How to Change a Hayati Pod (and Why It Tastes Burnt If You Rush)

Changing a Hayati pod takes about five seconds once you know how your device opens — on most Hayati ranges the pod pulls straight up, but on the Pro Ultra Plus 25000 you lift and twist the mouthpiece instead. Most of the problems people have are not with the change itself but with what they do in the minute afterwards.

The short version

1. Hold the device body in one hand and grip the pod itself, not the mouthpiece.
2. Pull straight up. It is a friction fit held by magnets or clips — there is no thread, so do not twist. The Pro Ultra Plus is the exception: its liquid tanks sit in a carrier you lift and twist to release, so follow its own section below.
3. Peel the sticker or plug off the base of the new pod. There are usually two seals: one on the underside over the contacts, one over the mouthpiece.
4. Push the new pod straight down until it seats. You will feel it click or pull in.
5. Wait five minutes before your first draw. This is the step everyone skips, and it is the one that causes burnt taste.

Why the five minutes matters

A new pod arrives with a dry cotton wick sitting against the coil. When you fit it, liquid has to soak through that cotton before the coil can heat anything. Fire it dry and you scorch the cotton in a fraction of a second, and the burnt taste that follows will not go away — the pod is finished from that first puff.

Five minutes upright is enough for most pods. Ten is better if the device has been somewhere cold, because thicker cold liquid wicks more slowly. If you are impatient, take three or four draws with the device switched off, or without inhaling hard, to pull liquid into the wick mechanically before any heat is involved.

Priming is the whole reason a pod tastes burnt on day one and fine on day two for someone who waited. It is not a fault, and it is not a bad batch.

How each Hayati pod comes off, at a glance

The action is straight up on every range but one, and the resistance differs between them. The exception is the Pro Ultra Plus, which carries its liquid in two tanks inside a twist-off carrier rather than in a pod that sits in a bay.

Pro Max Plus. Magnetic. It comes away with very little force. If it feels stuck, you are probably gripping the mouthpiece and flexing it rather than pulling the pod body.

Pro Ultra Plus. The exception. Its two liquid tanks sit in a carrier that forms the top of the device, so nothing pulls straight up — lift the mouthpiece, twist to release, and the carrier lifts away with the tanks in it.

Rubik. Clipped rather than magnetic. It needs a more deliberate pull and gives a distinct click going back in. If you do not hear or feel the click, it is not seated, and it will not fire.

Mini Ultra. Smallest pod in the range and the fiddliest to grip. Use fingernails at the base rather than trying to hold the sides.

Pro Max S1. Two pods come in a pack, and the pod is effectively the whole liquid reservoir. Same straight-up action.

How to change Hayati Pro Ultra Plus pods

The Hayati Pro Ultra Plus 25000 is the one Hayati that does not work like the rest. Nothing pulls straight up out of a bay, and there is no magnet holding anything down. A £6.99 pack is the whole 22ml unit — a 2ml pod and the two 10ml tanks that feed it — and the tanks slide sideways into a carrier that forms the top of the device.

Step 1: Lift the mouthpiece and twist it

Lift the mouthpiece and twist it to release the carrier.

Step 2: Lift the carrier clear

Lift the carrier clear of the body, with both tanks still sitting in it.

Step 3: Slide the spent tanks out

Slide the spent tanks sideways out of the carrier.

Step 4: Slide the new pack’s tanks in

Slide the new pack’s tanks in the same way, each colour-matched to its side.

Step 5: Drop the carrier back

Drop the carrier back into the body until it seats.

Do not try to pull the tanks straight up out of the device, and do not force the mouthpiece. Pulling straight up is the Pro Max Plus action, and it is the mistake to avoid when you come to this device from a smaller Hayati.

Fit everything that comes in the pack rather than mixing new tanks with anything left from the last one — the 2ml pod is part of the pack too, not a permanent part of the device.

That same twist is what switches you between the two flavours in normal use — Hayati’s own phrase for it is “just twist it”. The screen shows L or R for the tank feeding the pod, and it updates after your next draw rather than as you turn it: L is the tank on your left with the screen facing you, and R is the one on your right.

If it tastes weak or thin for the first few draws after a change, stand the device upright for a few minutes and try again before assuming anything is wrong.

One thing to check before you order: 19 of the 40 Pro Ultra Plus 25000 packs are dual-flavour, carrying a different flavour in each tank, and a dual pack’s name lists both flavours, separated by a slash. Every flavour is on the Pro Ultra Plus pods page, at £6.99, or 2 for £12.99, and listed in the Hayati Pro Ultra Plus flavour directory. Whether a pack can be refilled instead is answered in can you refill a Hayati Pro Ultra Plus.

Changing a Hayati Pro Max Plus pod

The Pro Max Plus pod is magnetic and comes away with very little force, so if it feels stuck you are almost certainly holding the mouthpiece rather than the pod.

