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Is AirPods Max 'Condensation Death' a Widespread Issue? Report Offers Conflicting Evidence
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I suspect, these issues occur with people wearing them 7-10 hrs straight in hot conditions, frankly any over the years headphones will gather condensation with that kind of use IMO.....people using headphones like that, should frankly be more concerned about damage to their hearing.![]()
When Apple launched AirPods Max in December 2020, many users almost immediately flagged concerns about a build-up of condensation when the wireless headphones were worn for a prolonged period of time. Two years and eight months later, the issue may have become so entrenched that some users believe it is causing units to fail.
Tech news outlet 404 Media has published a report highlighting several complaints from AirPods Max users across Reddit, YouTube, Twitter (now X), and Apple's Support Community where water droplets have formed inside the over-ear headphones due to humidity. In some cases, users claim that the droplets have migrated inside the speaker holes, causing water damage to the drivers.
For example, a pinned post on the AirPods Max subreddit claims that "most hardware issues originate from condensation issues," which can lead to "AirPods turning off randomly, refusing to connect, refusing to play audio, needing restarts and factory resets to work, losing audio quality,” and other problems.
The report alleges that after one of the hottest summers on record, the problem is so frequently resulting in malfunction or complete failure that some afflicted users have come to refer to it as "condensation death." To mitigate the problem, some users have reportedly gone so far as to tape up the pin hole to prevent water ingress, or regularly clean the connections, which are arguably things a consumer should not have to do to keep the headphones in working order.
Interestingly, 404 Media highlights a class-action lawsuit in California that was brought against Apple two years ago by plaintiffs arguing that "a latent and material defect causes condensation to accumulate inside the ear cups of the AirPods Max, often after only an hour or several hours of normal use."
The plaintiffs have been reportedly negotiating a settlement with Apple over the last few months. While Apple has not disputed that condensation can accumulate inside the cups, its lawyers have argued that this is "simply more noticeable" than it is in other brands of over-ear headphones, since AirPods Max ear cups are magnetic and removable.
Regardless, the lawyers stated that "Apple repeatedly tells customers that its new high-end, studio quality AirPods Max headphones 'aren't waterproof or water resistant' and 'not to get moisture in any openings.'"
Apple's lawyers also dispute what "normal use" of AirPods Max are, according to the report, and have argued that the plaintiff has omitted details about when the condensation issue occurs, implying that their self-described "walk" may have constituted strenuous exercise more akin to "an arduous hike up the hills of San Francisco to Twin Peaks." Apple's lawyers have also taken issue with excerpts cited from online forum comments, which they say "show that users who claim to have experienced water damage often were exercising with or wearing their headphones for prolonged periods."
Despite these reports, there are still many AirPods Max users who have noticed condensation build-up who have not experienced performance issues as a result. In addition, as 404 Media notes, there are no eBay listings for water-damaged AirPods Max. Meanwhile, inquiries with aftermarket repair businesses have not found evidence of an influx of AirPods Max repairs, although that could well be because faulty units have simply been repaired by Apple. Either way, the full picture is far from clear.
Are you an owner of AirPods Max? Have you had issues with the headphones that you believe occurred as a d... Click here to read rest of article
Article Link: Is AirPods Max 'Condensation Death' a Widespread Issue? Report Offers Conflicting Evidence
AirPods Max are a closed-back design. Go to any professional music studio with 20 or 30 closed-back headphones, and you'll notice that they're damp at the end of a long day of tracking or editing.The famous Sony MDR-7506 (closed back) are used on every film shoot in the world. They're all damp and yucky at the end of a long day of work. This is not an Apple-only problem. After 2-3 hours, mine are a little humid. No big deal. And definitely not worthy of a class-action suit. It would be like suing Apple for smudgy fingerprints on your iPhone. 🙄 Go get an open-back set of headphones like Grado if you don't like it.
Testing if I can post.. it has let me post and it wasn’t before in the main forum.. any ideas?
