Wireless earbuds are unique in the way that they function. They come with a charging case that is in charge of several tasks, such as pairing your earbuds, charging your earbuds, and keeping them stored and protected.
However, as well as the earbuds, the charging case will also need to be charged. This begs the question is it possible and safe to charge your charging case and earbuds at the same time?
Can You Charge Wireless Earbuds and their Case at the Same Time?
Wireless earbuds can be charged simultaneously with their charging case. This is also relatively safe as most earbuds use Lithium-ion batteries which use an electronic protection circuit and a passive safety element located in the battery’s cell.
This safety feature also stops charging your earbuds once it reaches 100% battery life, thus preventing them from being overcharged.
Additionally, top-rated earbuds such as Apple’s Beats Fit Pro and Samsung’s galaxy buds confirm that you can simultaneously charge your earbuds and charging case.
With that being said, the primary risk any lithium-ion battery faces is heat. This can be from exposure to extreme temperatures or from the earbuds overheating. Most modern earbuds, such as Airpods, are equipped with protective features that slow or stop the charging process if the interior temperature of the earbuds exceeds operating temperatures.
However, with that being said, it’s not uncommon for there to be failures with its protection systems. This is an extremely low possibility but still one to be aware of.
To ensure the safety of your battery, you would want to avoid exposing your earbuds to extreme temperatures. Wireless Earbuds’ ideal operating temperatures tend to be between 0ºC and 35ºC (32ºF to 95ºF). Exposure to direct sunlight and leaving your device in a hot location, such as your car on a hot day, can cause the battery to become unstable.
Can You Charge Your Earbuds Case Overnight?
While keeping your earbud’s case plugged in overnight isn’t necessarily a safety concern since, as mentioned above, Lithium-ion batteries have a battery management system that stops charging once the battery reaches 100%.
It will, however, affect the longevity of your battery if done in the long term. And there are two reasons for this.
The first is due to the fact that charging over 75% (or even dropping below 25%) battery increases the thermal temperature of the battery. While this isn’t by a significant amount, it still adds additional stress to the battery cells, causing them to chemically age faster.
Because of this, certain devices, such as Apple’s Airpods, feature a built-in protection system that slows down and trickle charges the device once it reaches around 80% battery life.
The second reason why leaving your case plugged in overnight isn’t recommended is that when plugged into the charger long enough, the battery doesn’t always maintain 100% battery life. If kept long enough, it may drop to 99% and charge top itself back to 100%; this process repeats itself for its entire charge duration. This slowly chips away at the battery’s health, causing it to chemically age faster. However, this only becomes an issue when done in the long term.
Should Earbuds Always be in the case When not in use?
Wireless earbuds are intended to be left in the case even when fully charged. This is done to ensure the safety of your earbuds. Additionally, most wireless earbuds, such as Airpods, don’t feature an off button, and leaving them in the case is the only way to shut them off.
If your wireless earbuds are able to be turned off, however, you can leave them out of the case as you wouldn’t need to worry about them draining and consuming charge cycles. But there is no harm in leaving them in the case as they stop charging once reaching 100% battery.
How To Ensure the Safety of your Earbuds:
Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Extreme ambient temperatures have a negative effect on your earbud’s batteries. It’s recommended to use your earbuds where the ambient temperature is between 0º and 35º C (32º to 95º F).
Keep them Stored at an Adequate Battery Percentage
If you decide not to use your earbuds for a few days or weeks, ensure that they are stored at around 40% of battery life. The reason being is that leaving them discharged (25% to 0% battery life) or stored at a high battery percentage can cause them to become unstable.
Avoid Exposure to Moisture
Earbuds have a rating system known as IPX that specifies the degree of moisture your device can handle. Even if an earbud states that it is waterproof, while that may be true, it may be so to a degree. For example, an IPX7 rating is labeled as waterproof; however, at most, it can tolerate being submerged up to 1 meter in water for 30 minutes. Anything more can cause permanent damage to your device.
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