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

Mr-SneakerHead wrote:

same here. the smell is killing me and now my ears have this weird smell too. apple HAS to do something about it. other than that the airpods pro are just amazing :)

Have you contacted Apple to let them know you have a problem? Use the Contact Support link at the top right of every page of these forums.

Did anyone who had the issue return their AirPod Pros for a new one and it was better? I'm convinced all of the Airpods have this smell as they were all manufactured the same way.

@Cloud.Liu I'm not sure this is solved, unless someone reports they replaced their AirPods and the new one didn't have the smell.

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.

I returned my Airpods before Christmas and received a new one yesterday. The case now smells like blueberries just as many posts elsewhere said. The fruity odour is not very annoying, so I think I'll keep them.

Hi FlorenceYL, did you have to leave it with them for a few weeks? I took mine in and because it was not purchased from Apple directly, they wanted to get it sent out for testing rather than replacing them which will leave me without them for a few weeks.

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.

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.

In theory, it could still be from the AirPods themselves: I may try putting the tips into the case on their own, but even if they did not pick up the smell, there would still be the possibility of off-gassing due to heating/warming of the case, airpods, or both.

Thanks for the tip about leaving the case open, I had not tried that and it's certainly easier than removing the silicon tips!

@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.

Hey together,

I commented a long time ago bout the smell. I got mine at the 26. December 2019 and had the same problem as you all. I use the AirPods Pro very often and never washed them or stuff like this I just used them as normal as the Airpods Gen. 2 and I forget about the smell. If I smell now at the Airpods Pro I have to go real near and smell really hard to even recognize the smell so. I understand it’s not nice but it disappears after a while

You can also charge with the cover open. BTW - I recently spoke with customer service because one of my AirPods started to have an issue with the mic (was hearing weird sounds). I asked about the smell issue and she said she hadn't heard that before...