I can’t access macrumors due to the following error message. Is this legit or do I have an issue with my mac? I’ve never had this before. I can access other sites fine.
Www.macrumors.com
Checking if the site connection is secure
Verify your a human (cloud flare)
www.macrumors.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.
I can’t access macrumors due to the following error message. Is this legit or do I have an issue with my mac? I’ve never had this before. I can access other sites fine.
Www.macrumors.com
Checking if the site connection is secure
Verify your a human (cloud flare)
www.macrumors.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.
I just wear mine inside for video streaming or music. Probably no more than few hours in evening. So far no such problem with mine that have noticed.
That's why you don't buy first gen hardware even from Apple.
Let the fools spend their money and suffer to force hardware revisions before you jump in!
Let the fools spend their money and suffer to force hardware revisions before you jump in!
Thankfully your response will help get to the root cause of the problem. Now I feel like crap.
No problems posting but have noticed since yesterday afternoon a lot of the checking if the site connection is secure, (nothing about verify I am a human) it takes half a minute or less and then moves on. Not just in forums but also on main page a bunch of us who participate in some ongoing threads all noticed this yesterdy. It happened again this morning when I first refreshed the main page like I always do.
I have a pair of Sennheiser wireless cans and I wear them at the gym and outside when it’s not hot or humid. Yesterday where I live the heat index was triple digits. No way would I be wearing headphones like that outside. Where are people wearing these that they’re building up all that condensation? Just at the gym?
Your experience may be totally in line with most, that don't experience any issues.
Just don't workout in them or wear them for extended periods of time in a hot environment.
They are not water or sweat resistant.
Costco has a good return policy (90 days on these) so you could always see what happens personally.
Meh I've owned it for over a year with no issues. But thanks for calling me a fool.
I bought a pair when they were first released and have never experienced the issue. IMO, the only way you're going to get condensation like that is if you're using them in a non-air conditioned space OR the strenuous workout scenario.
I think it is important for those without issues to also chime in, helps show how widespread an issue is or not.
If you’re looking for good wireless cans try Sennheiser Momentum 4’s. Noise cancelling isn‘t as good as AirPods Pro but sound quality is pretty great. And they‘re quite comfortable, don’t feel that heavy at all.
I have no opinion on the headphones, but due to how their phones act when it's hot [1] or cold [2] and due to the emoji keyboard fiasco [3], I'm pretty sure Apple only tests their devices in temperature controlled clean rooms. As opposed to normal people who have the audacity to use their portable devices wherever they are.
[1] Phone shouldn't refuse to charge at all just because my a/c is not set to 18 but like 25 C.
[2] Phone shouldn't shut down because it's been taken out of my pocket inside a car with the engine off when it's -10 C outside.
[3] Keyboard shouldn't start malfunctioning in 3 weeks from purchase because I use the laptop in an open balcony.
[1] Phone shouldn't refuse to charge at all just because my a/c is not set to 18 but like 25 C.
[2] Phone shouldn't shut down because it's been taken out of my pocket inside a car with the engine off when it's -10 C outside.
[3] Keyboard shouldn't start malfunctioning in 3 weeks from purchase because I use the laptop in an open balcony.
I'm 100% sure you're wrong about this. Apple definitely tests the devices in a variety of conditions.
Ok thanks - I was worried I had some malware or something as it seemed a bit shady.
It’s only letting me post on this front page article as opposed to older forum posts.. and only on my iPhone.
I have seen condensation in my Apple AirPods Max, but it still works as new 100%.
If one day my Apple AirPods Max fails and the Genius bar says it's because of water damage, I will give them hell.
If one day my Apple AirPods Max fails and the Genius bar says it's because of water damage, I will give them hell.
The Sony MDR-7506 is a wired headphone, not a bluetooth ANC headphone with electronics in it that get destroyed in contact with water.
That is a big difference.
Nope. I have the condensation issue, but it still works fine.
It's more as a FYI in case your Apple AirPods Max breaks and the Genius bar blames you for water damage. Then you know they are full of ****, and it's simply due to "normal use".
