Apple ’s AirPods are infamous for becoming e - wastefulness when their battery no longer retain a charge thanks to a design that makes them highly arduous to recreate , but not insufferable to furbish up , thanks to the movement of Swiss ironware hackerKen Pillonelwho’sshared his solution online .
You might call back Ken Pillonel as the engineer who one - upped Apple byhacking a fully - functional USB - C portonto an iPhone . That one - off macrocosm go on tosell for over $ 86,000at vendue , while Pillonel continued to show off his hacking acquirement bydowngrading an Android phonewith Apple ’s proprietary Lightning port — a truly curse creation that he probably could n’t pay someone to employ .
Pillonel ’s latest target are the Apple AirPods wireless earbuds which Apple will simply replace if drug user set out to experience institutionalize or battery issues ( take over they ’re under warranty ) as a result of a design that stimulate opening their charge type to gain memory access to the shelling without damage it unacceptable . As Pillonel discovered , if you want to supplant the charge shell ’s shelling yourself , you need to hail at it with a cutting tool to take away the outer case , ruin it in the process .
Gif:YouTube - Exploring the Simulation
Through some trial and error , Pillonel managed to design and 3-D mark a transposition out sleeve for the case , and with the assist of a resin three-D printer rather of one that uses a plastic filum extruder , it came out looking quite professional . But he did n’t finish there .
An inevitable e - waste fate is n’t the AirPods ’ only sinfulness . Apple still continues to hobble its wireless earpiece with a Lightning charging port — even on the$550 AirPods Max . So while interchange the battery on his AirPods charging event , Pillonel figured he ’d go the surplus land mile again ( or kilometer , establish he lives in Switzerland ) and replace its Lightning charging larboard with USB - C.
As with hisiPhone rise , putting a USB - snow port on the AirPods ’ charge case was no gentle feat , requiring customs PCBs and even mounting bracket to be designed and order before preciseness bonding and even welding could be attempt . But it act , and Pillonel is one dance step closer to reject Apple ’s Lightning cables from his life all , and you could be too .
He ’s not frame the hacked AirPods up for auction bridge , but Pillonel has make a site , AirPodsDirtySecret.com , that links out to the 3D files and PCB files on GitHub for those who want to seek this hack themselves . He ’s also in the process of lay up a giveaway for the custom component he created , and gauge the interest of potentially putting together an AirPods climb outfit that anyone can buy — but will plausibly still require skill with a Dremel and a soldering branding iron .
Daily Newsletter
Get the best technical school , science , and culture news in your inbox daily .
News from the future , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
