Need help finding your missing, lost, or even stolen AirPods? When you can’t find your AirPods or AirPods Pro, it makes listening to your music, movies, shows, phone calls, podcasts, and everything else extremely difficult, especially when in public!
Luckily, Apple offers a way to recover your AirPods or AirPods Pro as long as enabled Find My before you lost them.
Follow these quick tips to locate your lost AirPods and AirPods Pro
Open the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod, or Mac (using macOS Catalina+) to see your AirPods on a map and play a chime to help locate them
Open Find My, tap the Devices tab and tap your AirPods or AirPods Pro
Sign in at iCloud via a web browser on any device or computer locate your AirPods on a map and play a sound to help locate them
In a web browser visit iCloud’s website, sign in with your Apple ID, type in your two-factor verification code if needed. Tap the Find app and from the All Devices menu at the top choose your AirPods
Ever since Apple showcased these wireless earphones, we all wondered how the heck to keep track of these tiny devices! They look so small, so vulnerable that it’s hard to imagine they won’t fall out or get lost the first time you put them on.
There’s even a slew of companies that started selling dedicated AirPods neck-straps (basically a piece of wire or string that attaches to the ends of both AirPods.)
It seemed no one wants to take a chance on losing their AirPods, even before trying them on!
That’s why it’s so important to learn how to use Apple’s Find My app in iOS 13+ and iPadOS or iCloud’s Find My Service to locate your AirPods on a map, even play a sound to help find them, and get back to business as usual. And for folks using older iOS versions (12 and below), you’ll use the Find My App (Find My iPhone/iPad/iPod/Mac) or iCloud’s Find My Service.
Should the worst thing happen and an AirPod goes missing, these tools help us all locate our AirPods using mapped locations and chimes.
How does the app find your Lost AirPods
If you already set up Find My with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that you use with your AirPods or AirPods Pro, your iOS automatically enables this service for your AirPods too!
So when you lose your AirPods and one or both are out of the case, you can use Find My to locate your AirPods when they are in Bluetooth range of any iDevice signed in with the same Apple ID (around 10 meters or 30 feet.)
That means that Find My AirPods is likely to work inside your house, in your car, around your desk at the office, or anywhere provided you are within a 30 feet (10 meters) vicinity of them.
So for those of us that tend to fall asleep on the sofa while watching TV or a program on our iPads, this feature is fabulous in helping to locate those missing AirPods–the ones that slipped into your couch or fell on the floor underneath some furniture.
If your AirPods are out of battery charge, in the AirPods case, or if you’re outside that Bluetooth range, the Find My app tells you where your AirPods were last detected, arming you with some information to find them like the time and location where the AirPods last connected to one of your devices.
Find My does not work if your AirPods are out of battery charge, out of range, or if they’re in their case with the lid closed.
How Do I Find and Track My AirPods Using The Find My App?
Since AirPods don’t have mobile connectivity or WiFi built-in, Find My AirPods tracks the last time your AirPods successfully connected to one of your devices over Bluetooth. This feature provides a general location of where your AirPod(s) might be.
Track Your AirPods On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Open the Find My (Find iPhone) app
The Find My app might be in a folder on your Home screen.
Sign in with your Apple ID and password, if asked
Choose the Devices tab from the bottom and swipe up to see all your devices signed in with the same Apple ID
Swipe up to reveal your AirPods and all your devices in the Find My app
Tap your AirPods’ name
A map opens with your AirPods current location or last known location with options to play a sound or get directions
Find my shows your AirPods on a map with options to play a sound or get directions
When you choose Play Sound, your AirPods chime when they come online. The sound gets gradually louder for two minutes to help you find them
Choose which AirPod is missing to play a sound
Choose Left or Right to find one AirPod at a time
When you find your AirPods, tap Stop
If your AirPods are not online, Find My keeps it as a pending action
If you have an AirPods in your ear, remove it first before you play the sound
When you choose Directions, Apple Maps app opens and provides you directions to the location listed
If your missing AirPod(s) is out of charge, your Find My app shows the last known location only. Your AirPods cannot play a sound or update their location on your connected iDevice because they cannot connect to Bluetooth!
Why is there is no Find My app on my device?
If you use a Managed Apple ID that’s organized via a school or institution, you don’t have access to Apple’s Find My app and services.
Using the older Find My iPhone app?
Open Find My iPhone and tap your AirPods’ name
A map opens with your AirPods location or last known location
A green dot tells you that your AirPods are online and still have a charge
A gray dot means your AirPods are off, out of battery, out of range, or are in their case
The blue dot is the device you’re using to find your missing AirPods
Tap Actions
If your AirPods are online, choose Play Sound or tap on the car icon to get driving direction to the last known location of your AirPods
Choose Mute Left or Mute Right to find one AirPod at a time
When you find your AirPods, tap Stop Playing
If your AirPods show up as a gray dot (offline)
You can’t play a sound until the AirPods get back online
Tap the car to get directions to the last known location
If your AirPods come back online, a notification pops-up
If your missing AirPod(s) is out of charge, your Find My iPhone app shows the last known location only. Your AirPods do not chirp or update their location on your connected iDevice-there’s no power to connect to Bluetooth!
