Apple’s AirPods are so convenient and comfortable, if you’re anything like me, you’ll wear them at all hours of the day and night, regardless of what you’re doing. But are they suitable for every situation? The sauna, for example?
Saunas are great places to relax and unwind, especially after a workout (where you’ve probably been wearing your AirPods), and they’re great for your health too.
In this article, I’ll take a look at the official guidelines and technical specs regarding using your AirPods in high heat and damp environments, but I’ll also report on some experiments I carried out using my own AirPods in the sauna!
Table of Contents
Can You Use AirPods in the Sauna – Official Guidance
AirPods and AirPods Pro are not waterproof, but they are water- and sweat-resistant, which means they can withstand small drops and splashes but won’t survive full submersion.
While the sauna isn’t necessarily a wet environment like a steam room, there is still a lot of moisture in the air, and of course, you will sweat more due to the high heat.
The heat itself is another factor. Apple and tech experts warn against exposing your electronics to high temperatures for an extended period of time. The recommended temperature range for optimal AirPod performance is between 32ºF to 95ºF (0ºC – 35ºC). Normally, a traditional dry sauna will exceed these temperatures.
Using electronics in an environment that is warmer than the recommended range can result in reduced performance, particularly with regard to battery life. You’ll likely find that your AirPods die faster than they would usually. And be warned – the effects of high temperatures on your AirPods could be permanent.
If you repeatedly use your AirPods in high temperatures, the battery life can be permanently affected. This means that your AirPods will die quicker and are unlikely to be able to maintain a consistent level of charge. Lithium-ion batteries are very susceptible to temperature extremes, and exposing them to very high or very low temperatures is not recommended.
So, the official line would be no, you cannot use your AirPods in the sauna. For one thing, the temperature is too high for Apple to be able to recommend sauna usage without any risk of permanent or even temporary damage to your AirPods. And secondly, the increased exposure to moisture, both water/steam and sweat, pose a significant risk.
Using AirPods in Sauna – Practical Experience
With all the above information in mind, and after having read a few threads on Reddit and various other Apple forums, I decided to try my AirPods in the sauna and see what happened, focussing on the effects of the sauna’s two main danger points – sweat and temperature.
Just a quick note before I recount my findings: I only used a dry sauna for this experiment, and I would strongly recommend you don’t wear your AirPods in a wet sauna (more commonly known as a steam room). The amount of moisture in the air is much higher in a steam room, and is more likely to damage your AirPods than a dry sauna.
I used my 3rd Generation AirPods for this experiment. As for how AirPod Pros would hold up, I imagine the results would be similar. Both models have the same IPX4 rating, and a similar design when looking at openings where moisture may enter the actual earbud.
Water and Sweat Resistance
I wouldn’t say I sweat an excessive amount, but as you can expect, when you’re really going for it in the gym, you can get a nice sheen pretty quickly. I have never experienced any negative effects on my AirPods due to excess sweat getting into the components, despite how much I’m sweating. But how would they fair with the amount of sweat produced in the sauna?
It is worth noting that sweat is a very different substance from water. Sweat can contain varying amounts of salt and have differing levels of acidity depending on your gender, diet, and overall genetic makeup. Both salinity and acidity are corrosive properties. This is likely why some users have reported that some features of their (usually older model) AirPods have begun to fail after a very sweaty workout.
So when I used my AirPods in the sauna, I didn’t really expect anything different. Perhaps it’s that I’m using 3rd Generation AirPods (they have IPX4 sweat resistance), but I didn’t notice any failure of bass response, ANC (active noise cancellation), or battery life. Though I was only in the sauna for approximately 20 minutes, so how long you expose your AirPods to moisture may also play a role.
When I removed my AirPods after exiting the sauna, they were noticeably wet, probably with a mixture of sweat and moisture from the air. I made sure to wipe them down before I put them back in the charging case (which had been waiting in my locker outside the sauna along with my phone), and they still charged fine and worked fine later on. The battery had only drained by around 4%.
So far so good!
Temperature Exposure
It’s recommended to use a sauna for 10 – 20 minutes, to reap all the health benefits they provide. This seems to be the recommended ‘ideal’ time, but of course, it’s down to your personal preference how long you wish to stay in there. (Always pay attention to any mandatory or recommended guidelines, and leave a sauna if you start to feel faint, lightheaded, or nauseous.)
Obviously, the longer you’re in the sauna, the longer your AirPods are exposed to high temperatures, so the more likely they are to suffer component failures.
For the next part of my experiment, I decided to subject myself to a full 30-minute sauna session in the name of science. I purposely didn’t do any infusions during this session (pour water over the coals), as I wanted to keep the ambient humidity as low as possible in order to better study the effects of only the heat, and not the water resistance. Of course, I couldn’t do much about the sweat!
I sat on the top bench, where the temperature is even higher, to get a better idea of what my AirPods could withstand. At around the 20-minute mark, I heard a slight crackle from my right AirPod and took it out to investigate. I could see nothing outwardly wrong, apart from a few beads of sweat on the casing of the earbud. I wiped them off on my towel, shook the AirPod to dislodge any moisture that may have got inside, and wiped again.
The crackle went away, but it did return intermittently over the next 10 minutes. I believe this was caused by sweat entering the AirPod via the mesh grille on the back, and not anything to do with the temperature. Although, it was the higher temperature that caused me to sweat more, so… a tough call!
After the full 30 minutes, I left the sauna, removed my AirPods and wiped them down, and placed them back in the charging case. I used around 10% of my battery this time, which is more than I would have expected. Although I was in the sauna for longer, and so used my AirPods for longer, this increase in battery consumption is a little higher than it should have been.
Final Thoughts
It would seem, based on anecdotal evidence and my own ‘experiment,’ that despite Apple’s official guidance, using your AirPods in the sauna won’t totally destroy them. However, take that with a pinch of salt, because this is by no means an endorsement of pushing your electronics to their limits and hoping for the best.
Personally, I won’t continue to use my AirPods in the sauna as I like to spend that time in silence, meditating and relaxing. If I really felt the need to have music/podcasts in there, would I risk it again? Probably! But not without accepting that if something breaks, it’s all on me.
Apple’s official guidance and general rules around using electronics in extreme temperatures and wet environments strongly discourage this, so if something breaks, you have no comeback as a consumer. Any repairs or replacements that you require if your AirPods break from usage in a sauna will have to be funded by you!
So if you decide to use your AirPods in the sauna, bear in mind that you might not get as lucky as me, or others online who claim they listen to music in the sauna for half an hour every day.
Good luck!
