AirPods Max warranty replacements don't come with ear cushions

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Airpods Max Warranty Replacement
Airpods Max Warranty Replacement (Image credit: Damien Menn)

What you need to know

  • Apple does not replace AirPods Max ear cushions when replacing the headphones.
  • Headphone issues ask you to keep the ear cushions and Smart Case.

As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple does not include ear cushions when replacing AirPods Max headphones. One reader experienced this first hand when they ran into an issue with the Digital Crown on his AirPods Max headphones.

Damien Menn sent the headphones in for repair at Apple and, instead of fixing and sending his original headphones back to him, replaced the entire unit - except for the ear cushions.

"My AirPods Max had an issue with the Digital Crown. I received a replacement pair today! They come inside those little "sockets". Also, no ear-cups included, unlike the AirPods Pro that ship with new silicon tips.

The move by Apple makes sense since, if you aren't experiencing an issue with the ear cushions themselves, you can remove them from the headphones when you send them for repair due to their modular design. If the issue is with the ear cushions, you may only have to send them in without the headphones themselves.

Shaun Jenks ran into connection issues with his AirPods Max and providing a look at the box that you send the headphones back in. Jenks confirmed that, since his issue was with the headphones, Apple did not have him send the ear cushions or the Smart Case back.

"Yep I got a neat box to send mine back, they are replacing them after connection issues, you don't send the cushions or the case. Still waiting for the replacement set to ship though a week later."

The only other major issue we've seen so far from AirPods Max is an issue where some users experienced condensation buildup on the earcups after extensive listening.

Joe Wituschek
Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.