How to Find Lost AirPods Pro 2 with Precision Finding
When you’re trying to locate your lost AirPods Pro 2, remember that Precision Finding is exclusive to the charging case. So, if you’ve lost an earbud (or both) and they’re not in the case, you’ll have to use the standard “find” feature in the Find My app.
First seen on the AirTag, Precision Finding leverages Apple’s in-house U1 chip. This chip has been a part of every iPhone model starting from the iPhone 11, aiding in tracking down “misplaced” gadgets or accessories. Beyond the specialized hardware in your devices, Precision Finding offers on-screen guidance, utilizing your camera, accelerometer, and gyroscope.
No matter what you’re searching for, here’s how to track it down using your iPhone.
Make sure your AirPods Pro 2 are connected to your iPhone.
Open the Settings app on your connected iPhone.
Tap the name of your AirPods Pro 2.
Scroll down and tap Show in Find My.
Tap the Find button.
Start moving around to locate your AirPods, following the on-screen directions and instructions.
When searching for misplaced AirPods Pro 2 earbuds, you’ll encounter three distinct screens labeled – “far,” “near,” and “here.” Initially, a tiny dot appears at the center, gradually expanding into a blue circle until it fills the entire screen. At the screen’s base, two buttons allow you to either halt the search or play a sound to help pinpoint the AirPods Pro 2’s location.
With Apple’s revamped charging case equipped with the U1 chip, the display offers a more detailed interface. It provides specific directions, accompanied by an arrow, reminiscent of navigation cues in Apple Maps or Google Maps. Below the arrow, the distance in feet to your target is displayed, and the familiar two buttons are present at the bottom.
The twist here is that, rather than the AirPods producing the sound, the AirPods Pro 2 charging case has an inbuilt speaker. Pressing the audio button prompts the charging case to emit a sound, aiding in its discovery.
How Do I Find My Missing AirPods With iCloud’s Website?
Sign in with your Apple ID (if you have multiple Apple IDs, choose the one you connected to your AirPods)
Tap Find iPhone
Enter your Apple ID password, if requested
Select All Devices
Choose your AirPods from the list of devices
If your AirPods are online, they show up as a green dot
If your missing AirPod(s) is out of charge or in their case, they show up as a gray dot and the map shows the last known location only
Tapping your AirPods, opens a map with the location of your AirPods
Tap Play Sound to hear a chirping sound that increases in volume over time
Remember to mute any AirPod you have in possession, so it doesn’t chirp too
Choose Mute Left or Mute Right to find one AirPod at a time or press Stop Playing to halt all sounds
What Do You Do If You Only Lost One AirPod?
If you only lost one of your AirPods, first put the one you have in the AirPod case.
When your AirPods are separated from each other, you see only one location at a time on the map. That’s why it’s important to put the one you have in its case.
Then, open the Find My App and tap the AirPod to see it on the map and play a sound.
You can also choose to play the sound to the right or left AirPod (the one that’s missing.)
That way, the chirping only plays on the missing AirPods (and not the one in your ear)!
What If My Missing AirPods Are In Different Places?
When your AirPods are separated from each other and not in the AirPod Case, you only see one AirPod location on the map at any one time.
Use the map and/or sound to locate one AirPod. Once found, put it in the AirPod case.
Then refresh the Find My’s map and locate the other missing AirPod.
AirPods’ Sound Plays Only Within A Certain Range
If they still have a charge, once you move into that 30 feet (10 meters) radius of the last known location, turn on Play Sound to have your AirPods make a chirp-like sound that gets louder over time.
What Happens If I Lose My AirPod Case?
AirPods’ Case Doesn’t Make A Sound!
The Find My app to locate your AirPods only works with the AirPods themselves, not the charging case.
Unfortunately, only your AirPods make this locating sound, your AirPods’ case doesn’t have speakers and consequently cannot create any sound to help you locate it should it go missing.
If your AirPods Charging Case goes missing or gets damaged, you can replace order a replacement from Apple for a fee.
Limitations are Reality
Since AirPods a limited battery life, you don’t have much time to realize an AirPod is missing. Once the battery drains, your AirPods can no longer create a chirp or provide any updated information on location.
Find My AirPods requires that your AirPods connect to your iPhone or another iDevice or Mac using that same iCloud account.
That means that Find My AirPods does not work when your AirPods are in the AirPods case.
So if you lose the AirPods when they’re in your case, Find My AirPods currently does not help you.
My AirPods are Totally Lost, Now What?
