You just got a new pair of AirPods – congratulations! You might wonder how long you need to charge the case the first time or if you need to fully charge them before using them.
Do you need to fully charge AirPods when you first get them?
Firstly, there’s no need to fully charge AirPods before first use. In most cases, all AirPods are 50% charged straight out of the box, which is enough to pair them to your device and start using them. Charging them fully the first time will not affect the battery health of the charging case or AirPods.
How long will it take for AirPods and AirPods case to charge the first time fully?
The battery life of AirPods when you first get them mostly depends on how long it’s been since they were shipped from the factory. Apple typically ships its products with 50% charging.
It takes about an hour to get fully charged when charging the case for the first time. The status light on your AirPods case depends on how much charge the AirPods have. If the battery is significantly low, the AirPods case will show an orange/amber light (there is no official data by Apple, but the light most likely turns orange/amber when the battery is below 20%). It’ll turn green once the AirPods have become sufficiently charged.
If the case’s battery level comes 50% charged, it takes around 30-45 minutes for it to get fully charged. This is true for all AirPods models.
Once the case has finished charging, the AirPods themselves will take about 20 minutes to be fully charged. Leaving them in the case for 5 minutes allows you to use them for an hour.
If you want to see the battery level, open the lid with the AirPods placed in the case, and the battery level will show on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.