Earlier this month, Apple AirPods turned three years old on December 13th.

Do you remember skepticism when they first launched? It is hard to believe that analysts suggest that more than 65 million pairs of Aipods have been sold to date. We have been walking around with these funny looking white things sticking out of our ears for years now, and we’ve not looked back since.

Sure, the sound quality isn’t the greatest and sound technology has moved on in the last few years, but hey, I love mine and I’m still holding onto my original Apple AirPods that I’ve had since launch.

However, if you’re like me and still holding on, you may have noticed that the battery in your AirPods last no where near what they used to. I’m finding that I can barely complete a brief gym session without the low battery warning ringing in my ears.

The thing is, I’m perfectly happy with these for the gym. They stay in my ears when I run (I’m one of the lucky ones) and the sound quality is still good. I’ve been tempted to buy the wireless charging case and I’ve heard good things about the Apple AirPods Pro. But is it worth the £249 price tag?

If you don’t want to pay to upgrade, there is an alternative.

Apple is now offering to service your AirPods for a fee. The price is £49 and it includes the cost of replacing all of your batteries in your AirPods. The Apple website lists this as £45 and it isn’t clear if this is per battery, but my local store in Cardiff has reassured me the price of £49 is for both AirPods.

This is by far the cheapest way to breathe new life into your AirPods, instead of forking out £138 for a replacement pair (with wired charger). And hey, I guess if I want to change to a wireless charger, I can buy this for £69 (currently cheapest price with Very) and still save a few quid.