AirPods are great for listening to music, taking calls, and listening to podcasts, but they sometimes don’t work or get lost. In this article, we’ll cover some of the most common questions people have about their AirPods.
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How to Find AirPods That Are Missing
If you’ve lost your AirPods and they still have charge, the easiest and most effective way to find them is by using Apple’s own Find My app. However, in this section, we will also cover other ways to find your lost AirPods.
Using the Find My App to Locate Your AirPods
Apple has a great app called Find My that launched in 2019 that lets you find all kinds of Apple devices, including AirPods. If your AirPods were connected to an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac before you lost them, you’re in luck. The Find My app may be able to help you locate your lost AirPods.
Follow these steps to use the Find My app:
- Make sure your macOS or iOS are up-to-date.
- Open the Find My app.
- Go to the Devices tab.
- Select your AirPods from the list of devices.
- Choose one:
- See the location of your AirPods or “No location found.” if there was an issue finding your AirPods.
- Tap “Play Sound” to have your AirPods play a sound that gradually gets louder allowing you to find them.
If you don’t have the Find My app or you are on a computer, you can log onto iCloud to use Find My.
Note: If you have an iPhone 12 or later, you can also set up your AirPods to notify you when you have left them behind. Do this by setting up the “Notify When Left Behind” notification within the Find My app.
How to Find an AirPod Case
If you have lost your AirPods case and your AirPods are still in them, you’re in luck. You can use the Find My app to locate your missing AirPods case. To find your AirPods case using the Find My app:
Follow these steps to use the Find My app:
- Make sure your macOS or iOS are up-to-date.
- Open the Find My app.
- Go to the Devices tab.
- Select your AirPods from the list of devices.
- If there’s a green dot next to your device name, choose one of the following options:
- See the location of your AirPods case or “No location found.” if there was an issue finding your AirPods case.
- Tap “Play Sound” to have your AirPods in their case play a sound that gradually gets louder allowing you to find them.
How to Find an AirPod Case Without Your AirPods
However, if your AirPods are not in their case, you will have a harder time finding your AirPod case. This is the case if you see a grey dot next to your device name. A grey dot next to your AirPods case in the Find My app means that the device is offline and not connected to the internet.
If you see a grey dot next to your AirPods, follow these instructions:
- Tap the Device icon in the Find My app.
- Select your AirPods.
- See where your AirPods and AirPods case were last connected to the internet and broadcast their location.
In the future, we recommend adding an AirTag to your device to make finding it easier.
How to Find One Lost AirPod
If you’re only missing one AirPod, you can find it by putting the one you have back in the case. You can then use the Find My app to see where the missing AirPod might be. To find one lost AirPod, follow these steps:
- Put the AirPod you have back in the case.
- Make sure your macOS or iOS are up-to-date.
- Open the Find My app.
- Go to the Devices tab.
- Select your AirPods from the list of devices.
- Choose one:
- See the location of your lost AirPod or “No location found.” if there was an issue finding your AirPods.
- Tap “Play Sound” to have your missing AirPod play a sound that gradually gets louder allowing you to find it.
How to Find Your AirPods When Offline
Unfortunately, when AirPods are offline you will not be able to see their live location on the map or be able to play a sound to find your AirPods. However, there is still hope of finding them.
Follow these steps to find your AirPods when they’re offline:
- Make sure your macOS or iOS are up-to-date.
- Open the Find My app.
- Go to the Devices tab.
- Select your AirPods from the list of devices.
- See the location of your AirPods. You may see “Offline” or “No location found.” if there was an issue finding your AirPods’ last location.
- Choose the options “Mark As Lost” and “Notify When Found” (under Notifications) to be alerted about when your AirPods connect to the internet again.
How to Find Dead AirPods
You can use the same steps for finding your AirPods when offline above to find your AirPods when they’re offline. Go into the Find My app and navigate to the “Devices” tab, click on your AirPods, and see if a previous location is shown. You might see their last known location, “No location found,” or “Offline.”
You can also mark the AirPods as lost which will send you a notification when your AirPods go back online or are charged.
Replace a Missing AirPod or Charging Case
It is possible to get a replacement AirPod or charging case if you still cannot find them. For a fee, Apple will send you a replacement. You just need to provide the serial number and complete the repair form. See the fees to replace your lost AirPods here.
How to Get Your AirPods Serial Number?
You can find your AirPods serial number printed on the underside of the lid of your AirPods charging case or within the Bluetooth settings on your iPhone or MacBook. If you have your original packaging, you can also find the serial number printed next to or below the barcode.
What Is the Find My Network?
The Find My Network is a crowdsourced network of millions of Apple devices that have Bluetooth enabled. If these devices detect a missing Apple device, they will transmit the device’s approximate device via the internet. Even if a lost device isn’t connected to the internet, it can still be found as long as Bluetooth is enabled.
What Happens When You Mark AirPods as Lost?
When you mark your AirPods as lost in the Find My app, you can share a message with your phone number or email address. If someone finds your AirPods, they can see the message on their iPhone.