If you cannot locate your AirPods at all and Find My AirPods doesn’t help locate them (or they are not in the last know location,) Apple offers a replacement program for both individual AirPods and the Charging Case.
Let’s start with the good news: if you need service for your AirPods or its charging case, Apple covers them at no charge under the company’s One-Year Limited Warranty.
That warranty covers defective batteries but not normal wear and tear. So if your AirPods’ Battery capacity decreases over time, depending on the reason, it might be covered, OR you might need to play Apple’s battery service fee.
Now, if you lose an AirPod or your charging case, Apple offers a fee-replacement program
Price is dependent on location but currently, is set at UDS $59-99 per AirPod or case. So if you lose all three, it’s cheaper to purchase a new set.
And if you lost both AirPods but not the case, you’ll save only a few dollars by purchasing a replacement case versus buying a new set outright.
Apple charges replacement fees depending on your AirPods model
AirPod Case Replacement
Unfortunately, Apple’s Limited Warranty (one year beginning on the purchase date) for your AirPods covers only defective batteries. So if (and when) you lose your AirPod Charging Case, Apple replaces your lost item for a fee of $59-99 USD.
That AirPod case replacement is either new or equivalent to new in both performance and reliability.
If you live near an Apple Store, call the Store to see if they offer AirPods case replacements.
Or, if you don’t live near an Apple Store, contact Apple online or phone support and request they send you replacement AirPods Case for the fee.
What happens if my AirPods are stolen? Can someone use them?
If you lost your Airpods (one, both, or case and all) or suspect they were stolen, the person who now has them can reset and pair them to their own iPhone or device, even when you have Find My enabled.
There is no lost mode or “iCloud lock” for your AirPods
So once someone resets them and pairs those AirPods to another device, they list under that person’s Apple ID and Find My app and their location no longer appears under your devices in the Find My app.
When someone resets a pair of AirPods, they automatically disconnect from whatever Apple ID they previously paired to.
That means that once the AirPods pair to a new “owner,” you cannot have them play the beeping sound, the location will not update to wherever they currently are, and you cannot track them even if they are close to you and within range.
Think you’re more likely to lose the case than an individual AirPod?
Try Tile or something similar (wireless key finders.)
Many of us already use Tile for our keys, why not for our AirPod cases? The size is similar to the AirPod case, just requiring you to affix the Tile to the outside of the case. Tile even sells its own adhesive.
Other options include TrackR’s Bravo, Chipolo Plus, or Pixel. Just make sure they are small enough to stick to your AirPods’ case!
These third-party trackers include batteries that last up to a full year with no additional charging required.
And they also have a bigger Bluetooth range than AirPods, reaching on average 100-feet. Similarly, Tile and TrackR either ring, play a tune, or light up (manufacturer & model dependent) until you find your missing item.
They also feature iPhone and iDevice apps to help you find your things. They even include crowd location sourcing to find lost items for when you’re outside a Bluetooth range.
Best Practice is to Check-Up!
We all check on various things we carry with us throughout the day — things like our keys, wallets, iPhones, purses, lipstick or chapstick, etc. Most of the time, we do this routine without even thinking about it.
So for AirPod owners out there, briefly check for your AirPods along with that other important stuff. That way, even if you do misplace them, they don’t get too far.
Add an ounce of prevention by renaming your AirPods
After losing one full set of AirPods, one of our readers decided to rename his AirPods with one of his email addresses. That way, if the AirPods get lost again when someone tries to connect them, his contact email shows up!
It’s a good idea to set-up a new email address for this purpose or use one that doesn’t have any sensitive or confidential information associated with it.
You could also name your AirPods with your phone number or any other contact information.
Rename your AirPods with some contact information
Connect your AirPods to one of your devices
Open Settings > Bluetooth
Tap on the i icon next to the AirPods
Tap Name
Update or change the name to include your contact information (email, phone, other)
When finished naming, choose Done
Tap the back arrow to return to your AirPod Settings
Moving forward, when anyone tries to connect to your AirPods, they also see that contact information
The Future of AirPods?
AirPods and AirPods Pro are a huge and unexpected hit for Apple. Just check your country’s Amazon site and take a look at all the AirPod knock-offs! Everyone wants to cash in on AirPod’s success.
We think that success will lead to a lot more developments on the AirPod, including more controls on the products and possibly some additional features, like monitoring your temperature, heart rate, and other health measures. The future is bright for Apple AirPods!
And who knows, maybe Apple will catch on and include these features in the next generation of AirPods and cases? We’d love to see the AirPods have their own dedicated app as our Apple Watch does.
Reader Tips
I lost my AirPods once and intend to never lose them again. My trick? Name your AirPods with your email address, or phone number (or some other way to contact directly.) Assuming the person who finds them is honest, they will contact you!
