The AirPods Max have a unique design. From the aluminum ear cups to the ridiculous “case,” they’re certainly unique. One place where Apple differed from most headphones was the headband. Rather than using foam padding, Apple relied on an elastic mesh web. It sits between the metal and silicone frame to form a canopy. When new, it evenly distributes weight over your head. This is important, because these are heavy headphones. The reason most headphones are made of plastic is to keep weight down, because it’s uncomfortable for them to be heavy. Apple, instead, relied on that mesh canopy to distribute the weight. It works… for a little while.
Elastic wears out. Even though I found myself reaching for in-ear headphones far more often than my AirPods Max, I still found these wore out a lot. Two years later, and I can’t wear them for a few minutes before they’re extremely uncomfortable. However, I found a solution, and it’s so simple, I’m shocked no third parties have thought of it yet. The issue is the AirPods Max don’t have cushioned pads, your worn-out elastic puts that metal frame right on your head. So… just add some cushion? Here’s how I did that on the cheap.
My Miracle Cure
A little hack and my AirPods Max feel better than new. It’s just foam and a silicon cover.
That’s it, that’s my solution. Now, it could go through some tweaking. For example, maybe a bit more memory foam in parts to kind of spread out the weight better? I can’t guarantee that the foam won’t damage these further, so if you’re going to try it, know you may damage them more. Don’t stuff them without being careful, and try at your own risk. I can’t even recommend trying it… but I can tell you what I did anyway.
- I already had a mesh protector. This is just a piece of silicone that sits over the mesh so it’s less likely to get damaged. It obviously didn’t help much, but now it can serve a very useful purpose.
- I had some memory foam. Maybe you have a shredded memory foam pillow. Or, like me, you bought a mattress topper that was bigger than your mattress and saved some of the cuttings so you could re-use it for other projects, like a pillow or a makeshift AirPods Max fix.
- I cut the foam to size, put it above the mesh, and then put the protector on over it the foam.
It’s that simple. I put foam in a pocket I made in my AirPods Max with a mesh protector. You may be able to find your own memory foam or other filling, or you may have to buy your own. A shredded memory foam pillow could work, as, not only are they great to sleep on, but you’ll have extra filling for anything that might need some extra padding. You can find hundreds of headband protectors for the AirPods Max. This is mine, but you can find the exact same design all over the internet. You can even find ones with little kitty ears.
Before, I couldn’t wear my AirPods Max for more than a few minutes. Now I can wear it for hours before it starts to bother me. I’ll have to tweak the filling over time, I’m sure, but it’s a lot easier than going to Apple and trying to get them to replace the headband or buying another set of headphones.
What the F%$#, Apple?
I couldn’t close this without mentioning how messed up this is. These damn headphones cost a whopping $550. That is even more than other Bluetooth headphones in their category. You’d expect them to last more than a year and a half before they start getting worn out! At the very least, you’d expect Apple to have an easy replacement program, or even just sell spare mesh so you can swap it out. They made it easy to swap out the ear cups, why not the mesh? It certainly wore out before anything else!
Apple constantly talks about their green initiatives, but they’re not focusing on their e-waste at all. Making a device that can’t be repaired or serviced just leads to more trash. Designing products that wear out and become useless in under two years is a disgusting business practice. My little hack might save these headphones, but it’s far from elegant. Apple should be doing better, they just choose not to.