New AirPods 4 discharging at different rates?

[thadoggfather]

Seems my left one discharging quicker than the right. These are 1 day old and I have been using both at the same time every time so far - not like I took a few phone calls or listened to a few songs on left only

Should I swap em out or give em a couple charges to see if things stabilize?

Anyone experience the same?

And mic setting is automatic not always left or right - the default value

 

[yanki01]

I returned my first pair because it wouldn't automatically connect to my Phone - although i'd hear the chime but under bluetooth is wasn't connected? now that works with my 2nd pair.

I had the same issue you had with the first pair, and again on the 2nd pair. I put one pod in my ear, leave the other one in the case and the battery stutters up and down like it's intermittently charging on it's own.

I also cannot get the battery status to popup on my phone screen when i open the case next to my iPhone.

I'm chatting with apple now about the issues.

 

[yanki01]

the rep wants to get them inspected by apple. I don't have any apple stores near my and don't want to mail them in. i'll see if it corrects itself soon by resetting everything. If not i'll return them and see about buying a 3rd pair or waiting until they fix the issue if it's a big enough issue.

 

[thadoggfather]

Now right is draining more the other two times was left side that I noticed. Either it bounces back and forth to be a little off or perhaps something that will be adjusted in an auto pushed firmware update eventually

The fact others experienced the same makes me less inclined to do a swap for right now

 

[yanki01]

what iOS are you on? my airpods icons don't look like that. iOS 17.7

 

[thadoggfather]

what iOS are you on? my airpods icons don't look like that. iOS 17.7

iOS18.0

 

[yanki01]

Strange. When I connect my AirPods 2, the widget shows two separate AirPod 2 icons. When I connect my AirPod 4, they show up like they’re over the head headphones. No AirPod icons or AirPod case? Makes no sense.

edit - under model name in Bluetooth it shows “ACCESSORY_MODEL_NAME_27”.

something is going on with these things.

 

[WilliamG]

I’m on a new iPhone 16 Pro Max and just received my AirPods 4 ANC. I’m also seeing different discharge rates.

FYI I had just put the left one in the case.

 

[WilliamG]

They’re really bad today. Had them fully charged and after 10 mins in my ears…

This was with ANC off and no media playing for 10 mins.

 

[thadoggfather]

Mine have stabilized a bit more. I think its about 1-2% off now, sometimes matched perfectly (going off iStat menu on my Mac + battery widget on my iPhone) .

They were wildly off at the jump what looked like by 20% at times

 

[WilliamG]

Mine have stabilized a bit more. I think its about 1-2% off now, sometimes matched perfectly (going off iStat menu on my Mac + battery widget on my iPhone) .

They were wildly off at the jump what looked like by 20% at times

Interestingly, mine have stabilized more, too.

 

[Zeebedy]

yeah, mine also discharge at different rates.

 

[MasterControlProgram]

I was once told by an employee in an Apple Store that usually the first bud you take out the case and put in your ear is the “master” and it handles coordinating the synchronisation with the phone and the other bud and this is why the battery drains faster on one more than the other. Sometimes the second bud can connect first but usually it’s the first one you put in.

So, assuming they were correct, it might be worth trying to alternate which bud you put in first.

 

[MrMojo1]

Strange. When I connect my AirPods 2, the widget shows two separate AirPod 2 icons. When I connect my AirPod 4, they show up like they’re over the head headphones. No AirPod icons or AirPod case? Makes no sense.

edit - under model name in Bluetooth it shows “ACCESSORY_MODEL_NAME_27”.

something is going on with these things.

Just got the Airpods 4 ANC and have the same experience with the name.

Other issues...
The Pop Up to check the battery level for the earpieces and the case are not working.
Also, the Control Center only shows the icons for the earpieces and case But the case Only shows 87% charged and Stops charging despite being connected to cable/charger for hours.
The Find My feature isn't working.

Apparently, in other online forums like Reddit and the Apple Community Forum...

Some users are reporting similar 'Issues' with the AP4.
The 'new' AP4 (ANC) model 'needs' iOS 18 as it looks for that upon synching for the First time and asks if you want to update the iPhone to the latest iOS version (v18), which appears to be the issue. But some users are reporting the Same issues even with iOS 18.x.

Thought to give Airpods 4 a try but with the 'issues' showing up and that it won't fit the left ear, as it's loose and slowly fall out, while the right earpiece fits fine, going to disinfect them before returning. Sticking with the APP2.

 

[CEaton]

Same EXACT issue, Airpods 4 non-ANC.

R airpod seems to only be going to 80% with smart charging, L will go to 100, then the R pod will drain as a faster rate.

I've had every pair of Airpods, currently own the Airpods Pro 2, AirPods 3 and the Airpods 4 non-anc.

 

[yanki01]

Some users are reporting similar 'Issues' with the AP4.
The 'new' AP4 (ANC) model 'needs' iOS 18 as it looks for that upon synching for the First time and asks if you want to update the iPhone to the latest iOS version (v18), which appears to be the issue. But some users are reporting the Same issues even with iOS 18.x.

my issue was "fixed" after updating to iOS 18. I didn't want to but ended up doing so and it's working fine now.

 

[barry.wiestling]

I am having the same issue with battery drain on one airpod but not the other. Just used them for 25 minutes and my left airpod is at 100% and the right airpod is at 86%. How does one airpod not lose any battery when in use for 25 minutes?

 

[one more]

I would let them run for 7-10 days and see how they behave. Also make sure they have the latest available firmware.

FWIW, my AirPods 3 were also discharging at a different rate for the whole duration of their useful life (just under three years). Now the left AirPod is toast (works for about 2 min), so I am moving on to AirPods 4 ANC.

AirPods are disposables, similar to car tyres, so you just need to decide whether it is worth/convenient for you to swap them after every 2-3 years of use. They are super light and convenient, though, so quite hard to resist for somebody deep into Apple ecosystem.