If you’ve discovered one of your AirPods isn’t charging, these are the fixes you can try!
If one of your AirPods isn’t charging, you can try a few quick and easy fixes before resorting to replacing the AirPod. Checking or replacing your charging case’s battery and cleaning or resetting your AirPods might solve the problem.
Check The Battery Of Your AirPods Charging Case
If you noticed that one of your AirPods isn’t charging, you should first check the battery level of your charging case. When an AirPods charging case has less than 10% battery left, it will not have sufficient power to charge your AirPods.
While one of your AirPods may still have some power left in its battery, the other will be unable to recharge. Due to this, a charging case with a low battery might be the reason one of your AirPods isn’t charging. Here are the steps to follow when checking your charging case’s battery level!
Step One: Place Your AirPods Case Close To Your Phone
Firstly, place your AirPods case next to your iPhone and make sure your iPhone is unlocked.
Step Two: Open The Lid Of Your AirPods Case
Secondly, open the lid of your AirPods case and wait for the battery status to automatically pop on your iPhone’s screen.
Step Three: Check The Battery Level Of Your AirPods Case
You can now see the battery levels of each AirPod, as well as your charging case. If you notice your AirPods charging case is below 10%, you’ve likely found the reason your one AirPod isn’t charging.
Step Four: Charge Your AirPods Case
If your charging case was below 10%, you should charge it while the AirPods are in them. Once they have charged, you should check to see if the relevant AirPod has charged. If it has not, one of the following fixes may work!
Reinsert AirPods Into Charging Case
When an AirPod is incorrectly inserted into a charging case, you may find that one of them isn’t charging properly. This will likely be because it cannot make contact with the necessary charging connector. Taking the AirPods out of the charging case and reinserting them could solve this problem.
Step One: Remove Any AirPods Accessories
If you’re using a protective case or any other accessories for your AirPods, you should first remove these.
Step Two: Take AirPods Out Of Charging Case
Once you’ve removed any accessories, take your AirPods out of the charging case. By holding your AirPods case upside down while the lid is open, you can check if there’s anything blocking the charging connection.
Step Three: Reinsert AirPods Into Charging Case
You can now reinsert your AirPods. You’ll need to leave them for a while to see if they charge. If your one AirPod still doesn’t charge after this, you may need to clean your AirPods and their charging case.
Clean Your AirPods And Charging Case
Over time, your AirPods will collect dirt and grime – especially if they’re not correctly cleaned. In many instances, dirt can even become trapped inside your charging case. Whether the dirt is on the stem of your AirPods or inside the charging case, it can prevent one or both of your AirPods from charging.
Step One: Gather Your AirPods Cleaning Supplies
To properly clean your AirPods, you’ll need a few supplies. Luckily, most of these are regular household items, and this process does not require special tools.
- Cotton Q-tips
- Toothpicks
- Straw Cleaner/Periodontal Brush
- Old Toothbrush
- Microfiber Cloth
Step Two: Clean Your AirPods Case Externally
Firstly, you can start cleaning the external areas of your AirPods case. A cotton swab can be used to clean the outside and inside of the case’s lid as needed. A toothpick can be used to remove the dirt along the lines of the charging case.
Step Three: Clean Internal Charging Case Contact Points
To clean the internal contact points, a straw cleaner or periodontal brush should be used. These can be gently inserted into the charging case to ensure there are no obstructions.
Step Four: Clean AirPods Case Charging Port
Using an old toothbrush, you can gently clean the case’s charging port. This will ensure your case can be charged and that the case can charge your AirPods.
Step Five: Clean AirPod Stems
Finally, with a microfiber cloth, you can clean the stems of your AirPods. This will ensure that there is no dirt trapped on your AirPod that could be preventing it from charging in your case.
Step Six: Check If AirPods Charge
Once you’ve finished cleaning the different parts of your AirPods and charging case, you can reinsert the AirPods into the case. If dirt was preventing them from charging, they should now be working.
Reset Your AirPods
If you’ve found one AirPod isn’t charging, you can try resetting your AirPods to resolve the issue. You can reset your AirPods in a few easy steps!
Step One: Navigate To iPhone Bluetooth Settings
To reset your AirPods, you first need to navigate to your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings.
Step Two: Forget AirPods
From the list of Bluetooth devices, find your AirPods and click on the More Info symbol next to it.
Step Three: Reset AirPods
The different AirPods settings will now be displayed on your iPhone’s screen. At the bottom of your screen, you’ll see an option to Forget This Device. You should select this option to unpair the AirPods from your iPhone.
Step Four: Pair AirPods With iPhone
Once your AirPods have been unpaired from your iPhone, you can reset them using the charging case. By pressing and holding the pairing button, your AirPods will be reset. The charging status light will turn amber, indicating that the AirPods have been reset.
Step Five: Check If AirPods Are Charging
By opening your AirPods lid next to your iPhone, you’ll be able to follow the pop-up screen to pair your AirPods again. Once your AirPods have been paired again, you can let them charge and see if your faulty AirPod is not charging.
Replacing A Faulty AirPod That’s Not Charging
In the event that these fixes have not fixed your faulty AirPod, you may need to consider replacing the AirPod itself. Your options for replacing the faulty AirPod will depend on the warranty status of your AirPods.
For AirPods that are less than a year old and cannot last for longer than 5 hours, Apple will replace the AirPod for free. If you opted for Apple’s AppleCare + warranty for your AirPods, you’re eligible for a free replacement if you experience battery issues within the two-year warranty period.
If your AirPods are no longer covered by a warranty, you can purchase a replacement AirPod from Apple. This replacement AirPod can be used with your working AirPod in your existing case. Of course, a replacement AirPod will resolve your issue of one of your AirPods not charging.
Conclusion
If you’ve found one of your AirPods isn’t charging, there are many fixes that can be tried. These fixes include checking your charging case’s battery, reinserting the AirPods into the case, cleaning the AirPods and case, and resetting the AirPods.
When these fixes do not work, the faulty AirPod will need to be replaced by Apple.