It’s always a good idea to check if the credit card you purchased your AirPods with offers any LOST Purchase Protection. Quite a few AMEX, Master Card, and Visa Signature, Gold, or Platinum cards offer this for the first 90-120 days after purchase
I always purchase any Apple product using my AMEX. American Express doubles your Manufacturer’s Warranty so you’re covered for an extended warranty of 2 years and 180 days of purchase protection
For most of her professional life, Amanda Elizabeth (Liz for short) trained all sorts of folks on how to use media as a tool to tell their own unique stories. She knows a thing or two about teaching others and creating how-to guides!
Her clients include Edutopia, Scribe Video Center, Third Path Institute, Bracket, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Big Picture Alliance.
Elizabeth received her Master of Fine Arts degree in media making from Temple University, where she also taught undergrads as an adjunct faculty member in their department of Film and Media Arts.
l have both of my Airpods out right next to me, but l just need help finding the case. I have no idea where the case is. Can somebody help me find just the case itself? Nothing is in the case because my AirPods are right next to me. I just need to find the case. I need an idea on a way how to find just the case. Help please and thanks.
I had recently bought a pair of air pods, and yesterday they are no longer anywhere to be found. Find my iPhone shows them in my house somewhere, but when i try to ping them it says waiting to connect. Is there a way to have them ping while in the case, or a way to connect to them without taking them out of the case.
I have gone through everything in my house and I just cant seem to actually find them. I have got all around the house trying to manually connect to them via bluetooth, but its always says connection unsuccessful.
When I press play sound it says “Sound Pending… Will play when connected” how am I supposed to connect to them when I can’t find them. Any help on this would be great.
You need to make a case then that can emit noise. The find my is pretty useless for devices like this. Why can’t you use Tile type technology? Little behind on the times Apple!
If you have an AirPods case so you can charge them, that would help someone if they tried using Find My app to locate the missing AirPods.
Also, the person may have provided some contact information in the Bluetooth settings panel of the AirPods or even named them with an email or phone number. So once they charge, try connecting them to one of your devices and see what info is available.
Since your AirPods case has an AirPod in it, then you can use Find My to try and locate it or see it’s last known location.
If you didn’t turn on Find My for your AirPods, you can’t use it to locate your missing case or AirPods. And there is no other alternative other than searching for it on your own.
I want my airpods back I just worked 20 hours to buy those things and somebody stole it, what the fork?
Why can’t I track it?
shouldn’t airpods have a lock on it because they are literally the easiest thing to steal and Apple’s response is let’s make them buy a whole new pair instead of helping them find it!
Hi Dan
I found a set of AirPods in its case on board my transit flight (wherein I made a reasonable effort to ask the people in front and back if it’s their AirPods-they replied no)and upon arriving onto my final destination, I had contacted the air craft via their website to report my find.
As I’m not due back to my home country till April and so far no claimant from the airline (They are in regular contact with me). How can I locate the owner of the device? This all happened 10 days ago.
Thank you in advance. I’m sure there’s one anxious owner somewhere.
Unfortunately, Apple’s privacy standards only allow the current owner (the Apple ID registered with the device) to locate a missing device. As the person who found them, you don’t have any way to contact that owner (Apple ID.) You did report it to the Airline which is a great step. You may want to also report it to the airports (departure and arrival) since it’s likely the person who lost them has no idea where they went missing.
Other than that, there isn’t much else you can do–unlike iPhone or devices with screens, finding the previous owner for AirPods is very difficult!
One thing you can do is see if your device recognizes them and connect them via Not My AirPods. Then, once connected check the Bluetooth settings (tap the i next to the AirPods) and see if the previous owner named them with any identifying information (like an email address or person’s name.)
If you exhaust all your options, you can choose to keep them and pair them to your own device, give them away, or donate them. AirPods do not have an activation lock, so they can be reset and re-paired to a different Apple ID without consequences.
You’ve done a great effort in trying to locate that person–and paying it forward.
So I lost my right AirPod and had the left one in my case with it closed to ping the noise. It pinged the left one even when I muted it and it won’t show the last location of my lost one. Is there anything I can do to find it?
Try removing the left airpod from the case and then pinging just the right or if that’s not working, cover the left AirPod with something like a towel that muffles its noise, so you can ping both and hopefully hear the right one.
If the battery level was very low (or empty) on the right airpod, it might be unable to chirp.
If you are unable to locate it, you can replace just the one AirPod. Take note of your AirPod’s serial number to ensure the new AirPod matches the Series of your current case and left AirPod.
The AirPod serial number of your case is on the underside of the lid. If your AirPods are connected to your iOS device, you can also go to Settings > General > About > AirPods for the serial number.
With iOS 13’s introduction of the Find My app replacing Find My iPhone, the interface is a little different. It no longer lists the word mute and instead just shows Left and Right (but it means the same thing.) Tap either Left or Right to mute that AirPods’ sound.
