AirPods coverage under CGA

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WolfChop

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#280863 16-Jan-2021 01:24

I use my Gen 1 AirPods almost everyday for about 1-2 hours. However, after owning them for about 1 year and 9 months, the battery has gone from 5 hours per charge, to about 1-1.5 hours.

Does this seem like regular wear and tear, or a defect that is covered under CGA?

Out of warranty repair pricing is almost the same as just purchasing a brand new pair.

I'm happy with the AirPods, but dropping $279 every two years is a bit of a stretch for me. It makes it seem like these are too easily disposable. Although that might just be due to my current financial situation.

I'm aware that Apple brought AppleCare to AirPods not too long ago - so perhaps going forward would be to purchase a new pair with AppleCare and get them replaced just before coverage is over to maximise longevity?

If anybody's gone through the repair/warranty process, I'd be happy to hear some stories/advice.

Thanks.

rugrat

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#2636325 16-Jan-2021 02:29

I won’t be buying another pair. One of them is losing charge 3 times faster then the other one.

They seem pretty disposable to me. It’s only because I can charge in charging case to get longer life not following up.

Happy with sound and ease of use, but the batteries seem flaky on them.

I have no idea if worth trying CGA, as when not using can put in charging case and it can charge them up a few times before needs a charge itself.

sbiddle

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#2636328 16-Jan-2021 06:45

The simple reality is for many headphones with a similar design and battery size around 18 - 24 months seems to be about the norm before significant battery degradation occurs. The Airpods certainly aren't magical in that respect.

antoniosk

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#2636330 16-Jan-2021 06:56

Normal cga claim, 21 months for 66% reduction in battery life is not reasonable.

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Antoniosk

GSManiac

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#2636333 16-Jan-2021 07:13

I have the standard AirPods and the Pro version. Last charged the standard ones a few months ago. Was surprised when I tried them last night that the case was still at 70%. The actual AirPods themselves barely hold a charge these days but was pleasantly surprised by the case.

sbiddle

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#2636335 16-Jan-2021 07:29

antoniosk:

Normal cga claim, 21 months for 66% reduction in battery life is not reasonable.

Considering the size of the lithium batteries in these sized earphones, it's fully reasonable. Small sized lithium ion batteries are not ideal in many ways, hence some manufacturers opting for other techologies to over come these limits such as silver zinc - but then Bose learned the hard way about silver zinc with their sleep buds.

The big question is whether the end customer understands that the battery life in these type products may be a lot less than other electronics.

larknz

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#2636338 16-Jan-2021 08:07

sbiddle:
antoniosk:

Normal cga claim, 21 months for 66% reduction in battery life is not reasonable.

Considering the size of the lithium batteries in these sized earphones, it's fully reasonable. Small sized lithium ion batteries are not ideal in many ways, hence some manufacturers opting for other techologies to over come these limits such as silver zinc - but then Bose learned the hard way about silver zinc with their sleep buds.

The big question is whether the end customer understands that the battery life in these type products may be a lot less than other electronics.

If the battery life is going to be significantly different to what the general public would expect then the manufacturer needs to make it clear at the time of sale. If they don't make this clear then surely a cga claim is reasonable.

antoniosk

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#2636351 16-Jan-2021 08:36

sbiddle:

antoniosk:

Normal cga claim, 21 months for 66% reduction in battery life is not reasonable.

Considering the size of the lithium batteries in these sized earphones, it's fully reasonable. Small sized lithium ion batteries are not ideal in many ways, hence some manufacturers opting for other techologies to over come these limits such as silver zinc - but then Bose learned the hard way about silver zinc with their sleep buds.

The big question is whether the end customer understands that the battery life in these type products may be a lot less than other electronics.

You're looking at it from a technology view; yes, the physics of the devices and the function of chemistry means there is a real finite limit to the lifespan of these things. But to the typical consumer, 21 months lifespan for any gadget that is looked after is not reasonable - for a $250 purchase, stating that it becomes near on unusable after less than 2 years is not acceptable for any gadget.But I do accept Apple and others can pushback if the device has been clearly mistreated or made unreasonably wet.

Case in point, and the reason why I said CGA: one of my kids had a 22-mth old airpods mk1, and they simply stopped holding their charge/working for longer than 15 mins. I filed a job with Service+ in wellington, claiming that it was not reasonable for a less than 2 yr purchase to decline so markedly.

They duly took the whole thing in - airpods and charging case - and assessed them. The charging case battery has declined to 90%, but the airpod batteries had clearly failed. They are used everyday as you would reasonably expect, and I recall the chappie saying all they could do was give us new buds, which should keep her going for another 2 years or so. I wouldnt expect airpods to go the distance of 4-5yrs though, because they are a device that is carried in bags, can be easily dropped, is very high touch and handling.

I dont like that they cant be recycled without significant effort though, and the whole non repairable aspect is really poor form from all these things - recycle or renew should be built into everything we produce now as standard - with operations in each country to manage the waste handling process

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Antoniosk