AirPods Max Suddenly Won't Pair - Firmware Update Gone Bad?

[PmattF]

I could not connect to my AirPods Max last night, I have done the factory reset numerous times -- it says Connecting, and then "Connection Failed" with a red exclamation mark in a circle. Same result with my wife's phone as well.

Is anybody else seeing this? I am wondering if maybe the firmware update went bad, and put them into a weird state. Although if it were that, it seems like there would be a lot of reports of it by now.

I just got off the phone with Apple Support. She was pretty stumped and had not heard of this. They are going to replace them – unfortunately they are not doing forward replacements, so I have to wait for them to send a box, and then send the headphones back before they send a replacement.

 

[saguerra]

I'm with the exact same problem.

Update: Pressed the Digital Crown and the Noise Management button until I saw a led flash and now its back on.
Checked the firmware version and I still have the old one

 

[thelemmy]

I'm with the exact same problem.

Update: Pressed the Digital Crown and the Noise Management button until I saw a led flash and now its back on.
Checked the firmware version and I still have the old one

Same thing here. Now they are working but still the old firmware.

 

[PmattF]

Given nobody else has seen this, I guess it probably is not a bad firmware update. Maybe just a coincidence on the timing.

My AirPods Max also had the battery drain issue, and Apple had already agreed to replace them, which I had not done yet. Maybe they are just a bad pair?

 

[Mr.nix]

I have this exact same issue. Also waiting on the box.

 

[JSande]

Glad to hear someone else is having problems. Mine did the same, but still no avail. It got even worse, they’re not showing up anymore when I reset them. Even not on my computer.

So this all happened after updating to 15.1.1, and I’m pretty sure the firmware got updated before they stopped working. Contacted apple, gonna bring it to a certified servicepoint soon.