My AirPods Pro 2 are under warranty until end of January.
Couple of months ago, I started having an issue where the right AirPod charge percentage would be different than the left one. Based on initial reply over the Apple Support app, I did a reset, and it seemed to sync for a while.
However, in recent weeks, the issue reoccurred, and a full reset was of no use. The right one was either fully dead or at 20-30% when taking out of the case. I applied IPA to the contacts and again for a week or so it seemed to be fine.
I took it to the Apple service centre near my place and the came back saying issue is due to corrosion of the contacts in the case and asked for 12.5k for a replacement stating it is not covered by warranty, which is of course ridiculous.
If I put the AirPod in the charger, the LED lights up orange indicating that it is detecting the AirPod and that it is charging but it never appears in the menu. I tried putting it in different positions and cleaning the contacts again but that too isn’t doing anything.
As per them, the contacts in the case have corroded due to water damage. It can’t literally be water as it has never been wet. I am guessing it may have to with either sweat or moisture. But then cleaning with IPA should ensure some contact, so it is odd that the right one doesn’t show any signs of charging.
That was the case initially, where it seemed that certain angles worked every time. I also had applied tape at one point to ensure a certain position but now nothing seems to work. The pins in the case are still springy and as I said the case detects the AirPod every time it is inserted.
Is there any visible corrosion (maybe green) in the case contacts? If there is, try cleaning with a Q-Tip dipped in IPA?
And take it to some other service centre (I had an iPad Pro 1st gen model which develops white patch on the screen after 9 months or so. There was a faint white patch on my iPad, warranty was about to expire in 2-3 months. I took it to an apple service centre and they refused saying that they were not able to see the white patch on the screen and I might be imagining things. Took if to Unicorn Service centre and they replaced my iPad Pro with a new one).
Yeah, that seems to be the best option. Already cleaned it with an ear bud and IPA, so seems trying at a different place seems to be the better option.
This is shot in the dark, but sometimes the contact is just enough for negotiation, very high resistance, because negotiation only reads if the pin goes HIGH (1) or LOW (0), aka voltage is present or not, the moment we try pull power (high current) through it the voltage drops.
It also maybe the case that the charging case detects earbuds through some other means.
So that didn’t work. The first time I had gone to iPlanet and the second time to iVenus. Thought they maintain their own records but rather it is centralised based on serial number.
Had to mention why I didn’t repair it the first time and then they stuck to corrosion not covered under warranty. Interesting thing is that replacement case was 12.5k at iPlanet but 10.1k at iVenus, so seems they decide themselves as to how much they should rip off the customer.
Anyway, found a guy in office who has AirPods Pro 2 as well today, so will see if it is possible to charge the right one.
Or else seems getting one of those original open box replacements or rip-off Chinese ones might be the only options.
To continue with the story, I met the guy selling only the case on Olx. Tried it out and encountered the same issue where left bud was charging and right bud was not.
Therefore I connected with Apple Support for a misdiagnosis and they arranged for it to be picked up and delivered to their Bangalore centre.
However, I then received a message stating a new issue being found with the working AirPod.
Apparently this is not covered even by AppleCare as it is a corrosion issue. So now I am expected to pay over 10k to get everything repaired or receive the AirPods back in the same condition.
Seems like a waste of money either way and their refusal to fix one issue and not the other doesn’t seem like much of a choice.
Anyway paid for it as it seems to be the only option considering I have to pay more for new options in the same ballpark, while without repairs the existing one is useless considering it is not pairing with any device at all.
At least they shipped a new unit considering it was picked up by Bluedart within hours of confirming.
Hope this one lasts even though the warranty is now for 3 months.
Sad to see this happening and thank you for mentioning in detail, this would later help people who face the same issues.
My brother is also recently facing this problem intermittently with a 3month old pair of AirPods Pro2.
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Received the replacement today, and they only replaced the AirPods while sending back the old case. So the diagnosis by the service centre on the fault being with the case seems to be wrong as I suspected.
The price I paid (around 10.4k) is apparently for only AirPods replacement. What takes the cake is that while they came up with the out-of-warranty issue with the left AirPod, the right one is mentioned as “not powering on”. So it seems I was made to pay for the AirPod which should have been covered by warranty.
Apparently, when they said “in addition to existing issue” they meant only the right AirPod which I said was not working and not the issue diagnosed by their service centre.
I connected with the Apple escalation team now and have to see what they come back within a couple of days. All in all, extremely poor service from Apple.
If nothing works, escalate the conversation. Share your Apple ID, mention how many Apple devices you’ve purchased over the years, including their serial numbers if possible, and provide receipts if you have them. Clearly explain the situation and ask why a loyal customer experience should be compromised over this issue. The goal is to steer the discussion in your favor by emphasizing long-term trust and loyalty.
If that still doesn’t help, send a detailed summary of the entire situation directly to Tim Cook’s email (yes you can do that). In many cases, this leads to a follow up from Apple’s executive support team. Don’t forget to mention Apple ID, your purchased apple devices/accessories, their serial numbers and receipts.
The senior escalation team came back and basically refused to do anything, going back to the previous statement that the cost was only for the AirPods and existing issue did not cover the case issue found at the service centre since they do their own diagnosis.
They confirmed that the right AirPod was dead and covered by warranty but made me pay for a set because they don’t replace only a single AirPod. It validates my assumption that they just made up the corrosion issue with the Left AirPod to force me to pay.
The worst thing is that they said I should have checked the cost at an Apple service centre before making the payment or called them, even though I confirmed it over chat and they said “all existing issues” will be fixed during the repair.
I wrote to the tcook email address but not sure if they will respond. At the end of the day, I suppose this just sours my relationship with Apple and seems the way forward is to move away from it.
Back when my brother worked as an Apple technician, he often had to tell customers that certain issues weren’t covered under warranty. Many of them would get extremely upset and start calling or emailing anyone they could. Quite often, that persistence actually paid off.
Once Apple contacted them directly and reviewed the case using the case ID, they became fully aware of the situation. In the end, if a customer complained enough, Apple would sometimes override the standard procedure and instruct the service center people with custom instruction regarding the case and offer a replacement.
All they requested in return were the serial numbers of all devices owned by the customer, solely to verify that the customer was genuine.
Yeah, although the first guy said he was from the senior escalation team and has the final word, I replied stating my unhappiness with the resolution.
Someone from the junior escalation team called and they escalated it to a different person from the senior escalation team who will come back on this later in the week.
Either it’s different in India or that’s just BS. I have bought a single AirPod directly from an Apple Store in USA, since I lost only the left one.
Either way seems like pretty terrible service on their end, hopefully you can get a more favorable resolution if they do respond. Otherwise I guess it’s the same old Apple tale, better to buy new than to repair/replace.
