No kidding! I can’t believe 5,000 people looked at that and couldn’t see the difference between it and some fine brushes. I wonder what the tumbling even does
I just clean them regularly. Every other week i use some nail polish remover on a Q-tip. I try to hold them with the mesh pointing down, that nothing drips into the airpods. This works very well and the short intervall prevents the ear wax from penetrating into the pod.
I've been cleaning out my AirPods for years, no need to get expensive tech to clean it. Just get some tooth picks, tissues and moldable glue. Scrape off the earwax with the tooth picks and afterwards press the glue into the grills then pull it back out, brings all the earwax with it, they look and sound like new each time I've done it this way.
Yep the important part is to pull the wax out. By scrubbing and puttung liquid solvent on the device you are huat pushing the wac into tye airpod. Vaacum or moldable glue ia the best option
One thing that helps a lot with headphones cleaning is to have music playing at max volume while you wipe them down with rubbing alcohol. The music will vibrate the wax making it break up easier, and help push it out of the mesh.
@@snorttroll4379 yes, isopropanol, also called isopropyl alcohol and (at least in the United States) rubbing alcohol. It works really well. I use it to clean my earbuds about once a week.
As a life-long hearing aid user, I can tell you that without regular maintenance, the hearing aids can easily become clogged and unusable. Brush those air pods once a week with an old toothbrush and you'll be able to hear out of 'em until the battery dies completely.
For better results with the hearing aid kit, use it a couple of times a month as soon as you get your airpods. I don't have airpods but I do have hearing aids. The cleaning is way less effective if you let it get really bad before cleaning.
Jonathan is such a great host, and the shooting/editing for this episode is really top notch. Really all of the Mac Adress videos have been next level. LTT really has a great group of presenters.
I mean.. he could’ve tried using a thin nozzle on a vacuum cleaner. I cleaned out my old AirPods and they worked like brand new. Luckily I have the Pros now so I don’t need to worry about this anymore lol
I know nobody will probably see this but what i personally like to use for cleaning my airpods are que-tips cut in half diagonally, the sharper end is good for scooping out earwax and such and then you can use the cotton to clean up any residue and the airpod itself as well as the case (tho I normally use a separate normal one for that)
The old apple in ears had replaceable grills, and they included a pair or two, so on that aspect they were better designed. Except that in the two pairs that I had I never needed to replace them because the cable died before wax became an issue.
I was looking for a comment like this. People tend to think to clean items such as cloths, bedding, items used for eating and food storage, floors, etc. But rarely think to clean computers, phones/tablets/portable media players/etc and their peripherals.
I have been using IEMs for years and it's a necessity to clean them (I clean after each use), as you stick them into your ear canal (good IEMs even come with cleaning tools like little brushes). I never knew that regular earbuds can get this dirty, since they just sit outside the "danger zone"... is what I thought. I don't want to know how dirty your ears have to be for them to look this bad. lol
Sticky Tack (mounting putty) works wonders. Been using it for years to clean mine out. Just be careful and don’t press too hard or you’ll get sticky tack stuck in the speaker grill. Press gently and you’ll be amazed at how clean it gets.
This was a really intersting vid. Working as a customer service rep for another company with wireless earbuds, we had this same issue. The only issue is that it manifest in a worse manner; Because we had active noise cancellation, the earwax would clog a microphone in the tip of the buds, and cause them to squeal. We've actually been telling our customers to wash the tip with hydrogen peroxide for the past 2 years (dab the tips, let them sit nozzle-facing-down for a few minutes, then brush them with a toothbrush soaked in hydrogen peroxide), to recover sound quality and stop the squealing.
AirPods suffer from sound volume degradation which in some cases can be fixed by sucking on the ear tips (after cleaning hopefully). No idea why but it does help in many cases
Very nice video, just want to point one thing out. There's a possible issue with the testing right VS left AirPod like that. Some people might perceive sounds more clearly with one of their ears. Not only because of earwax build-up, but also because of hearing loss, or just genetically.
I really can't express how well thought out each video is. Deciding how to perform certain cuts goes beyond the standard thought process for creating videos on TH-cam
This is actually why I switched to bone conduction headphones, and they have the added bonus of being waterproof and not falling out of my ears and getting lost. And I don't lose spatial awareness, and can just toss in a pair of disposable earplugs when I WANT to isolate myself. Way cleaner solution imo.
As a waxy individual I have used blue-tack to ‘extract’ the wax from the mesh. Just lay it on there, press it in and pull away. Seems to do the job but YMMV.
@@staubig Which brings me to the decision, if I'm shelling out big money for sound, I'll probably go for the convenient and portable method. In this case, I got Amazon refurb AirPods Pro, and they do pretty good enough at staying clean and sounding good.
Instead of using a brush to push the debris in, try using something like a solder sucker to pull it out. One with a silicone tip should be able to make enough contact to gently pull from a small area. It might also help clear out some of the fluid that is probably dampening the sound after cleaning.
I actually found a insanely stupid solution online that actually works. After you cleaned your AirPods with a pick and brush you kinda have to „suck“ on them. I know it sounds ridiculous but it actually works! It might have to do with a collapsed diaphragm behind the mesh but it increased my AirPods volume back to the level to when they were knew! 😅😅
Bless your soul, I’ve been having to use the volume balance accessibility setting to get them to equal volume, and the bass would be wack. I genuinely can’t thank you enough.
