As long as they remain in your ears, AirPods offer a simple method to listen to audio from your phone and communicate wirelessly and hands-free. Everyone who has had a pair of AirPods has experienced at least one or both slipping out of their ears. This not only interrupts listening and speaking but can also harm or lose them. Learning how to prevent your AirPods from slipping out is the most obvious method for avoiding these concerns.
WHY DO AIRPODS KEEP FALLING OUT OF MY EARS?
Before discussing how to prevent AirPods from falling out, it is essential to understand why AirPods come out of ears in the first place. There are several potential causes for AirPods to fall out.
Improper Fit
If your AirPods do not fit properly in your ears, they will not remain in place. If you have AirPods Pro, you may be able to utilize a different-sized ear tip; if you have ordinary AirPods, which are meant to be “one size fits all” (or “all”), you will likely require AirPod covers or hooks to make them fit better.
Incorrectly AirPods are designed to function in a certain way. If you wear them as intended, they may fit better than you think.
Physical Influence
If you are stuck, stop abruptly, or encounter extreme impact (such as sprinting or leaping), your AirPods may get dislodged and fall out. Except for improving their fitness, there is nothing you can do to prevent your AirPods from slipping out for this reason. However, you may prevent them from being misplaced by utilizing an AirPod strap.
Cleanliness
AirPods fit most comfortably in the ear when they are clear of debris, earwax, and oils.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR AIRPODS FROM FALLING OUT
Here are various techniques for avoiding these and other obstructions that may prevent your AirPods from staying in your ears.
Ensure You Are Wearing Them Properly
Although users insert their AirPods in their ears in various ways, there is a proper method. When AirPods are not worn properly, they can get easily dislodged.
One reason why people frequently wear their AirPods wrong is that the correct way to wear AirPods and AirPods Pro differs. AirPods, comprising the AirPod 1, AirPod 2, and AirPod 3 (or AirPod Generation 1, Generation 2, and Generation 3), are earphones. They are almost the same size as Apple’s wired headphones, allowing them to fit reasonably shallowly in the ears.
AirPods Pro includes silicone tips allowing them to sit more profoundly in the ear canal. They resemble in-ear monitors (IEMs) more than earbuds. As a result, accurate AirPods Pro insertion takes greater care than correct AirPods Gen 1, 2, or 3 insertions.
Once you have followed the directions below to learn how to wear your AirPods or AirPods Pro correctly, check their fit in a mirror or, better yet, snap a photo. This will help you recall how they appear when appropriately inserted and make subsequent reproductions easier.
Wipe the Tips: The tips of AirPods, where the speakers are placed, can gather dirt, oil, and other residues that can cause the AirPods to slide out of the ears. Use a moist towel to wipe down and thoroughly clean your AirPods. This will improve their hold on your ears. However, avoid using an excessively damp rag since this might cause water damage to your AirPods.
Press Them In Gently: Don’t force your AirPods into your ear canals. They are not intended to fit in this manner and will not provide a firm grip. In addition to causing discomfort, inserting your AirPods too profoundly can cause ear canal damage and infections. Instead, gently push them in with the stem aligned horizontally or vertically with your face or head.
Rotate and Wedge Them: After gently pressing the AirPods into your ears, rotate them until they are wedged into a position where they fit snugly and securely. When the stem and jawline are lined nearly perpendicularly, you will find that the AirPods fit snugly in your ears. Some individuals like the seal when the AirPods are rotated 30 degrees from the jawline.
How to Prevent AirPods Pro from Falling
Ensure They Have the Appropriate Size If you need to use the right-sized ear tips for your AirPods, the subsequent instructions will be primarily ineffective. Check the sizes of the AirPods’ ear tips before inserting them into your ears to ensure they fit correctly. Turn the silicone tip over to locate the S, M, or L carved into the side. AirPods come equipped with medium-sized ear tips and small and large ear tips. Experiment with inserting the AirPods into your ears with each of the included tips until you find the most comfortable fit.
Adjust the Eartip: Check that the size letter on the ear tip is aligned with the black vent on the AirPod to ensure the optimal fit. When they are in the correct place, you will hear a click.
Follow steps 2 and 3 of wearing standard AirPods correctly by pushing and twisting the earbuds until you feel them firmly wedged into your ear canal.
The Fit Test for Eartips
Apple’s AirPod software has a useful function that lets you optimize the fit of your AirPods. To do the Ear Tip Fit Test, one must:
- Place the AirPods in your ears.
