Airpods Max with USB-C: New firmware comes and does not come

Unexpectedly comes often: Apple had surprisingly announced in March, with iOS 18.4 and Co. A new firmware To publish Max with USB-C for the AirPods, which sensibly expand the range of functions. Finally, it should be possible to carry out both latency-free audio compounds (e.g. for video editing) and Lossless broadcasts by cable. In addition, a new Apple adapter cable was launched on the market, with which connections can be made to analog jack sockets. The problem: Although iOS 18.4, MacOS 15.4 and other new operating systems have been available since Monday evening-incriminated-but the Airpods-Max firmware is and does not come.

File cannot be downloaded

This had initially noticed users on Reddit, that could prove this in log files: The update to version 7E99 could not be downloaded and therefore did not install. “Apple has not yet published the update file, which reports to your Mac or iPhone, from where the update is to be downloaded from the update, which means that you cannot update the new firmware at the moment.” The assumption: Maybe someone “forgot at any point that the file that refers to the latest update for the Airpods Max (USB-C) has to be published,” said user PDFU. This can be seen in the logs of UARPUpdaterServiceLegacyAudio and nsurlsessiond. PDFUs view the error problem is done by itself as soon as new firmware has been published for the first time.

However, it remains unclear whether the Apple, which has not yet been released, was not intentionally unpublished, so there may be showstopper bugs at the end. In fact, Apple had On his Airpods firmware website initially announced that 7E99, i.e. the latest firmware for the model series, is available. That was on Tuesday evening. In the meantime, however, the page has been updated. There is now an asterisk behind 7E99 that refers to a “Coming Soon” (“comes soon”) in the small print.

Firmware update process a little like Voodoo

Basically, the import of a new AirPods firmware-regardless of which model-as well as for audio devices from the Apple subsidiary Beats, is not a very simple undertaking. So there is no way to force updates. Instead, a routine must be carried out a little of Voodoo. At Airpods Max, the devices must first be connected to an iPhone, iPad or Mac via Bluetooth on which the last operating system version runs. With the Airpods Max with USB-C, this must currently be iOS / iPados 18.4 or MacOS 15.4.

The devices must in turn must have WLAN. Then you should first plug in the USB charging cable and then into a USB-C power supply (or a charging connection). The Airpods Max must then be in the Bluetooth area of ​​iPhone, iPad or Mac. Then you should wait 30 minutes and connect the AirPods Max to the iOS, iPados or MacOS device again and check the firmware, which is possible via the Bluetooth settings. There are also users who recommend that Apple Music have at least 30 seconds long to ensure that the firmware has been downloaded.