AirPods are renowned for their practical design and useful features such as active noise cancellation or adaptive EQ. Another impressive quality that AirPods possess is their impressive battery life.
To check AirPods battery health, you need to charge your AirPods fully, then time how long the battery lasts while playing music continuously until it runs flat.
When you purchase a new set of AirPods, they come with maximum battery life.
As the battery health degrades as you charge and drain it over time, the maximum battery life decreases. This degradation is gradual, and it will probably take a while until you notice that it’s even happening.
In this guide, I’ll explain how to check the battery health of your AirPods, and how you can prevent it from prematurely getting worse.
How to Check AirPods Battery Health
AirPods can be used for many different purposes, including listening to music or podcasts, making phone calls, or getting directions to a location. All of these things, along with the many other tasks that AirPods can perform, use battery power.
Checking the current battery status of your AirPods is easy. For those who use an Apple device like an iPhone, iPad, or iPad Touch, simply open your AirPods charging case near to the device, and within a couple of seconds, you will be presented with the charge percentage of your AirPods.
This will also allow you to see the battery life of your AirPods case, which also can store up charge so that you can charge the AirPods even when the unit is not plugged in.
Alternatively, you can check the charge status of the AirPods by opening the “Batteries” menu on your Apple device. This won’t present you with the battery percentage of the case, however, unless at least one of your AirPods is placed inside it.
It’s important to distinguish between battery health and battery life because the terms can be a little confusing. Battery health commonly refers to the condition that the AirPods battery is in – based on how long it lasts on a full charge. Battery life, on the other hand, is simply the current amount of charge that the AirPods have.
Checking your AirPods battery life is easy – as we’ve just demonstrated. Checking the health of the battery is a little more complicated.
The easiest way to check the health and condition of your AirPods’ battery is by charging them fully, then monitoring how long they last before the battery runs flat.
The table below shows how long the different AirPods models and charging cases should last when they are new so that you can use this information and compare it to the performance of your AirPods to check the battery health.
| AirPods Model | Battery Life (AirPod) | Battery Life (Case) |
| AirPods 2nd Generation | 5 hours | 24 hours |
| AirPods 3rd Generation | 6 hours | 30 hours |
| AirPods Pro | 4.5 hours | 24 hours |
| AirPods Max | 20 hours | N/A |
How to Check AirPods Battery Health on Android
AirPods are most popular amongst users of Apple devices, simply because they’re designed for maximum compatibility with the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac. Nevertheless, Android users can also benefit from the sonic and physical qualities that AirPods offer.
Due to AirPods being Apple-designed products, checking battery health is slightly more complicated when you’re using an Android device. The battery status won’t automatically appear when you place the AirPods in the charging case and next to your smartphone.
Instead, you need to download an app that is specifically designed to monitor the battery life of AirPods on Android devices. There are many options available on the Google Play Store, with one of the most popular being AirBattery.
Check out this YouTube video for more information on AirBattery.
Once you’ve chosen from the many AirPods apps available for Android users, they all work in basically the same way.
Firstly, you need to ensure that your AirPods are paired with your Android device. Then, place both of the AirPods inside the charging case.
Next, you need to launch AirBattery or any other AirPods app you just downloaded, and just as you would on an iPhone, place the charging case close to the Android device. This should prompt the app the display the battery status of the AirPods on your Android smartphone.
When you are searching for an AirPods battery app to use with your Android device, you’ll find that there are many options to choose from. Make sure you check the user reviews to decide which will be most effective at showing you the battery health of your AirPods.
These apps ultimately all do the same thing, but some may have better user interfaces than others. You also may be bombarded with ads when using certain apps, which is another reason why it’s so important to check the reviews.
- Active Noise Cancellation blocks outside noise, so you can immerse yourself in music
How to Check AirPods Battery Health on a Mac
Mac users can also enjoy all of the Apple-exclusive features that AirPods include. Depending on the specific AirPods model you own, you’ll be able to use features such as ANC (Active Noise Cancellation), Adaptive EQ, Spatial Audio, and more when you listen to audio on your Mac device.
Checking the battery status of your AirPods when using a Mac desktop or Macbook is very straightforward. Firstly, you need to make sure that you have paired the two devices via Bluetooth. If you’ve been listening to audio from your Max through AirPods, you’ve already paired them successfully.
You then need to place your AirPods nearby to your Mac, inside the charging case. Open the case lid, and then click the Bluetooth icon from the menu bar or the Control Center.
This will open a new tab that will display all of the Bluetooth devices that are currently connected to your Mac. You should see your AirPods in this menu, and below the display name will be three percentages.
The first two percentages indicate the battery life of your left and right AirPods respectively, while the final percentage shows the battery life of the charging case.
If you find that your AirPods are not showing in the Bluetooth menu, or they don’t have battery percentages underneath the display name, try disconnecting them and then pairing them with your Mac again.
If the problem persists, you may need to cause the Mac to forget your AirPods and then reestablish the pairing process, which should rectify any connection issues.
Can AirPods Battery Be Replaced?
If you’ve noticed that your AirPods aren’t holding a charge the way they used to, or that they keep losing power randomly, this indicates that the battery might need to be replaced. AirPods batteries, like the ones used in smartphones, eventually become less efficient after a while.
Firstly, if your AirPods are still under warranty with Apple, you won’t need to worry about replacing the batteries. Apple will replace them with a new set for free, as long as the problem hasn’t been caused directly by something you did to your AirPods.
AirPods bought in the US come with one year, limited warranty, while those purchased in Europe or Australia have a two-year limited warranty.
If you’ve checked that your AirPods are still under warranty, take them to an Apple Store and explain what the problem is. It’s highly likely that they will simply replace your AirPods with a new set, rather than going through the hassle of replacing the batteries.
AirPods that are no longer under warranty may require a replacement battery, which is cheaper than purchasing a brand new set. Before you attempt to do this yourself, it’s important to understand that removing the battery from AirPods is very tricky, and there’s a high chance that you could completely ruin the device.
Therefore, taking the AirPods to an Apple Store or a professional is the best option for most people. They will be able to advise you on whether it is worth replacing the battery, and if it is, they will have the skills and expertise required to do it safely.
Related Questions
How many times can AirPods be charged?
The number of charge cycles that AirPods will facilitate before the battery becomes unusable depends on how they are used. In most cases, you can expect the battery to last for 80% of the original capacity until 500 charge cycles.
What is the lifespan of AirPods?
AirPods last on average 2 years before they need replacing. This is dependent on how often they are used, how many times they have been fully charged, and the conditions that they are kept in.
Are AirPods OK in the rain?
AirPods Pro and AirPods third generation are rated IPX4 water-resistant, and therefore should be ok to use in the rain. All other types of AirPods are not water-resistant and should be kept out of the rain if possible.