Turning on “Headphone Accommodations” in the audio/visual setting of the accessibility menu, after calibrating with an audiogram, helped me to be able to hear my earpods better
I like Pro’s removable ear tips, you can easily clean them and replace them when they get too loose and they cost like $7 for 3 pairs of tips or something like that? I’ve had mines for almost two years now and I’ve replaced tips once and still have a couple of extra tips lying around.
Ohhh this explains so much why the "tips" have this fine mesh! I have never thought about this! Any other standard in ear headphone doesn't have this kind of mesh and it really sucks if earwax gets in there!
I haven’t had my AirPods long enough for this to be a big issue yet (got them with the 12 Pro last year) but I’ve been cleaning out the exterior with a small soft bristle nail brush whenever I notice any buildup. Has been working so far at least. I will note that I never really had this issue with the EarPods before.
Do every dissolving process upside down, let that wax drip out the mesh instead from mesh to the inside. Includes heating and wax solvent, probably even prying. I usually pick the wax with a needle, heat with hairdryer and would likely buy, just as you did, hearing aid cleaner.
I think I have airpods pro? the ones with the rubber tip, I've only had them a few months but the wax seems to only go as far as just inside the rubber tip and it's easy to clean out when I notice it. I just looked it up and there are silicone earbud covers that convert the regular airpods into the rubber tip style, so maybe look into getting those to prolong the life!
Never used airpods, but used to use the earpods for quite a few years when they first came out. I always just cleaned them out with a toothpick when any wax build up was visible and they all lasted till wire failures.
One cleaning option I would be interested in seeing as a part 2 to this video - using an ultrasonic cleaning machine to break down and clear out the wax both inside and out. Obviously you'd need to spend a while waiting for the pods to dry out from the cleaning solution, but it might be a worthwhile investment for cleaning other things too.
When I see wax start to build up on my AirPods, I just give my ears a quick cleaning and I don’t have any issues for weeks. Just take care of your ears and you won’t have this issue. PSA: don’t use q-tips to clean you ears!!! Q-tips can compact earwax deep into your ear and leave fibers in your ear from the q-tip, causing ear infections. There are many tools out there meant for ear cleaning, I personally use a metal ear cleaning kit.
i found that blutack really helps getting earwax out of airpods and earpods. you just push it up against the mesh and it clings on to the earwax and pulls it out. works really well if a bit disgusting
When cleaning particularly blocked up ears as a kid, my mom would always have me use Hydrogen Peroxide. I've never tried it on a set of earbuds, but I wonder if submerging them in Hydrogen Peroxide solution could dissolve the earwax enough that you could vacuum it out and achieve a decent result.
I’m not sure. I know that isopropyl alcohol is good for cleaning electronics (because it’s relatively non conductive). I’m not sure about peroxide though. Even if it is though, you shouldn’t use *any* liquid on a device that’s receiving power, even 0% still has a bit. And non conductive liquids can collect conductive materials like metals or sodium and turn them into a conductive liquid. But I’ve dumped many broken electronics in bowls of isopropyl including iPod nanos (which you can’t remove the battery from easily). And they worked fine afterwards. So proceed with caution? TL;DR probably not a great idea, but if they’re old and not worth much to you anymore, then I guess it should work?
@@jornthree8881 I agree with being concerned about about hydrogen peroxide would do to electronics. But electronics cleaner would probably do a pretty good job
All you need to clean your air pods is just some blue tack and lightly dab it on the mesh and it pulls all the wax out and they will sound brand new for cheap :)
The referb ones might sound louder because of a battery limit (same way apple nerfs iphone soc frequency when battery ages) and then it has nothing to do with the wash itself. So the takeaway should be clean frequently~ish and when they don't sound so good get referb/battery swaps
The thing about the issues with apple products is that, even with older devices, you'll always be able to find a friendly face who has or is experiencing the same issue, and can help, whereas with Android, a lot of times it's like if you don't know what you're doing, nobody wants to help you
Air Pods pro dont suffer from this cz they have the "mesh" on the removable tip. But thanks for the video, i was waiting for some good channel to talk about the topic. I actually had to replace my aipods for a new pair of airpods pro just beacusa of this problem.
Earwax: the mortal enemy of a hearing aid engineer. The mesh is right where it's supposed to be - there to protect the driver against the earwax and as you can see from the disassembled earpod, quite effective
This video was just the inspiration I needed! I ended up heating up my AirPods enough to release the glue seal and then I just removed the mesh pieces. Now I’ll have to be extra careful to clean regularly, but these AirPods have been dead for 3 or 4 years now because of earwax issues and now they are finally fixed!
Best way to get the wax out without taking them apart is to lightly suck the air out of them, like drinking from a straw. You don't get any wax in your mouth because it's just a minute amount stuck within the device, but it will make you earbuds sound like new.
For anyone experiencing one (or two) AirPods sometimes NOT CHARGING: I gently cleaned the inside of the case with a q-tip, right around the bottom where the metal charging bits are. Apparently it gets dirty down there. At least now both my AirPods Pro charge!
Air Pods Pro completely solves this problem from what I can tell. Not that it isn’t an issue for the thousands of older air pods. I think it’s worth investing in the newer model rather than buying a whole new pair. Still dope video! I’d like to see you open up the actual air pods and try to clean them!
