The AirPod experience is a fantastic one, but the battery life has become a common issue for many users. Having your AirPods die in the middle of a meeting or phone call can be incredibly annoying. Fortunately, there are several ways to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly.
In this article, I’ll go over some of the best things to try if you’re looking to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly. These tips range from simple maintenance tips to more advanced usage adjustments. So, keep reading to find out.
How Can You Keep AirPod Batteries From Draining Too Quickly?
The battery life of an AirPod is roughly six hours on a single charge. However, you could notice that the battery does not last as long as the official release claims due to a few variables.
The following tips will help you get the most out of your AirPods and keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly.
Keep your AirPods in the case
If you’ve been using wired earbuds for a long time, you might think it’s safe to remove your AirPods from your ear and set them aside until your next use.
Obviously, the risk of losing your AirPods is a downside to this habit. The fact that your AirPods will continue to lose battery life if you don’t keep them in the case is another problem and is a major factor in why the batteries on your AirPods wear out so quickly. This is due to the earbuds still being connected to your device’s Bluetooth.
Your AirPods continue to be active and always ready to connect for your convenience even if Bluetooth is turned off.
So, to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly, always remember to put them back in their case after use.
Avoid Opening and Closing the AirPods Case Lid Repeatedly
Every AirPods owner is probably guilty of repeatedly doing this. However, every time you open and shut the charging case, your AirPods’ Bluetooth turns on before abruptly turning off again. Sending ceaseless instructions like this drains the battery life of your AirPods.
This will happen whether or not the AirPods are in the case. So to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly, place the case somewhere your hands can’t reach. You can do this once you’ve successfully paired and connected your AirPods.
Don’t Drop Your AirPods
You’ve most likely dropped your AirPods or AirPods case at some point. Even though the AirPods are fairly resilient, frequent hits into hard surfaces will inevitably cause some damage and affect battery life.
Although you cannot reverse the damage, you can be more careful about where you put your AirPods and AirPods case when not in use. This will help keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly.
Turn off Automatic Ear Detection
Have you ever noticed how your AirPods perfectly pause songs or videos when you take the earbud out of your ears and resume playing when you replace them?
The useful feature that enables this function is Automatic Ear Detection. However, it drains the batteries in your AirPods.
You can disable Automatic Ear Detection to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly if it isn’t a must-have feature for you:
- Navigate to Settings and select Bluetooth.
- Ensure your AirPods are paired with your iPhone.
- Click on the More Info (i) button beside your AirPods.
- Turn off Automatic Ear Detection using the toggle.
Disable Noise Cancellation
Noise cancellation improves your listening experience by blocking out background noise. However, the feature drains the battery of your AirPods.
This feature is only available on the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max; the standard AirPods do not have it. So, figure out which AirPods you have, and if you have those two models, turn off noise cancellation to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly.
Go to Settings > Bluetooth once your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max are connected to your device. Beside your AirPods, tap the More Info (i) button. Select Off under Noise Control.
Reduce the Volume of Your AirPods
It’s a satisfying feeling to turn up the volume so you can hear a song in its entirety. But even though your AirPods have just been fully charged, you might notice that they are running low if you’re listening to a 3-hour playlist at close to maximum volume.
Therefore, reducing the volume can help extend battery life and keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly. This practice also protects your ears; continuously blasting the volume is harmful in the long run. It might also benefit you to achieve better sound quality from your AirPods.
Develop Good Charging Habits
Using our AirPods’ batteries until they are completely dead is probably a habit that many of us have. However, if this happens frequently, it will quickly drain your battery. As a result, your AirPods may not be charging as well as they used to.
When it falls below 40 or 50 percent, place your AirPods back in their case to charge. The same goes for your AirPods case. Avoid waiting until the battery is completely down before charging it, and if you’re having trouble charging your AirPods apply these techniques.
In addition, don’t overcharge your AirPods. While it’s safe to keep your AirPods in their case when not in use, it’s easy to forget you’re charging your AirPods case after plugging it in. Set a reminder to unplug the AirPods and avoid charging both AirPods and the case through the night.
Turn on Optimized Battery Charging
The optimized battery charging feature on the AirPods (3rd generation) and AirPods Pro learns from your charging routine. Because your AirPods will only charge past 80% when you’re about to use them, this feature protects the battery’s health.
Maintaining the battery will help prevent additional wear that would otherwise make your AirPods less capable of holding a charge. So to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly in this manner, go to Settings > Bluetooth, select More Info (i) beside your AirPods, then turn on Optimized Battery Charging to enable the feature.
Update Your AirPods Firmware
This may help to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly because firmware updates frequently include bug fixes and performance enhancements.
When new firmware is available, your AirPods should automatically update when connected to your Apple device. In any case, it’s worthwhile to check and update the firmware on your AirPods.
Reset Your AirPods
Resetting your iPhone is a good option if you’re experiencing excessive battery drain. The same applies to your AirPods.
Follow these steps to reset and keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly
- Close the lid after placing your AirPods into the case.
- Wait 30 seconds before opening the case lid.
- Navigate to the Settings app on your device and select Bluetooth.
- Click on the More Info (i) button next to your AirPods.
- Choose Forget This Device.
- To confirm, tap Forget Device.
- Press the round Setup button on your AirPods case for 15 seconds while the lid is still open. The status light should begin to flash amber and then white.
- Finally, to use your AirPods again, simply reconnect them to your device.
AirPods, like all technological devices, have hiccups now and then, but they are often easily resolved by the user. By following the steps outlined above, you should be able to keep AirPod batteries from draining too quickly.
If nothing works, it’s possible that your AirPods need to be repaired. In this case, you can go to an Apple Authorized Service Provider to repair or replace the batteries.