AirPods case bad standby battery life

[Eduardboon]

overnight case dropped from 100 to 96, then I used one airpod for 15 minutes and the case dropped to 84 with the other one still in it.

Also; when you have the case on the charger and grab it or the lightning cable, the audio skips. I also can't charge the case on my PC while my iPhone charges just fine on it. On PS4 and the power brick I have no issues.

And one more thing; the left earbud charges to 100, but the right one never goes higher than 99.

 

[teidon]

I also can't charge the case on my PC while my iPhone charges just fine on it.

Windows won't charge devices unless it has proper drivers for the device. If you have the Apple software installer/updater thingy installed, see if it has drivers for the AirPods.

 

[Eduardboon]

Windows won't charge devices unless it has proper drivers for the device. If you have the Apple software installer/updater thingy installed, see if it has drivers for the AirPods.

Really? That seems so dumb. That explains why it does charge everything else though.

However; it also charges my solo 3's and that doesn't have a driver.

 

[The Game 161]

my case is still on 99% after taking it off charge at about 4pm yesterday and it's 11.20am next day. Maybe i'm just lucky.

 

[teidon]

Really? That seems so dumb. That explains why it does charge everything else though.

However; it also charges my solo 3's and that doesn't have a driver.

Check the Device Manager on Windows. It should show some kind of icon for the AirPods that tells that it's "not working right". I don't know if the Solo's are using some kind of generic driver or why Windows doesn't mind charging them. But as far as I know Windows requires some kind of drivers or it won't charge the device in question.

 

[profets]

my case is still on 99% after taking it off charge at about 4pm yesterday and it's 11.20am next day. Maybe i'm just lucky.

Nice. Is this without using the AirPods during that span (assuming AirPods are in the case)?

 

[The Game 161]

Nice. Is this without using the AirPods during that span (assuming AirPods are in the case)?

Yeah not used them since. Will be using them for gym later so i'm sure the case will drop a good % as i've found the case only drains battery when it's needed to be charged up to 100% again. Which is how it should be really.

 

[daffie]

Finally both my airpods and case are completely depleted so I'll charge both up and see if it makes any difference in battery drain.

Will report back...

 

[jterp7]

Just tested overnight drain. 91 to 84 for about 9hr of standby. So not 12% but not in the 1-2% range either. Havent drained these completely yet though.

 

[jasonklee]

96% at 11:30 PM
94% at 10:00 AM

Pretty happy with that.

 

[TurboPGT!]

I've noticed the case with mine doesn't last particularly long. But it hasn't felt like an issue as the AirPods do seem to get excellent battery life and the case can charge them several times.

Today I purposely avoided using my AirPods just to see how the battery was when not in use. The case dropped 20% in 3 hours (AirPods were at 100% at the beginning of this 3 hour observation).

Actually what might be more interesting is to fully charge the case, and then when unplugging it also remove the AirPods. See if the case itself has some sort of abnormal discharge or if it's only occurring when the AirPods are in there.

It's a tricky product when you think about it, 3 little devices, each one with it's own battery and bluetooth connection, all in a tiny package.



I think most people understand how it works, but what seems to be an issue (obviously not for everyone, or maybe not everyone is paying such close attention), is that some do experience a significant battery drain while the device isn't being used.

If someone has abnormal battery drain, is theirs not defective?





I think what @ip67 meant was if the AirPods are fully charged, why are they not holding a charge state when they're not being used (in the case).

I can absolutely and would expect some drain with time while they're just sitting in the case in standby and not being used. But one would expect that to be a very slow discharge when not in use, just like other electronic devices with lithium ion batteries.

The whole problem with all of it is the "one would expect" part. What some might hypothetically like it to be, is not necessarily what "one would expect". The AirPods and the case are behaving exactly as I would expect.

 

[Arran]

The whole problem with all of it is the "one would expect" part. What some might hypothetically like it to be, is not necessarily what "one would expect". The AirPods and the case are behaving exactly as I would expect.

