How you can improve AirPods battery life

Going wireless, whether you’re talking a couple of mouse, a speaker or a pair of headphones, is splendidly convenient: who desires to worry about cables getting twisted up or snagged? But there are downsides too, and essentially the most obvious of those concerns the battery.

Apple’s AirPods wireless earbuds have what you would possibly call a primary battery lifetime of around six hours, before you have got to place them back of their case for charging. That’s time when you possibly can’t take heed to music, but a minimum of you possibly can do it on the go. But after around 30 hours the case itself shall be drained of power, and at that time you’ve got to go to a mains plug.

Is there any approach to make your earbuds last more between charges? Yes. In this text we provide some suggestions that may assist you to extend the AirPods’ battery life.

How long do AirPods last?

Apple says a pair of Third-gen AirPods (the 2021 model) should last around six hours for those who’re playing music, or around 4 hours of talk time, before needing to be recharged. The charging case ought to be good for around 30 hours in total, or 20 hours of talk time.

The present (2nd-gen) AirPods Pro are specced for barely longer talk times: the headline figures are still six hours for the buds and 30 hours for the case, but Apple claims they are going to deliver an additional half-hour of talk time for the buds and an additional 4 hours for the case.

In the event you’re seeing times significantly lower than this, your AirPods could also be faulty. You could possibly contact Apple support, look into the potential of a battery fix, or buy a latest pair. (Check our roundup of one of the best AirPods deals first, though.)

How you can make AirPods battery last more

We’ve got seven tricks to assist you to maximise the battery lifetime of your AirPods. Read on to learn how you possibly can extend your AirPods battery life.

1. Keep AirPods of their case

As a general principle you need to all the time return the AirPods to their case when not being listened to; this is sweet protection against damage and loss, too. This won’t improve your overall battery life but will mean the buds are all the time topped up and also you’ll get more listening time before you next need to charge up.

2. Don’t fiddle with the case

Apple itself warns that repeatedly opening and shutting the case can reduce its battery charge. So don’t try this.

3. Only take heed to one earbud at a time

In the event you take heed to a single earbud as a substitute of each directly, you’re using up power at half the speed you normally would. And since one bud charges while the opposite is working, you never need to stop listening to music until the case itself is drained.

Granted, the resultant mono audio experience isn’t quite what you signed up for if you shelled out $179/£189 for the AirPods (and also you’ll have to alternate between left and right ears), but it surely’s higher than nothing, and a manageable compromise if battery life is a priority.

Note that a couple of people listen like this anyway (a minimum of a number of the time, similar to when cycling), since it means that you can be more aware of potential hazards on the earth around you.

4. Avoid extremes of temperature

Batteries perform less well in extreme heat or cold, and these conditions may cause long-term damage too. Try to maintain your AirPods out of direct sunlight where possible (namely, if you’re not using them) and store them somewhere that won’t get very cold overnight.

5. Go easy on the smart features

The AirPods have some smart features which are handy but not essential.

You possibly can turn off Automatic Ear Detection on the paired iPhone: go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the AirPods, then tap Automatic Ear Detection so it turns gray-white. In the event you do that, nonetheless, you need to remember to show off music manually if you take out your buds, otherwise you’ll be burning power unnecessarily.

Similarly, you possibly can turn off another features you don’t need to make use of: noise cancellation, Transparency (and Energetic Transparency), Spatial Audio, charging case sounds and so forth. Try not to make use of the faucet controls unless you really want to.

6. Turn down the quantity

A set of AirPods playing music at a low volume will last a bit longer than a pair blasting it at top volume. It’s also higher on your ears.

Note, nonetheless, that AirPods expend more power on things like Bluetooth than on the drivers, so we’d expect the savings to be small.

7. Get an influence bank

In the event you try the above suggestions and still aren’t completely happy along with your AirPods’ battery life, there’s nothing for it: you’ll need to spend some money. A very good-quality power bank shouldn’t be too expensive, and even a moderate-capacity unit shall be sufficient for multiple charges.

The AirPods charging case has a Lightning port, so ensure you’re arrange for that: either get an influence bank with its own dedicated Lightning cable or remember to bring your personal USB-to-Lightning cable along.

Our guide to one of the best power banks and battery packs will assist you to find the correct option for you.

How long must you charge AirPods for?

This can be a separate but related query, because overcharging electronic devices, or charging them more steadily than is vital, could make their batteries age faster and affect battery life in the long run. The important thing point isn’t to charge your AirPods in the event that they don’t need it.

By way of time, Apple notes that even very short charging periods can enable your AirPods to play music for a big period. With the newest (Third-gen) AirPods and each versions of the AirPods Pro, just five minutes of charging within the case ought to be enough for an hour of music playback; with the older 2nd-gen AirPods it ought to be enough for 3 hours.

Obviously you’ll steadily need to charge longer than that with a view to use them for prolonged periods away from mains power. The period of time it takes to completely charge an AirPods case varies depending on which model you’ve got and whether you charge wirelessly (which is slower) or using a cable. But usually one to 2 hours shall be greater than sufficient, and anything beyond this gains you nothing and will age the battery.

We recommend using Optimised Battery Charging, a feature which causes the AirPods to look at your every day routine and adjust their charging to suit. In other words, they are going to charge to around 80 percent, then wait until you’re about to get up before topping up the remainder. This reduces wear on the battery and helps to lengthen its useful life.

Optimised Battery Charging ought to be enabled by default, but you possibly can check by going to Settings > Bluetooth and tapping the letter I next to your AirPods. Scroll down and check the relevant toggle is about to green.

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