Condensation in the Airpods Max

Mate, this is being experienced in a very standard/basic/normal conditions.

Short story: I bought mine back in December - they eventually stopped working in March for the very same reason - but I did not know back then.

Brought them back to Apple to be repaired - guess what?

Because, liquid has been found in the earcups it actually voided the Apple 1 year warranty - so, basically I have now to pay for the repair which is in the region of £240.00...!!! in top of the £549.00 for 3 months of use.

If you it would have been a much more confidential company selling this device, I might have thought "this is a scam".

I mean, how stupidly ridiculous? You can pretty much get a MacBook at this point.

I have got legal advice about what my possibilities are - this is how far I got to.

My sincere advice for anyone interest in the AirPods Max:

1. the quality of sound is absolutely outstanding: there is no question about that point. Yet, There is a flaw with that product - and I am 100% sure that they are aware of it.
2. AirPods Max Condensation is a real thing - dont buy that product unless you are willing to conduct some ridiculous maintenance. Besides there is also a chance for your warranty to be voided.
3. Wait for another version
4. Dont buy them

Had and am still having this issue as well... in the Boston winter with very dry inside air. After 3 weeks of moisture build up, there was a crackling sound in Transparency mode or in ANC mode (not in OFF mode). I contacted Apple support via online chat (no wait), and after many check this-and-that steps, they advised me to get a replacement set. They indicated it would be 3 weeks for mail delivery or I could try a local Apple store to see if they had any in stock. I was able to get a Genius Bar appointment for the same afternoon (security-controlled during COVID, strict social distancing), and I received a replacement set that same day.

By this time, with this new replacement pair, I was aware of the condensation issue — and that if left unchecked, it could lead to a deterioration in audio or ANC quality. Armed with that knowledge, I purchased a full-size protective case with a zipper that fully encloses the AirPod Max. Into this new protective case I placed several silicon gel packages, and each night I charge my AirPod Max in this case. Additionally, after a few hours of wear, I’ve gotten in the habit of taking off the ear cushions to check for moisture, and I wipe with a paper towel if/when I find anything. (So far, I’ve found moisture/condensation on the metal edge under the ear cushions every day.) Now, a month later, they’re still going just fine with this (somewhat tedious) daily care.

Hoping someone will develop an improved ear cushion that has some moisture-absorbing properties. I’ve read a rumor that Apple is considering selling a “Sports” version of the ear cushions that could be more absorbent, but I can find no authoritative source on this.

Finally, I thought that perhaps a soft silicone protective cover on the metal exterior ear cups might help equalize the temperature of the metal/ear barrier, but they had no effect on the condensation. Rather, even a tiny bit of the protective cover over one of the microphones messed up with the ANC and the Transparency Mode. Bye-bye, silicone covers!

The Transparency mode is outstanding, and when I switch to my XM4s while the AirPod Max is drying out, I get sad when the speak-to-chat only has 60% of the transparency. Still, both excellent headphones.

Hello all,

so I went to my local Apple Store here in Western Australia raising this problem with them. The specialist that served me was unaware that this was a problem, but after talking to his team leader, he told me that there was some internal and external reports that indicated that this was becoming a common complaint. Whilst there, I raised my concerns of the fact that the headphones are not certified water resistant and that I was also obviously worried about my safety using them as they are electrical equipment after all and directly placed on direct skin on the body. I asked them to do a hardware check to make sure that the water was not getting into any exposed wires. They did the hardware test and told me that the condensation water had not reached any wired part and that I was safe to use them as it was only appearing in the topical part of the headphones. They told me that to watch out for ear detection sensors, but told me that if water damage does happen to my headphones in the future because of the condensation, they would have notes on my account showing that it wasn’t my fault.

I've been noticing the condensation on my AirPods max as well. After reading the comments here I decided to call support and let them know about it just to make sure I'm not on the hook for any related water damage in the future. Initially the advisor said that this is not a known issue and that they would need to inspect the product. I mentioned that there are no Apple stores in my city and that shipping the product in would take time (given COVID). Furthermore I didn't imagine that the technicians at the repair centre would spend an hour listening to music to try and recreate the issue.

