Check AirPods battery on your iPhone or iPad

The fastest way to see your AirPods battery is to open Control Center on your iPhone or iPad. Swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen (or up from the bottom on older models), then look for the battery widget. Your AirPods case and each earbud will show separate battery percentages — the case shows how much charge is left in the battery itself, while the earbud percentages tell you how much power each one has.

If the battery widget does not appear in Control Center, you can add it. Go to Settings, tap Control Center, then scroll down and tap the plus sign next to Battery. The next time you open Control Center, the battery widget will be there.

You can also check battery in the Home app. Open Home, tap the house icon in the top-left corner, scroll down to Accessories, find your AirPods, and tap them. The battery percentage for each earbud and the case will display on that screen.

Check AirPods battery on Mac

On a Mac, click the Control Center icon in the top-right corner of the menu bar (it looks like a grid of squares). The battery widget will show your AirPods battery level. If you do not see it, open System Settings, go to Control Center, and make sure Battery is toggled on.

You can also check the battery by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar, finding your AirPods in the list, and hovering over them. The battery percentage will appear in a tooltip.

Check AirPods battery on Apple Watch

Open Control Center on your Apple Watch by swiping up from the bottom of the screen. Tap the battery icon, and you will see the battery level for your AirPods alongside your watch and phone batteries. Each earbud and the case will show a separate percentage.

You can also add an AirPods battery complication to your watch face. Open the Watch app on your iPhone, go to Watch Face, select the face you use, tap Edit, and add the battery complication. Then you can glance at your watch face to see the battery without opening Control Center.

What the battery percentages mean

The case battery is the power stored in the charging case itself. When you put your AirPods in the case, they charge from this battery. If the case is at 5 percent, your AirPods will charge only until the case runs out — they will not reach 100 percent.

Each earbud battery shows how much power that individual earbud has left. If one earbud shows 40 percent and the other shows 80 percent, they are not balanced. This can happen if you use one earbud more than the other, or if one earbud is not charging properly in the case.

When either earbud drops to 10 percent, you will hear a chime in your ear. At 5 percent, the earbud will disconnect. Put it back in the case to charge.

Why one AirPod shows lower battery than the other

If your AirPods batteries are uneven, the most common cause is that one earbud is not sitting properly in the charging case. Open the case, remove both AirPods, and look at the metal charging contacts on the bottom of each earbud and inside the case. Wipe them gently with a dry cloth to remove any dirt or debris, then place the AirPods back in the case with the stems pointing down.

Leave them in the case for 15 to 20 minutes and check the battery again. If one earbud is still significantly lower, that earbud may have a hardware issue. Apple offers a mail-in repair or replacement through Apple Support.

Another reason for uneven battery is using one earbud more than the other. If you regularly use only the left earbud for calls while the right one sits in the case, the left one will drain faster. To balance them, use both earbuds equally for a few days.

How long AirPods hold a charge

A full charge on AirPods gives you about 6 hours of listening time or 4 hours of talk time on a single charge. The case holds enough power to charge your AirPods about five times, for a total of roughly 30 hours of listening time before you need to plug the case in.

Battery life decreases over time. After two or three years of regular use, you may notice your AirPods do not last as long on a single charge. This is normal — lithium batteries degrade with age. When the battery becomes noticeably shorter, you can send your AirPods to Apple for a battery replacement, though the cost is usually close to the price of a new pair.

Key Takeaways

  • Open Control Center on your iPhone and look at the battery widget to see the percentage for each earbud and the case separately.
  • The case battery shows how much power is left to charge your AirPods, not how much power the AirPods themselves have.
  • If one earbud battery is much lower than the other, clean the charging contacts inside the case and on the earbud with a dry cloth.
  • A full charge gives you about 6 hours of listening time, and the case can charge your AirPods roughly five times before needing to be plugged in.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my AirPods battery show different percentages for each earbud?

Uneven battery usually means one earbud is not charging properly in the case. Clean the metal charging contacts on both the earbud and inside the case with a dry cloth, then place them back in the case for 15 to 20 minutes. If the battery remains uneven, one earbud may have a hardware problem and may need repair.

Can I see AirPods battery on my Android phone?

No. AirPods are designed to work with Apple devices only. You can see the battery on an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Apple Watch, but not on Android phones or tablets. If you use AirPods with an Android device, you will not have a way to check the battery percentage.

What does it mean when I hear a chime in my AirPods?

A chime means one of your AirPods has dropped to 10 percent battery. Put both AirPods back in the case to charge them. If you ignore the chime and keep using them, the earbud will disconnect when it reaches 5 percent.

How do I know if my AirPods case needs to be charged?

Check the battery widget in Control Center on your iPhone. The case battery percentage appears at the bottom of the battery widget. When the case reaches 10 percent or lower, charge it by plugging it into a USB-C cable (on newer models) or Lightning cable (on older models).

Do AirPods batteries degrade over time?

Yes. After two or three years of regular use, AirPods batteries hold less charge than they did when new. This is normal for lithium batteries. When the battery life becomes noticeably shorter, you can contact Apple Support about a battery replacement, though the cost is usually close to buying a new pair.