Can someone please tell me what's going on with my AirPods?

[Jayson A]

I'm having the strangest issue. They appear to drain really fast, like 1-2% per minute, and then, if they die, I simply pop them into the case for 1 second, then take them out, and suddenly they're at 80% or 90%! Then, they only last a few minutes before they die again, and then I'll pop them in the case for a second, take them out and now suddenly one is at 80% and one is at 5%.

So they play for a bit longer, and die again, so I pop them in the case and then right back out and now they're 90% again. How is this possible? Is it the case that's broken or the AirPods?

Sometimes they'll give me a reading of 3-5%, but then putting them into the case for 1 second changes it to 70-90% for some reason. I know for a fact they're not that full because they don't last long after I take them back out of the case.

I guess basically I'm trying to drain them completely, then charge them back up to 100% to see if that solves the problem, but I can't seem to drain them completely because they keep showing high battery percentages.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

How old are they?

 

[Jayson A]

How old are they?

2 years, but I've never abused them, I always put them back in the case when I was done. Right now they both say 65% even though they were dead a minute ago. For some reason popping them in the case and then immediately back out brings new life to them, but I don't believe the case can charge them that fast.

 

[BugeyeSTI]

2 years, but I've never abused them, I always put them back in the case when I was done. Right now they both say 65% even though they were dead a minute ago. For some reason popping them in the case and then immediately back out brings new life to them, but I don't believe the case can charge them that fast.

The case can actually charge them very quickly but, I think the batteries in the pods themselves are probably coming to end of life. They’re tiny and I’m sure after 2 years they’ll most likely need replacement.. I’ve seen other threads describing the exact symptoms you are and the likely culprit is the batteries in the pods themselves. Probably not the answer your looking for but seems Apple plans on 2 year life from Airpods. They offer a battery replacement but I’m not sure the details..

 

[F23]

Mine act exactly the same way. Had mine since Jan 2017. About 2-3 hours of usage. Pop them back in the case and within minutes they are at 80-100% charged. It's just degraded battery. The capacity has decreased so they charge much faster but in turn last less. The fact that they charge so quick now is pretty cool even though it's annoying having them die every couple hours.

 

[tl01]

I think the batteries are dying. Time for new AirPods.

 

[Jayson A]

2 years, but I've never abused them, I always put them back in the case when I was done.

I think the batteries are dying. Time for new AirPods.

That sucks. I figured this day would come though given how small they are and batteries don't last forever.

 

[Peter K.]

That sucks. I figured this day would come though given how small they are and batteries don't last forever.

While not quite as extreme as with yours, my AirPods are starting to show signs of battery aging. They never seem to reach 100% now and there is often a significant difference in the battery level between the two of them.