I imagine expectations vary wildly depending on everyone's past experiences with similar products.

Before AirPods, I used a $50 pair of backbeats that came with a little charging case. Nowhere near as elegant as the Airpods, but I could leave the buds in case (connected to the case's battery) for weeks in my backpack and then pull them out on a plane with a full charge (buds and case)

I'll be disappointed if my Airpods don't meet that standard.

 

[TurboPGT!]

I imagine expectations vary wildly depending on everyone's past experiences with similar products.

Before AirPods, I used a $50 pair of backbeats that came with a little charging case. Nowhere near as elegant as the Airpods, but I could leave the buds in case (connected to the case's battery) for weeks in my backpack and then pull them out on a plane with a full charge (buds and case)

I'll be disappointed if my Airpods don't meet that standard.

Thats not a standard and not even remotely close to what you should expect. AirPods have no comparably similar products. There are no products with their feature set + those of the W1 chip. Unprecedented, unique product that will inevitably be unfairly compared to pet rocks.

 

[Arran]

Thats not a standard and not even remotely close to what you should expect. AirPods have no comparably similar products. There are no products with their feature set + those of the W1 chip. Unprecedented, unique product that will inevitably be unfairly compared to pet rocks.

You're saying I should lower my expectations when buying Apple products?

 

[profets]

The whole problem with all of it is the "one would expect" part. What some might hypothetically like it to be, is not necessarily what "one would expect". The AirPods and the case are behaving exactly as I would expect.

No, the problem is that there does seem to be a number of people who's AirPods case drains significantly faster (while not in use) than what many other people experience.

I don't think people expect the case to stay at 100% indefinitely while not being used. But they also don't expect it to drop 1/3rd of the battery in a day or upwards of 5% per hour when not being used.

 

[iAdamator]

I've been doing some tests on my own and it's pretty obvious my case is having battery drain issues as well. I've drained my AirPods to zero and the case. Yesterday I charged everything to full and then at 4:30, I started monitoring the percentages.

The case started at 100% at 4:30 PM. Now, just past 8:30 AM, the case is at 64%. I have not used the AirPods at all, and have only opened the case a handful of times. Less than an hour ago, at 7:45, they were at 69%.

I'm going to try to pop into an Apple Store shortly this morning.

 

[TurboPGT!]

You're saying I should lower my expectations when buying Apple products?

You didn't read or comprehend did you? You don't seem to understand that totally unique products don't get compared to barely similar alternatives, not by intelligent, informed people.

they also don't expect it to drop 1/3rd of the battery in a day or upwards of 5% per hour when not being used.

If the AirPods are in the case? That sounds perfectly reasonable. Again, not understanding the relationship between the devices will leads to false suppositions like this.

 

[Aka757]

I depleted and charged fully on Monday, and charged again last night after the case battery stopped charging the airpods. Took the case off charge (airpods/case both at 100) at 3:45 AM. Now I checked around 11:15 AM, battery was at 90. Haven't touched the case or airpods since I took it off charge. Felt like sharing with you folks. Definitely an improvement after depleting and charging.

 

[Traverse]

I'm very thankful that I've been having very good battery life with my AirPods over these past two days.

The charge case discharged 20% on day one, but that includes two instance of placing my AirPods with 70%-85% charge and fully charging them. I plugged in my case and charged it to 100% before bed. When I got up 8 hours later it had a charge of 98%.

I've used my AirPods for several straight hours today running them from 100% to 45%. I just placed them in the case to get ready to leave and the case has a 93% charge. Is it insanely good? No. But not bad for what is still an immature product category.

 

[profets]

You didn't read or comprehend did you? You don't seem to understand that totally unique products don't get compared to barely similar alternatives, not by intelligent, informed people.


If the AirPods are in the case? That sounds perfectly reasonable. Again, not understanding the relationship between the devices will leads to false suppositions like this.

