Apple stereo and hi-fi equipment
14 reports to CPSC, the latest made Feb 25, 2026. A report isn’t a recall.
Watch and the shortlist are kept with a free account, on every device. Your watch list. CPSC’s own search is on saferproducts.gov.
At a glance
From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.
- 14reports to CPSC
- Feb 25, 2026the latest report was made
- Jun 27, 2020the earliest
- 0with the company’s comments
- Brand
- Apple
- Maker
- Apple Inc.Makers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
- Product
- Stereo and hi-fi equipmentCPSC’s product type: Stereo or Hi-fi Components or Accessories (code 546), in Electronics: Audio & Radio
Other ways the reports write the brand (4)
“Apple Airpod Pro”, “Apple Air Pod Pro”, “Apple AirPod” and “Apple Renewed Ear pods”
By month
The numbers, as a table
| Month | Reports |
|---|---|
| February 2026 | 2 |
| August 2025 | 1 |
| November 2024 | 1 |
| August 2024 | 1 |
| July 2024 | 1 |
| April 2024 | 1 |
| March 2024 | 1 |
| February 2023 | 1 |
| January 2022 | 1 |
| December 2020 | 1 |
| August 2020 | 2 |
| June 2020 | 1 |
How badly anyone was hurt
- Seen by a doctor or nurse 4 CPSC: Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
- First aid 3 CPSC: Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional
- Hurt, no treatment 6 CPSC: Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
- No one hurt 1 CPSC: Incident, No Injury
As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.
The reports, as CPSC published them
Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.
Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.
CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.
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Seen by a doctor or nurse Made Feb 25, 2026, sent to the company Feb 27, 2026, published by CPSC Mar 13, 2026
The product, in the report: Apple AirPods 4 wireless earbuds with charging case. White color, standard dimensions. The product suffered a catastrophic thermal failure (melting) during charging.
On February 13, 2026, my Apple AirPods 4 (Serial: DJGT4TF56W) suffered a severe thermal failure while charging. I used an original Apple 20W power brick and an original Apple woven USB-C cable (from an iPhone box). The device began to smoke and melt. I sustained a thermal burn to my finger while attempting to disconnect the melting unit.
Injury and Impact: Due to the equipment failure, I was left without hearing protection during a 12-hour high-noise shift in a Data Center. This resulted in a documented 21dB hearing loss and persistent tinnitus (confirmed by Apple Hearing Test).
Manufacturer Negligence (Apple Case ID: [REDACTED]): I reported this to Apple on Feb 16. The company has repeatedly failed to meet its own safety deadlines (48-72 hours, then 2 business days). During my last interaction on Feb 21:
I provided macro-photos of the original Apple cable with its serial number, proving no third-party accessories were involved.
The Senior Advisor ([REDACTED]) abruptly terminated the chat session without providing a resolution or safety instructions.
Representative [REDACTED] admitted they “don’t have an exact time frame” for a response and couldn’t guarantee that the engineering team would ever respond.
As of today, Feb 25, Apple has completely ignored this fire hazard and my physical injuries. I am filing this to create a permanent federal record of this dangerous product defect and Apple’s gross negligence in handling a safety report.