For the older pods I always just removed the two mesh/grills and submerged them in 100% isopropyl alcohol for 5 minutes. I used to glue the mesh material back on but you don't really have to, all it does is decrease the risk of actually damaging the insides with either sweat or what have you.
if you do it right you probably can just submerge them whole without taking them apart and giving them a good dry before you plug them into something or just use one of those moisture remover sounds to blast the liquid out
The silicone earpieces on the AirPods Pro helps with this problem a lot. Because they have their own mesh separate from the ones on the actual headphones themselves, all it takes is some rubbing alcohol to get them clean as new. Probably won't work after years of use though.
This is the main reason I love the airpods pro so much. Having replaceable mesh ear tips is should be standard. If apple switches the iphone and airpods pro to usb-c I'd buy them in an instant. Until then I'll be stick to my galaxy buds+.
I love Sarah on LMG's videos, but this was tough to watch I clean my buds pro eartips every two days to avoid this, but sometimes I forget and I have to clean the case itself with some cotton swab. Anyway, I guess regular maintenance is the key.
What a great video, constantly impressed by the channel. Great writing, the directing, storytelling and visuals are incredible. I am a huge fan already. Way to go Jonathan and LTT team.
Have y tried alcohol bath at 35-40 °C That should be able to dissolve wax and making sure that they are discharged while doing this should avoid any short-circuit
@@rjuez00 I know, I meant it feels rude though I know that this was staged for the video. It doesn't even matter, just noticed it and wanted to share :)
Moral of the story: Clean your stuff on a regular basis and not only when it's too late. Never had completely clogged up Airpods, or Earpods. Some dirt and grime yes. Toothpick, Towel and a damp q-tip helped always. Never have I had stuff stuck in the grill itself.
An isopropyl alcohol wipe, ESD safe brush and some sticky tack will really help clean out AirPods. The sticky tack gets behind the mesh and helps clean out the wax.
I usually just rip out the mesh in my ear buds because they get filled with ear wax fast. Hasn't damaged the ear buds yet and I've had them for a couple years now. Still sounds loud and I clean them out with rubbing alcohol every once in a while.
A) earwax is pretty unavoidable for something going in your ear, B) that’s unrealistic, especially for something like this. And this is from someone who’s never really had issues with earwax in my earbuds
I wonder if the reason the podswap airpods sounded better was because all the rubbing alcohol used in cleaning the other airpods hadn't fully evaporated. When I clean my galaxy buds there is a massive difference in sound from having some rubbing alcohol in them to them being completely dry. I usually hit them with a heat gun lightly to evaporate the alcohol more quickly after cleaning.
I hated my earpods for this reason and basically swore off apple IEMs until the AirPods Pro. The removeable rubber tip really helps with the cleanliness factor.
My father is an ENT (otorhinolaryngologist) and watching this reminded me so much of him and the gross things he has pulled out of people’s ears, and why I could’ve never been a doctor myself, lmao. _fucking gross_
Wooden toothpick for build up earwax and Blu Tack for everything else. Works like a charm and is cheap AF. You can also use Blu Tack for the case itself and the speaker grills on your phone. Do it once a month.
I came across the same issue I cleaned them out perfectly where they looked brand-new out of the store but when I went to put the on to play something they were still very low. So one day I decided just to put my mouth to where the screens are in all three places at separate times and blew in them and sucked at the same time. After I did this a couple of times to each area of the screen the volume was extremely loud back to its original sound level. I hope this helps.
I am an Audiologist. I have cleaned my AirPods many times successfully. I learned this from someone else and also by experimenting. I use a blow dryer on low heat from a distance which will soften the wax. Then use hydrogen peroxide on a q tip to moisten the speaker mesh. Dry with the other side of the q tip. Repeat process multiple times just make sure to hold blow dryer far away. Then the nasty part, put your mouth over the vent on the backside of the Airpod and blow into it and it will push air through the speaker vent. Bam. You should hear well again.
my first airpods, one of them stopped working correctly after about 2 years. I’d clean them, charge them up, and then the right pod would die after a few minutes of being connected. Not sure if that was an earwax issue but after two years it seemed time enough to change
I just got a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and noticed none of the mesh grills directly touch your ear canal so they shouldn’t get too dirty. I still regularly wipe them down with 70% rubbing alcohol. Regular ear hygiene will prevent them getting too dirty. I clean my ears regularly with Debrox ear drops and use the syringe bulb to flush my ears out. For the past few months I noticed The Swap Club (prev PodSwap) has sold out of AirPods. I think I read the founders saying Apple has changed the construction of AirPods so it’s getting harder for them to tear it down.
It doesn’t help if you already have a pair of the original type but I have ones that are ear buds and since the wax has to travel all the way down the silicone nibs its allows you to clean the nibs before it gets on the mesh.
As a former worker for an unnamed Fruit store, this video gets a few things wrong. We pretty regularly would get customers in with AirPods this bad, and the best thing you can do to prevent issues with your AirPods is to clean them with some isopropyl alcohol wipes and a cheap toothbrush. If you're regularly wiping the Pods down, the toothbrush is largely unnecessary, because the alcohol will dissolve the wax and it won't be able to build up over time. But if yours look like hers in the video, yeah, you'll want to brush the wax away gently after softening it with the alcohol. It's important to know that using too much pressure, or picks like in this video can damage the mesh. Also, some people will recommend using Blu Tack, but this is only officially for cleaning out the microphones and speakers on iPhones. It can get trapped in the AirPods mesh. I've never seen a pair that had gone quiet that couldn't be fixed this way. I also never saw this issue on AirPods Pro, which I like a lot more than normal AirPods for a lot of reasons.
