The aluminum earcups on AirPods Max.
Apple AirPods Max over-ear wireless headphones have sold like, well, AirPods. That is, demand has consistently outstripped supply. But some users have reported that their headphones’ battery charge has taken an overnight tumble as extreme as falling off a cliff.
AirPods Max come with a controversial-design case which includes a magnetic system to put the headphones into Ultra Low Power Mode to reduce battery drain to a very low level.
Some of those reporting the battery drop haven’t been using the case, but others have. So, it’s a mystery.
What users seem to have in common is the firmware on their AirPods Max, and it’s the latest edition, 3C16, which could be the cause. You can check which version you have, by connecting your AirPods Max to your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings, About and AirPods Max. It’ll then show the firmware on board. The previous version was 3B71. Apple does the updating for you, you don’t need to make it happen.
So, how to solve the problem, if you’re finding it’s happening to you? I haven’t been having a cliff-edge drop but in order to understand the problem more clearly, I’ve been leaving my AirPods Max out of their case overnight and there was noticeable, but not catastrophic drops in battery life each night.
Some users reported that just force-restarting the headphones solved the issue while others needed to do a full reset to factory settings. Here’s how to do them.
AirPods Max earcup showing Noise Control button (left) and Digital Crown (right)
The force restart didn’t have any effect for me but if you want to try it, you just press and hold the Noise control button and Digital Crown together. Take a look at the status light on the underside of the same earcup and release the buttons when the LED flashes amber. That’s it. Be careful not to hold too long as you’ll instead transition to the full reset.
The amber light only flashes about three or four times. If you’re going for the reset to factory settings, just keep holding through the amber flash and you’ll see the light turn white, and keep flashing. And you’re done. After a full reset, however, you need to go through the pairing procedure again.
As you’ll remember, that’s a quick and utterly painless thing to do, simply bring the headphones near to an iPhone or iPad and they’ll appear onscreen, the rotating animated image color-matched to the pair you have. Tap the button marked Connect and you’re done. You can also re-connect via a Mac.
In the nights since I reset, I found I had more power left in the morning than before, so it seems to have made quite a difference. If there are further developments, or if a future AirPods Max update fixes it, too – I’ll let you know.
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