To play the sound only in the Left, tap the Right button to turn sound off in the right AirPod. The AirPod must have some remaining battery in order to play a sound–if the battery is depleted, it cannot play a sound.
Since your AirPods are separated from each other, place the right AirPod in its case and refresh the Find My map to find the Left one. Try again to play a sound through the Left AirPod.
I hope it works for you!
If not, you can replace that missing AirPod–first, get the serial number from your current set (the serial number is on the underside of the lid) and provide that to Apple so they can match a replacement for you. If your AirPods are connected to your iDevice, you can also go to Settings > General > About > AirPods for the serial number
Sadly, I was reading it for an unfortunate situation. My niece has lost her Airpods and case. I imagine that, if they were stolen/found, the new owner would be keen enough to factory reset them.
Question: assuming the new owner *has* factory reset them, can I still see the “last known location” and play the beeping sound, since the Airpods are still linked to my iCloud/”Find iPhone”?
Or not…because the Airpods have been factory reset (and are no longer linked to our iPhone)?
Find my AirPods should show you where your niece last used her AirPods, but if they were factory reset by the new “owner,” then there is no way to connect to them anymore. So you cannot have them play the beeping sound and the location will not update to wherever they currently are.
There is no current way to place them in lost mode or lock them to prevent another person from adding the AirPods to their own devices or even adding it to their AppleID.
Unfortunately, the only thing to do at this point is to replace them. Depending on how they were purchased and when they were purchased, there may be some loss protection coverage with the credit card used to purchase them, if applicable.
iOS 13 introduces some changes to Find My iPhone, so we might see some additional options for lost or stolen AirPods in the future.
But for now, there’s not much you or your niece can do to recover those missing AirPods.
i lost my airpods and i have used them before but when I go to find my iphone I can’t find them on there. My airpods is called “Pich’s Airpods”. I don’t know what to do…
Sorry to learn that you’ve lost your AirPods! That’s terrible.
First of all, make sure your device runs at least iOS 10.3–Find My iPhone only works with AirPods using iOS 10.3 and above. For earlier iOS version, your AirPods won’t show up.
Did you lose the whole set, meaning the AirPods and the case?
Unfortunately, if you lost the AirPods when they were inside the case, Find My iPhone won’t work or pick up the current location!
Do you see any information, like a gray dot next to your AirPods?
If so, try seeing if you can get some directions to the last location where the AirPods connected to your device.
Also, you must have already set up Find My iPhone up with your AirPods to locate them. If you never set this up, Find My iPhone cannot locate them after the fact.
If you did set up Find My iPhone and can’t locate the AirPods, check that you’re entering the correct Apple ID associated with those AirPods. If the ID is correct, your AirPods are probably offline or out of battery charge and unable to show any location data. In that case, see if you can see any information about the time and location when and where your AirPods were last connected.
Unfortunately not, the case is not trackable. That’s because the case itself does not have Bluetooth or a chip.
Apple currently charges $69 USD for a replacement case.
Sorry about that!
Once you get the replacement, follow these directions to pair your old AirPods with your new (replacement) AirPods case
Put both of your old AirPods in the new AirPods charging case
Open the case’s lid and look for the status light to flash amber
On the back of the case, press and hold the setup button for 5 seconds until the status light flashes white
If your case still flashes amber, charge the case for at least 10 minutes and try the above steps again
On your iPhone, go to the Home screen
Open the case—with your AirPods inside and hold the case next to your iPhone
Wait for the AirPods setup animation to appear on-screen
Tap Connect, then tap Done
If you only lost one AirPods, place the AirPod you have in the AirPod Case, and then use the Find My iPhone App or iCloud’s website to play a sound and show you the current or last known location on a map.
Do they show up at all–listed in My Devices but as offline? Or do you not see them at all when opening the Find My iPhone App?
A few readers noted that once the total battery on the AirPods and case drain fully (zero percent remaining), the AirPods may no longer show up in Find My iPhone. However, according to Apple “if your AirPods are out of range of all of your devices, need to charge, or are in the AirPod Case, Find My iPhone can still help by showing the time and location where they were last connected.”
Make sure you turn on Find My iPhone in iCloud. Go to Settings > iCloud > enable Find my iPhone–be aware that sometimes when we update our iOS, this setting gets turned off. So you want to ensure it’s on.
If Find My iPhone is already on, try toggling it off, wait a few minutes, and toggle it back on.
Hi Ricardo
My suggest is put your Airpods to original Apple case. I have Airpod’s case model A1602. If you are from London and want this send some e-mail to me. I can give to you for free.
