AirPods Max warranty replacements don’t include new ear cushions unless necessary

The AirPods Max are Apple’s first foray into its own over-ear headphones. They feature magnetic ear cushions that can be swapped and replaced on their own, and we’re now getting a look at how the modular design affects the warranty replacement process.

9to5Mac reader Damien Menn shared a pair of images showing what the AirPods Max warranty replacement process is like. Damien experienced an issue with the AirPods Max Digital Crown, and Apple replaced the entire pair of headphones — with one exception.

The AirPods Max replacements that Apple sent to Damien did not include replacement ear cushions. Instead, Apple’s assumption is that you should take the ear cups from your damaged AirPods Max and use them with your new pair. This makes sense, considering that Apple sells a set of AirPods Max ear cushions on its own for $69.

This likely varies from situation to situation, but we don’t expect Apple to include ear cushions with AirPods Max warranty replacements unless necessary — such as if the problem is with the ear cushions themselves. In those instances, it would be possible for Apple to only replace the ear cushions given the modular design.

One thing to note is that this strategy differs from AirPods Pro. Apple does include replacement silicon tips with AirPods Pro warranty replacements. Apple also sells AirPods Pro tips for $8.

And in case you’re wondering, AirPods Max AppleCare is a relatively good deal at just $59. That offers two years of coverage including accidental damage. You can also pay monthly for AppleCare on AirPods Max from just under $10/month for six months.

In related news, some AirPods Max users have faced issues with condensation, as we first reported last month. It’s unclear what the remedy to this issue is, or if it’s even an issue, but let us know down in the comments if you’ve reached out to Apple about AirPods Max condensation and what fix they proposed.