About ten minutes into my call the advisor said that a senior advisor wanted to come on the call. He indicated that Apple is investigating reports of condensation and asked if I could answer a bunch of questions including the nature of the problem, when /how it occurred, whether I'd tried any other over-ear headphones and if so whether they had any condensation. They're clearly looking into this, so I thought you would all like to know. Today I got another call from a senior advisor who wanted to document a few more things. He speculated a few times that a certain team of engineers was looking into the problem people were experiencing and that it sounds like this is something that may result in a second release/recall of older models. He mentioned he was speculating, but did suggest that a few times. It makes sense. In the meantime he said to monitor the "service programs" webpage https://support.apple.com/service-programs. He also said that it was good that I called in despite not experiencing any issues yet as it allows them to document the issue, potentially limiting headaches later should I need service due to water damage. So for now.. he said to just keep using them and if they crap out then they'll address it.

Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps some of you out there.

I'm about to return my THIRD pair of AirPod Max's for this same exact issue. The ANC/Transparency button starts to fail around day 22 kicking off randomly without touching it. By day 25 they start to go crazy with them constantly randomly turning on and off transparency mode and no amount of hard or soft resets fixes the issue. I'm convinced the condensation is causing the button failure and creating a short. I'm going to try my fourth pair and this time I'm going to store them with silicon packets overnight to see if I can prevent it from happening again. Thank goodness Apple has been willing to give me an extended 30 day return window each time.

I can confirm that this is a serious issue and the condensation WILL eventually cause the Airpods to become non-functional. I've just had my 3rd pair of Airpods Max fail because of the continual condensation. This pair have lasted the longest of all 3, but that is only 3 weeks. The previous 2 pairs lasted 5 days, at the most before the noise cancellation button becomes non-functioning, the ear detection sensors will not work and eventually they become a brick only responding with the LED light when you plug them into a charger but never being discoverable by any bluetooth device or even playing any sound when wired.

I've spent about half of my 3 months of ownership waiting for them to be repaired, waiting for a replacement, or having them sit dead and useless. I will say these are the most outstanding headphones and ANC I've ever used, which makes their disastrously and borderline incompetent design flaws so much worse. I'm not sure what I'm going to do because this is the 3rd pair that have failed in 3 month and I know that I'm going to have to wait 10 or so days to ship them off and wait to get them or another pair back and I spent so much money on them. I wish Apple would recall them and admit they made a drastic mistake reliability-wise.

I had the same issue finally after 2 weeks not helped with COVID UPS will collecting mine (UK) for a full refund. I went with the Sony XM4’s as Apple literally cannot prevent this happening due to a design flaw. I had this issue just sitting down not moving imagine walking with them on for £549 never had an issue with Apple until now! They must have been made either in a fridge or a air *** room

I have had the AirPods max since the beginning of February. After only one month of using them the moisture ruined them. I had apple care on them and It was a nightmare trying to get them to send me a new pair. Took about 3 weeks to get my replacement! Do not use the AirPods max for exercise! Bose soundsport wireless headphones are cheaper and are made for exercise!

It will affect them. Happened to me as I use them for exercise (indoor bike). The noise cancellation goes all weird and affects the sound. I got mine replaced a week ago and now it's happening again. I didn't realise you can't use them for exercise, but seems I'm learning the hard way. May ask for a refund...

jehdian Said:

“Condensation in the Airpods Max: [...]These are expensive headphones and I don't want them to go to waste because of a design flaw. Will this damage my headphones and if it does, will Apple fix the problem they created?”

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Contact Apple Supoort:

I’ve never had any issues due to condensation. But, if a design flaw, then let Apple know about it, requesting a return and giving them feedback.

I. Getting these Returned:

These are User-to-User forums. We are just everyday users like yourself. Apple rarely reads these forums on their own time. So, you should contact them, asking what your options are. No one here has any call in returns:

Contacting Apple Support:

• Contact Us - Choose Locations
• Ask to speak with the Apple Store Staff
• Proceed from there as necessary

Why the Wait:

Phone calls are taking a bit to go through at the moment, due do lots of calls. With the Coronavirus Pandemic, many are at home at the moment, with much time on their hands to contact Apple. So, just stay on the line, and you will get through :)

II. Providing Apple With your Feedback:

Do your Part: So, to get the word out to Apple on what seems to be a flaw, by providing them with feedback. They won't get back to you directly on this, but the more they hear of it, the more they will know what problems exist and how to go about fixing them. So, do you part and provide feedback on it. Be certain that you are positive with the feedback (elsewise, it'll likely be filtered out).