If you lost your AirPods and they are NOT in the case, then your AirPods can play a sound for about two minutes, provided it has sufficient battery
Open the Find My iPhone app
Sign in with your Apple ID and password, if asked
Tap your AirPods’ Name
From the Actions, choose Play Sound
Choose Mute Left or Mute Right to find just one at a time
When you find your AirPods, tap Stop Playing
If you lost the AirPods while they are in the case, there is currently no way to play sounds from the case. When you open Find My iPhone, you should see the last know location for your AirPods.
Unfortunately, Apple’s Limited Warranty (one year beginning on the purchase date) for your AirPods covers only defective batteries.If you lose your AirPod Charging Case, Apple replaces your lost item for a fee of $69. The case replacement will be new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability.
If you live near an Apple Store, call the Store to see if they offer AirPods case replacements. Or, if you don’t live near an Apple Store, contact Apple online or phone support and request they send you replacement AirPods Case for the fee.
Hello,So we lost our AirPods And they are in the case, we’ve basically turned the house upside down looking for them, we’ve also have tried multiple apps on the app store that we paid $5.99 for and still nothing, we’ve also tried Find AirPods app and that hasn’t worked, what else would you suggest we do, is there any way to make the AirPods case vibrate or make sound from inside the case, or Is it possible for you guys to make them Vibrate, If so that would be the most amazing thing ever but if not Well thank you 🙂
How to find my AirPod charging case?
Can you please help me.
Thank you
What if I lose my AirPods and don’t have them listed under find my iPhone?
l have both of my Airpods out right next to me, but l just need help finding the case. I have no idea where the case is. Can somebody help me find just the case itself? Nothing is in the case because my AirPods are right next to me. I just need to find the case. I need an idea on a way how to find just the case. Help please and thanks.
I had recently bought a pair of air pods, and yesterday they are no longer anywhere to be found. Find my iPhone shows them in my house somewhere, but when i try to ping them it says waiting to connect. Is there a way to have them ping while in the case, or a way to connect to them without taking them out of the case.
I have gone through everything in my house and I just cant seem to actually find them. I have got all around the house trying to manually connect to them via bluetooth, but its always says connection unsuccessful.
When I press play sound it says “Sound Pending… Will play when connected” how am I supposed to connect to them when I can’t find them. Any help on this would be great.
You need to make a case then that can emit noise. The find my is pretty useless for devices like this. Why can’t you use Tile type technology? Little behind on the times Apple!
I found a pair of lost Airpods. Is there a way to find out who they belong to so that I can return them?
Hi Brad,
If you have an AirPods case so you can charge them, that would help someone if they tried using Find My app to locate the missing AirPods.
Also, the person may have provided some contact information in the Bluetooth settings panel of the AirPods or even named them with an email or phone number. So once they charge, try connecting them to one of your devices and see what info is available.
Those are the only methods we know of to assist.
I lost my airpods pro case with the right airpod in it. Is there a way that I can find it.
Hi Ahmed,
Since your AirPods case has an AirPod in it, then you can use Find My to try and locate it or see it’s last known location.
If you didn’t turn on Find My for your AirPods, you can’t use it to locate your missing case or AirPods. And there is no other alternative other than searching for it on your own.
We hope you locate it!
I want my airpods back I just worked 20 hours to buy those things and somebody stole it, what the fork?
Why can’t I track it?
shouldn’t airpods have a lock on it because they are literally the easiest thing to steal and Apple’s response is let’s make them buy a whole new pair instead of helping them find it!
I lost my AirPods but not the case, but when I get into “my phone” they don’t appear as one of my devices anymore?
Hi Alex,
Do they show up in the list of devices in the Find My (or Find My iPhone) app?
If they do not show up there, it’s likely that someone else has re-paired them to a different device and Apple ID and unfortunately, there is nothing you can do to prevent that!
I hope they do show up and you can locate them!
Liz
My case was stolen along with my AirPods that were in it, they no longer show up on the find my app what do I do.
Hi Dan
I found a set of AirPods in its case on board my transit flight (wherein I made a reasonable effort to ask the people in front and back if it’s their AirPods-they replied no)and upon arriving onto my final destination, I had contacted the air craft via their website to report my find.
As I’m not due back to my home country till April and so far no claimant from the airline (They are in regular contact with me). How can I locate the owner of the device? This all happened 10 days ago.
Thank you in advance. I’m sure there’s one anxious owner somewhere.
Hi Lisa,
That’s really grand of you!
Unfortunately, Apple’s privacy standards only allow the current owner (the Apple ID registered with the device) to locate a missing device. As the person who found them, you don’t have any way to contact that owner (Apple ID.) You did report it to the Airline which is a great step. You may want to also report it to the airports (departure and arrival) since it’s likely the person who lost them has no idea where they went missing.
Other than that, there isn’t much else you can do–unlike iPhone or devices with screens, finding the previous owner for AirPods is very difficult!
One thing you can do is see if your device recognizes them and connect them via Not My AirPods. Then, once connected check the Bluetooth settings (tap the i next to the AirPods) and see if the previous owner named them with any identifying information (like an email address or person’s name.)
