I was recently wondering what would happen if I wore my AirPods in the shower. I’m glad I did some research beforehand so I could be more informed about the water resistance of AirPods. If I hadn’t, I could have risked damaging my AirPods.
You cannot wear your AirPods in the shower. Apple does not recommend exposing your AirPods to large quantities of water. While AirPods have a certain water resistance factor, they are not waterproof and will be damaged if used in the shower.
The rest of this guide will provide you with more details regarding the water resistance of your AirPods and what you should do if you have gotten your AirPods wet by using them in the shower. You should use this information to try and restore your wet AirPods to working conditions.

What Does IPX4 Mean?
IPX4 is the IP rating given to AirPods that indicates their level of water resistance on a pre-established scale.
At a rating of IPX0, electronic items will have no water resistance, while devices with the maximum rating of IPX9 can be exposed to large amounts of water and time submerged without incurring damage. Your AirPods fall almost in the middle of this scale.

An IP rating of IPX4 indicates a device that is resistant to small splashes of water such as rain, drips, or a short time period of being submerged in extremely shallow water. This rating indicates that your AirPods will not be damaged by light to moderate rain but should not be used in submerged situations.
Further details regarding the water resistance of AirPods will be detailed in the next section.
Are AirPods Waterproof?
No, AirPods are not waterproof. They are water resistant, which implies that indirect exposure to water will not damage them but the act of being submerged or having a large stream of water flow on them will.
The ways that your AirPods will handle different levels of water exposure will be detailed in the subsections below.
Light Water Contact
Your AirPods have an IP rating of IPX4, which makes them suitable for light water contact. This means that light rain or sweat from a workout will not seriously damage your AirPods. AirPods were designed to be used in outdoor settings.
This means that special care was taken to ensure that they are resistant to a certain level of moisture exposure. That being said, they handle being fully submerged in the water much differently.

