Airpods Max Smart CaseSource: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore

What you need to know

  • A new report says AirPods Max users are seeing wild battery drain overnight.
  • Reports suggest the problem is rampant despite the use of Apple's included Smart Case.

New reports suggest that AirPods Max users are experiencing significant battery drain even when using the device's Smart Case.

From AppleTips:

Unfortunately, the AirPods Max does not have a power button. More and more AirPods Max owners are complaining about battery problems. Users discuss the problem on Reddit , social media, Apple Support forum , and various forums . For example, the battery drains during the day without using the AirPods Max.

A Smart Case is supplied with the headphones , when you place the Max in the case, the energy saving mode is switched on and active connections are disconnected. In practice this does not seem to be the case and the battery life decreases during the night. From 100% to 1% is no exception. (Translated)

The report notes that "several users" have seen their AirPods Max battery drop to below 10% overnight, including a pair owned by the outlet itself. One example cited showed the AirPods Max draining from 96% to 1% overnight whilst placed in their Smart Case, making them unusable in the morning.

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The report says no specific cause has yet been identified, however, they did note that connecting to Apple TV may be one cause, as resetting the device and only connecting it to an iPhone eliminated the issue:

For example, we restored the Max and only connected it to an iPhone and then the problem did not occur, as soon as you use it with multiple devices.

It also seems that the firmware update 3C16 has something to do with it. This update was released on December 18 and the first issues have been reported since December 20.

If the issue is caused by firmware, it may take another firmware update to resolve the problem. Suggested remedies meantime include a forced restart, restoring AirPods Max to factory settings, and disabling automatic switching.