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A miracle has just happened…

I

iiiiiMAC!!!!!

macrumors member
Original poster
Nov 14, 2020
52
22
So this morning I put all my washing in the washing machine, including last night’s pants that had my Airpods pro ear buds in them. I noticed they were in there towards the end of the cycle, so when the washing was finished I found them and got them out before I put everything else in the dryer.

I immediately tried to get the Airpods to work but they were dead. I spent the entire day depressed, using my original Airpods that went flat every 30 mins, even going as far to make an ad on Facebook marketplace selling an Airpods pro case only.

However about 8 hours after I left them in the washing machine, I tried to get them working again after leaving them to dry out, and as soon as I put them in my ear I hear the Airpods chime. It’s a miracle. They work again with the noise cancellation and everything working fine. Is this normal? Are they suppose to be somewhat waterproof? I mean they were in the machine for an hour and they weren’t working at all when I took them out. I would have thought Apple would want them to die if they get soaked in water so people buy new ones. I was even thinking this was a message from god to buy the new Airpods pro in a couple of weeks but I’m so much happier that they’re working again. Hopefully they’ll be fine from here on.
 
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Miracle? No. Consider yourself extremely lucky, though. It sucks to lose valuables to a mere mistake.

Most electronics survive water exposure, but there are two key elements.

1. The circuits must not be powered while wet. If something short-circuits, it can blow the micro-sized resistors, diodes, caps etc.

2. The components must not have residue after the fact. Soap, for instance, can either corrode metals or become a short circuit. You will find that in old hardware there are cases of components “leaking”. These are usually batteries and capacitors that do so. This leakage will usually cause a fault and, in some cases, can be repaired merely by cleaning the goop.

Search these threads and you will find many a circuit board being cleaned in the sink or dishwasher, even by myself!
 
MrCheeto said:
Miracle? No. Consider yourself extremely lucky, though. It sucks to lose valuables to a mere mistake.

Most electronics survive water exposure, but there are two key elements.

1. The circuits must not be powered while wet. If something short-circuits, it can blow the micro-sized resistors, diodes, caps etc.

2. The components must not have residue after the fact. Soap, for instance, can either corrode metals or become a short circuit. You will find that in old hardware there are cases of components “leaking”. These are usually batteries and capacitors that do so. This leakage will usually cause a fault and, in some cases, can be repaired merely by cleaning the goop.

Search these threads and you will find many a circuit board being cleaned in the sink or dishwasher, even by myself!
Click to expand...
Right but washing machines have water up to over half way, surely they would have been completely soaked. I’m thinking miracle.
 
MrCheeto said:
Miracle? No. Consider yourself extremely lucky, though. It sucks to lose valuables to a mere mistake.

Most electronics survive water exposure, but there are two key elements.

1. The circuits must not be powered while wet. If something short-circuits, it can blow the micro-sized resistors, diodes, caps etc.

2. The components must not have residue after the fact. Soap, for instance, can either corrode metals or become a short circuit. You will find that in old hardware there are cases of components “leaking”. These are usually batteries and capacitors that do so. This leakage will usually cause a fault and, in some cases, can be repaired merely by cleaning the goop.

Search these threads and you will find many a circuit board being cleaned in the sink or dishwasher, even by myself!
Click to expand...
Are you recommending to open the airpods and clean them?
 
iiiiiMAC!!!!! said:
Are you recommending to open the airpods and clean them?
Click to expand...

Ehr, NO!

Personally, I’d let them air-dry for about two whole days. The damage, if any, is done. They may last a week or they may last as long as any other pair. Who knows?
 
I washed mine about 2 weeks ago. I tried to use them as soon as I found them in the wash and they worked but the sound was weird. After they dried out the next day they were back to normal.
 
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I have never "washed" my AirPods, but I have dropped them in the bathtub while washing my dog. They were in the water for not too long, I dried them off, put them away to completely air dry, and they are working fine.
 
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