The ResMed AirSense 11 is a CPAP machine with a color touchscreen, built-in humidifier, and Bluetooth connectivity. Getting it running takes about 10 minutes out of the box, but getting comfortable with all its features takes a bit longer. Here’s everything you need to know, from first-night setup to daily maintenance.
What’s in the Box
Your AirSense 11 comes with the machine itself, a 65W power supply, a HumidAir 11 humidifier tub, air tubing (standard or the ClimateLineAir heated tube, depending on your package), and a set of air filters. You’ll need to supply your own mask separately, which consists of a frame, cushion, and headgear. If your sleep clinic or equipment provider didn’t include a mask, you’ll need one before your first night.
First-Time Setup
Place the machine on a flat, stable surface near your bed, ideally at or below pillow height. Plug in the 65W power supply to the back of the machine and connect it to a wall outlet. The touchscreen will light up once power is connected.
Next, fill the HumidAir 11 water tub. It holds a maximum of 380 mL, and there’s a fill line molded into the tub so you don’t have to guess. If you have the standard water tub, use distilled water only. If you have the cleanable version of the tub, regular drinking-quality tap water is fine. Slide the filled tub into the back of the machine until it clicks into place.
Connect your air tubing to the outlet on top of the machine, then attach the other end to your mask. If you have the ClimateLineAir heated tube, it plugs directly into the machine and handles temperature and humidity automatically. With standard tubing, you’ll adjust humidity manually through the touchscreen.
Put on your mask, lie down in your normal sleeping position, and press the Start button on the touchscreen. That’s it for night one.
Navigating the Touchscreen
The AirSense 11 replaced the dial-and-button interface of older models with a full color touchscreen. You’ll interact with it by tapping and swiping, similar to a smartphone. The home screen shows your therapy status and gives you access to settings before you start a session.
The main areas you’ll use are “My Options,” where you adjust comfort settings like humidity and pressure relief, and a sleep summary screen that shows you basic data from your previous night. A “More” menu gives access to additional settings like airplane mode, Bluetooth pairing, and display brightness.
Comfort Settings That Matter Most
Two settings make the biggest difference in how comfortable therapy feels: Ramp and EPR (Expiratory Pressure Relief). Both are adjustable through the My Options menu.
Ramp
Ramp starts the machine at a lower pressure and gradually increases to your prescribed level, giving you time to fall asleep before full pressure kicks in. You can set ramp time from 5 to 45 minutes in 5-minute increments, turn it off entirely, or set it to Auto. The Auto setting detects when you’ve fallen asleep and raises the pressure on its own, which most people find works well after a few nights of adjustment.
Expiratory Pressure Relief
EPR reduces the air pressure slightly when you breathe out, making it feel less like you’re exhaling against a wall of air. There are three levels: Level 1 drops pressure by 1 cm of water, Level 2 by 2, and Level 3 by 3. If the machine feels uncomfortable when you exhale, try increasing EPR one level at a time. You can also turn it off completely if you don’t need it. Your prescribed pressure settings are locked by your provider, but EPR is usually left unlocked for you to experiment with.
Connecting the myAir App
The AirSense 11 pairs with ResMed’s myAir app over Bluetooth, giving you a daily snapshot of your sleep therapy on your phone. To set it up, download the myAir app and create an account. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on in your phone’s settings. In the app, tap “Add CPAP machine,” and you’ll be prompted to enter a 4-digit pairing key that appears on your AirSense 11 touchscreen.
Once paired, the app provides a daily myAir score that summarizes how well your session went, factoring in usage hours, mask seal, and events per hour. You’ll also get coaching tips for improving comfort, alerts if something is off with your mask or machine, and short how-to videos. The score resets each day, so it’s a useful way to spot trends over your first few weeks of therapy.
Using the Humidifier Effectively
The built-in humidifier adds moisture to the pressurized air, which prevents the dry mouth, sore throat, and nasal congestion that many CPAP users experience without it. You can adjust the humidity level through the touchscreen. Start at the default setting and adjust up if you’re waking with a dry nose or mouth, or down if you’re getting water condensation (called “rainout”) collecting in your tubing or mask.
If you’re using the ClimateLineAir heated tube, the system manages humidity and tube temperature together automatically. This virtually eliminates rainout because the tube stays warm enough to prevent condensation. With standard tubing, you may need to experiment more, especially in cooler rooms where the temperature difference between the humidified air and the unheated tube encourages water droplets to form.
Always empty any remaining water from the tub each morning. Leaving stagnant water sitting in the tub between sessions encourages bacterial growth.
Cleaning and Maintenance Schedule
Keeping the machine clean isn’t complicated, but it does require consistency. Here’s what to do and when.
Daily
- Mask cushion: Wipe it down with a damp cloth or a mask-safe wipe each morning. Oils from your skin break down the silicone over time and cause leaks.
- Humidifier tub: Empty any leftover water, wipe the tub with a clean cloth, and let it air dry out of direct sunlight.
Weekly
- Mask frame and headgear: Hand wash with mild soap and warm water. Rinse thoroughly and let air dry.
- Air tubing: Rinse the inside and outside in a sink with mild dish soap and warm drinking-quality water. Hang or lay flat on a towel to dry completely before your next use.
- Humidifier tub (deep clean): Soak in warm water with mild dish soap, or in a solution of 1 part white vinegar to 9 parts water at room temperature. Rinse thoroughly with warm water afterward.
Replacing Filters and Supplies
The AirSense 11 uses air filters on the back of the machine to keep dust and particles out of the motor and airway. Replace these monthly. If you have both a standard filter and a hypoallergenic filter, both follow the same monthly replacement schedule. Skipping filter changes forces the motor to work harder and can introduce contaminants into the air you breathe.
Mask cushions and nasal pillows also wear out roughly every month. The silicone loses its shape and softness, leading to air leaks that reduce therapy effectiveness and trigger leak alerts in the myAir app. Headgear and mask frames last longer, but inspect them regularly for stretched-out fabric or cracked plastic.
Tips for Your First Few Weeks
Most people need two to four weeks to fully adjust to CPAP therapy. If you’re struggling to fall asleep with the mask on, try wearing it for 20 to 30 minutes while reading or watching TV before bed. This helps your brain stop associating the mask with discomfort. Use the Ramp feature on Auto so you’re not hit with full pressure while still awake.
If you’re waking up with the mask off, it usually means you’re removing it in your sleep due to discomfort you’re not fully aware of. Common culprits are a mask that’s too tight (tightening rarely fixes leaks and usually makes them worse), dry air irritating your nasal passages (increase humidity), or pressure that feels too high when you exhale (increase EPR). Work through one variable at a time rather than changing everything at once, and give each adjustment two or three nights before deciding whether it helped.
Mouth breathing is another common challenge, especially with nasal masks. If you wake up with a dry mouth, a chin strap can help keep your jaw closed. Alternatively, switching to a full-face mask that covers both your nose and mouth eliminates the problem entirely, since air pressure is maintained even when your mouth opens.