Can I Charge One Earbud at a Time?

When your earbuds are low on battery, but you still want to use them, the question that comes to mind is- Can I charge one earbud and keep using the other? Even if you want to do it, it just doesn’t feel right, and there is always fear that charging one earpiece can damage it. So, is it okay to charge one earbud at a time or not?

You can charge one earbud at a time and wear the other one in the meantime to listen to anything. However, you should not make a habit of doing this every time, as it might cause problems for the earbuds and the charging case.

In this guide, I am explaining when you should charge one earbud and why you should not do it everyday.

Charging One Earbud- When Should You Do It?

You should only charge one earbud when the charging is getting low but you still have to wear the earpiece. So, you decide it is better to use one and charge the other.

You should never do it if there is a considerable battery (say more than 40 percent) as companies manufacture earbuds and charging cases keeping in mind that users will charge both of the earpieces.

Here are the two acceptable situations when you can charge one earbud at a time:

When You Have to Listen to Important Video/Audio

When you have to listen to any important video or lecture and hear the beeping indicating low battery, then you can put one earbud in the case and plug in the charger while continuing to use the other.

After some time, you should take out the charged earbud and then put the one you were using in the case and plug in the charger again. According to Apple, five minutes of charging can allow AirPods Pro to work for one hour. So, charge one AirPod for a few minutes, take it out, put the other one in and start using the charged one for an hour without any worry.

When you do this, you will be able to hear the video or lecture smoothly.

When You Have an Online Meeting To Attend

If you have an online meeting to attend, but you fear that the earbuds might turn off due to low battery, then you can put one earpiece in the case and start charging it. In the meantime, you can join the meeting with the other earbud on.

In addition to these situations, if there is any emergency or critical case when you have to use earbuds and there is a low battery, you can also charge one and use the other.

But these situations don’t occur daily. If you keep on charging one earbud at a time every day, you will face several troubles.

Let’s have a look at them.

Why Should You Not Charge One Earbud At a Time Every Day?

Charging one earpiece at a time daily can give rise to some problems, which are:

Affects Charging Case

The efficiency of the charging case can go downhill if you charge one earbud at a time. It is because the case will have to work a lot more (over time) when you do this.

Typically, a charging case can charge both earbuds from 1.5 hours to 2 hours.

But if you charge one earpiece at a time, the charging case will need 4 hours to charge both earbuds to 100%. During this whole time, the current will keep on flowing from the port of the case to the charging points, which will eventually impact the efficiency.

Will Affect Your User Experience

If you just wear one earbud and charge the other every day, then your user experience will be affected. Earbuds give the best time when they both are worn.

But if you use only one, then the whole point of earbuds goes in vain.

Earpieces were manufactured so that no background noise could disturb people, and they could only listen to what you wanted to hear without interruptions. But when you use one earpiece, background noises will still irritate you.

Related: How To Extend The Battery Life Of Earbuds?

Limits The Features

When you charge one earbud at a time, the features also get limited. For example, tapping or pressing the left earbud decreases the volume, and tapping or pressing the right earbud increases it.

But if you are using only one earbud, you will not be able to use any of the volume decreasing/increasing features.

Similarly, phone calls come from the left earbuds. If you are only wearing the right one, you won’t be able to know that there is an incoming call (unless you have a phone near you).

You May Lose The Earbud

One big disadvantage of charging one earbud at a time is that you may eventually lose one of the earpieces.

Earbuds are safe when both are put in the case and used at the same time, But if you keep only one in the case and use the other, you will have to take extra care of both and where you are placing them.

In most cases, people complain about losing one earbud when they put the other one on charging.

If you have AirPods, you can use Find My Feature to locate the lost earbud. But if you are using any cheap ones, then you will have to go through a lot of effort and trouble to find the lost earpiece.

Related: How Long Does It Take To Charge Earbuds?

Final Words

All-inclusive, you can charge one earbud at a time. However, don’t start doing it every day because it can cause lots of problems for you.

The biggest one is that the changing case efficiency will be affected. Plus, wearing one earbud only also limits the features. In addition, the user experience will also be affected as the background noise will continue to disturb you.

You should only charge one earbud at a time when the battery is running low and you have an important meeting to attend or a critical lecture to hear.