AirPods Max 2 stay connected and drain battery inside the Smart Case

[strongPanda]

My new AirPods Max 2 aren't entering low-power mode in the Smart Case. They stay connected, show up as an audio output (can be selected and routed, can even play audio), and keep draining the battery.
I even set up a Shortcuts automation to test it, and it constantly triggers a Bluetooth connection notification while they're just sitting in the smart case. I'm on the latest firmware.
I’m on the latest firmware and tried it all: factory resets, unpairing, updating all my devices, toggling head detection, and reseating the cushions.
Nothing works, They sometimes enter low-power mode when in Smart Case but not from the first try...
Feels like a hardware defect or a faulty case sensor. Has anyone else with the AirPods Max 2 run into this? Should I return them?

 

[Mister T]

I have the same problem, and many otter do according to this Reddit threads and also on the support pages people start complaining.

Mine drains so fast that it is out of power within 2 days without using it much.

What did you end up doing?

 

[okkibs]

I suggest you drop the idea of using the case (it doesn't really protect the Max especially not the headband mesh) and simply keep it on a charger overnight.

From what I can tell the Max 2 are clearly more power hungry than the OG Max but Apple kept the battery capacity unchanged and listed the same battery runtime. The Max 2 might last 30 hours if you play music for 30 hours straight but otherwise they'll die within 2-3 days. My OG Max with a much older battery still last longer than the Max 2 despite never using them with a case either so the issue really isn't about the case or standby mode.

The Max 2 sound great especially next month when iOS 27 enables the EQ feature but battery life is bad. There is no excuse for headphones in this price range. It doesn't even matter that they don't have an off switch because even when listening to music I can watch the battery drain slowly but steadily.

I charge mine overnight now and they leave the charger with 100% at 6am and by noon they're already down to 70%. It's so abysmal that I have given up on trying to optimize anything, if I am home and I take them off they simply go straight on the charger.

Even then I found them completely dead a couple days ago when I forgot to plug them in overnight. It's ridiculous but I only use mine at home so I can live with it.