I’ve had my earpods for 3 years, I always clean my airpods once a month, no issues with sound, surprised my battery lasts as long as it does too considering the age
I noticed that after cleaning my AirPods and wiping them down (especially on black in ear detector) that I got noticeable improvements in my connectivity and reliability.
My thinking is that since ear wax IS a wax, that if you were to place them in boiling or near boiling water that you could get the wax to melt into the water and then just toss the water
with the regular apple earbuds, i push 2 holes in the mesh by pushing the mesh down with a toothpick because mine clog after less than 4 months. Sounds risky but it always instantly solves the problem, and i haven't had any of mine broken so i'm not worried about clogging the insides. I've done the same with rep airpods.
I've noticed that my airpod pros get filled with earwax as well and don't sound as great as they once did. I wonder how those differ from the older generation airpods
I've honestly only cleared mine out with the pick on a fingernail clipper or toothpick before. I've never had volume issues and just wanted to clear off the visible wax accumulation.
use a heat gun from a distance to help melt the wax, then use a something to suck the wax out with some reasonable ammount of air pressure. worked for me and pods sound good as new
I clean mine once a week with Sanitized wipes and cotton buds. Got the Pro though, so the tips do prevent it from getting to the mesh a bit.. as long the tips themselves are cleaned regularly, the mesh doesn't seem to be that effected (I check the mesh once a month)
When you said a earbuds washer, I was expecting more sonic cleaner than overengineard electric toothbrush.
honestly i thought it was gonna be a portable sonicator lol
Yeah that thing was ridiculous
No kidding! I can’t believe 5,000 people looked at that and couldn’t see the difference between it and some fine brushes. I wonder what the tumbling even does
Also the brush was rotating much too slowly.
Wait. Electric toothbrush?! I guess you MIGHT be onto something!
@@lapin-rouge the fine brushes are probably pushing wax inside the pods.
I just clean them regularly. Every other week i use some nail polish remover on a Q-tip. I try to hold them with the mesh pointing down, that nothing drips into the airpods. This works very well and the short intervall prevents the ear wax from penetrating into the pod.
I've been cleaning out my AirPods for years, no need to get expensive tech to clean it. Just get some tooth picks, tissues and moldable glue. Scrape off the earwax with the tooth picks and afterwards press the glue into the grills then pull it back out, brings all the earwax with it, they look and sound like new each time I've done it this way.
Make yt vids or shorts doing it easy money people will watch
Rubbing alcohol works too… and it disinfects. Doesn’t take much either.
@@Tonyisgaming right and works even better on the pro ones because you can pop the ear piece out. I wonder if an electronic cleaning spray would help
Yeah been rocking Gen 1’s for 3 years now. Just occasionally use a paper clip and scrape the wax out.
Yep the important part is to pull the wax out. By scrubbing and puttung liquid solvent on the device you are huat pushing the wac into tye airpod. Vaacum or moldable glue ia the best option
One thing that helps a lot with headphones cleaning is to have music playing at max volume while you wipe them down with rubbing alcohol. The music will vibrate the wax making it break up easier, and help push it out of the mesh.
Isopropanol
@@snorttroll4379 yes, isopropanol, also called isopropyl alcohol and (at least in the United States) rubbing alcohol. It works really well. I use it to clean my earbuds about once a week.
As a life-long hearing aid user, I can tell you that without regular maintenance, the hearing aids can easily become clogged and unusable. Brush those air pods once a week with an old toothbrush and you'll be able to hear out of 'em until the battery dies completely.
this^
thank you for the tip! It works wonderfully!
Yes! So weird to see people coming up with over-engineered solutions to an issue I’ve dealt with for 30 years.
Fr tho its really not that hard to just routinely clean them
This is how I do it, seems to keep them clean and working properly.
For better results with the hearing aid kit, use it a couple of times a month as soon as you get your airpods. I don't have airpods but I do have hearing aids. The cleaning is way less effective if you let it get really bad before cleaning.
this is probably the nastiest LMG video ever, at least in my memory
the one where they left the pcs running for a year collecting dust was also nasty
@@nathan-qx2ep the pc's weren't filled with earwax though
It's pretty much up there but I'll never be able to forget the "Alphagetti Spelling Bee" on Channel Super Fun, yuck!
@@thibaultmol true true but the sheer amount of dust was also repulsive
@@thibaultmol time for ear wax "water" cooling!
Jonathan is such a great host, and the shooting/editing for this episode is really top notch. Really all of the Mac Adress videos have been next level. LTT really has a great group of presenters.
PodSwap must be insanely happy with this result lol
I mean.. he could’ve tried using a thin nozzle on a vacuum cleaner. I cleaned out my old AirPods and they worked like brand new. Luckily I have the Pros now so I don’t need to worry about this anymore lol
@@MrDSimba is it really better with the pros? Thinking of getting them.
