Are you sure your AirPods Max have the latest firmware? This issue was addressed in an update right after the first version came out and people reported the issue you're describing:

If you set your AirPods Max down and leave them stationary for 5 minutes, they go into a low power mode to preserve battery charge. After 72 stationary hours out of the Smart Case, your AirPods Max go into a lower power mode that turns off Bluetooth and Find My to preserve battery charge further

[Archive link, as the latest Support doc doesn't have this wording any longer]

[0]https://web.archive.org/web/20210315052229/https://support.a...

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StefanKarpinski 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I got excited there for a second — free fix for the most annoying problem with my headphones! But no, my AirPods Max have the latest firmware and still have this issue. Any time I leave them for more than a day, the battery is drained.

	▲	nebula8804 29 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Have you reset your AirPods Max by holding down the non circular button until it starts blinking white and then reconnecting? There have been times where the AirPods Max have sort of crashed, and I cannot get them to connect properly. I find that forgetting the AirPods in the phone/computer and then resetting them by holding down the button allows them to start fresh with a new state. Maybe that can help resolve the issue for you. But Im constantly switching them between three nearby devices so maybe thats why I have this problem. Just throwing it out there in case you haven't tried a reset.
	▲	Hippocrates 42 minutes ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		That doesn't sound right. I have them on my desk. Don't even know where the bra case is. I use and charge them only once in a blue moon, perhaps every 2 months, and the battery does not die. I don't lay them flat or anything either.
	▲	frizlab an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Try hard reset (long press (~15s) both buttons). I know I have had this issue and did not have it after reset. Though I do have another annoying, and seemingly unique issue: sometimes, when adjusting the position of the headphone, they do a “click” (and a loud one), and just shut down. After a few seconds, they boot up again. The farthest from the last reset, the more often it happens. I have no idea why.

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ruszki 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

What does “down” and “stationary” mean? I put my Sony to random paces, mainly just throwing it into my backpack. Would that be considered as down and stationary? Would it be turned off if I’m on the move? In a car? On a bus?

	▲	StefanKarpinski 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I mean, I regularly leave them on a shelf in my apartment and they apparently do not consider that "down" or "stationary" enough to not just drain the battery completely. Truly a bafflingly bad design from the company that is (was) known for great hardware design.

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femiagbabiaka 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

It's still extremely odd that they don't just... turn off.. ever? Even the case marketing copy notes this:

> When stored in the soft, slim Smart Case, AirPods Max enter an ultra‑low‑power state.

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xxpor 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Perhaps for Find My/UWB support?

	▲	tombot an hour ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Find my works fine on a coin cell battery on AirTag, hard to imagine they need to power up the headphones to do the same.
	▲	iAMkenough an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Funny enough, the original and the new AirPods Max don't have UWB. That won't help me find my headphones in my house. If for Find My, why stay in "low power" mode for days before moving to "ultralow power" mode? Is silly.