Why are my AirPods Max not detecting my head?

I want to second (or 5th or 6th) Ken's comment.

My headphones went from barely functional for months (from a device connection and head-detection perspective) where I was constantly rebooting them to get them to work ... to working perfectly for the last 10 days after simply removing the earpieces and cleaning the contacts on the band.

I can't believe Apple doesn't have a support article covering this. I had tried everting ... including multiple calls to Apple support and a trip to the repair facility where they were deemed 'in perfect working order'.

I had the same issue.

The solution which worked for me was:

1- Removing the headband and cleaning the contacts.

2- Cleaning the sensors of head tracking (the black dot on each side, which can be cleansed after removing the earpads).

3- Charge the Airpod max above 50% and then reset it.

Remember to use Alcohol containing liquid (Apply it with a piece of cloth or tissue paper).

tl;dr: Try to make sure the hole on your headphone pads matches the sensors.

I had the same issue: The headphone doesn't react to what ever I press. No sound. No noise cancelation.

I noticed that's the head detection issue. I tried to reset it but the issue still exists. Today, one of my firends told me that's because the head phone pads were in wrong directions so it blocks the sensors. After I adjusted them, the issue was solved.

You can try removing the speakers from the headband and cleaning the contacts.

If you take your iPhone sim card tool, there is a hole underneath the mesh ear covers that will release the headband from the speaker by inserting the sim tool.

the contacts look like mini lightning ports and after cleaning them with a microfiber cloth and reattaching the speakers, my connection issues have resolved.

This was exactly the issue I had. For the last year my connectivity was insane and I had to hard reset my AirPods, almost 2 or 3 times a day and it was insane and I want to give up and literally yesterday I unplugged the speakers from the headband and clean the port and I have zero connectivity issues anymore. Apple was completely pointless and was not able to help but randomly this form saved me. in Canada, these are $900 and they worked fine for six months, and I had issues longer than a year for them…

Make sure the ear cushions are not upside down. They fit this way, but then the head detection sensors are blocked and not aligned with the hole intended for them.

Worked for me 100% I experienced all the issues mentioned in the thread until I carefully cleaned the contacts with screen wet wipes. AirPods Max immediately started working as before. So happy now.

I've experienced this over the past few weeks. The best solution I've figured out to fix this is to put the headphones in the carrying case, close the flap, wait a few seconds, and then put them back on. 75% of the time that fixes the issue. 25% of the time I have to repeat the process 1 to 2 times again.

Hi prodiguy,

Given the steps you've taken, we'd recommend confirming the reset steps were the ones below:

• How to reset your AirPods Max - Apple Support

"To restart or reset your AirPods Max:

• First, charge them for a few minutes.
• If you're experiencing issues with your AirPods Max, you can restart them. Press and hold the noise control button and the Digital Crown until the LED flashes amber.
• You can also reset AirPods Max to factory settings. Press and hold the noise control button and the Digital Crown for 15 seconds, until the LED flashes amber, then white.
• After you reset your AirPods Max, you can connect them to your iOS or iPadOS device, or connect them to your Mac or other device.

AirPods Max can be associated with one Apple ID. If you want to use AirPods Max that someone else has used, they need to first remove them from their Apple ID."

Take note of the factory settings reset, if you have not already, we'd advise that specific step.

If the issue persists after that, contact Apple Support as the headphones may need further inspection.

• Get Support

Take care.

More than 2 years old?

Give them a clean.

This has happened twice for me now (today is the second time).

The first time, I managed to use my AirPods Max close to a year with no issues. Fortunately this was one of those products I decided to get AppleCare+. Went to the Genius Bar and they managed to send it in to fix for “free”, I believe I got a totally new set a couple of days later (different serial number from my original pair - take note this new pair did not come with the MP packaging but a brown box instead, no ear cushions though as the Genius Bar staff told me to keep my cushion and case)

That second pair worked great for about 3 months and now I’m facing it again. Prior to it failing a couple of days ago though, I would periodically hear a loud high pitch sound on the right cup when in use for 2 days straight, it somehow disappeared before this failure.

And yes I have tried to clean the headset by removing the headband method to no avail. The only way workaround for both pairs is to hard reset it. That only fixes it for that instance though, the moment I remove it from my head and not use it after a couple of minutes, the problem resurfaces.

I am not too eager to get a third pair this time even still being under AppleCare+. This has become a very sour experience for me, which saddens me as I have pretty much have the whole Apple ecosystem and enjoy the rest of it.

I've tried that repeatedly over the last few months. Sometimes it works and mostly it doesn't. it has occurred to me that putting them back in the case may not the best approach. Now I'm leaving them out of the case so they don't go into a deep sleep and I seem to be having better luck with that. Clearly there is something that goes wrong for some of us after about a year and, frankly, I think that is pretty disgraceful on the part of Apple not to do anything about it. (The other big problem is the mesh on top stretching out of shape after about a year so the frame of the headphones rests directly on your head making them unusable after an hour or so. This is a poorly designed product and far from the premium experience I expected for $550).

I have the same problem (I’ve had the problem for MONTHS, and it’s only gotten worse).

a while ago I took my headphones to Apple to get them fixed. They couldn’t fix them in the store so they had to send them out and they called me to come get them when they came back. The first time I did that and I got them back I tested them to see if the issue was fixed. It wasn’t, so we got them sent out AGAIN (I can’t remember if we had to send them back again 1 more time after that or if that was the last time). Then they (seemed) to be fixed and working again, but they weren’t.

They worked fine for a while, but after using them for a few weeks they started to glitch out randomly again. Just like it had before, over time it continued to happen more and more often and stay fixed/working for less and less time (before breaking/glitching again).

It also does this weird thing where sound would stop working, but only in the right side (and the buttons would stop working too).

Sometimes it also does another weird thing where it randomly makes this super loud crackling static-like sound (the sound either comes from both sides or just the right side, I don’t remember it ever coming just from the left side). It comes out of nowhere and always scares me so bad that I think I might have a heart attack.

Now whenever I connect it to my device it doesn’t detect my head and the sound doesn’t work either. Factory resetting it doesn’t fix the problem anymore either.

For now I’m stuck just not using them until I can bring them to apple again and get them fixed (and by “fixed” I mean “hopefully they’ll just replace them because nothing else has worked and I don’t want them to break again because the warranty is going to expire in a few months”)

My experience exactly. They were no help at all. I have a lot to of Apple products that "just work." This is the only one I've had that does not. It's very frustrating and I'm mad because these cost a lot of money. The Genius Bar didn't even do any trouble shooting. They looked up the serial number, told me it was out of warranty and declared it would be $300 to send them in. I use them daily--after five or ten minutes of plugging, unplugging, resetting, etc. I'm very unhappy that these $550 headphones only worked right for a year.

AirPods Nax, firmware 6A324. Problem with "head detection". Doesn't work outside, but works well at home.

iPhone 13, iOS 17.3.1. I reset the headphones and still doesn't help. Please tell me what to do?