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Comment by mcculley | Hacker News Reader

I love my AirPods but I am close to taking mine to the store again to be replaced for a second time. I wear them every day to listen to podcasts as I run for 30 minutes. The accumulated sweat has corroded the charging contacts in the case. I am currently working around this by charging them in my girlfriend's case.

Amusingly, the instructions for AirPods say to not get them wet. I don't know how one could exercise rigorously and not get sweat on them.

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Should probably wipe them off before putting them in the charger...

It is definitely user error. I thought they were for use while exercising. Since realizing that the problem is tiny bits of water collecting in the tiny little cavity of the case, I leave them out to dry before putting them back in. This certainly makes them less handy.

"Just avoid holding it in that way"

An expectation that you wipe your sweat off something before putting it away doesn't seem that unreasonable.

It really is my fault, but it is not like they are dripping in sweat. It is just the tiny sheen of sweat left over after running and my desire to immediately put them in the case after using to avoid losing them. Now I wipe them down and leave them out for a while before putting them back in the case. This makes them much less handy.

honestly, i would expect them to be at least sweat proof -- i find that most people use wireless headsets while working out.

Yeah, I really did think they were. The phone and the watch are waterproof. I don't know why the AirPods are not.

I can see the ad campaign two years from now: Swimmer taps watch to play then dives into a backstroke with airpods visible.

Then you try it at your local pool and the airpods immediately fall out the minute you hit the water, and are kicked by a 6 year old into the pool filter.

OK I'm really impressed that they stay in while running. Do normal apple earbuds fit your ears really well as well (for me they are the worst earbuds shape-wise of all time), or is it just the design of the airpods that is helping here?

For me, they fit better than wired buds. I think that as the other commenter suggests, the weight is a factor.

I've always had issues with nearly every wired form factor earbuds. Sweat and movement was always an issue. I ended up giving Yurbuds a try and they are very snug and the same pair has lasted even through a couple marathon training programs.

I will never run with anything wired. It is too dangerous for someone as clumsy as me. I will keep using the AirPods and replace them annually if necessary.

the ear fit is about the same. They do not shift around because there’s no torque available to do it. The lack of a cable means that that long wire of mass doesn’t exist and can’t tug them out.

Are they intended to be used for exercise if they're not supposed to get wet? You get specialist waterproof ones for that.

How are you persuading Apple to replace them multiple times for water damage?

I thought they were for use while exercising due to the advertisements. I just took them into the store and they replaced them.

Sounds like user error. Are you not wiping them off before you put them in the case? I don't believe they are marketed for exercise. In fact, looking at the AirPod page there is zero mention of exercise.

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