How to Get the Most Out of Apple AirPods

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Apple’s expensive (and stupid looking) AirPods may have been easy to play around with at first, but after a couple of years (and the launch of the AirPods Pro) there are plenty of reasons to splurge on a pair.

But if you’re going to pay more for wireless headphones, you need to know how to get the most out of them – so we’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your AirPods.

Note: These apply to both AirPods and AirPods Pro unless otherwise noted.

Check AirPod Battery

Typically, AirPods get about five hours of listening time or three hours of talk time. But a charging case that charges them while they’re inside can give them a total of 24 hours of listening and 18 hours of talk time.

That’s all well and good, but you still need to know when to charge. You can check the battery life (of both the charging case and individual AirPods) using any of the connected devices:

With an iPhone or iPad connected:

  1. On the home screen (when your phone is locked or unlocked), swipe right.
  2. Scroll down to the Batteries widget. You should see the charge level of your AirPods.
  3. If you don’t have the Batteries widget set up, scroll down the screen, tap Edit, tap the plus sign to add it, and select Done in the upper right corner.

With the charging case itself:

  1. Keep your connected Apple device nearby.
  2. Place your AirPods in the charging case.
  3. Open the charging case next to your Apple device. You will see a pop-up with the battery level of the AirPods and the charger itself.

On your Apple Watch:

  1. Swipe up on the Control Center on the home screen.
  2. Click on the battery icon to see the battery level of the AirPod (if not in the case).

On your Mac:

  1. Click the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar.
  2. Hover over AirPods to see how much charge is left.

Last but not least, ask Siri about battery life. Just say “AirPods Battery” and you’re done.

Reminder: Your AirPods must be actively connected to your device (either with the case open or with earbuds in your ears) to see battery life.

Set up call announcements for your AirPods

You can use your AirPods as a hands-free headset and answer calls by double-tapping one of the earbuds. The problem is, you have to take out your phone to find out who’s calling and if you want to answer – unless you’ve set up call announcements.

  1. On a connected iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> Phone> Announce Calls.
  2. Select Headphones Only.

Now when you receive a call and you have your AirPods, you will be told who is calling you while your phone is ringing (if they are in your address book).

To actually answer (or end) a call, double-tap one of your AirPods, or press the stand of one of your AirPods Pro.

Set up message previews for your AirPods

If you want to keep track of your incoming messages without picking up your phone, you can set up Siri to announce and read them aloud.

  1. On a connected iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> Notifications> Announce Messages Using Siri.
  2. Turn on.
  3. In the “Announce messages from” section, select whose messages you want to receive notifications about (favorites, recent, contacts, or all).

This feature only works with AirPods 2nd generation and AirPods Pro.

Pairing AirPods with Third Party Devices

AirPods connect literally instantly with other Apple products, but they can still be used as Bluetooth headphones with other products. Here’s how:

  1. Slide your AirPods into the charging case.
  2. Open the lid of the charging case.
  3. Hold the flat button on the back of the case (yes, it’s a button) until the white light between your AirPods flashes. This means your AirPods are in pairing mode.
  4. Find AirPods in the Bluetooth menu of the device you are trying to pair them with.

That’s all it takes! However, keep in mind that you may lose some functionality with third party devices.

Change the double-tap commands for your old AirPods

If you have 1st or 2nd generation AirPods, you can simply double-tap the AirPod in your ear to complete various tasks. They are initially set to activate Siri, but you can customize what each module does.

  1. On a connected iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> Bluetooth.
  2. Find your AirPods under My Devices, then tap the blue “i” next to it.
  3. In the “Double-tap AirPod” section, choose what you want to do with each earbud.

I prefer the Play / Pause setting for the left ear and Next Track for the right ear – it really makes things easier for me while running.

Change the press and hold settings on AirPods Pro

AirPods Pro doesn’t use double-tap actions, but you can change what happens when you press and hold the earbuds. You have options to switch between Noise Cancellation modes (Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency and Off) or activate Siri.

  1. On a connected iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> Bluetooth.
  2. Find your AirPods under My Devices, then tap the blue “i” next to it.
  3. Under Press and Hold AirPods, tap the earphone you want to change and select the function you want it to perform.

You can set up both earbuds to do the same thing, or have one work with Siri and the other with noise canceling.

Control the sound on your AirPods Pro

Older AirPods have custom double-tap commands (as described above) for play, pause, skip tracks, and more, but AirPods Pro have set up “squeeze” for certain actions:

  • Press the AirPod Pro bar once to play or pause playback.
  • Press twice to skip a track.
  • Press three times to go back a track.

Find your AirPods with Find Me

AirPods are very easy to lose. They stick well to the ears, but are too easy to slip into your pocket and forget about. If you’re a distracted person, Apple’s Find My feature is handy for keeping track of all your devices.

If you have Find My set up on a connected iPhone or iPad, this feature is automatically turned on for your AirPods as well. To find out where your AirPods are located, open the Find Me app on your device, tap the Devices tab, and select your AirPods. From here, you can click Play Sound to make the headphones beep.

You can also sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID on your computer.

If your AirPods are dead, out of their case, or too far away, you’ll just see their last connected location on a map.

Low battery? Charge one AirPod at a time

The AirPods have pretty good battery life and charge relatively quickly, but there will still be times when you’re low on power and want to keep listening to music or staying in touch with Zoom. In such situations, it’s time to do “exchange and charging”. Use one AirPod at a time while you charge another, then swap them.

Luckily, both AirPods have a microphone if you need to make a call, and they can automatically stream stereo sound without the presence of other AirPods.

Boost your bass with custom styrofoam covers

The AirPods Pro have decent sound quality indeed, but if you’re an audiophile rocking old AirPods, you might want to upgrade your headphones to get a little more bass power. YouTuber PoltergeistWorks has atutorial on AirPods sound, which involves buying foam earbud cases and punching holes in them in the right places to keep the AirPods sensors working as expected.

This article was originally published in June 2018 and was updated by Emily Long on June 25, 2020. Our updates include the following: added tips for AirPods Pro, added screenshots and rewritten introduction.

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