2008
1,534
1,117
Zurich, Switzerland
No it's not. There aren't dozens of threads discussing this issue, like there were with the butterfly keyboard. It's an issue that affects some AirPods Max units, but definitely not every single one.

That may well be true - but the fact that Apple can't repair them doesn't make me feel better about it, unfortunately.

Also, the APMs are a much more niche article than the notebooks. Apple likely sold orders of magnitude more of those.
 
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