Warning: I purchased AirPods 1st gen and after a firmware update, they just stopped working. They disconnect after a few minutes. It's been over a year and this

Warning: I purchased AirPods 1st gen and after a firmware update, they just stopped working. They disconnect after a few minutes. It's been over a year and this hasn't been fixed. This seems to be a widespread issue (see links below) - but at the Apple store they just tell you to buy replacements for almost full price. I'm quite frustrated with this and thus won't purchase these again. I think they are designed to last a year or two max, which is just too expensive and environmentally unfriendly. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8499626 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8499626 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251067580 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251067580 https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/h7furn/left_airpod_constantly_disconnects https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/h7furn/left_airpod... https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251532951 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251532951 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250494933 https://discussions.apple.com/thread/250494933 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEyTDJJ6GPc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEyTDJJ6GPc (see all the comments)