8 common Apple AirPods problems and solutions

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

How to find a lost earpiece, what to do if there is interference during playback, and answers to other frequently asked questions.

1. Headphones are lost

Find My iPhone tracks the location of your Mac, iPad, and your other devices, including AirPods, on a map. To find your lost earphone, open the utility on your smartphone or via iCloud.com in your browser and select AirPods from the list of devices.

If the headphones are turned on, they will be indicated by a green dot on the map. In this case, you can play sound on them or build a route to their location. When AirPods are low, unplugged, in a case, or out of range, a gray marker on the map will show their last location.

2. There is interference during playback

All problems with interference while listening to music in AirPods, as a rule, occur at a significant distance from the signal source. The earbuds boast a record working distance of around 30 m, but it is significantly reduced if obstacles are encountered on the way. More often than not, simply placing the iPhone in your pocket will solve the problem.

The signal purity is also affected by interference from computers and other equipment, as well as the abundance of Wi-Fi networks. You can get rid of them only by moving to another place or by placing the router further away.

3. Headphones turn off spontaneously

AirPods have a built-in infrared sensor that detects when headphones are in your ear and automatically pauses playback when you do so. If this happens even when the headphones are on you, it is possible that the sensor is not working properly.

To fix the problem, go to Settings → Bluetooth → AirPods and try turning off the auto-detect ear feature. Please note that this will reduce the operating time of the earbuds as they will consume power even when you are not using them.

Another way is to do a full reset of AirPods and set up pairing again. Here's how to do it:

• Place both earbuds in the case and close it.
• Press and hold the button on the case for about 10 seconds. The indicator will blink yellow several times and turn white.
• Open the case, position it next to your iPhone, and tap Pair on the screen to re-pair.

4. AirPods won't connect to iPhone

When AirPods fail to connect to your smartphone, place the earbuds in the case and, after waiting about 15 seconds, try connecting them again. To force a connection, you can open the Music widget in Control Center, click on the triangle with circles and select AirPods from the list of devices.

Sometimes this kind of problem occurs due to the Bluetooth module of the iPhone. In this case, you can try to restart it by enabling and disabling airplane mode. If this does not help, restart the iPhone by holding the side or top button until the slider appears. Slide it, and then turn on the device again by pressing and holding the button.

5. Headphones won't connect to Mac

Connectivity problems are mostly found on older Macs, although they occasionally happen on relatively new computers as well. Usually banal disabling and enabling the Bluetooth module through the icon in the menu bar helps.

Another solution is to restart the Bluetooth service, which can be done by entering the command in the "Terminal"

sudo pkill blued

… If the problem still persists, you can try restarting your computer and removing AirPods from your device list and pairing again.

6. AirPods won't charge

When the headphones aren't charging, the first thing to do is check the Lighnting cable. Connect it to your iPhone or other device and see if it's charging. If everything is in order, then you need to check the connector.

Since AirPods are often worn in a pocket or backpack, it is highly likely that dust and other small particles could get inside the port, which breaks contact when connecting the cable. Try cleaning the connector with a SIM eject tool, toothpick, or other similar object. This will most likely fix the problem.

Headphones still won't charge? Connect them to the power adapter and leave for 15 minutes. If this does not help, you will have to contact the service center.

7. Headphones run out quickly

To extend the battery life of your AirPods, it is helpful to enable auto-ear detection. At the same time, using an infrared sensor, the headphones will understand when you take them out of your ears, and will automatically turn off to save power. To activate it, open "Settings" → Bluetooth → AirPods and turn on the toggle switch "Auto-ear sensor".

As with the iPhone, the battery capacity of the earbuds and charging case will inevitably decrease over time. If autonomy is significantly reduced, the batteries can be replaced by an Apple Authorized Service Provider. You can find out the exact cost of replacement by contacting the support service.