To mark your AirPods as lost:
- Make sure your macOS or iOS are up-to-date.
- Open the Find My app.
- Go to the Devices tab.
- Select your AirPods from the list of devices.
- Click on “Mark as Lost” and click “Activate”.
AirPod Charging and Battery Issues
How to Check AirPod Battery?
There are several ways to check the battery status of your AirPods.
Checking the Battery Status with the AirPods Case
The easiest way is to look at the status light on your AirPods case with your AirPods inside them. If you see a green light, then your AirPods are fully charged. If there’s an amber light, then you have less than one full charge remaining.
Checking the Battery Status with Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch
If you have your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch close by, you can also hold your AirPods charging case close to your device to see the battery status on the screen.
Similarly, you can see the battery status in the widget on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch.
Checking the Battery Status with Your MacBook
An easy way to check your AirPods battery level is if they’re connected to your MacBook. Just go to the Bluetooth icon in your status bar and click on it to see the battery level of your AirPods.
What to Do If Your AirPods Case is Not Charging?
If your AirPods are not charging, the first thing you should try is swapping out the charging cables, charging pads, and power source. Double check that your charging cable is firmly pushed into the case.
If your AirPods case still does not charge, you have a few options:
- Clean the Lightning port on your charging case. Remove debris with a non-metal device.
- Make sure that the outlet or USB plug you are plugging the Lightning cable into has reliable power. Try charging or powering another device with the same outlet or port.
- Try charging the case wirelessly if you have a Qi-enabled wireless case.
- Try another charging cable.
- If all else fails, contact Apple Support.
How to Charge AirPods Without Case?
There is no official way to charge your AirPods without a case, but you can use the handy Pod Charger to charge your AirPods while still using them.
Can You Use AirPods on a Plane? Which Airlines Allow It?
Yes, you can use your AirPods on a plane. Ever since the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) expanded the use of “Portable Electronic Devices” (PEDs) during all phases of flight, AirPods and other Bluetooth headphones have been allowed on all flights. Since AirPods use Bluetooth 5.0 technology, they fall under this classification of PED which means that you can use your AirPods on all airlines from gate-to-gate.
Why Are My AirPods So Quiet?
If you’ve checked the volume on your connected device and one or both of your AirPods are still quiet, you may have an issue.
Dirt, Sweat, or Moisture
The most common reason AirPods are quiet is due to a build-up of earwax or moisture. Salt from sweat can also build up in your AirPods. If you think this is an issue (a simple look inside one of the earbuds will tell you), then you can clean it out with a Q-Tip or clean, dry toothbrush, and 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or rubbing alcohol.
Low Power Mode
Another common reason your AirPods might be quieter than usual is that your connected device is in low power mode. When iPhones or iPads reach a certain level of power, they will automatically decrease the volume of AirPods. Even though the AirPods are using no more power since they have their own battery, these Apple devices still decrease the volume in connected AirPods.
To turn off Low Power Mode on your device, follow these steps:
- Open your “Settings” app
- Tap on “Battery”
- Then toggle the “Low Power Mode” switch to OFF
Volume Limited on Device
Most Apple devices have a feature to limit the maximum volume on connected headphones to protect users’ ears. While this is a great feature most of the time, it can sometimes be annoying if your volume is too low.
To turn off volume limitations:
- Open the “Settings” app on your device
- Tap on “Sounds and Haptics”
- Find and tap the “Headphone Safety” button.
- Turn off the volume limiter off with the “Reduce Loud Sounds” switch
Damaged AirPods
Finally, if your AirPods have suffered any water or heat damage, they may not perform at the expected volume. If you have an AppleCare+ package, you may be able to get a replacement for your AirPods. Otherwise, contacting Apple Support may be able to help. Unfortunately, you will probably just need to get new AirPods.
AirPods Not Connecting to iPhone?
Sometimes when you want to use your AirPods, they won’t connect to your iPhone. This may be true whether you are connecting them for the first time or have been using them for sometime. To get them connected again, try these steps:
- Make sure you have the latest iOS or iPadOS.
- Put both AirPods in the charging case and wait at least 15 minutes for them to be charged.
- Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your device by going to Settings > Bluetooth
- Close the charging case lid for at least 15 seconds. Then open the lid.
- Press and hold the setup button on the charging case for up to 10 seconds. A white light should appear which means your AirPods are ready to connect.
- Hold the charging case with the lid open and AirPods inside next to your iPhone.
- Follow the onscreen prompts.
Why Is Only One AirPod Working?
Usually if only one AirPod is working, it is because the battery is dead in that AirPod. Place both of your AirPods into a charged charging case and wait at least 15 minutes before trying to use your AirPods again.
Why Is One AirPod Louder Than the Other?
The most common reason why one AirPod is louder than the other is that one AirPod is dirty. As mentioned previously, the easiest way to clean the first one out is to clean it out with a Q-Tip or clean, dry toothbrush, and a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe or rubbing alcohol solution. If this doesn’t solve your issue, it’s best to contact Apple Support directly.