I spray the airpods with break cleaner. It works very well
@@ExperienceCN Break clean? Do you use them on the silicone only? I would imagine using it on any regular airpods would completely distroy them.
Probably asking LTT and Sarah for the usage rights to use as a testimonial lmao
I know nobody will probably see this but what i personally like to use for cleaning my airpods are que-tips cut in half diagonally, the sharper end is good for scooping out earwax and such and then you can use the cotton to clean up any residue and the airpod itself as well as the case (tho I normally use a separate normal one for that)
🙏
I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing that zoomed in airpod picture.
You still get a like. But you are on notice! *shakes fist*
Try it while eating
I couldn't tbh. Nice experience.
Yep. Gross. But it served a purpose for this video.
The old apple in ears had replaceable grills, and they included a pair or two, so on that aspect they were better designed. Except that in the two pairs that I had I never needed to replace them because the cable died before wax became an issue.
Wait, you guys don't clean your earbuds? I've always cleaned them around once a month at least
Same, I do slightly more frequently cause I don’t want to take any chances
I was looking for a comment like this. People tend to think to clean items such as cloths, bedding, items used for eating and food storage, floors, etc. But rarely think to clean computers, phones/tablets/portable media players/etc and their peripherals.
I have been using IEMs for years and it's a necessity to clean them (I clean after each use), as you stick them into your ear canal (good IEMs even come with cleaning tools like little brushes). I never knew that regular earbuds can get this dirty, since they just sit outside the "danger zone"... is what I thought. I don't want to know how dirty your ears have to be for them to look this bad. lol
I clean them everyday
same, is it that hard??
the only channel that giving really detailed information that is useful
Looks like these airpods trained well on the "Wax on" part, but not the "Wax off" part.
minecraft at it's finest...
Haha so funny, bc he made a Minecraft joke lmao
ah yes funny ha ha minecraft and definetly not a movie thing
Why are people calling this a minecraft joke? Can someone explain?
@@CatsMeow_ the new 1.17 update brings 2 new advancements: wax on (to apply wax to copper) and wax off (to remove wax from copper).
Sticky Tack (mounting putty) works wonders. Been using it for years to clean mine out. Just be careful and don’t press too hard or you’ll get sticky tack stuck in the speaker grill. Press gently and you’ll be amazed at how clean it gets.
Literally just cleaned my airpods, opened TH-cam, and this popped up. Thanks. I get the hint.
TH-cam was listening to you clean the airpods through the airpods
@@noobmaster-dm7tu the algorithm is on point.
Same
This was a really intersting vid.
Working as a customer service rep for another company with wireless earbuds, we had this same issue. The only issue is that it manifest in a worse manner; Because we had active noise cancellation, the earwax would clog a microphone in the tip of the buds, and cause them to squeal.
We've actually been telling our customers to wash the tip with hydrogen peroxide for the past 2 years (dab the tips, let them sit nozzle-facing-down for a few minutes, then brush them with a toothbrush soaked in hydrogen peroxide), to recover sound quality and stop the squealing.
AirPods suffer from sound volume degradation which in some cases can be fixed by sucking on the ear tips (after cleaning hopefully). No idea why but it does help in many cases
Earwax building through the mesh can warp or collapse the speaker diaphragm is why. Clean real good, then sucking reforms the diaphragm sometimes.
Very nice video, just want to point one thing out. There's a possible issue with the testing right VS left AirPod like that. Some people might perceive sounds more clearly with one of their ears. Not only because of earwax build-up, but also because of hearing loss, or just genetically.
I really can't express how well thought out each video is. Deciding how to perform certain cuts goes beyond the standard thought process for creating videos on TH-cam
This is actually why I switched to bone conduction headphones, and they have the added bonus of being waterproof and not falling out of my ears and getting lost. And I don't lose spatial awareness, and can just toss in a pair of disposable earplugs when I WANT to isolate myself. Way cleaner solution imo.
Bone conduction headphones are terrible
@@sam_9228 Some are, but the latest generation of the tech has improved a lot. Still missing out on bass some, but that's true with earbuds too.
Maaannnnn they really just outed Sarah like that. Hahaha
As a waxy individual I have used blue-tack to ‘extract’ the wax from the mesh. Just lay it on there, press it in and pull away. Seems to do the job but YMMV.
Thanks for giving me another reason, why I prefer my on- and over-ear-headphones instead of in-ears! ^^
It's not as bad as seen if you take preventative care.
Over ears are the penultimate listening medium tbh
@@Amplifimusic I know they are, but *good* ones are generally priced pretty highly, and aren't as portable.
@@computernerdinside I mean, yeah the good ones are priced quite high, but this applies to headphones of all form factors including inears?
@@staubig Which brings me to the decision, if I'm shelling out big money for sound, I'll probably go for the convenient and portable method. In this case, I got Amazon refurb AirPods Pro, and they do pretty good enough at staying clean and sounding good.
Instead of using a brush to push the debris in, try using something like a solder sucker to pull it out. One with a silicone tip should be able to make enough contact to gently pull from a small area. It might also help clear out some of the fluid that is probably dampening the sound after cleaning.
The geniuses at the Apple store just recommended to use blue tack - it works not bad
Genius.
screenshotting this
Omg , this just worked so well on mine
Blue Tack?
@@computernerdinside think it's like a putty substance, you just stick it on the airpods off and on and it sticks to the dirt, earwax, grease etc.
