Apple’s pricey AirPods Max appear to be experiencing a rather serious issue.
According to several posts across YouTube, Reddit, Twitter and even Apple’s support forums, the pricey $780 AirPods Max suffer from an issue related to users’ sweat causing condensation build-up under the headphones’ removable earcups (via 404 Media). This water then leaks through the speaker holes, causing water damage inside the AirPods Max and resulting in several issues ranging from specific features no longer working to the headphones dying altogether.
It’s worth noting that this problem isn’t new, with reports related to condensation problems appearing as far back as January 2021.
“AirPods Max condensation won’t damage the drivers!!”
The condensation in question: pic.twitter.com/rUKwBOWYjk
— Michael (@NTFTWX) July 5, 2022
Is condensation on Airpods Max a concerning problem to future ?
by u/olivka95 in Airpodsmax
As is often the case, the problem resulted in the launch of a class-action lawsuit in California alleging “a latent and material defect [that] causes condensation to accumulate inside the ear cups of the AirPods Max, often after only an hour or several hours of normal use.”
According to 404 Media, the plaintiffs in the case are in the process of negotiating a settlement with Apple. However, the tech giant has not publically acknowledged the problem.
In a statement to 404 Media, Apple said the following:
“Unlike other over-ear headphones, Apple’s AirPods Max ear cups are magnetic and removable, making any moisture retained from body heat around the ear (or ‘condensation’) more noticeable to users when they remove the ear cups.”
Apple says that with “normal use,” the AirPods Max don’t experience this problem.
For what it’s worth, I encountered a similar issue with my AirPods Max after using them outside during an exceedingly hot day. When I popped the headphones’ earcups off, I discovered ample condensation under both sides of the headphones. While the over-ear headphones still worked, noise-cancelling suffered from constant buzzing noise, rendering the feature useless.
Thankfully, my AirPods Max were still within their warranty period, and I was able to return them to Apple for a replacement. Have you encountered this issue with the AirPods Max? Let us know in the comments below.
For my review of the AirPods Max, follow this link.
You can find the full report from 404 Media, a new tech publication created by several former Motherboard journalists, at this link.
Source: 404 Media
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