Losing anywhere from 30% of battery per day to upwards of 5% per hour when they're not in use is perfectly reasonable?

I understand the relationship between the devices. 5% of battery capacity loss per hour while not in use is not reasonable. Do you mind explaining why you think it is?

 

[jterp7]

Im starting to think its a battery estimate caibration issue like on some macbooks. I havent let the case drop below 60% since i charge my phone and such at work.

 

[Arran]

You didn't read or comprehend did you? You don't seem to understand that totally unique products don't get compared to barely similar alternatives, not by intelligent, informed people.

Re. the part I bolded: Says who? You might want to quote a reference for this assertion. I'd also argue that, from a consumer's perspective, AirPods are not "totally unique". Different or novel is about as far as I would go.

If the AirPods are in the case? That sounds perfectly reasonable. Again, not understanding the relationship between the devices will leads to false suppositions like this.

What "relationship" is that? Technical detail will be fine. I can handle it.

For their part, Apple says nothing about expected standby life on it's website. I hadn't noticed that omission before - and I'm not going to read too much into it - but it's interesting that they left it out.

But in any case, it seems reasonable for a customer to expect a new "magical" bluetooth headset to be at least on a par with competing bluetooth headsets.

So what does "magical" mean to you? Either a technical explanation or simple layperson's language will be fine. Whatever you think will help.
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Im starting to think its a battery estimate caibration issue like on some macbooks. I havent let the case drop below 60% since i charge my phone and such at work.

Yeah, I've been doing the same. Always topping it up at night.

Anyway, I completely flattened the case battery last night and got the AirPods below 50% to see if it's just a calibration issue that a few battery cycles will rectify.

This may be old news, but one interesting thing I found out is that you can leave the AirPods playing in the case with the lid open. That was how I got the case down to 0%.

 

[0970373]

I did a 24 hour test to see what the drain was and how it compares to others. I didn't use the AirPods at all during this time. They were in the case and i only opened the case to check the battery levels.

Day 1, 1:55pm - AirPods 100%, Case 100% (AirPods charging)
Day 1, 4:37pm - AirPods 100%, Case 95% (only right AirPod charging)
Day 1, 10:25pm - AirPods 100%, Case 93% (AirPods charging)
Day 2, 12:14pm - AirPods 100%, Case 86% (AirPods charging)
Day 2, 1:46pm - AirPods 95%, Case 84% (AirPods charging)

So after 24 hours, a loss of 16% battery.

EDIT: I was just about to use these after my test and noticed a big drop in battery from 15 min ago.

Day 2, 2:02pm - AirPods 100%, Case 71% (AirPods charging)

 

[profets]

I did a 24 hour test to see what the drain was and how it compares to others. I didn't use the AirPods at all during this time. They were in the case and i only opened the case to check the battery levels.

Day 1, 1:55pm - AirPods 100%, Case 100% (AirPods charging)
Day 1, 4:37pm - AirPods 100%, Case 95% (only right AirPod charging)
Day 1, 10:25pm - AirPods 100%, Case 93% (AirPods charging)
Day 2, 12:14pm - AirPods 100%, Case 86% (AirPods charging)
Day 2, 1:46pm - AirPods 95%, Case 84% (AirPods charging)

So after 24 hours, a loss of 16% battery.

Thanks for sharing. While that seems reasonable, I'm really curious what causes the AirPods to drain while not in use.

 

[daijholt]

My numbers from today:

06:33
Case
48%
AirPods
100%

09:47
Case
45%
AirPods
60%

10:39
Case
34%
AirPods
100%

15:48
Case
22%
AirPods
100%

18:07
Case
12%
AirPods
100%

The only time the AirPods were out of the case was the section that shows them at 60% this morning. They were used for 2 hours of music playback and the 60% reading was when they were put back in to charge.
So essentially the case is dying a death from doing very little. For reference, if I leave my 7 Plus alone overnight in standby but with Low power OFF and cellular signal still on, it loses about 20% over 6 hours.