If you exhaust all your options, you can choose to keep them and pair them to your own device, give them away, or donate them. AirPods do not have an activation lock, so they can be reset and re-paired to a different Apple ID without consequences.
You’ve done a great effort in trying to locate that person–and paying it forward.
Liz
Hi Elizabeth
Thank you for your reply and suggestions, I suppose I just have to wait another month or so if someone gets back to me via the airlines.
Kindest regards
So I lost my right AirPod and had the left one in my case with it closed to ping the noise. It pinged the left one even when I muted it and it won’t show the last location of my lost one. Is there anything I can do to find it?
Hi Karsyn,
Try removing the left airpod from the case and then pinging just the right or if that’s not working, cover the left AirPod with something like a towel that muffles its noise, so you can ping both and hopefully hear the right one.
If the battery level was very low (or empty) on the right airpod, it might be unable to chirp.
If you are unable to locate it, you can replace just the one AirPod. Take note of your AirPod’s serial number to ensure the new AirPod matches the Series of your current case and left AirPod.
The AirPod serial number of your case is on the underside of the lid. If your AirPods are connected to your iOS device, you can also go to Settings > General > About > AirPods for the serial number.
I’ve lost my case but still have my earbuds then what do I do, can you help me.
Hi Ellen,
You can purchase a new case for your AirPods–you don’t need to get the whole thing replaced.
One sentence version: Stick a Tile to the AirPods case. Problem solved. Seriously though, 99% of the time I lose my AirPods they’re in the case.
The only time I ever lose a loose AirPod is when I fall asleep wearing them and I’m digging through the sheets or under the bed.
Apple was foolish not to include a chirping speaker in the case.
Your example shows that you can mute one ringing AirPods at a time.
I’ve lost one and followed your directions.
The word Mute does not show up on my Find My screen, but I do see left and right.
the right one is ringing, but the left AirPod is missing. When I select Left, nothing happens, at all.. can you help?
Thanks!
Hi Chris,
With iOS 13’s introduction of the Find My app replacing Find My iPhone, the interface is a little different. It no longer lists the word mute and instead just shows Left and Right (but it means the same thing.) Tap either Left or Right to mute that AirPods’ sound.
To play the sound only in the Left, tap the Right button to turn sound off in the right AirPod. The AirPod must have some remaining battery in order to play a sound–if the battery is depleted, it cannot play a sound.
Since your AirPods are separated from each other, place the right AirPod in its case and refresh the Find My map to find the Left one. Try again to play a sound through the Left AirPod.
I hope it works for you!
If not, you can replace that missing AirPod–first, get the serial number from your current set (the serial number is on the underside of the lid) and provide that to Apple so they can match a replacement for you. If your AirPods are connected to your iDevice, you can also go to Settings > General > About > AirPods for the serial number
Thank you SO much.. lovely to have people respond!
I lost my case of my AirPods I’m trying to find the case what can I do to get my case back?
Great info!
Sadly, I was reading it for an unfortunate situation. My niece has lost her Airpods and case. I imagine that, if they were stolen/found, the new owner would be keen enough to factory reset them.
Question: assuming the new owner *has* factory reset them, can I still see the “last known location” and play the beeping sound, since the Airpods are still linked to my iCloud/”Find iPhone”?
Or not…because the Airpods have been factory reset (and are no longer linked to our iPhone)?
Thanks!
Hi LJ,
Awesome question!
Find my AirPods should show you where your niece last used her AirPods, but if they were factory reset by the new “owner,” then there is no way to connect to them anymore. So you cannot have them play the beeping sound and the location will not update to wherever they currently are.
There is no current way to place them in lost mode or lock them to prevent another person from adding the AirPods to their own devices or even adding it to their AppleID.
Unfortunately, the only thing to do at this point is to replace them. Depending on how they were purchased and when they were purchased, there may be some loss protection coverage with the credit card used to purchase them, if applicable.
iOS 13 introduces some changes to Find My iPhone, so we might see some additional options for lost or stolen AirPods in the future.
But for now, there’s not much you or your niece can do to recover those missing AirPods.
Sorry, we can’t offer better news.
Liz
If the new “owner” reset them, then
My AirPods weren’t even listed in my devices, so how would I even be able to find them when they’re in the case and not listed and offline?
And how can I find them without having to be online?
i lost my airpods and i have used them before but when I go to find my iphone I can’t find them on there. My airpods is called “Pich’s Airpods”. I don’t know what to do…
Please reply asap- thanks!
Hi Pinch.
Sorry to learn that you’ve lost your AirPods! That’s terrible.
First of all, make sure your device runs at least iOS 10.3–Find My iPhone only works with AirPods using iOS 10.3 and above. For earlier iOS version, your AirPods won’t show up.
