Technologies
Does Putting AirPods Max in a Freezer Actually Fix Them?
It sounds crazy, but some cold therapy might resuscitate your expensive Apple headphones.
I’d been looking forward to listening to new albums by Sloan and Taylor Swift, but I needed to put something on ice first.
In fact, I needed to put my AirPods Max in the freezer. If that sounds strange, it is. And yet it allowed me to listen to The Life of a Showgirl. At least for a while.
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The three amber lights of death
I bought my AirPods Max in 2021 and have used them nearly every day since. After becoming increasingly frustrated with other Bluetooth headphones that required manual connection to different devices, I felt justified in spending $500 on headphones that, for the most part, work as intended. Plus, the over-ear design is more comfortable for me during long stretches than having AirPods Pro jammed into my ear canals.
Lately, however, my AirPods Max have had some issues, requiring a reboot to activate. That involves holding the noise-control button and the Digital Crown for several seconds until the indicator light blinks amber. (Dear heavens, Apple, why couldn’t you include a simple on/off switch?)
Then, one day, that button-press ritual no longer worked.Â
Time for the headphone nuclear option: factory reset. That involves the same button press combination, but for around 15 seconds, at which point the light should blink amber once and then white.
There was no white. Instead, the light blinked amber three times and went dark.Â
Online searching revealed mentions of the “three amber lights of death,” and a bizarre fix that made me think AI had hallucinated a result: Put them in the freezer for 30 minutes or longer.
A chilling solution
Being the type of person who tries to take care of his electronics, the idea of tossing $500 headphones in with frozen peas sounded decidedly risky and, at the very least, unscientific. But further online research revealed reports that the fix actually worked.
So into the icebox they went, wrapped in the case they came with. It’s not clear if the case is necessary, but its built-in magnets serve to put the AirPods Max to sleep when not in use or charging, so it seemed like a reasonable option.
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.
Why would freezing AirPods Max work?
As I listened to my new tunes, I couldn’t help wondering why this low-tech solution worked. 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.Â
By freezing the AirPods, the cold can cause the lining around the wires to contract, temporarily bringing the cracked sections together.
Plan B: Cleaning the contacts
Another possible solution I tried involves removing the headband and cleaning the contacts, which resemble small versions of Apple’s Lightning pin connector. First, I had to pop off the magnetic earcups and grab a SIM card removal tool. (That’s the little oblong metal piece that would have been included with your smartphone, although Apple stopped including them in its models starting with the iPhone 14, after replacing the SIM card tray with eSIM.)
Next, I pressed it into the small hole near the stem and lifted the connector out. I took a Q-tip (you can use a cloth) to wipe the contacts with alcohol. The post snapped back in for me, though some people say you might need a slight turning motion to get it to fully engage. I dutifully cleaned the contacts, but I’m unsure how much of a difference it made in my case.
Is freezing AirPods Max a long-term solution?
Unfortunately, several days after my initial elation with the freezing method, the AirPods Max returned to their unresponsive state, confirming that the cooling technique is only a temporary solution.Â
The headphones are no longer under warranty, so I now need to decide if it’s worth buying a new pair (which features the same technology as my current pair, but with a USB-C port instead of Lightning). I could also search for an alternative set of headphones. Or, I could continue giving my pair the cold shoulder until Apple decides to finally update them to a second generation.
In the meantime, I’m keeping some space in the freezer clear to try another round of resuscitation. I’ll remember to remove the magnetic cups before placing the headphones there. That way, I can chill out to music right away without my ears getting chilled too.
Apple did not respond to a request for comment.
Technologies
Bessent reportedly tells Russia it won’t get economic relief until it ends Ukraine war
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Technologies
Venezuela awards 100-year concessions across 17 oil fields to U.S.-backed company NABEP, according to the White House
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Technologies
Tehan Calls for Return to June Agreement, Crude Climbs as Trump Pledges to Strike Iran Forcefully
Oil prices climbed Tuesday amid fears of escalation after fresh U.S.-Iran military strikes and unrest in the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran urged Washington to return to the June interim deal and Trump promised to hit Iran hard.
Oil prices extended gains Tuesday as traders mulled the threat of escalation, following the resumption of U.S.-Iran military strikes and more turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz.
A tanker was struck by three unknown projectiles while transiting Hormuz on Monday, according to an incident report from the the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre.
Brent
The tanker was sailing in the southern shipping lane close to the Omani coast, the UKMTO said, adding that no casualties were reported.
Iran launched an attack on two American bases in Jordan on Monday in retaliation for the U.S. strike on its Larak Island. American forces targeted two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday, reportedly killing three, saying that Tehran intended to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Hormuz Strait.
The small island, located in the strait, has been a critical military and shipping control point for Iranian forces, helping them keep a firm grip on vessel traffic through one of the world’s most critical maritime routes.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit on Tuesday that Tehran would immediately reciprocate if Washington agreed to return to its commitments under the interim deal signed in June, according to the Iranian Student News Agency.
The back-and-forth hostilities marked the first time that the U.S. and Iran traded strikes in over a month.
While neither side appeared to be seeking a return to full-scale war, both signaled they were prepared to respond to further attacks. “We are going to hit them hard,” President Donald Trump told Fox News on Monday, saying that “there will be a response” to Iran’s attacks on U.S. military bases in the region.
Analysts largely view the U.S. strike on Larak Island as an attempt to break a deadlock rather than a shift in strategy. “By hitting the launchers rather than broader Iranian military infrastructure, the U.S. appears to be punishing a specific behaviour rather than, at least for now, broadening its war aims,” said Ali Vaez, deputy program director at International Crisis Group.
“It is enforcing the blockade,” said Jason Brodsky, policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran, adding that the Trump administration’s goal was to further degrade Tehran’s capabilities to mine the Strait of Hormuz, while focusing on economic coercive measures as the midterm elections approach.
Washington has ramped up pressure to squeeze Iran’s already-torn economy with “secondary sanctions” that punish nations and businesses buying Iranian crude oil. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance ministers gathering, that Iran was “lashing out kinetically” because the new sanctions were taking a toll on its economy.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Monday, Trump reportedly said Iran’s financial systems, armed forces, and governing body have been largely degraded. “It doesn’t mean we won’t smack them to see what happens,” the president said.
The war, now stretching into its seventh month, has disrupted global energy supplies and sent shock waves through global financial markets.
“This is fundamentally an endurance contest,” said Brodsky, as Trump has demonstrated an “unpredictability” that should concern the Iranians, and Tehran may lash out more aggressively militarily as the economic pressure mounts.
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