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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Google races to put Gemini at the center of Android before Apple’s AI reboot

Google is using its latest Android rollout to position Gemini as the AI layer across phones, Chrome, laptops and cars.

Google is using its latest Android rollout to make Gemini less of a chatbot and more of an operating layer across the phone, browser, car and laptop, just weeks before Apple is expected to show its own Gemini-powered Apple Intelligence reboot at WWDC.
Ahead of its Google I/O developer conference next week, the company previewed a number of Android updates, including AI-powered app automation, a smarter version of Chrome on Android, new tools for creators, a redesigned Android Auto experience, and a sweeping set of new security features.
Alphabet is counting on Gemini to help Google compete directly with OpenAI and Anthropic in the market for artificial intelligence models and services, while also serving as the AI backbone across its expansive portfolio of products, including Android. Meanwhile, Gemini is powering part of Apple’s new AI strategy, giving Google a role in the iPhone maker’s reset even as it races to prove its own version of personal AI on the phone is further along.
Sameer Samat, who oversees Google’s Android ecosystem, told CNBC that Google is rebuilding parts of Android around Gemini Intelligence to help users complete everyday tasks more easily.
“We’re transitioning from an operating system to an intelligence system,” he said.
As part of Tuesday’s announcements. Google said Gemini Intelligence will be able to move across apps, understand what’s on the screen and complete tasks that would normally require a user to jump between multiple services. That means Android is moving beyond the traditional assistant model, where users ask a question and get an answer, and acting more like an agent.
For instance, Google says Gemini can pull relevant information from Gmail, build shopping carts and book reservations. Samat gave the example of asking Gemini to look at the guest list for a barbecue, build a menu, add ingredients to an Instacart list and return for approval before checkout.
A big concern surrounding agentic AI involves software taking action on a user’s behalf without permissions. Samat said Gemini will come back to the user before completing a transaction, adding, “the human is always in the loop.”
Four months after announcing its Gemini deal with Google, Apple is under pressure to show a more capable version of Apple Intelligence, which has been a relative laggard on the market. Apple has long framed privacy, hardware integration and control of the user experience as its advantages.
Google’s Android push is designed to show it can bring AI deeper into the device experience while still giving users control over what Gemini can see, where it can act and when it needs confirmation.
The app automation features will roll out in waves, starting with the latest Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel phones this summer, before expanding across more Android devices, including watches, cars, glasses and laptops later this year.
The company is also redesigning Android Auto around Gemini, turning the car into another major surface for its assistant. Android Auto is in more than 250 million cars, and Google says the new release includes its biggest maps update in a decade and Gemini-powered help with tasks like ordering dinner while driving.
Alphabet’s AI strategy has been embraced by Wall Street, which has pushed the company’s stock price up more than 140% in the past year, compared to Apple’s roughly 40% gain. Investors now want to see how Gemini can become more central to the products people use every day.
WATCH: Alphabet briefly tops Nvidia after report of $200 billion Anthropic cloud deal

Technologies

Waymo recalls 3,800 robotaxis after glitch allowed some vehicles to ‘drive into standing water’

Waymo issued a voluntary recall of about 3,800 of its robotaxis to fix software issues that could allow them to drive into flooded roadways.

Waymo is recalling about 3,800 robotaxis in the U.S. to fix software issues that could allow them to “drive onto a flooded roadway,” according to a letter on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website.
The voluntary recall is for Waymo vehicles that use the company’s fifth and sixth generation automated driving systems (or ADS), the U.S. auto safety regulator said in the letter posted Tuesday.
Waymo autonomous vehicles in Austin, Texas, were seen on camera driving onto a flooded street and stalling, requiring other drivers to navigate around them. It’s the latest example of a safety-related issue for the Alphabet-owned AV unit that’s rapidly bolstering its fleet of vehicles and entering new U.S. markets.
Waymo has drawn criticism for its vehicles failing to yield to school buses in Austin, and for the performance of its vehicles during widespread power outages in San Francisco in December, when robotaxis halted in traffic, causing gridlock.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it’s “identified an area of improvement regarding untraversable flooded lanes specific to higher-speed roadways,” and opted to file a “voluntary software recall” with the NHTSA.
“Waymo provides over half a million trips every week in some of the most challenging driving environments across the U.S., and safety is our primary priority,” the company said.
Waymo added that it’s working on “additional software safeguards” and has put “mitigations” in place, limiting where its robotaxis operate during extreme weather, so that they avoid “areas where flash flooding might occur” in periods of intense rain.
WATCH: Waymo launches new autonomous system in Chinese-made vehicle

Technologies

Qualcomm tumbles 13% as semiconductor stocks retreat from historic AI-fueled surge

Semiconductor equities reversed sharply after a broad AI-driven advance, with Qualcomm suffering its worst day since 2020 amid inflation concerns and rising oil prices.

Semiconductor stocks fell sharply on Tuesday, reversing course after an extensive rally that had expanded the artificial intelligence investment theme well past Nvidia and driven the industry to unprecedented levels.

Qualcomm plunged 13% and was on track for its steepest single-day decline since 2020. Intel shed 8%, while On Semiconductor and Skyworks Solutions each lost more than 6%. The iShares Semiconductor ETF, which benchmarks the overall sector, fell 5%.

The sell-off came after a key gauge of consumer prices came in above forecasts, and as conflict in Iran pushed crude oil higher—prompting investors to shift away from riskier assets.

The preceding advance had widened the AI opportunity set beyond longtime industry leader Nvidia, which for much of the past several years had largely carried the market to new peaks on its own.

Explosive appetite for central processing units, along with the graphics processing units that power large language models, has sent chipmakers to all-time highs.

Market participants are wagering that the shift from AI model training to autonomous agents will lift demand for additional AI hardware. Among the beneficiaries are memory chip producers, which are raising prices as supply remains tight.

Micron Technology slid 6%, and Sandisk cratered 8%. Sandisk’s stock has surged more than six times over since January.