How to Charge Your AirPods Pro or AirPods

Apple's AirPods have grown to be one of the most popular, if not the most popular, wireless earbuds on the market. If you've picked up a pair, you might be wondering how to charge them. Look no further, as this guide will show you just that!

How to Charge Your AirPods

Charging your AirPods when the battery is flat couldn't be simpler. In fact, it's part of the AirPods design itself.

To charge up your AirPods, you simply slide them into the case that the AirPods came with. The case retains battery power to charge the AirPods two to three times, like a mini power bank. The left AirPod goes into the left slot, and the right to the right.

While sitting in the case, AirPods will automatically charge until they are full. If the AirPods aren't charging in the case or the case's indicator light flashes orange, you'll need to charge the case itself.

How to Charge Your AirPods Case

Ideally, when charging your AirPods case, and the AirPods inside it, you want to do so before they completely run out of juice. This helps to preserve the battery health of your earbuds, but it isn't the end of the world if they go completely flat.

There are two ways to charge the AirPods case: wireless or wired. The option you choose will depend on which generation AirPods you have and which charging case you have.

Wirelessly Charging Your AirPods Case

Only AirPods with a Wireless Charging Case can be charged wirelessly. Both AirPods Pro and second-generation AirPods (2019) came with this case as standard. Apple sells a Wireless Charging Case for the first-generation AirPods, but this is an additional accessory, which is worth remembering if you're not sure which AirPods to choose.

You can wirelessly charge your AirPods with any wireless charging pad. Place your AirPods case on the wireless charger with the status light facing up and the lid closed. The status light should show the current charge level for eight seconds.

AirPods Pro sitting on a wireless charger and charging.

The wireless charging pad must be plugged into the mains, but other than that, there is nothing you need to do. Just drop your AirPods case on the wireless charger, and they'll automatically start charging.

You can do this with or without the AirPods in the case.

Charging Your AirPods Case With a Cable

To charge your case with a wired connection, plug the Lightning cable that came with your AirPods into the Lightning port on the AirPods case. Plug the other end of the cable into a USB charger or port.

AirPods Pro plugged into to the Lightning cable and charging.

While plugged in, your AirPods case will charge until full. You'll be able to check if it's full by opening the case and checking the indicator light. A full charge should take around one or two hours, so use this as a rough guideline.

Again, you can charge the case with or without the AirPods inside it.

What About Charging AirPods Pro?

Charging your AirPods Pro is exactly the same process. You can charge AirPods Pro either wirelessly or wired. Although the AirPods Pro case looks different, it has the same Lightning port and the same wireless charging capabilities.

There is one charging feature that's exclusive to AirPods Pro: You can tap on the AirPods Pro case while it's wirelessly charging to check the charging status. An amber light means it's still charging and a green light means it's fully charged.

Keep Your AirPods Charged Up

Once you've charged your AirPods and case, it's important to regularly keep them topped up. Aside from the obvious reason of being able to conveniently pull out the earbuds and use them, regularly allowing your AirPods battery to completely drain can degrade the battery capacity.