What to do since there's no power button
It’s possible to turn off Apple’s premier headphones, even though it lacks a dedicated power button or switch. This tutorial will show you how to turn off the AirPods Max headphones and turn it back on.
Drain the Battery
Draining your AirPods Max’s battery is the quickest way to turn off the headphones. The AirPods Max can last up to 20 hours on a full charge. However, increasing playback volume, using noise control (Active Noise Cancellation or Transparency mode), and enabling Spatial Audio are quick ways to deplete its battery.
Table of Contents
Apple devices display low battery notifications when the charge on your AirPods Max hits 20%, 10%, and 5%. AirPods Max headphones also play a tone right before it turns off—when the battery charge is 0%.
You can check the battery status of your AirPods Max on any paired Apple device—iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac.
Hold the headphones close to your iPhone or iPad, wait a few seconds, and press the Noise Control button. You should see the battery/charge status of the AirPods Max on your device’s screen.
You can also monitor the battery status of your AirPods Max using the Batteries widget in iOS or iPadOS. Our tutorial on checking AirPods battery life on iPhone/Mac has step-by-step instructions on setting up and using the widget.
Activate Ultralow Power Mode
AirPods Max go into a “Low Power” mode when idle or unused for five minutes. Also, stowing your AirPods Max in its Smart Case immediately puts the headphones in low power mode.
The low power mode puts your AirPods Max to sleep to conserve battery, but it doesn’t turn off the headphones. Wearing your AirPods Max over the top of your head wakes it from sleep and disables low power mode.
Apple designed the AirPods Max to enter a “deep sleep” when left in low power mode for about 18-72 hours. The deep sleep is called “Ultralow Power Mode.”
Ultralow power mode turns off your AirPods Max and maximizes its battery life by disabling Bluetooth and Find My location tracking.
You can’t locate your AirPods Max’s current location when it’s in ultralow power mode. However, the Find My app will show its previous location(s) and the last time it was connected/used.
Activate Ultra Low Power Mode with Smart Case
AirPods Max automatically enters ultra-low power mode and powers off when kept in the Smart Case for 18 hours.
Activate Ultra Low Power Mode without Smart Case
You can also put your AirPods Max in ultralow power mode without its Smart Case. Leave the headphones idle for at least 72 hours, and it’ll automatically go into ultra low power mode.
How to Turn On AirPods Max
There are several ways to power on AirPods Max headphones in ultralow power mode. Charging or restarting your AirPods Max will do the magic. Also, resetting the headphones to factory default is another way to deactivate ultra low power mode.
Charge Your AirPods Max
If you turn off your AirPods Max by draining its battery, charge the headphones to turn it back on.
Plug the Lightning cable that shipped with your AirPods Max into the charging port on the bottom-right earcup.
Insert the other end of the Lightning cable into a USB-C power adapter or USB port. You can charge your AirPods Max inside or outside the Smart Case.
The status light on the right earphone turns solid orange or amber when charging and turns green at 95% charge.
Restart Your AirPods Max
Press and hold the Digital Crown and Noise Control button to restart your AirPods Max. Release both buttons when the status light flashes amber.
Reset your AirPods Max to factory settings (see next section) if it doesn’t come out of the ultralow power mode.
Reset Your AirPods Max
Charge your AirPods Max for a few minutes before resetting it to factory settings. Press and hold the Digital Crown and Noise Control button for at least 15 seconds.
Release both buttons when the status light on the headphones flashes amber and then white. The flashing white light indicates that your AirPods Max is in pairing mode. Head to your device’s Bluetooth settings menu and connect to the headphones.
Power Off Your Apple AirPods Max
The absence of a power button means you must wait hours to turn off the AirPods Max. Depleting the headphone’s battery remains the fastest way to turn it off, but that also requires about 10-20 hours.
Some AirPods Max users report that the headphones sometimes get stuck in ultralow power mode. Send your AirPods Max to any Apple Store or contact Apple Support if you find yourself in a similar situation.
