‘Condensation Death’ is reportedly breaking $550 AirPods Max

“Condensation Death” is purportedly breaking Apple AirPods Max, according to 404 Media.

The article claims that the US$550 headphones can malfunction, or suddenly stop working entirely, because of users’ sweat, or because of the condensation that can build up when people exercise in them or wear them for long periods of time.

Posts on Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, and Apple’s forums see folks complaining about condensation problems, in which sweat or humidity forms into water droplets inside the over-the-ear headphones, leaks through the speaker holes of the headphones, and causes water damage inside of them. One particularly aggrieved customer has taken to calling this “Condensation Death” in a series of Reddit posts.

404 Media notes that the condensation issue was reported almost immediately after AirPods Max were released in December, 2020, but the problem seems to be particularly pronounced three years into the AirPods Max’s lifecycle and during the hottest summer on record. 

A class-action lawsuit about the problem that’s been winding its way through California for the last two years alleges “a latent and material defect [that] causes condensation to accumulate inside the ear cups of the AirPods Max, often after only an hour or several hours of normal use.”

If you own Apple’s AirPods Max and experienced this condensation issue, attorneys working with ClassAction.org want to hear from you as part of their investigation. According to ClassAction.org, “a class action lawsuit, if filed and successful, could help consumers get back some of the money they spent on $550 headphones, recover any money spent on repairs and/or force Apple to find a permanent fix for the issue.”

Repair industry consultant and repair YouTuber Justin Ashford says that condensation issues are “inherent to over-the-ear headphones,” not just AirPods Max.

“I’ve been putting my ear to the ground trying to figure out what’s happening here,” he told 404media. Just based on the volume of complaints in forums, videos, and Reddit, Ashford says it should be what the trade describes as a “scaleable repair.”