- Model
- AirPods4
- Serial number
- DJGT4TF56W
- Bought from
- Best Buy
- Bought
- Oct 10, 2025
- Where
- Keller, Texas: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 41, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
-
No one hurt Made Feb 20, 2026, sent to the company Feb 24, 2026, published by CPSC Mar 10, 2026
The product, in the report: Airpods 4, White Color 0.26 Pounds 8.19 x 8.19 x 3.33 inches with lithium-ion batteries
i ordered airpods 4 form amazon the box looks dusty when i opened it it wouldn’t turn on and i tried charge it couple times it wouldn’t work i can smell chemicwl leaking through the airpods charging port and the amazon customer service wont listen and do about the policy hazard shipping lithium item
- Model
- Airpods 4 Normal One Not ANC version
- UPC
- 195949688522
- Serial number
- L69WL74KVM
- Bought from
- Amazon
- Bought
- Feb 18, 2026
- Where
- Duluth, Georgia: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Unknown
- The reporter’s relation to them
- No Relationship
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Incident, No Injury
-
First aid Made Aug 16, 2025, sent to the company Aug 20, 2025, published by CPSC Sep 4, 2025
The product, in the report: Apple AirpPods 2nd Generation
Apple AirPods 2nd Generation, the AirPod tip got lodged in my right ear when I was taking them out of my ears while driving. Initially I thought nbd I can just get it out w/my fingers. Well, boy was I wrong! It was buried so deep in my ear canal I literally could NOT get it out. So I started panicking. I had tweezers in the car so I literally had to use TWEEZERS while driving on the [REDACTED] Expressway, which has NO shoulder lanes and ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE TO PULL OVER and I was stuck in traffic ! So it was torture. I had to blindly fish it out w tweezers and I cut myself on my face and ear until finally I got it out! It was THE most scary, stressful situation Id ever physically been in - in my adult life! Upon looking into it online I learned that Im not alone! This apparently happens often! Not good, Apple. Not. Good.
- Model
- AirPods 2nd Generation
- UPC
- 190199098428
- Serial number
- D598014371
- Bought from
- Apple Store
- Bought
- Apr 1, 2023
- Where
- New York, New York: Street or Highway
- Who was involved
- Age 41, Female
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional
-
Seen by a doctor or nurse Made Nov 10, 2024, sent to the company Nov 14, 2024, published by CPSC Nov 29, 2024
The product, in the report: Apple AirPods 4 ANC - there are devices inserted in the ears to receive audio wirelessly over [REDACTED] from devices such as an iPhone.
On September 24, 2024, I used my AirPods 4 ANC with noise cancellation turned on to listen to podcasts while my wife was watching TV in the same room. After she turned off the TV, I stopped the podcast and removed the AirPods from my ears. I immediately heard a white-noise sound in both ears. This is a sound that I hear but others do not. Since this episode on 9-24-2024, I hear this sound continuously. I had never heard this sound before using the AirPods on 9-24-2024.
- Model
- AirPods 4 ANC
- Serial number
- K9ML471R3M
- Bought from
- apple.com (ordered online in an Apple store)
- Bought
- Sep 12, 2024
- Where
- Carlsbad, California: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 76, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Aug 21, 2024, sent to the company Aug 26, 2024, published by CPSC Sep 10, 2024
The product, in the report: Apple AirPod Pro. Earbuds.
I have Apple AirPods that I purchased in 2021 and they emit static noise so loud they could cause hearing loss
- Model
- AirPods Pro
- Where
- Warren, Michigan: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 51, Unknown
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple AirPod, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Jul 15, 2024, sent to the company Jul 18, 2024, published by CPSC Aug 2, 2024
The product, in the report: Apple Airpod Pro
I own a pair of Apple airpod pros. They make a loud humming sound in my ears irregularly and frequently when I am trying to listen to music or podcasts. The sound is incredibly uncomfortable and may have contributed to my development of tinnitus.
- Model
- A2084
- Serial number
- GX6G9R7C0C6L
- Bought from
- Apple Chestnut Street
- Bought
- Mar 17, 2021
- Where
- San Francisco, California: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Unspecified
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple Airpod Pro, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Apr 5, 2024, sent to the company Apr 9, 2024, published by CPSC Apr 23, 2024
The product, in the report: Apple Air Pod (Gen 3) - WHITE Serial No. M63T4VT2PT
I burnt my finger on my Apple Airpod (gen3). My Apple Airpod was charging wirelessly on the Apple wireless charger. When I grabbed it, the casing was very hot, and the back metal contacts were even more hot and it burnt my finger. I was alarmed of the heat, and inspected the earbud but couldnt see anything visual externally, but when i opened the case, i saw that the left earbud had melted in side the case.