Honestly one of the best reasons to get the pros. I haven't had any earwax issues in the 2 years ive had them
I actually found a insanely stupid solution online that actually works. After you cleaned your AirPods with a pick and brush you kinda have to „suck“ on them. I know it sounds ridiculous but it actually works! It might have to do with a collapsed diaphragm behind the mesh but it increased my AirPods volume back to the level to when they were knew! 😅😅
This. I sanitize them first, then do this, gently, so as not to trash the diaphragm.
It does!
Edit: It does work, I tend to use something like a Q-tip afterwards!
Bless your soul, I’ve been having to use the volume balance accessibility setting to get them to equal volume, and the bass would be wack. I genuinely can’t thank you enough.
This works with toes as well.
@@raracool6531 Try some rubbing alcohol after, that just light clean them better too. Qtip and alcohol/electronics cleaner spray. Then suck.
i used sticky gum thats normally used for hanging up posters. it worked perfectly
Turning on “Headphone Accommodations” in the audio/visual setting of the accessibility menu, after calibrating with an audiogram, helped me to be able to hear my earpods better
Thanks for the suggestion.
I have been using my for 1 month. I thought my left one was broken but apparently I’m going to have to clean them better.
I like Pro’s removable ear tips, you can easily clean them and replace them when they get too loose and they cost like $7 for 3 pairs of tips or something like that? I’ve had mines for almost two years now and I’ve replaced tips once and still have a couple of extra tips lying around.
Ohhh this explains so much why the "tips" have this fine mesh! I have never thought about this! Any other standard in ear headphone doesn't have this kind of mesh and it really sucks if earwax gets in there!
I haven’t had my AirPods long enough for this to be a big issue yet (got them with the 12 Pro last year) but I’ve been cleaning out the exterior with a small soft bristle nail brush whenever I notice any buildup.
Has been working so far at least.
I will note that I never really had this issue with the EarPods before.
Jonathan: I've failed, haven't I?
Sarah: Yeeeah!
Do every dissolving process upside down, let that wax drip out the mesh instead from mesh to the inside. Includes heating and wax solvent, probably even prying. I usually pick the wax with a needle, heat with hairdryer and would likely buy, just as you did, hearing aid cleaner.
Am I missing the part where you clean your airpods as you go, giving them a quick rub everytime you take 'em off ?
I think I have airpods pro? the ones with the rubber tip, I've only had them a few months but the wax seems to only go as far as just inside the rubber tip and it's easy to clean out when I notice it. I just looked it up and there are silicone earbud covers that convert the regular airpods into the rubber tip style, so maybe look into getting those to prolong the life!
You do have the AirPods Pro.
I'm regretting myself clicking on this video while I'm eating.
Never used airpods, but used to use the earpods for quite a few years when they first came out. I always just cleaned them out with a toothpick when any wax build up was visible and they all lasted till wire failures.
One cleaning option I would be interested in seeing as a part 2 to this video - using an ultrasonic cleaning machine to break down and clear out the wax both inside and out.
Obviously you'd need to spend a while waiting for the pods to dry out from the cleaning solution, but it might be a worthwhile investment for cleaning other things too.
When I see wax start to build up on my AirPods, I just give my ears a quick cleaning and I don’t have any issues for weeks. Just take care of your ears and you won’t have this issue.
PSA: don’t use q-tips to clean you ears!!! Q-tips can compact earwax deep into your ear and leave fibers in your ear from the q-tip, causing ear infections. There are many tools out there meant for ear cleaning, I personally use a metal ear cleaning kit.
Im amazed at how much effort goes into these videos. keep it up!
i found that blutack really helps getting earwax out of airpods and earpods. you just push it up against the mesh and it clings on to the earwax and pulls it out. works really well if a bit disgusting
When cleaning particularly blocked up ears as a kid, my mom would always have me use Hydrogen Peroxide.
I've never tried it on a set of earbuds, but I wonder if submerging them in Hydrogen Peroxide solution could dissolve the earwax enough that you could vacuum it out and achieve a decent result.
I’m not sure. I know that isopropyl alcohol is good for cleaning electronics (because it’s relatively non conductive). I’m not sure about peroxide though. Even if it is though, you shouldn’t use *any* liquid on a device that’s receiving power, even 0% still has a bit. And non conductive liquids can collect conductive materials like metals or sodium and turn them into a conductive liquid. But I’ve dumped many broken electronics in bowls of isopropyl including iPod nanos (which you can’t remove the battery from easily). And they worked fine afterwards. So proceed with caution?
TL;DR probably not a great idea, but if they’re old and not worth much to you anymore, then I guess it should work?
@@jornthree8881 I agree with being concerned about about hydrogen peroxide would do to electronics. But electronics cleaner would probably do a pretty good job
All you need to clean your air pods is just some blue tack and lightly dab it on the mesh and it pulls all the wax out and they will sound brand new for cheap :)
The referb ones might sound louder because of a battery limit (same way apple nerfs iphone soc frequency when battery ages) and then it has nothing to do with the wash itself.
