Apple Doesn’t Repair AirPods. Here’s Why.

Hundreds of millions of wireless earbuds are sold every year and Apple’s AirPods are the most popular. However, their batteries wear out after only a couple of years, and Apple doesn’t fix them or provide a method for you to do it yourself. This is a look at why AirPods are too hard to repair.

Let’s break open a pair of AirPods Pro second-generation with an expert from iFixit to discuss why the earbuds have such a short lifespan.

0:00 Almost 300 million pairs of earbuds were sold in 2021
0:31 Cutting open a pair of Apple AirPods
1:43 Why AirPods have such a limited lifespan
3:25 How startup The Swap Club tries to repair your AirPods and send you a refurbished pair

I’m Dalvin Brown, a WSJ reporter covering personal technology, which includes the latest smart devices, apps and services making an impact on consumers. Subscribe if you're curious about what the latest tech developments mean for you, or if you want to go behind the scenes to find out what’s powering today's digital services.

#AirPods #Apple #WSJ

[DalvinBrownWSJ]

What issues have you had with your AirPods?

[othang]

They have called for environmental protection (don't include charger along with phone) and they intentionally have designed unrepairable earpods. It is ironic and ridiculous 😂

[plok]

This video would have been a lot more useful if repairability of airpods was compared with its competitors or possibly shed light on companies trying to address the issue, so that you can answer the question: is this problem inherent to wireless earbuds or just apple design?

[andrewlim]

Apple is notorious for making their products unrepairable. They even go out of their way to block parts for repair shops to aquire. The reason is profits, they want you to purchase new airpods. It is not hard to design a earbud that can have the battery replaced without the complete destruction of the product, they just choose not to.

[ValeriyD]

Watching this just after my first (and succesfull) repair of Air Pods Pro A2083. Btw, did you know that left and right airpod uses DIFFERENT battery? No kidding. I'm not a professional repair master, just an ordinary IT nerd with some diy electronics experience, but I have to say, this repair was hard! Replaced the battery and the speaker, because the left one started to sound wired and without the bass. Unfortunately, even you use a special holder device and didn't screw up with smth inside, it's nearly impossible not to damage the exterior. Glue was not an issue at all. If you gonna try this yourself, pay attention to battery polarity and don't fix the device too tight in the holder. Also, UV glue might be helpful. I decided to repair them in the first place because my wife preferred to have the old Air Pods fixed instead of buying new ones, and this inspired me. I hope the result will be not very bad and she will be glad. And if you're still reading this boring stuff, stranger, I'd like to thank you and to wish you a pleasant and a very happy day!

[kathyledesma]

Updating firmware battery works better

[Pete-da-peter]

No worries ppl. If your airpod not working, you can always buy another one for $199.99

[mozneda]

it baffles me that this guy doesn't have more views and subscribers.. .

[LowkeyCat]

i tore that part off by accident tryna replace the ear tip piece lmaoo. i closed it back and it worked fine for months now it’s not working😭😭😂

[nareshsaklecha]

You didn't need a 5 minute video to explain that it's because of the glue. Man.:(

[roger]

I somehow managed to break the plastic tip underneath the rubber tip on my airpod pro 1. Now I'm trying to figure out how to fix.... :(

[weareallbeingwatched]

Apple could design these with a replaceable cell. It is a design scheme.

[Bababui]

Only I phone I've owned was a free one.

[gayIMEANGRAY]

the most ironic thing is that i’m watching this video with only a right airpod because the left speaker is busted

[darrienrusseleangeles]

Nah. REWA has a tutorial on how to replace airpods.

[kayegs]

Everything is repairable, well everything except for an apple users spine

[gregorybruce]

Called Apple. Sent back my AirPods for repair.
They sent text that they received them and are being Be assessed. One minute later they said they have been repaired and a few minutes later another text saying they have been shipped out. So waiting to see if they repaired in less than a minute or did they replace 😂

[rsinghal]

That's the same reason I don't buy them in first place as they cannot be repaires at all.

[PuffOfSmoke]

It's all about money, money, money. They want you to continue to buy, buy, buy..😂

[hammadjaved]

Bro go watch some chinese repair guys. They’re doing it since 2021. And now even i am doing the repairs