How Many Times Should You Charge Your AirPods Case?

We live in a world where the battery life of our devices dictates our lives. It's not optimal, we know, but it is what it is. So because of that, understanding how to charge airpods and how often you should do it in your AirPods case is more important than ever.

While there isn't a guide on the back of the box we can follow to ensure your tunes never stop, there are best practices you can follow.

Understanding the Battery Dynamics. Your AirPods case does a lot more than just hold your headphones. It charges them, too! So then how often must this baby get charged? It depends on your demands and to be honest lifestyle. Are you imagining your case as a little power reservoir? If so, good. That's exactly what it is. And that reservoir needs to stay high for your music freedom. Unlike older batteries, which need to completely drain before charging again, your AirPods case prefers smaller and frequent charges to keep it going strong for longer.

Balancing Charging and Usage. If you're wondering how to charge AirPods case, think about how often you use 'em! Are they just for calls, or do they play your favorite podcasts all day?

• Casual Use. Once a week may do the trick.
• Power Use. Every night.

Recognizing When You Need To Charge It Up Again. Modern devices are equipped with smart technology. So, consider plugging it in when the battery dips below a certain percentage.

Integrating Charging Into Your Lifestyle. Sometimes, the simplest things go such a long way! For example, you can place your case on the charger while brushing before bed or making coffee in the morning.

Preserving Battery Life. We know it's tempting to ride that battery until it hits zero before charging it, but try your best not to! Lithium-ion batteries typically last for a certain number of full AirPod 'charge cycles' before their peak performance dips.

Orase’s Advice: Maintain a Full Tank

Keeping your case charged between 30% and 80% most of the time is the sweet spot for extending the overall battery lifespan. This doesn’t mean you can’t charge to 100% or let it drain to 5%. It’s more about what you do regularly.

Charging your AirPods case isn’t about being perfect — there's no exact science behind it. But by adopting smart charging habits that work best with your life’s rhythms and usage, you’ll ensure that your AirPods are always ready for their closeup.

Difference in charging time depending on model

Here we added a different AirPods model. And compared their charging time on each model. In that case you can choose the better one.

AirPods (1st and 2nd generation)

Who could forget? The first and second-generation AirPods promised up to 5 hours of music playback on a single charge, so you’d think they would deliver. They did. Each generation offers up to 24 hours of playback with the charging case. That’s almost an entire day with your favorite tunes! If you listen to music a lot, then yes you’ll have to charge them more often, but this is more than enough for daily use.

AirPods Pro

However, the AirPods Pro have stepped it up: in addition to all the improvements in sound and noise cancellation, they hold a charge about the same as their predecessors — up to 4.5 hours of music playback with noise cancellation turned on and up to 5 hours without it. With the charging case, this number jumps up to 24 hours, so using noise cancellation will burn through battery life faster but trust us when we say it’s worth it!

AirPods Max

And let's not forget about AirPods Max - real beasts among headphones. You can watch all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back and still not run out of juice! While these bad boys are active (noise cancellation or spatial audio), they’re going to last you about 20 hours on one charge. If you plan on living in your headphones all day then yes you’ll need to charge them a little more often but chances are if that’s what you’re doing then power won’t be a problem.

Regardless of your chosen generation, AirPods will always be solid companions for your musical journey. Just remember that the closer they get empty, the faster they’ll die, so keep an eye on how much battery is left!

How to Charge Your AirPods

Keeping your AirPods case charged is just as important as keeping your actual AirPods ready for action (a charged case means charged AirPods—duh). Here are the simple steps to keep your buds in business.

The basics of charging your case. Plug, charge, go. But like any high-tech accessory, there’s a right way to do it to keep it reliable and longer-lasting.

Step-by-Step Charging

1. Find the Charging Port: Look for the Lightning port on the bottom center of the back side of your AirPods case.
2. Use the Right Charger: Plug a Lightning cable into a power adapter or USB port on a computer. The Lightning cable should come with every pair of regular AirPods (not Pros).
3. Plug It In: Connect one end of the cable to that tiny port we talked about in step one, and plug the other end into either an outlet adapter or USB port.
4. Check Light Status: If you look at this photo from Apple Support while it’s plugged in check out its little status light below its lid hinge — which will indicate that its charging is orange; if green, it means it’s already full.

Tips for Effective Charging

How to charge AirPods faster:

• Wall Charger. For the fastest possible AirPod charge, use a wall charger. Charging via a computer’s USB port is slower.
• Wireless Charging. If you have AirPods Pro or AirPods with wireless charging, you can place the case on a Qi-compatible charging mat (or one that uses MagSafe — but only if your case can use MagSafe) to juice those babies.

Charging with the ‘Pods Inside or Dual Charging:

You can go about your day generally while your earbuds are charging in their case. The case charging takes longer than the AirPods and will kickstart when you put your pods back inside.

How to Care for Your AirPods Battery

Taking care of your AirPods battery is about more than just charging. It’s also important to build habits that extend battery life. Consider using “mindful charging” — this means plugging in not just whenever you want, but when it’s most beneficial for the battery long-term. One way to do this is by charging the case before it's completely drained: consistently giving your device partial charges will help lengthen its overall lifespan. You’ll also want to keep the case away from extreme temperatures, like freezing or scorching heat, since both can wear down the battery and shorten its life.

And don’t forget how you treat your case when it’s not charging matters, too! Keep it in a cool, dry area without direct sunlight or other heat sources. If you’re not wearing them at the moment, try to store your earbuds inside the case as well — not only does this protect them from damage on their own, but it also ensures that the case isn’t wasting power trying to charge pods that aren’t there. Gentle treatment and mindful charging can make all the difference in extending your AirPods case’s battery.

How Not to Damage Your Battery

Battery damage often results from preventable strain. A common source of stress is heat. While it might be tempting to leave electronics in parked cars during sunnier days (especially if you’re going inside somewhere), know that batteries hate heat. Specifically, lithium-ion batteries degrade faster with more exposure to excessive warmth. Instead of leaving them behind, take your AirPods with you wherever you go.

Secondly, be careful which charger you use! Chargers are not one-size-fits-all; they need to match what came with your device, or else they could cause improper charging and even harm your battery. So next time you need a power-up, don’t just grab the closest charger, especially if it’s a USB cable that doesn’t match. It’s best to stick with certified Apple chargers or cables made for Apple.

Finally, don’t get carried away with charging your case. Try not to plug in out of habit — only do so when you really need to. This will prevent unnecessary cycles that decrease battery life over time. You also don’t want your case permanently plugged into power; while you should keep the AirPod charge enough for use, leaving it connected all day and night is overkill. With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to care for your AirPods battery better than ever before!