Wireless earbuds, like AirPods, are all the rage. But as convenient as these tiny headphones are, they have a fatal flaw: When the batteries degrade, it is extremely difficult to replace them, and stores like Apple won’t do it for you, either. When the charge inevitably doesn’t last long enough anymore, most of us will simply upgrade to a new pair and throw the old pair away. If you’re concerned about e-waste and discarding repairable products, you should know there’s a better way.
Enter The Swap Club, an organization that wants to breathe new life into old tech. Rather than throw away an aging device and buying a new one, The Swap Club believes you should trade your old tech in for a refurbished version. They even do the refurbishing for you: While they don’t reveal exactly how they do it, they told iFixit they rely on “specialized equipment and precision robotics” to make “Podswap” possible.
It’s a Swap Club cycle: The company sends you a refurbished pair of AirPods, then you send in yours within three to five days. The Swap Club then attempts to resuscitate those AirPods, performing the complicated task of replacing the batteries without breaking the earbuds altogether. They then clean both AirPods thoroughly, so you won’t be dealing with someone else’s earwax if that’s what you’re worried about. (That’s what I’d worry about, anyway.)
Since 2021, The Swap Club claims it has saved thousands of AirPods from the trash heap, and that’s huge. That’s thousands of new pairs of AirPods Apple didn’t have to sell, because they were “swapped” with Swap Club customers instead. “Swap” could potentially be a bit misleading here, though, since it isn’t a perfect quid pro quo. You still need to pay the Swap Club for a refurbished pair of AirPods: $59.99 for a standard pair, or $49.99 for one with more visible wear and tear. (Still no earwax, though.)
Right now, The Swap Club only deals in AirPods 1 and 2, so you can’t send in your AirPods Pro, AirPods 3, or AirPods Max. But they have expanded to include iPhones. (While Phoneswap certainly can help you find a refurbished iPhone, there are already plenty of outlets for that. It’s Podswap that doesn’t really have any type of competition in the marketplace yet, even two years after launch.)
The Swap Club won’t allow any AirPods into its Podswap program, however. Your AirPods aren’t eligible if they meet the following conditions:
Broken or have broken meshPermanently stained or discoloredCracked or with deep dentsWater damaged or corrodedThey are fakeCannot power onMicrophone does not workFlashing green light status on charging caseIf that’s the case, you can always send yours in to be recycled. You won’t get any money from it, nor will you gain a new pair of AirPods, but it will feel better than throwing tiny electronics and batteries into the garbage. Just make sure you don’t send your AirPods in if you think they have one of the issues listed above, since you might be liable to pay extra fees. The Swap Club will help you figure out if your AirPods are eligible through the website’s chat feature, or through their support email address, support@theswapclub.com.