Fully Submerged In Water
If your AirPods are left fully submerged in water for more than a few seconds, you will likely incur some serious internal damage to your AirPods. In addition to being damaged by full submersion, your AirPods will be at risk of serious damage if exposed to constant running water like the shower or heavy rain.
While your AirPods have a certain level of water resistance, they are not designed to be fully submerged or exposed to heavy streams of water. If water enters the charging case or the internals of the earbuds, you may find yourself needing to replace or repair your AirPods.
If you have dropped your AirPods in water, you should remove them as soon as possible to minimize the damage caused by the exposure to liquid. Typically, if your AirPods have been left submerged in water or under a heavy stream for more than 10 seconds, you will need to repair or replace them.
If you are able to remove them from the source of liquid within this time frame, you can use the section below to try and dry out your AirPods and get them working properly.
Related Read: Why Do AirPods Pick Up Background Noise?
How To Dry AirPods That Have Been Used In The Shower?
Once your AirPods have been exposed to water, you will need to attempt a drying process as soon as possible. This will help minimize the internal damage caused by the exposure to liquid. To dry out your AirPods, you should follow the steps listed below:
1. Use a dry microfiber cloth to wipe the earbuds off completely to remove any external water.
2. Wipe out the charging case with the cloth as well.
3. Place your earbuds and the open charging case face down to allow gravity to drain the water from the internals of your device.
4. You should allow your AirPods and charging case to dry for at least 5 hours before testing them. If your AirPods were exposed to water for more than 10 seconds, you should double this drying time.
If this did not completely dry out your AirPods, you can use one of the other methods for drying them out found in the sections below.
Use Air Waves to Eject Water From Inside Your AirPods
Using airwaves to eject the water from inside your AirPods is another effective method that you could consider. The process to do this is quite simple and will take around 5 minutes. Follow the steps below to do this:
1. First, ensure that your AirPods are connected to your iPhone or other mobile device and that the volume is turned up to the maximum.
2. Download the Siri Shortcuts app on your phone. It can be found by searching for it in the app store of your iPhone or other Apple device.
3. Once you have downloaded and installed the Siri Shortcuts app, open it up and activate the Water Eject shortcut.
4. Once the Water Eject shortcut has been activated, your AirPods will begin to vibrate in an effort to remove as much water as possible. You can repeat this process as many times as you wish.
If you cannot remove all of the water from your AirPods and need to repair or replace them, you need to consider the different coverages regarding water damage that Apple offers. These will be detailed in the section below.
Does AppleCare+ for AirPods Cover Water Damage? ~ 100 words
AppleCare+ will cover damage caused by exposure to water. AppleCare+ states that it covers any accidental damage which includes water damage. Keep in mind that you will only be able to use your AppleCare+ coverage once a year.
This means that if you have already used your AppleCare+ to repair your AirPods previously in the year, you will not be able to use it to cover the costs of repair or replacement. If you are covered by AppleCare+ and have not made a claim yet, you can have your AirPods replaced for a small fee.
The Apple Warranty that applies to your AirPods once you have purchased them has different stipulations that will be detailed in the section below.
Related Read: How to Fix Muffled AirPods
Does the Apple Warranty for AirPods Cover Water Damage?
Your Apple warranty will not cover water damage done to your AirPods. The standard warranty only covers issues caused by manufacturer or distributor errors. The only way to have your AirPods covered for water damage is to purchase an AppleCare+ plan.
Because of this, it is important that you consider getting an AppleCare+ plan to cover your AirPods in the event of major exposure to water.
If you have exposed your AirPods to water and are not covered under an AppleCare+ plan, then you will need to consider replacing your AirPods if you do not wish to attempt to repair them.
Get a New Pair of AirPods
If you have not been able to dry out your AirPods properly, you will need to consider replacing them. Once AirPods have been exposed to certain levels of water, they will be rendered inoperable and will no longer function properly.
You will not be able to get your AirPods covered under the standard warranty if they have been damaged by water. If you have an AppleCare+ plan, you can have one replacement pair of AirPods every year, as long as you meet the standards for replacement.
If you choose to purchase new AirPods, you should get them covered under an AppleCare+ plan to ensure that you can get them repaired or replaced if this happens again.
How to Protect AirPods from Water Damage
1. Never Wear Them in the Shower
One of the best ways you can protect your AirPods from water damage is to simply avoid wearing them in the shower or in heavy rain. As this guide indicates, heavy exposure to streams of water will cause your AirPods to fill with water and suffer damage to their internals.
You should not wear your AirPods in the shower or in heavy rain to avoid these issues. You should also avoid wearing your AirPods during particularly extreme weather conditions. Another important thing to consider for avoiding water damage will be covered in the next section.
2. Always Check Your Pockets Before Doing Laundry
Another important precaution to consider for keeping your AirPods free from water damage is to always check your pockets before doing your laundry. Because AirPods and the charging case are so portable, it can be easy to forget about them in your pocket when it comes time to do laundry.
Your AirPods will not likely survive a round in the washing machine, so you should ensure that you always check your pockets before doing your laundry to avoid this issue.
If you have left your AirPods in the washing machine, you can attempt to use the methods listed above to dry them out. That being said, it is unlikely that they will work again once exposed to that much water.
There is another good precautionary method you can consider in the next section.
3. Get a Water-Resistant AirPods Case
A water-resistant AirPods case will further enhance the native water resistance of your AirPods. This will help protect your earbuds and charging case against accidental drops or exposure to liquid.
With a water-resistance AirPods case, your AirPods will be able to stay undamaged for longer when exposed to larger quantities of water. That being said, it will still not provide full waterproofing, so you should avoid large amounts of water exposure.
4 . Always Clean Your AirPods After Workouts
You should always clean your AirPods after workouts to ensure that no sweat buildup enters into the internals of the earbuds. Although AirPods are designed to be exposed to some level of moisture during workouts, it is still good practice to clean your AirPods of any excess moisture after use
Related Read: How to Find AirPods When Dead
Conclusion
This guide has provided you with all of the information that you need to determine whether or not your AirPods are suitable for use in the shower. As this guide indicates, it is not advised that you use your AirPods in the shower.
Using the information provided in this guide, you can address any problems caused by exposure to water and use the methods listed to help dry your AirPods out and return them to normal functionality.