So the takeaway should be clean frequently~ish and when they don't sound so good get referb/battery swaps
The thing about the issues with apple products is that, even with older devices, you'll always be able to find a friendly face who has or is experiencing the same issue, and can help, whereas with Android, a lot of times it's like if you don't know what you're doing, nobody wants to help you
I’m still surprised that this is an ltt channel 😂😂 but loving the videos and don’t change 🥰🥰
I genuinely have not almost threw up watching a yt vid in a while.
Air Pods pro dont suffer from this cz they have the "mesh" on the removable tip. But thanks for the video, i was waiting for some good channel to talk about the topic. I actually had to replace my aipods for a new pair of airpods pro just beacusa of this problem.
Earwax: the mortal enemy of a hearing aid engineer.
The mesh is right where it's supposed to be - there to protect the driver against the earwax and as you can see from the disassembled earpod, quite effective
It's just a cheap mesh, other brands and 3rd generations improved it a lot.
This video was just the inspiration I needed! I ended up heating up my AirPods enough to release the glue seal and then I just removed the mesh pieces. Now I’ll have to be extra careful to clean regularly, but these AirPods have been dead for 3 or 4 years now because of earwax issues and now they are finally fixed!
Best way to get the wax out without taking them apart is to lightly suck the air out of them, like drinking from a straw. You don't get any wax in your mouth because it's just a minute amount stuck within the device, but it will make you earbuds sound like new.
For anyone experiencing one (or two) AirPods sometimes NOT CHARGING:
I gently cleaned the inside of the case with a q-tip, right around the bottom where the metal charging bits are.
Apparently it gets dirty down there. At least now both my AirPods Pro charge!
Had this problem with my airpods pro just yesterday, this method helped. I also used medical-grade rubbing alcohol to moisten the q-tip
thsts a problem with this design, my xiaomi buds 5 stick on the side with side facing contacts and no hole for gunk to settle.
Air Pods Pro completely solves this problem from what I can tell. Not that it isn’t an issue for the thousands of older air pods. I think it’s worth investing in the newer model rather than buying a whole new pair. Still dope video! I’d like to see you open up the actual air pods and try to clean them!
For the older pods I always just removed the two mesh/grills and submerged them in 100% isopropyl alcohol for 5 minutes. I used to glue the mesh material back on but you don't really have to, all it does is decrease the risk of actually damaging the insides with either sweat or what have you.
Try hydrogen peroxide. It's better at dissolving wax.
if you do it right you probably can just submerge them whole without taking them apart and giving them a good dry before you plug them into something
or just use one of those moisture remover sounds to blast the liquid out
The silicone earpieces on the AirPods Pro helps with this problem a lot. Because they have their own mesh separate from the ones on the actual headphones themselves, all it takes is some rubbing alcohol to get them clean as new. Probably won't work after years of use though.
This is the main reason I love the airpods pro so much. Having replaceable mesh ear tips is should be standard. If apple switches the iphone and airpods pro to usb-c I'd buy them in an instant. Until then I'll be stick to my galaxy buds+.
That’s why I love my AirPods Pro… you can just take off the tip, put it under hot water and your good to go
I love Sarah on LMG's videos, but this was tough to watch
I clean my buds pro eartips every two days to avoid this, but sometimes I forget and I have to clean the case itself with some cotton swab.
Anyway, I guess regular maintenance is the key.
you could also remove the ear meshes if with a sharp tweezer. they wont go back on but they will sound brand new
What a great video, constantly impressed by the channel. Great writing, the directing, storytelling and visuals are incredible. I am a huge fan already. Way to go Jonathan and LTT team.
Have y tried alcohol bath at 35-40 °C
That should be able to dissolve wax and making sure that they are discharged while doing this should avoid any short-circuit
4:35 That scene looks a bit rude. I don't know why, that goodbye scene feels so rushed 😂😅
Dont worry "its fake" meanung they probably talked outside of the camera and then recorded that transition for the video to change topics quickly
@@rjuez00 I know, I meant it feels rude though I know that this was staged for the video. It doesn't even matter, just noticed it and wanted to share :)
Moral of the story:
Clean your stuff on a regular basis and not only when it's too late.
Never had completely clogged up Airpods, or Earpods.
Some dirt and grime yes. Toothpick, Towel and a damp q-tip helped always. Never have I had stuff stuck in the grill itself.
I'm 2 minutes in and I've had so many urges to wretch.
An isopropyl alcohol wipe, ESD safe brush and some sticky tack will really help clean out AirPods. The sticky tack gets behind the mesh and helps clean out the wax.
Sarah should make ear candles in her spare time
dammmmmmn Ms. Butt
Brrrrrrruh
I rip that filter out on my apple earbuds and AirPods and just clean regularly, doing it since middle school and I highly recommend
Does Sarah have volume limit on or something? That pod Jonathan cleaned looks pretty mint
After comparing with the pod swapped AirPods, it seems pretty definitive that the wax inside is just messing it up
Wax could still be inside the pods itself and block speakers from the inside.
I usually just rip out the mesh in my ear buds because they get filled with ear wax fast. Hasn't damaged the ear buds yet and I've had them for a couple years now. Still sounds loud and I clean them out with rubbing alcohol every once in a while.
It´s sad that this podswap company exists. A) Apple should design it better B) People should just maintain their stuff.
A) earwax is pretty unavoidable for something going in your ear, B) that’s unrealistic, especially for something like this.
