Some owners of first-generation AirPods Max headphones have reported experiencing “the three amber lights of death.” This is when the headphones fail to connect and a standard reset doesn’t resolve the problem.
While the headphones might appear to be bricked, as this indicates a hardware failure, there are a couple of potential solutions which may at least keep them going for a while …
I’m old enough to remember when you could expect to get literally decades of usage from a hi-fi system or a pair of headphones. While I’m sure that’s still the case for some high-end products, the harsh reality is that a lot of speakers and headphones now effectively fall into the tech category rather than the audio one, with a consequent impact on expectations of lifetime use.
In short, many people now replace their audio kit when newer technology comes along a few years later, and many manufacturers appear to adapt their quality standards to reflect this fact. Add in the inevitable battery degradation over time of a pair of wireless headphones, and it’s something we perhaps have to live with.
This appears to be the case with AirPods Max, with a growing number of owners reporting the headphones failing with the LED flashing amber three times to indicate a hardware fault.
Some owners have reported successfully reviving their headphones by cleaning the contacts. But others have found that a more bizarre sounding approach has done the trick, namely putting their AirPods Max into a freezer for half an hour or so.
CNET’s Jeff Carlson was one of those who found that this solution worked.
Online advice suggests letting them chill for at least 30 minutes, but I ended up leaving them in for over an hour just to be sure. When they came out, I removed them from the now-stiff case, put them over my ears, and sure enough, heard the chime that indicates a successful Bluetooth pairing with my device. Aside from wiping them down to remove condensation — and dealing with chilled ears for a few minutes — the headphones worked just like they should.
If a Redditor’s theory about why this works is correct, it’s unfortunately likely to prove a temporary solution
Speculation I’ve read (namely, a Reddit post by MuesliCrunch) suggests that the thin wires carrying power can crack over time, specifically after hundreds or thousands of swivels of the earcups (since they turn 90 degrees to fit flat into their case). That microscopic crack can cause issues with the connection. By freezing the AirPods, the cold can cause the lining around the wires to contract, temporarily bringing the cracked sections together.
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