AirPods Max users complain of wild battery drain despite Smart Case

By Stephen Warwick
last updated

Airpods Max Smart Case
Airpods Max Smart Case (Image credit: 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.

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.

Stephen Warwick
Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9

3 Comments
  • That's very bad. They every time come up new features with same old battery. I find this with many brands.
  • That's not a battery problem, that's a can't turn it off problem. I have a pair of Bose QC35s that I haven't had out of the case in close to a year that showed 65% when I checked them. They can be turned off. My Macbook will last a long time with little battery drain, if I turn it off. Apple over engineered this thing to save their customers from the drudgery of tuning the headphones off, and are paying for it.
  • This is not a defect, it is most definitely a feature. Apple did their research and discovered that listeners will enjoy and cherish every single musical note through their headphones even more when they know that their headphones are on the verge of running out of juice. Never fear though. A dongle will soon be released that will allow you to attach your airpods max to the new portable ipoweroff pro max which will allow you to turn off your airpods max headphones completely when not in use. And it will only cost $99. 😁(Oh and the dongle will cost an additional $30)