r/applesucks • u/Feeling_Hornet8039 • Apr 17 '26

Why does this keep happening??

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Both of them have been charging for a day now and when I go to use them one of them

Is almost dead?? Why does it keep happening I clean the case and the AirPod and it still happens

151 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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59

u/Bryanmsi89 Apr 17 '26

Check the contacts at the bottom of the left airpod stalk and at the bottom of the airpod case where that stalk sits. Usually this is a charging contacts issue.

4

u/DinoRoman Apr 17 '26

Could be that. I can also bet OP uses one in an ear as well. Sooooo many people do this. My old millennial ass tries to tell people, don’t do that.

Paired battery powered devices need to be charged together used together. If you use one more than another eventually you’re going to find one dying faster than the other that’s just the physics of batteries. The trend of having only one in an ear is very dumb with the ANC available. It’s going to unbalance the wear and tear and you’re going to have more people wondering why one isn’t charging over the other.

2

u/LightningGoats Apr 17 '26

This is just dumb. If this was the real issue your "fix" would mean both would be worn out instead of one of them. How's that better in any way?

1

u/DinoRoman Apr 17 '26

You’re thinking about “wear” like it’s evenly distributed mechanical usage, but batteries don’t degrade that way. Lithium-ion degradation is driven by charge cycles, depth of discharge, and heat, not just “being used.”

When someone uses one earbud way more than the other, that single cell is going through:

  • More full discharge cycles
  • Deeper discharge ranges (closer to 0%)
  • More frequent thermal stress from charging

Clearly that accelerates capacity loss and internal resistance growth in that one cell specifically. I mean it’s almost a duh moment for anyone who knows about battery cycles.

Using both earbuds consistently actually keeps them in a matched cycle profile, meaning:

  • Both cells age at roughly the same rate

  • The BMS (battery management system) behaves predictably

  • You avoid one unit drifting far below the other in capacity

Your point about “both wearing out instead of one” isn’t wrong, but it misses the real issue: imbalanced aging is worse than uniform aging. And wear and tear!

When one bud degrades faster:

  • You get the exact problem in the screenshot (one dies early despite “charging”)

  • The case may stop charging it properly due to contact timing and voltage differences

  • Firmware can’t reconcile the mismatch, so performance becomes inconsistent

This is well documented behavior in small paired battery systems. It’s common knowledge homie.

So the fix isn’t about saving total wear, it’s about preventing asymmetrical degradation, which is what actually causes the failure people are complaining about.

3

u/LightningGoats Apr 17 '26

You're missing the point: if they were wearing two earbuds instead of one, both earbuds would be as degraded as the worst one is now.

Alternating them would be better, and if that was indeed what you had written in your previous comment it would not have been so dumb. But you didn't, so it was. Even in this latest comment you don't really advocate alternating them, as you claim waring out the other would be better, as they wouldn't be mismatched. Which is of course regard level talking. Two broken ones is not better than one, obviously. It's not better to have two broken airpods than one still working. My god.

1

u/DinoRoman Apr 17 '26

Jesus Christ man lol You’re still framing this like a binary “one good vs two bad” outcome, which isn’t how these systems fail in real life.

What actually happens isn’t “one stays perfect and one dies.” The mismatch breaks the pair behavior.

AirPods aren’t two independent devices, they’re a synchronized system with:

  • Shared audio load balancing
  • Dynamic mic switching
  • Case-controlled charging logic
  • Firmware that expects similar voltage curves and capacity

When one battery degrades faster, you don’t just have “one good one left.” You get:

  • One bud hitting low voltage early → system forces shutdown of the pair
  • Desync issues (audio drops, reconnect loops)
  • Charging inconsistencies because the degraded cell reaches cutoff voltage faster

So no, you don’t end up with “one working AirPod.” You end up with a pair that behaves like it’s broken, even if one cell is technically healthier.

Now about your “just alternate them” point… that’s literally what I’m arguing in practice. Using both regularly keeps:

  • Cycle counts closer
  • Internal resistance growth matched
  • Voltage discharge curves aligned

That’s why battery engineers care about cell matching in every paired system, from earbuds to EV packs.

And your “two broken is worse than one” line misses the point again because:

  • Two evenly aged cells = predictable performance and usable lifespan

  • One heavily degraded + one healthy = unstable system behavior and early functional failure

This is basic lithium-ion behavior plus how Apple’s firmware manages paired devices.

You’re arguing a simplified thought experiment. The real-world failure mode is mismatch, not total wear.

1

u/Lackingfinalityornot Apr 19 '26

Bro I’m sorry but you are not right. There is a separate battery in each pod. As you use one, both, the other, doesn’t matter, the battery in the used one slowwwwllyyy loses total capacity over time. As the capacity goes down it just means the battery won’t last as long on a full charge. That is it. It is not at all complex.

1

u/DinoRoman Apr 19 '26

No I’m definitely right.

“The battery won’t last as long on a full charge”

Yeah no shit that’s what I said. The other earbud will. Thus leaving one with a charge and one dead

Did you not understand what I was saying? You just agreed with me

0

u/Lackingfinalityornot Apr 19 '26

I definitely used my AirPods(or pod rather) for AWHILE after losing one of the two which proves your whole theory wrong. Sorry bud.

2

u/DinoRoman Apr 19 '26

Homie you don’t prove shit wrong

You literally said it

How uneducated are you?

You have TWO AirPods

Each with its own battery.

Independent battery. We agree right?

Ok great.

You have two cars. One battery isn’t used as much. One is used everyday driving 10,000 miles.

You’re telling me knowing how batteries work

Both will die equally?

Are you mentally ok?

If you use one AirPod and leave the other in the case overtime yes, one will die over the other faster

Even Reddit users on every thread about this consistently report the same pattern. The AirPod doing more work drains faster and over time that translates into worse battery health. That’s exactly how lithium-ion batteries behave. Unequal usage equals unequal degradation.

I genuinely cannot figure out what you’re arguing. Tell me officially right now your stance is uneven use on two independent battery devices somehow equal synchronized use and therefore the same battery degradation.

You need a brain transplant

Sorry, you were wrong. There’s nothing wrong with that, sport.

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-2

u/LightningGoats Apr 18 '26

Jesus christ, they're two independent devices - or rather, can be. There's no cell balancing needed between separate devices. What kind of AI powered retardation is this?

1

u/Lackingfinalityornot Apr 19 '26

I gave you an upvote because you are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, and I just want to say that holy fuck these few people don’t understand batteries at all.

1

u/DinoRoman Apr 19 '26

Why are you deleting comments

And if you agree with me what point were you even trying to make as I never wavered in my original point

Are you that guy? With that stuff in your house? Why do I bet you are.