Learn how to charge your AirPods Pro, yourAirPods, and—most importantly—your AirPods charging case with this quick guide. Apple’s AirPods have evolved to be one of the most popular, if not the most popular, wireless earbuds on the market. If you’ve picked up a couple, you might be wondering how to charge them. Look no further, as this guide will deliver you just that!
How to Charge Your AirPods
Charging your AirPods when the battery is flat couldn’t be easier. In fact, it’s a piece of the AirPods design itself.
To charge up your AirPods, you just slide them into the case that the AirPods came with. Like a mini power bank, the case has enough battery power to charge the AirPods two to three times. The left AirPod goes into the left slot and the right to the right.
While posing in the case, AirPods will automatically charge until they are full. If the AirPods aren’t charging in the case or the case’s indicator light flashes orange, you’ll need to power the case itself.
How to Charge Your AirPods Case
Ideally, when charging your AirPods case, and the AirPods in it, you want to do so before they completely run out of juice. This enables you to preserve the battery health of your earbuds, but it isn’t the end of the world if they become completely flat.
There are two methods to charge the AirPods case: wireless or wired. The option you select will depend on which generation AirPods you have and which charging case you have.
Wirelessly Charging Your AirPods Case
Only AirPods can be charged wirelessly with a wireless charging case. Both AirPods Pro and second-generation AirPods (2019) come with this case as standard. Apple trades a Wireless Charging Case for the first-generation AirPods, but this is an additional accessory, which is worth remembering if you’re not sure which AirPods to choose.
You can wirelessly power your AirPods with any wireless charging pad. Place your AirPods case on the wireless charger with the status light facing up and the cover closed. The status lamp should show the current charge level for eight seconds.
The wireless power pad must be plugged into the mains, but other than that, there is nothing you need to do. Just drop your AirPods case on the wireless charger, and they’ll automatically begin charging.
You can accomplish this with or without the AirPods in the case.
Charging Your AirPods Case with a Cable
To power your case with a wired connection, plug the Lightning cable that came with your AirPods into the Lightning port on the AirPods case. Plug the further end of the cable into a USB charger or port.
While plugged in, your AirPods case will charge until completely charged. You can check if it’s full by opening the case and turning off the indicator light. A full charge should take around one or two hours, so take this as a rough guideline.
Again, you can set the case with or without the AirPods inside it.
What about Charging AirPods Pro?
Charging your AirPods Pro is just the same process. You can power AirPods directly or wired. Although the AirPods Pro case examines different, it has the same Lightning port and the same wireless charging capabilities.
There is one power feature that’s exclusive to AirPods Pro: You can tap on the AirPods Pro case while it’s wirelessly charging to check the power status. An amber light means it’s yet charging and a green light means it’s fully powered.
Keep Your AirPods Charged Up
Once you’ve charged your AirPods and case, it’s important to regularly maintain them topped up. Aside from the obvious reason of being able to conveniently pull out the earbuds and use them, regularly letting your AirPods battery to completely drain can degrade the battery capacity.