1. Go Here: Feedback - AirPods - Apple
2. Select: "Performance" for the "Feedback Type"
3. Proceed from there as necessary

talhauzi Said:

"I put on the headphones and after half an hour my whole ear is water “

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Condensation is the Culprit:

That is no more than condensation from heat. So, were you working out (IOW Exercising) while using these? Were you swimming recently? Did you take a shower. It could be sweat; who knows. But it is condensation, nonetheless.

If Covered with AppleCare:

We-re all just volunteers here - So, I’m not certain what role an ear would play in this. So, contact Apple Support, seeing if a swapout is an option.

Early January I got my AirPods Max; before the end of the month I returned it for a replacement. The ones I returned got condensation after an hour or so of use; after a week they become unstable despite the fact that I was always cleaning the water inside the earcups; I went online; there were others complaining and reporting the same issues; it didn’t matter if you were exercising or seating in your living room, it happened the same; I read somewhere the issue was due to the aluminum which is a cold metal and that also happened with other brands that used metal on the earcups but as the cushions weren’t removable people usually didn’t notice; after about three weeks I had problems connecting to my iPhone and my iPad; then I decided to ask for a replacement. I got a new pair for more than a month now, on February 22. Up until now I’ve only noticed condensation twice and only a droplet, nothing compared with what happened to the previous ones. So this is a issue that randomly affects people but I guess has nothing to do with the environment or with what you’re doing when you wear them (humidity remain the same in the first two weeks since I received the new ones) Also the replacement AirPods are blue as the ones I’ve returned. I’m a lawyer and my knowledge of physics is very basic and my knowledge of tech is limited to what is accessible to an end user. Despite that I can say without hesitation this has nothing to do with perspiration.

So I’ve had these for about a month now and haven’t seen any condensation even after wearing for over an hour at a time. And I’m the sort who tends to sweat fairly easily.

Now before anyone gets upset, I’m not denying that this is a legitimate issue, only pointing out that it seems to be based on the conditions in which you use them.

Given their size, weight, and the fact that they're not at all water-resistant, it’s evident they were not really designed for use during any sort of exercise, nor in very warm/humid conditions. I can imagine how disappointing this must be for those who expected otherwise, and it’s fair to suggest that Apple should look into tweaking the design to provide better ventilation and/or some moisture resistance. Perhaps the fix would be to offer an “active” version of the earcups. But barring that, the alternative is just to return them and seek out another headset more suitable for your individual needs and preferences.

Good question. How many other headphones do you know that are made almost entirely of metal? :) This is the reason most over the ear headphones are either made of plastic or are open back. The heat from the human head over an extended period of time, combined with lack of ventilation causes the airpods max to condensate. It will not condensate after short listening sessions. And you will only find the condensation if you remove the earcups, but it will be there. Granted, it is possible this problem does not occur with the lighter color airpods max, as they reflect more heat.

TheDonut Said:

"Condensation in the Airpods Max: For me, it’s my living room or home office in the somewhat dry New England winter and spring. I do a twice-a-day wipe of condensation, and I put them in a case with silicon gel packs at night. I’m typically wearing them 12+ hours/day for home video conferencing use, and I’ve already had to return one set that failed."

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To the OP and All:

Providing Apple With your Feedback:

Do your Part: So, to get the word out to Apple on what seems to be a flaw, by providing them with feedback. They won't get back to you directly on this, but the more they hear of it, the more they will know what problems exist and how to go about fixing them. So, do you part and provide feedback on it. Be certain that you are positive with the feedback (elsewise, it'll likely be filtered out).

1. Go Here: Feedback - AirPods - Apple
2. Select: "Performance" for the "Feedback Type"
3. Proceed from there as necessary