- Connect the devices to the iPhone.
- Select Preferences > Bluetooth.
- Press the information icon next to the AirPods picture.
- Choose “Ear Tips Fit Test”
- Press Continue.
- Press the Play button.
If your smartphone lacks the Ear Tip Fit Test option, you likely have an iOS version lower than 13.2. Therefore, you must upgrade the iPhone’s operating system to complete this test.
Align an AirPod ear tip with its ovular connection to attach it. Then, press the tip’s base against the connector with your fingertips until you hear it click and lock into place. To remove an AirPod ear tip, pull the bottom of the tip where it connects to the AirPod using your fingers.
Substitute memory foam ear tips for silicone ear tips
This tip relates primarily to preventing AirPod Pro from coming out, as standard AirPods do not have ear tips. Apple’s silicone ear tips for the AirPod Pro were an improvement over the plastic tips of the standard AirPod, but perhaps more is needed. In other words, silicone is superior to plastic, but it’s not perfect, and if silicone fails you, memory foam may be the solution.
Memory foam, unlike silicone, conforms to the ear’s contour. This produces a tighter seal with the ear canal.
To replace the ear tips on your AirPods Pro with memory foam:
- Remove the ear tips made of silicone.
- Choose ear tips with the same size of memory foam.
- Compress and push the memory foam tips until they lock into place.
After replacing the silicone ear tips with memory foam ear tips, putting the AirPods Pro into your ears will change somewhat. Before inserting them, they must be squeezed to compress the memory foam. Then, often within four seconds, they will expand to close the ear canal.
Wear Them Laterally or Inverted
For other individuals, wearing their AirPods upside down is the solution for keeping them in place. Before the advent of wireless earphones, runners employed this method to keep their wired earbuds in place. Since the form of earphones has stayed essentially the same over the transition from wired to wireless earbuds, the principle is still applicable and should continue to function effectively.
Employ Watertight Tape
Find some adhesive, strong, waterproof tape and use scissors or a hole punch to cut out rectangular or circular pieces. Attach two of these tape pieces to each AirPod, one at the top and one at the bottom, near where they enter the ear.
Now you may insert the AirPods into your ears and test their retention by moving around. The adhesiveness and raised surface of the tape should prevent them from slipping out.
Properly Clean Your AirPods
Keeping your AirPods clean is vital not only for preventing them from slipping out but also for the health of your ears. Over time, oils, dirt, and earwax can accumulate in the AirPods’ grill, preventing them from fitting correctly and exposing your ears to earwax accumulation and bacteria. Wiping your AirPods before usage is not harmful, but it does not replace the need to clean them periodically.
To do this, toothpicks and mounting putty are required (which you can get at any hardware store.) Lightly warm the putty and apply it to the speaker of your AirPod. Then, remove it. Most of the residue caught in the speaker’s mesh will be removed. The toothpicks can then be used to remove any remaining fragments carefully.
Use a soft-bristled toothbrush soaked in 70% isopropyl alcohol to clean any leftover debris from the AirPods.
After cleaning, your AirPods should seem and fit like new. Now that you know how to clean an AirPod case, your AirPods will remain clean when you store them.
Utilize Third-Party Accessories.
Numerous third-party manufacturers have created cases and coverings to help keep your AirPods and AirPods Pro securely in your ears. These are frequently composed of silicone and are meant to alleviate some of the most prevalent concerns with maintaining AirPods in place.
AirPod Skins
Silicone AirPod covers to increase the earphones’ grip. They fit comfortably over the AirPods’ heads to offer a cushion that snugly envelops the inner ear.
AirPod Connectors and Grip
Some AirPod covers have soft silicone hooks that nestle securely against the inside fold of each ear, further assisting in keeping the AirPods in place. Also available are AirPod Grips with more extensive plastic clips designed to wrap over the outer ear.
ADDITIONAL SECURITY: AIRPODS STRAPS AND CASES
AirPod straps are attached to the microphones’ slim “handles” and wrap around your neck to give additional support. They may not aid in keeping your AirPods in your ears, but they will prevent them from falling to the ground and becoming damaged or misplaced if they do fall out.
Using AirPod cases or, in the case of AirPods Pro, AirPod Pro cases can also assist in safeguarding your AirPods while they are not in your ears. Also if your are looking for one stop shop for your accessories you can visit CaseFit for all your needs.