- Model
- Airpod (3rd Generation)
- UPC
- 9425281838
- Serial number
- M63T4VT2PT
- Bought from
- Costco
- Bought
- Feb 5, 2023
- Where
- Santa Ana, California: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 44, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Mar 20, 2024, sent to the company Mar 22, 2024, published by CPSC Apr 5, 2024
The product, in the report: Apple AirPods Pro, 1st generation
I was out walking with my right Apple AirPod Pro in my ear. I was listening to a podcast at very low volume. Suddenly, the AirPod emitted a LOUD burst of digital-sounding static. I ripped it out of my ear right away but my ear is still ringing from this loud sound. It was much louder than my AirPod was set to, and louder than I even knew it could go. I later [REDACTED] this and found all sorts of reports of people having similar issues:
[REDACTED]
- Model
- A2084
- Serial number
- GXCZR0SWLKKT
- Where
- San Francisco, California, United States, California: Street or Highway
- Who was involved
- Age 31, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Feb 16, 2023, sent to the company Feb 24, 2023, published by CPSC Mar 10, 2023
The product, in the report: Apple® AirPods ([REDACTED] Wireless Headphones - White), (Includes: AirPods Generations 1, 2 & 3 / AirPod Pros Generations 1 & 2 / AirPod Max Generation 1) Models: A1523 , A1722, / A2031, A2032, / A2564, A2565 / A2083, A2084 / A2931, A2698, A2699 / A2096 Serials: GX8GTZTF1059 (Original), H1CHW7C71059 (Repair/Replacement), H1DCK5SPLKKT (Original), H79DVC6NLKKT (Repair/Replacement) UPC Codes: 194252721247, 190199246850 Purchase Dates: 10/14/2016 (AirPods: Gen1), 05/04/2018 (AirPods: Gen1), 10/06/19 (AirPod Pro: Gen1), 01/20/22 (AirPod Pro: Gen1), 04/2/2021 (AirPod Max: Gen 1)
When using Apple AirPods since there first release, they have a low battery sound that when it goes off its most times than not will be 3 times louder then the currently set volume causing immense pain in my ear and head. I suffer with hyperacusis in one ear and when sounds are above 75 decibels it sends a shreeking and painfully sharp pain in my head, resulting in me freezing up. The sound itself was not made very well and is not soft and pleasant to the human ear. even with only one Apple AirPods in my unaffected ear the low battery sound is so loud it hurts that ear too. I’ve recorded with an internal audio decibel meter and the low battery sound ranges from 70 -100 decibels when it goes off, while there are time it will not go off 3 times as loud 90% of the time it does. I’d say it take a few months of constant use before they start to act up, and it occurs even faster if you get them replaced by apple since the replacements are not the same quality as new in the box. I have had this same issue with all AirPods. (AirPods Gen1, AirPods Gen2, AirPod Pros Gen1, AirPod Pros Gen2, AirPod Max gen1). This issue started when I first bought AirPods back in 2016 and with each new version that came out till present. It’s not possible to sleep in AirPods since the horrible sound and the audio level goes off far to high; and since I also suffer with insomnia from a severe pain condition I need special audio to sleep. I’ve reported how painful the sound is and the issue with it being 3 times louder than it should be to apple multiple times for years and they have done nothing about it.
- Model
- See Description
- UPC
- See Description
- Serial number
- See Description
- Bought from
- Bestbuy Store, & Apple Online Store
- Where
- Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 21, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
-
Seen by a doctor or nurse Made Jan 4, 2022, sent to the company Jan 26, 2022, published by CPSC Feb 9, 2022
The product, in the report: Ear pods A picture of the Amazon ad can be furnished. There is a warning from the state of California that these airpods cause harm. [Purchased] from Aamzon. Sold by Best Service Sellerz.
10/28 Caller is reporting that her adult son received ear injury from the ear pods. She stated that he got electric shock from the product and it felt like he was under water. (10/28) Caller stated that he received medical attention and was treated. She stated that he will follow up with his neurologist. Caller stated that she reported the incident to the company and the retailer. The product has been returned to the retailer. Caller feels that the ear pods are a safety hazard and should be reported.
