We love AirPods, but they're not perfect. Through trial and error with our own AirPods, we discovered common issues and developed our own solutions to find and fix the most common reasons why they don't charge properly.
There could be several reasons why your AirPods aren't charging.
You might have dirty contacts that are preventing your AirPods from connecting to the case, or you might have something blocking the case's charging port, which means that's actually the problem, or there might be a software issue.
You might even find that something as simple as a failing AirPods case is the problem.
These troubleshooting steps will help you determine if your AirPods can charge and work again. We've set this up from the easiest problems and solutions to the hardest; work your way through them until you find what works for your specific situation.
Charge AirPods. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's probably been a while since you put your AirPods in the charging case to charge, even if you thought you did. To make sure, please put the AirPods into the charging case and wait for the charging indicator light to turn on. If so, there's probably nothing wrong with your AirPods.
If the light doesn't come on, there might be an issue with your AirPods' charging process, so continue following these steps until you find the issue.
Check your connection. When you insert your AirPods into the case, do they make contact with the case? The little silver tip is where the charging happens, and when you place your AirPods into the charging case, you should feel that satisfying magnetic click as the AirPods are seated correctly.
If your AirPods won't stay in place properly, or the top of the AirPods charging case won't close, remove your AirPods and see if there's anything preventing them from fitting properly into the case. If this doesn't happen, you may need to replace the battery case, but before that, try the following steps.
Clean your AirPods. If your AirPods are dirty, the connection points that allow the AirPods to charge may not form a complete circuit. Try cleaning your AirPods and then plugging them back into the charging case to see if they start charging.
Update your AirPods firmware. If you haven't updated your AirPods firmware in a while, you might have missed an update, and that could be the culprit. Try updating the firmware, then follow the steps above to see if your AirPods can charge.
If your AirPods still won't charge after you've followed these steps, there might be an issue with the AirPods charging case.
If you're trying to charge your AirPods and it doesn't seem to be working, there might be an issue with the AirPods charging case. Try these troubleshooting steps to see if you can find and fix the problem.
Check your connection. If you suspect that your AirPods charging case isn't charging, the most likely cause is that the charging connection is blocked. Remove the cable and reinstall it and see if the charging light comes on. If not, try a different cable. Or, if you're charging wirelessly, try using a wired charging connection.
The most common charging connection issues with AirPods include the charging cable not being fully inserted if you're using wired charging, a damaged charging cable, or poor contact between the charging case and the wireless charging base if you're using wireless charging. Wireless charging.
Charge the AirPods charging case. If your AirPods charging case can charge, make sure it's fully charged. If fully charged, the charging indicator light will turn green.
Check the charging status on your iPhone. While your AirPods charging case is connected to the charger, open the lid and place it next to your phone. After a second or two, the status of your AirPods should appear on your iPhone. Make sure the AirPods charging case has a lightning bolt next to the charging percentage, which means the charging case is charging.
This is also a good place to tell if your AirPods are charging. The percentage of available battery life should appear on the iPhone screen next to the information about the battery case. If there's lightning, your AirPods are charging. Otherwise, they are either fully charged (in which case they should say 100%) or not. If they are not charging, see above, or continue with the troubleshooting steps below.
Clean the AirPods charging case, including the charging port where the charging cable connects to the charging case. Specifically, be sure to clean the holes where your AirPods sit and the charging port on the bottom of the case.
If you are unwilling to do this, you can take them to an Apple Store for help completing the cleaning.
Reset your AirPods. If nothing else works, try resetting your AirPods. If there's a firmware glitch that prevents your AirPods or charging case from charging, a simple reset can resolve the issue.
If you've tried everything and still can't charge your AirPods or AirPod charging case, you can choose to replace your AirPods or charging case.
If your AirPods are still under warranty, Apple may replace parts that aren't working properly.
If they're not under warranty, one option is to try The Swap Club's Podswap, a service specifically designed to replace failed AirPods.
FAQIf one of your AirPods isn't charging, there might be something blocking its connection to the charging case. Try gently cleaning the uncharged end of the AirPod, then clean the charging case, paying special attention to the bottom where the uncharged AirPod should be touching. You can also try resetting the AirPods case to see if that resolves the issue. To do this, place the AirPods in the case and close the lid > wait 30 seconds > open the lid > press and hold the small button on the back of the case for about 15 seconds until the LED light changes from flashing amber to white.
To check if your AirPods are charging properly, open the charging case that contains your AirPods and place it near your paired iPhone. You'll see the battery level of your AirPods and its charging case on your iPhone screen. If you see a lightning bolt icon next to the battery icon, your AirPods and charging case are charging. If you are missing the battery icon, the device is not charging.
