AirPods Pro have a strange smell on its silicone tips, is that safe?

Hi. So, I returned and purchased a new pair. Same issue, though these smelled slightly less toxic. The rep that helped me return the previous pair said they'd not heard about a smell (not that they would tell me). I believe the only solution for this is time until Apple figures out why these odor is present. Hopefully the odor isn't actually toxic...

A few more thoughts:

1. Given that I've now seen this with three pairs, my assumption is that ALL AirPods Pro have this issue but only some of us care enough about it to be here.
2. This is likely some chemical used in the manufacture of the case or of the components inside the case and the silicon ear tips simply absorb (and reemit) the smell.
3. I'm hoping that Apple does fix this and that at some point it'll be possible to swap the charging case for one that doesn't stink. If it happens, I'm guessing there's no announcement. We'll know only because new units no longer smell. Since this could take until the next generation of AirPods Pro, I'm just going to use these and do my best to air them out.

I believe it’s the rubber tip. I checked the other sizes of rub tips they are having the same strong chemical smell. Please raise the this issue to Apple to check if the product is safe for use. I am going to call them real soon as I am concerned with the chemical smell will cause any ear problem.

I am noticing the horrible smell as well. It also gives me a headache and to me is a strong chemical smell similar to acetone or some other solvent that is off-gassing. .

I purchased my Airpods Pros in January and I noticed a faint smell similar to blueberries but it wasn't that bad. Then I started to use the Airpod Pros for a few hours on the weekends and the smell became stronger each time I used them. I'm assuming that my body heat intensified the off-gassing and when I removed the earpieces the smell lingered for a long time in my ears. I would have to wash my ears with soap to help remove the smell.

Initially I believed that the smell came from the case because when I sniffed the case the smell was awful. I assumed that the silicone on the ear tips absorbed the smell from the case. I contacted Apple Support on Feb. 26 told them about the problem and they suggested that I bring in my Airpods Pros to the local Apple Store with the original packaging and they would order an exchange.

Last night I picked up the new exchanged Airpods Pros and gave the store my old ones. They gave the new ones to me in three separate boxes: 1) empty case; 2) left earpiece with silicone tip; 3) right earpiece with silicone tip. Each was packaged separately. I sniffed the case in the store and didn't smell anything - no obnoxious smell. Then as we unpacked each earpiece I sniffed them and they had that same faint smell of blueberries. Not obnoxious but it was the same smell I noticed with the first pair. The apple store employee also gave me to small packages with additional silicone eartips.

When I arrived home I put each earpieces inside the charging case and then left them to charge overnight. When I checked them in the morning the tips had a stronger pungent smell and the case had a mild similar smell. I decided to remove the earpieces from the charging case and just set them out for the day to air out. I also left the charging case still plugged in but with the lid held open with a little tape. Before I left for work I decided to sniff the additional silicone eartips that were never put in the case and were packaged separately. They had the same obnoxious smell! I then went to my original packaging from the first pair of Airpods Pros and pulled out the unused eartips in the box. These have never been in the case and they also had the same horrible smell.

I want to emphasize that the replacement airpod pro case and earpieces have not been worn yet. They were charged together overnight but not worn. The smell is strongest from the silicone tips even from the extra sizes of tips that haven't even been in the charging case and were packaged separately.

I am growing more and more convinced that the obnoxious smell is coming from the silicone tips and not from the case.

I am not sure there is any fix for this. I believe Apple needs to either find another supplier or make the eartips out of another material. I'm afraid I will also have to return my replacement Airpod Pros because I am convinced they are offgassing something that isn't healthy.

I will update all of you If the smell goes away after airing them out all day or longer. I'm just not hopeful at this point.

It's not the tips. They just absorb the smell coming from the case. If you close the case (without the headphones in it) for a while and then open it you'll see that the smell is present inside the case. The ear tips just absorb the smell more than the hard plastic headphones while in the case.

Hi. I recently bought a pair of cheap wireless buds so not Apple so may be diferent. I also noticed an extremely strong overwhelming smell worse than bootpolish or Mr Muscle. The smell was really annoying me and giving me a bad headache. The smell is coming from the battery Li ion. Its a black oily resin like substence which they attempt to hide the smell by wrapping in foil. The smell is also inside the buds themselves. Ive no explanation for this. I dont use them anymore because of the effect they where having on my health. Im not even sure if the microwaves these things give off are safe...I hope this answers your question. The only way to find out is to buy a cheap pair and inspect them yourself...Ive gone back to using standard headphones as there are concerns about the safety of putting this tech so close to the brain....

I contacted support. I was told a report would be left. They also suggested we leave feedback on the product for engineers to see and add to statistics to possibly work on a resolution.

https://www.apple.com/feedback/

Hopefully it isn't just fluff but I'll at least try this.

Similar issue here, and it is definitely the case. I've done the following to test/confirm:

1. Contacted Support about the issue and got them to send a replacement case and new set of silicon tips
2. Separately, I had requested another set of replacement tips (so I have one to act as a control)
3. First set of tips: I used them as normal--leaving them on the AirPods Pro when charging in the case.
   1. Within 24hr, these had the horrible VOC/blueberry smell
4. Second set: I removed them before charging so they have never gone in the case
   1. Still no smell after 2-3 days (side from a very slight silicon smell they started with)

The Senior Apple Support representative said she had never heard of the issue, it is not in her documentation, and that more people need to contact them about it if they are having issues. So, again if you have not contacted Apple Support about this, please please do.

Just to confirm it is the tips absorbing VOCs/the smell from the case, I have repeated steps 3 & 4 a few days--and while the tips have a slight silicon smell, they have not picked up the horrible VOC/"blueberry" smell.

Hey @JoshD. I’m so glad that charging with the lid open is helping you. As I wrote in my original post that is what I have been doing but the smell isn’t going away. Also, when I got my replacement case the case was just fine with no smell. I still believe that the smell is coming from the earpieces and possibly from the silicone eartips because I received some new tips from the Apple store which were packaged separately from the case in a separate box and they also have a strange smell. I also found a website that tears down the airpods pro which shows a lot of glue inside of the earpieces which makes me wonder if the glue is offgassing and makes the already smelly silicone even worse.

I also saw a post on reddit about the “nail polish smell” and they also suspect it is coming from either the glue or the silicone eartips:

https://www.reddit.com/r/https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/AirPods+Pro+Teardown/127551

https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/AirPods+Pro+Teardown/127551

It's the case, not the tips. The tips just absorb the odor more than the hard plastic headphones themselves. Take everything out of the case, leave it closed, you'll smell this odd chemical smell when you reopen the case.

Same smell here. Googled it and came here. I also have an earlier generation of their airpods and they have a strong smell (slightly different) as well that I never noticed before. Silicone definitely absorbs the smell and makes it very noticeable. I've smelled this same smell before from a plastic container of Cascade dish washing detergent. The smell doesnt go away from that container and I doubt it will with the AirPods.

I also notice this, and I dont think it's the tips. To me it smells like acetone. Suspect it is something from the manufacturing process. Perhaps Apple could make a comment on this, and as to the safety of this?

It's not the tips. You can verify this by leaving the tips out and by closing the case for a bit while the case is empty. The smell will be strong when you open the case again. It's likely something used inside the case or in the case materials themselves.