And this is from someone who’s never really had issues with earwax in my earbuds
A) they have changed the design in the new version
B) they should but many dont care
I wonder if the reason the podswap airpods sounded better was because all the rubbing alcohol used in cleaning the other airpods hadn't fully evaporated. When I clean my galaxy buds there is a massive difference in sound from having some rubbing alcohol in them to them being completely dry. I usually hit them with a heat gun lightly to evaporate the alcohol more quickly after cleaning.
Changing the battery sounds like a requirements
I hated my earpods for this reason and basically swore off apple IEMs until the AirPods Pro. The removeable rubber tip really helps with the cleanliness factor.
this screams to me apple reducing volume output to maintain quoted battery life
I love the touches with the music muffling when Sarah put the Airpods in... it's little things like that which make us film techs smile!
My father is an ENT (otorhinolaryngologist) and watching this reminded me so much of him and the gross things he has pulled out of people’s ears, and why I could’ve never been a doctor myself, lmao.
_fucking gross_
Wooden toothpick for build up earwax and Blu Tack for everything else. Works like a charm and is cheap AF. You can also use Blu Tack for the case itself and the speaker grills on your phone. Do it once a month.
A bit disgusting of a thumbnail
I came across the same issue I cleaned them out perfectly where they looked brand-new out of the store but when I went to put the on to play something they were still very low. So one day I decided just to put my mouth to where the screens are in all three places at separate times and blew in them and sucked at the same time. After I did this a couple of times to each area of the screen the volume was extremely loud back to its original sound level. I hope this helps.
Ew
I am an Audiologist. I have cleaned my AirPods many times successfully. I learned this from someone else and also by experimenting. I use a blow dryer on low heat from a distance which will soften the wax. Then use hydrogen peroxide on a q tip to moisten the speaker mesh. Dry with the other side of the q tip. Repeat process multiple times just make sure to hold blow dryer far away. Then the nasty part, put your mouth over the vent on the backside of the Airpod and blow into it and it will push air through the speaker vent. Bam. You should hear well again.
my first airpods, one of them stopped working correctly after about 2 years. I’d clean them, charge them up, and then the right pod would die after a few minutes of being connected. Not sure if that was an earwax issue but after two years it seemed time enough to change
I just got a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and noticed none of the mesh grills directly touch your ear canal so they shouldn’t get too dirty. I still regularly wipe them down with 70% rubbing alcohol. Regular ear hygiene will prevent them getting too dirty. I clean my ears regularly with Debrox ear drops and use the syringe bulb to flush my ears out. For the past few months I noticed The Swap Club (prev PodSwap) has sold out of AirPods. I think I read the founders saying Apple has changed the construction of AirPods so it’s getting harder for them to tear it down.
It doesn’t help if you already have a pair of the original type but I have ones that are ear buds and since the wax has to travel all the way down the silicone nibs its allows you to clean the nibs before it gets on the mesh.
As a former worker for an unnamed Fruit store, this video gets a few things wrong. We pretty regularly would get customers in with AirPods this bad, and the best thing you can do to prevent issues with your AirPods is to clean them with some isopropyl alcohol wipes and a cheap toothbrush. If you're regularly wiping the Pods down, the toothbrush is largely unnecessary, because the alcohol will dissolve the wax and it won't be able to build up over time. But if yours look like hers in the video, yeah, you'll want to brush the wax away gently after softening it with the alcohol. It's important to know that using too much pressure, or picks like in this video can damage the mesh. Also, some people will recommend using Blu Tack, but this is only officially for cleaning out the microphones and speakers on iPhones. It can get trapped in the AirPods mesh.
I've never seen a pair that had gone quiet that couldn't be fixed this way. I also never saw this issue on AirPods Pro, which I like a lot more than normal AirPods for a lot of reasons.
I’ve had my earpods for 3 years, I always clean my airpods once a month, no issues with sound, surprised my battery lasts as long as it does too considering the age
I noticed that after cleaning my AirPods and wiping them down (especially on black in ear detector) that I got noticeable improvements in my connectivity and reliability.
Did you check the speaker to make sure no ear wax "nugglets" got wedged in there?
My thinking is that since ear wax IS a wax, that if you were to place them in boiling or near boiling water that you could get the wax to melt into the water and then just toss the water
What liquid did you use to wash them?
with the regular apple earbuds, i push 2 holes in the mesh by pushing the mesh down with a toothpick because mine clog after less than 4 months. Sounds risky but it always instantly solves the problem, and i haven't had any of mine broken so i'm not worried about clogging the insides. I've done the same with rep airpods.
I've noticed that my airpod pros get filled with earwax as well and don't sound as great as they once did. I wonder how those differ from the older generation airpods
I've honestly only cleared mine out with the pick on a fingernail clipper or toothpick before. I've never had volume issues and just wanted to clear off the visible wax accumulation.
use a heat gun from a distance to help melt the wax, then use a something to suck the wax out with some reasonable ammount of air pressure.
worked for me and pods sound good as new
I wonder if part of the problem is an old battery. Podswap may be replacing the battery which could be why its louder.
I clean mine once a week with Sanitized wipes and cotton buds. Got the Pro though, so the tips do prevent it from getting to the mesh a bit.. as long the tips themselves are cleaned regularly, the mesh doesn't seem to be that effected (I check the mesh once a month)
mine never get packed with wax because i pluck the wax off with tweasers after every use before charging the case