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

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.

The way that I determined it to be the case itself (and not the tips) was:

Remove the headphones and tips from the case. Keep the case open to air it out. The smell will go away after leaving it open for a while. Close the case and leave it closed for 15 minutes or so. The smell will be strong again. Finally, if you don't reintroduce the tips to the case they won't have smell. So I think the tips just absorb and remit, rather than being the source.

It's not the AirPods. You'll see once you start charging with the open case: almost no smell. The tips are absorbing the VOC outgassing that is coming from the case components.

I took mine in and they exchanged them for a new pair. The new pair has a faint smell, but noting close to how strong the first pair was. Will see if it gets worse. I smelled my friends and they barely smelled. Its definitely the case that has the smell because Apple stocks the replacements as individual parts and are boxed individualy when they get them for exchange.

@Hollygollygirl: Thanks for posting this. I actually bought third-party tips and am using those. Same problem as before. So the issue, I believe, is still that the tips are absorbing from the case and then re-emitting (esp. when they are warmer in your ears). That or the third-party tips are just as bad). I've been charging with the lid open and that does seem to make a difference. Give that a try and please post a follow-up if it helps.

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.

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.

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.

I would guess this is a product quality issue rather than a design issue. The plastic in the case or the electronics in the case are emitting a strong odor and that odor is then absorbed and reemitted by the ear tips. This isn't inevitable and I'm sure they can work with the manufacturer to mitigate this.

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

I got the impression, it's the tips not the case. I'm not totally sure, but when I remember correctly, also the new and unused tips had the smell (nail polish with a fruit component). When I use the Airpods Pro, also my ears have this smell afterwards. So it's imaginable that the case gets the smell from the tips and not vice versa.

Thanks for confirming that the smell is the transfer from the case. This has been the theory for a while. The smell seems to be present with ALL cases. We are only here because we notice it/mind it. FYI, you can charge with the case open so this is what I've been doing.