The original $160 MSRP Apple AirPods (Gen 1) have been "bricked" by a forced Apple Firmware update. There is a support thread on Apple's website with hundreds of owners experiencing the same debilitating issues once their AirPods update to firmware 6.8.8. Explanations vary but the culprit seems to be that the firmware changes the battery health thresholds such that older AirPods effectively turn off - similar to "Batterygate" on the iPhone which was Apple's planned obsolescence scheme for which they were ultimately sued in a class action lawsuit that is expected to pay out between $300M and $500M (Popular Mechanics: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a33310378/apple-batterygate-iphone-throttling-settlement-lawsuit/

Please check out this Apple support thread and YouTube link to see if you experience the same issues and then please sign this petition for Apple to cover battery replacement costs or facilitate free user upgrades to Gen 2 AirPods. Thank you!

Main Apple Support Thread:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250494933

YouTube description of issues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isx0LZLTMx0&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=JAMESNEILCOOPER

6.8.8 Firmware Code discovery:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250494933?answerId=253599614022#253599614022