How many times can the case charge AirPods?

As an Apple AirPods owner, I’ve often wondered how many times I can charge my AirPods using the case. Frustrated by not finding a clear answer, I decided to do some research and find out. In this blog post, I’ll share what I discovered about how many times the case can charge AirPods, as well as some other solutions that could help you get the most out of your AirPods.

Tips:
The answer to how many times a case will charge a pair of AirPods depends on the type of case and how strong its charge is.
Gen 2, Gen 3 and AirPods Pro cases yield 24+ listening hours and up to 18 hours of talking time, 30 hours of listening time and up to 20 hours of talk time and 24 hours of listening time and 18 hours of talk time respectively.
The AirPods Pro 2 case gives 30 hours of listening time and 20 hours of talk time.
The charging cases can be charged wirelessly with a Q1 compatible charger, by attaching the lightning cable to an iPod, iPhone or Mac, or by plugging it into a USB-C to lightning cable.
AirPods take about 20 minutes to charge, and the cases take about an hour.
AirPods can be given a quick boost by putting them in the case for 5 minutes (15 minutes for Gen 3 and AirPods Pro).
AirPods can’t be overcharged, but they may suffer damage if left in direct sunlight or if they get wet.

Table of Contents

How Many Times Can the Case Charge AirPods?

The answer to how many times a case will charge a pair of AirPods depends on two things, which type of case it is.Sand how strong its charge.

A green light signifies that its charged, but a green light can indicate anything from several charges to one. For the purposes of this explanation, let’s assume fully charged refers to a case that has just come off its charger.

Gen 2 Charging Case

A fully charged AirPods gen 2 case will yield a total of 24+ listening hours and up to 18 hours of talking time. However, after 5 hours of listening and 3 hours of talk the AirPods gen 2 will have to be re-charged.

So each time you return the AirPods to the case to be charged, it will subtract from the balance of charges remaining.

Once the status light turns amber, it can no longer give a full charge. It will be time to charge the case.

Gen 3 Charging Case

When the Gen 3 case is fully charged it has a minimum of 30 hours of listening time and up to 20 hours of talk time. But the AirPods Gen 3 will only give you 6 hours of listening or up to 4 hours of talking.

After this you will have to replenish your AirPods Gen 3 and subtract this from the case balance.

AirPods Pro Charging Case Yield

A fully charged AirPods Pro case will yield 24 hours total listening and 18 hours total talking. The AirPods Pro will yield 4.5 hours talking versus 3.5 hours talking.

How Does My AirPods Charger Get Its Power?

The answer to this question is found in its name – it has to be charged. If you have a AirPods Pro, or an AirPods Gen 3 it comes with a wireless charging case.

The 2nd gen AirPods can either come with a wireless charging case or a non-wireless charging case.

Charging an AirPods Pro or AirPods Gen 3 Case

You charge a wireless case by placing it on a Q1 compatible charging pad, and wait for the light on the front of the case to confirm that it’s charging.

If you’re away from your charging pad, the alternate way of charging is to use the lightning cable that came with your IPod and attach it to either a Mac or to an iPod or iPhone charger.

Charging an AirPods Gen 2 Case

If you have a standard case, you will have to charge it using a cable that has a lightning connector on one end since the case will have a lightning port at the bottom. Apple supplies a USB-C to lightning cable when you buy new AirPods.

How to Tell When the Case Needs to Be Charged

All AirPod cases, when fully charged hold three or four charges, but it’s important to keep your eye on its status light since you’ll be depending on the case to keep your AirPods charged on the go.

Just as with the AirPods themselves, the status light will tell you how charged the case is.

If you have second generation AirPods, you have to open the case to check since the light is just above the spaces where the ear buds sit while in the case.

Open the case when it is empty, and if it is green, it is fully charged. If it is amber, it barely has one change left in it.

You should charge it as soon as possible, if not immediately because it will take about an hour to recharge it. The light on the third generation AirPod or the AirPods Pro is on the outside front of the case

How Long Do AirPods Take to Charge?

If your charging case has a full charge, meaning its status light is green, it will take approximately 20 minutes to charge your AirPods.

Therefore, it’s best to charge them every day since if you’re an average user, they will begin to lose their charge after five to six hours of use.

How to Give AirPods A Quick Boost

If you find your AirPods charge getting low or if you just want to boost them on the go, putting them in the charged case for 5 minutes will add a minimum of one hour listening or one hour talking.

This is true of generations 2 and the AirPods Pro. It will take 15 minutes to get the same result with Gen 3.

How Long Does the AirPods Case Take to Charge?

If you have AirPods Gen 2, you will use a standard wired charger connected to a Mac, iPhone, or iPod to charge the case.

If you have a Gen 3 AirPod or IPods Pros you can use a Q1 compatible charging pad or alternately, a lightning cable charged into your Mac, IPhone, or IPod.

All three will take about an hour to be fully charged. An iPhone will give the fastest charge.

Can AirPods Overcharge?

While it used to be very possible to overcharge the batteries of mobile devices of yesteryear, you don’t have to worry about overcharging your AirPods.

They won’t even be harmed if you forget and leave them in the case overnight because the case is designed to shut off as soon as the battery is fully charged.

This is true whether they’re Gen 2, 3, or AirPods. If you have Gen 3 of AirPods Pros, you can take advantage of Optimized Battery Charging.

What is Optimized Battery Charging

AirPods Generation 3 and AirPods Pro have a feature called Optimized Battery Charging. Its purpose is to minimize battery wear and tear and extend its life span by reducing the time the AirPods spend fully charged.

Your iPhone, IPod Touch, or IPad will use Machine Learning to take into account how long you leave your AirPod connected for daily charging, and rather than giving it a full charge will wait until then to charge the pods beyond 80%.

Note however that you must use the lightning cable and the iPhone, iPod, or Mac for charging in order to take advantage of this feature.

Keeping Your AirPods Safe

While AirPods’ batteries cannot be overcharged, they can suffer irrevocable damage if left in direct sunlight for more than a few hours of if they get wet.

The best way to preventing either of these happening to your AirPods as well as keeping them safe from other types of harm is to keep them in their case when they’re not in your ears,

Pros

Simple setup and easy to use.
Long-lasting battery life.
Lightweight and comfortable design.

Integrated with Apple’s voice assistant, Siri.
High-quality audio.

Cons

High price tag.

Not compatible with non-Apple devices.
Limited features when compared to other headphones.
Noise isolation is not very effective.