1. Check the replacement is a Pro Max Plus pod, and in the strength you want — this is the only Hayati range made in 0mg as well as 5, 10 and 20mg.
2. Grip the used pod low and lift it straight up. The magnets release with a light pull.
3. Peel both seals off the new pod, then press it down until the magnets take it.
4. Stand the device upright for five minutes before the first draw.

You can move between strengths pack by pack — any Pro Max Plus pod fits any Pro Max Plus device, which is how most people step down. Pods are £5.49, or three for £15, on the Pro Max Plus pods page; the nicotine-free ones are collected on our zero nicotine page.

Changing a Hayati Mini Ultra pod

A Mini Ultra pack holds two 2ml pods, so the first change is usually a swap to the second pod already in the box rather than a trip to the shop.

1. Hook a fingernail under the base of the used pod. It is the smallest pod in the range and there is not much to hold, so do not try to pinch the sides.
2. Lift it straight up and out.
3. Peel both seals off the second pod and press it down into the bay.
4. Stand the device upright for five minutes before drawing on it.

Because the pod is the whole reservoir on this range, a Mini Ultra gets changed more often than a Pro Max Plus or a Rubik — a pack is rated at 1,500 puffs across its two pods. Replacements are £3.49, or three packs for £9, on the Mini Ultra pods page.

Changing a Hayati Rubik pod

The Rubik is the one Hayati whose pod is held by clips rather than magnets, so it takes a more deliberate pull off and it has to click going back on.

1. Grip the pod at the base and pull straight up. It will not slide off as easily as a magnetic pod, and that is normal.
2. Wipe the empty bay with a dry cotton bud if any liquid has seeped in.
3. Peel both seals off the new pod and push it down until you hear or feel the click.
4. If there is no click, it is not seated and it will not fire. Lift it out and try again rather than pressing harder.

The click is the whole tell on this range — a Rubik that does nothing when you draw on it is nearly always an unclipped pod rather than a fault. Pods are £3.99, or three for £10, on the Rubik pods page.

The new pod will not seat

Almost always one of three things.

The base seal is still on. The underside sticker is easy to miss because it is often clear. Check the contacts are exposed metal before blaming the device.

There is liquid in the pod bay. A little seepage is normal when a pod comes out. Wipe the bay and the pod contacts with a dry cotton bud or a corner of kitchen roll — not a damp cloth, and never alcohol wipes on the contacts. A wet contact will read as no connection.

It is the wrong pod. Pods are not interchangeable between ranges. A Pro Max Plus pod can sit in the wrong device without ever connecting, and the Pro Ultra Plus 25000 takes a whole pack — a 2ml pod and two 10ml tanks — rather than a single pod. Match the range name printed on the pod to the device, not just the flavour. Our guide to which pods fit which device sets out the pairings.

How often you should be changing it

It depends which Hayati you own, because two different things get called “the pod”. On the Pro Max S1 and the Mini Ultra the pod is the whole reservoir — a 2ml pod runs to roughly 600–800 real puffs, which is about four days for a moderate vaper, and then you fit the next one. On the Pro Max Plus and Rubik the pod is fed from a sealed refill container in the same pack, and on the Pro Ultra Plus 25000 from two 10ml tanks, so nothing needs changing every four days: those packs are rated at 6,000, around 7,000 and around 25,000 puffs, and you replace the pack when it is spent.

Either way, you do not need to wait for it to taste bad — and you should not. The last few draws of an over-run pod are the ones most likely to taste harsh, because the wick is drying out again at the other end of its life.

Signs it is time regardless of the calendar: the flavour flattens noticeably, the vapour thins, or you find yourself drawing harder for the same result. If you want the arithmetic on cost per pod across the ranges, the puff guide works it through.

Changing a pod part-used

You can swap between two part-used pods freely — a lot of people run two flavours and alternate, which also slows the palate fatigue that makes a flavour seem to fade. Store the one you are not using upright, mouthpiece up, with the base seal back on if you kept it. Lying a part-used pod on its side is what causes leaking into the bay next time you fit it.

Do not store a part-used pod anywhere warm. A car in summer is the worst case: warm liquid thins, seeps past the seals, and you will find it in the bay rather than the wick.

Disposing of the old pod

A used pod is electrical waste, not household rubbish — it contains a coil and, in the case of a whole single-use device, a lithium cell. Most UK supermarkets and larger retailers now have a battery or small-electricals collection point, and councils take them at household waste centres. Never put a pod or device in with general refuse, and never post one that is swollen or leaking.

Getting replacements

We stock replacement pods for every range, with any multibuy applied automatically at the basket, what each range costs per 1,000 puffs worked out in full, and complete kits if the device itself has had enough. Free UK delivery over £20.

If a new, correctly primed pod still tastes burnt or will not fire, that is a fault rather than a technique problem — our troubleshooting guide covers what to check, and we will replace anything genuinely faulty.

These products contain nicotine, which is addictive. Over-18s only.