All the Different Ways to Find Lost AirPods
AirPods are notoriously easy to lose. The cover is smooth and slippery: it can easily slip out of your coat pocket. And given how small and tatty it is, it’s easy to forget where you last left them in your home.
Luckily, AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max all have built-in Find My compatibility, which can help you find your AirPods. And if you have one of the latest AirPods, you can find an AirPods case with precision search technology where your iPhone will show you precise directions to find your AirPods Pro.
No AirPods model has the ability to independently update its Find My location. Instead, it will rely on connectivity through Internet-connected Find My devices, such as nearby iPhones. You can read more about how AirPods work on the Find My network in this article .
How to Find Lost AirPods Using the Find My App
Most of your Apple devices can be tracked using the Find My app. First, open the app and select your AirPods model from the list of devices. If your AirPods are outside the case, you can select the left or right earbud to find them. If you have AirPods Pro (2nd generation), you’ll have the option to choose the AirPods case itself.
If you’ve left your AirPods somewhere, you’ll be able to see their last known location if they were picked up by a nearby iPhone, or their last known location if the battery is low and you can’t connect to Find My. mesh network.
If your AirPods Pro are out of Bluetooth range, you’ll see a Directions button at the top. The Maps app will open and take you to your last known location.
How to Find Lost AirPods When They’re Nearby
If your 3rd generation AirPods, 1st or 2nd generation AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max are in Bluetooth range, you’ll see a Find Nearby button at the top of the AirPods page in the Find app.
When you tap it, your iPhone will direct you to your AirPods. First, move your iPhone slightly in space to connect to the AirPods. The Find Me app will then tell you whether you’re getting closer to or further away from your AirPods. It will also show you a handy guide as to where you should go and how far you are from the AirPods. If you’re using this to find a case for your AirPods Pro 2nd generation, the exact search feature can lead you straight to it. Here, you can tap the Sound button to play a sound on your AirPods case or headphones. Once you find them, press the X button to go back.
In fact, you can play a sound to find any AirPods model. This is easier to do with the 2nd generation AirPods Pro because the case itself has a fairly loud speaker built into it. On the AirPods page in Find My, tap the Play Sound button. This will cause a loud beep, so if there is a chance that someone is holding your AirPods in their ear, proceed with caution.
How to Find Nearby AirPods Using Siri
If you know your AirPods are nearby and they’re already connected to the Find Me network, you can easily find them using Siri.
Call Siri and say something like “Find my AirPods.” Siri might tell you something like, “I can’t find them in Find My, but would you like to play a sound?” Yes please. It’s essentially the same process as pressing the Play Audio button, but it’s always nice to let Siri do some of the work. Your AirPods will make a familiar beep, and you can follow the sound to reach for your headphones.
How to return lost AirPods
Even if you can’t find your AirPods by following the instructions and audio, not all hope is lost. Apple has a special feature called Lost Mode specifically for this situation. Because AirPods don’t have the same level of tracking as the iPhone, it works a little differently than the iPhone’s Lost Mode.
When you enable Lost Mode on your AirPods, it enables the Notify When Found feature, which will send you a notification when your AirPods come online. Find My Lock will also be included to ensure that no one else can connect and use your AirPods within their Find My network. Finally, you can also leave a phone number or email address so whoever finds your AirPods can contact you. This will appear when they try to connect your AirPods to their iPhone.
Open the AirPods page, swipe up, and tap the Activate button under Mark as Lost. Click Continue and follow the instructions to set up Lost Mode.
Prepare for the future
If your AirPods aren’t connected to Find My, you won’t be able to use these tricks to locate them in the future. Take a second to make sure they’re set up correctly: With your AirPods connected to your iPhone, go to Settings > Bluetooth , then tap the (i) next to your AirPods’ name. Scroll down and make sure Find My Network is turned on.