- Serial number
- unknown.
- Bought from
- Amazon.com
- Bought
- Oct 18, 2021, about then
- Where
- Flushing, New York: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 21, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- My Child
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple Renewed Ear pods, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
-
First aid Made Dec 2, 2020, sent to the company Dec 29, 2020, published by CPSC Jan 13, 2021
The product, in the report: “Apple AirPods with Charging Case”
Used new pair of Apple AirPods at low volume and immediately felt pressure in my head, had lasting headache and trouble thinking clearly. Repeated on a second day, same symptoms within less than 1 minute. Head pressure, pain, nausea, and foggy thinking.
- Model
- MV7N2AM/
A - UPC
- 190199098428
- Serial number
- H25CP07ELX2Y
- Bought from
- Amazon
- Bought
- Nov 30, 2020
- Where
- Delmar, New York: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 30, Female
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional
-
Seen by a doctor or nurse Made Aug 18, 2020, sent to the company Sep 17, 2020, published by CPSC Oct 8, 2020
The product, in the report: Apple Air Pods Pro
Extreme severe allergic reaction to Apple Air Pod Pro earbuds. Pain, swelling, ear discharge, flaking skin, decrease of hearing in both ears. Doctor put me on antibiotics, both oral and topical. It took weeks of not using the ear buds for most symptoms to resolve. I still feel I have decreased hearing in my right ear and still some flaking skin.
- Model
- Apple Air Pod Pro
- Bought from
- Apple Store, Pennsylvania
- Bought
- Dec 16, 2019, about then
- Where
- Audubon, Pennsylvania: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 45, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple Air Pod Pro, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, Seen by Medical Professional
-
First aid Made Aug 14, 2020, sent to the company Sep 21, 2020, published by CPSC Nov 10, 2020
The product, in the report: Apple airpods pro
While using my brand new Apple airpods pro for the first time, I experienced extreme dizziness and nausea after less than 10 minutes of use. This triggered a migraine. I contacted apple support who “ran the issue through their engineers” who said that the problem was with me and that I see a doctor. I have reached out to numerous friends with the device and searched online fourms, only to discover that this is a universal problem. The reason i’m so sensitive to the changes- the reason that I know the problem is with the airpods- is that I suffer from migraines, and had been feeling perfectly well until using the airpods pro. I believe that there is a serious safety concern regarding the devices, but that many people ignore the symptoms (as my friends have)- and are exposing themselves to unknown damage. The packing has no mention of any risk using the earbuds, but i’m quite sure that they are unnecessary damaging millions of ears. I say this because the dizziness and nausea was also accompanied by inner ear pain which led me to believe that the airpods pro might slowly harm the inner ear, but it was only because I’m so sensitive to changes that I realized the source.
- Bought
- Aug 9, 2020
- Where
- Coulmbia, Maryland: Home/
Apartment/ Condominium - Who was involved
- Age 19, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional
-
Hurt, no treatment Made Jun 27, 2020, sent to the company Jul 16, 2020, published by CPSC Jul 30, 2020
The product, in the report: Apple Airpod Pro
While wearing the Apple Air Pod pros, I experienced a high pitched sound coming from the right ear bud. The sound was extremely loud and left my right ear ringing. Now when I take the air bud out of the case, the loud sound activates. I am scared to try to fix the issue because of how loud the sound is and the possibility of damaging my hearing.
- Model
- Airpods Pro with Wireless Case
- Serial number
- GX4C3K9GLKKT
- Bought from
- Apple Store Fair Oaks, Virginia
- Bought
- Feb 15, 2020
- Where
- Unspecified: Other
- Who was involved
- Age 31, Male
- The reporter’s relation to them
- Self
- As this report names them
- Brand Apple Airpod Pro, made or sold by Apple Inc.
- How badly, in CPSC’s words
- Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received
CPSC’s disclaimer
Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.
Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.
Sources
Sources
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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.
Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.
Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.