Why your Apple AirPods' battery drains so fast and how to make it last longer

It’s annoying when your Apple AirPods run out of juice, but the culprit might not be what you think. Here’s what’s going on and what you can do about it. Why your Apple AirPods’ battery drains so fast and how to make it last longer.

Lithium-ion batteries like the ones in AirPods typically get roughly 300 to 500 charge cycles before significant battery degradation kicks in — that’s about two to three years. If your AirPods haven’t hit that lifecycle stage yet, you need to check Apple’s battery-life rating for your specific model. For instance, Apple rates AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation (ANC) at four hours of listening time with ANC on and five hours with it off.

If you have a habit of leaving the earbuds out of their case, that explains a lot. Each bud continues consuming power so long as it’s connected to a device or searching for one. Get into the habit of putting them back in the case when you’re done.

Over time, the case’s battery will wear out as well, losing a bit more capacity with every charge cycle, though your AirPods may still charge to 100 percent.