6 ways to fix your AirPods if they're not charging

• If your AirPods are not charging, make sure your case has its own charge and the charging light is on.
• Your AirPods should charge whenever they're in the charging case, but sometimes they don't work as expected.
• If all else fails, you might need to factory reset your AirPods or get them serviced by Apple. 

Your AirPods are designed to give you at least 4.5 hours of listening time on a single charge, and as much as 30 hours when you keep topping it off from the charging case (your actual mileage may vary depending upon which model AirPods you own).

But sometimes things go awry, and your AirPods don't charge the way they're supposed to. Here is a handful of reasons why this can happen and how to fix it.

Does your AirPod case have enough charge?

As a general rule, you should be able to put your AirPods in your case, and the case's battery will recharge the earbuds. That only works, though, if the case has enough stored power. 

To find out, put your AirPods in the case and close the lid. Then bring the case close to your iPhone and open the lid. Wait a few moments, and a status screen should appear, indicating the charge in both the AirPods and the case.

If the case's battery is empty — or has less than about 10% battery life — then the AirPods won't get a charge. You'll have to plug the case into power to charge it up. 

Does the charging case light come on?

When you try to charge your AirPods, the status light on the charging case should come on when first plugged in or placed on the wireless charging pad.

If it does not, that's a strong indication the problem isn't with the AirPods, but it's with the charging case (or elsewhere). 

Try charging them overnight

On rare occasions — but especially when the earbuds have been completely drained — it takes longer than you expect to recharge them. In fact, there are situations where they won't start charging normally for a few hours.

Plug the AirPods in to charge and leave them there overnight. Check again in the morning to see if they have finally charged normally. 

Clean your AirPods

It's possible that your AirPods charging contacts are dirty enough that they can't make a solid charging connection.

Inspect the charging connections, and then clean both the AirPods and the charging case. Be careful (but thorough) and then try to charge them again afterward.   

Factory reset your AirPods

If you tried everything else and they're still not charging, your AirPods might have a glitch that a factory reset can resolve. Unfortunately, you'll have to re-pair your AirPods and this will wipe out any saved settings, so only do this if nothing else has worked so far. 

Put your AirPods in the case. Start the Settings app and then tap Bluetooth. Find the entry for your AirPods and then tap the i to the right. Tap Forget this Device and confirm this is what you want to do.

After that, you can open the lid and set up your AirPods again. If setup isn't automatic, press and hold the button on the back of the case to start the setup process.

Contact Apple customer service

If none of these troubleshooting steps can get your AirPods back in operation again, reach out to Apple customer service. You probably have a hardware problem with your AirPods or charging case, and may need service or replacement.