Did you lose the whole set, meaning the AirPods and the case?
Unfortunately, if you lost the AirPods when they were inside the case, Find My iPhone won’t work or pick up the current location!
Do you see any information, like a gray dot next to your AirPods?
If so, try seeing if you can get some directions to the last location where the AirPods connected to your device.
Also, you must have already set up Find My iPhone up with your AirPods to locate them. If you never set this up, Find My iPhone cannot locate them after the fact.
If you did set up Find My iPhone and can’t locate the AirPods, check that you’re entering the correct Apple ID associated with those AirPods. If the ID is correct, your AirPods are probably offline or out of battery charge and unable to show any location data. In that case, see if you can see any information about the time and location when and where your AirPods were last connected.
Hope something here helps you!
Liz
I have my air pods but I lost my case, is there any way I can track them?
Giselle,
Unfortunately not, the case is not trackable. That’s because the case itself does not have Bluetooth or a chip.
Apple currently charges $69 USD for a replacement case.
Sorry about that!
Once you get the replacement, follow these directions to pair your old AirPods with your new (replacement) AirPods case
Put both of your old AirPods in the new AirPods charging case
Open the case’s lid and look for the status light to flash amber
On the back of the case, press and hold the setup button for 5 seconds until the status light flashes white
If your case still flashes amber, charge the case for at least 10 minutes and try the above steps again
On your iPhone, go to the Home screen
Open the case—with your AirPods inside and hold the case next to your iPhone
Wait for the AirPods setup animation to appear on-screen
Tap Connect, then tap Done
Hope it all works smoothly for you!
Liz
what do you do if you lost only one airpod??
If you only lost one AirPods, place the AirPod you have in the AirPod Case, and then use the Find My iPhone App or iCloud’s website to play a sound and show you the current or last known location on a map.
what if your airpods don’t appear in your list of findiphone ?
HI Melanie,
Do they show up at all–listed in My Devices but as offline? Or do you not see them at all when opening the Find My iPhone App?
A few readers noted that once the total battery on the AirPods and case drain fully (zero percent remaining), the AirPods may no longer show up in Find My iPhone. However, according to Apple “if your AirPods are out of range of all of your devices, need to charge, or are in the AirPod Case, Find My iPhone can still help by showing the time and location where they were last connected.”
Make sure you turn on Find My iPhone in iCloud. Go to Settings > iCloud > enable Find my iPhone–be aware that sometimes when we update our iOS, this setting gets turned off. So you want to ensure it’s on.
If Find My iPhone is already on, try toggling it off, wait a few minutes, and toggle it back on.
Hope something here helps,
Sam
So I lost my Airpods’ case. I really didn’t want to buy a replacement one so I just bought a cheaper Airpod charger and it worked fine for a while.
My problem is that now the Airpods lost pairing with my device and without an original case I can’t get them to pair anymore.
Is there any way to pair Airpods to an iPhone without the original case?
Hi Ricardo
My suggest is put your Airpods to original Apple case. I have Airpod’s case model A1602. If you are from London and want this send some e-mail to me. I can give to you for free.
Hello, So we lost our AirPods and cannot find them.
Is there ANY way you guys can track them or make them make noise even though they are in the case, or vibrate or something.
If you can we That would be Amazing.
If not well Thanks anyway.
Hi Joe,
Try this:
If you lost your AirPods and they are NOT in the case, then your AirPods can play a sound for about two minutes, provided it has sufficient battery
Open the Find My iPhone app
Sign in with your Apple ID and password, if asked
Tap your AirPods’ Name
From the Actions, choose Play Sound
Choose Mute Left or Mute Right to find just one at a time
When you find your AirPods, tap Stop Playing
If you lost the AirPods while they are in the case, there is currently no way to play sounds from the case. When you open Find My iPhone, you should see the last know location for your AirPods.
Good Luck,
Sam
I lost the cas of my airpods? What should i do ?
Hi Asma,
Unfortunately, Apple’s Limited Warranty (one year beginning on the purchase date) for your AirPods covers only defective batteries.If you lose your AirPod Charging Case, Apple replaces your lost item for a fee of $69. The case replacement will be new or equivalent to new in performance and reliability.
If you live near an Apple Store, call the Store to see if they offer AirPods case replacements. Or, if you don’t live near an Apple Store, contact Apple online or phone support and request they send you replacement AirPods Case for the fee.
SK
Hello,So we lost our AirPods And they are in the case, we’ve basically turned the house upside down looking for them, we’ve also have tried multiple apps on the app store that we paid $5.99 for and still nothing, we’ve also tried Find AirPods app and that hasn’t worked, what else would you suggest we do, is there any way to make the AirPods case vibrate or make sound from inside the case, or Is it possible for you guys to make them Vibrate, If so that would be the most amazing thing ever but if not Well thank you 🙂
Thanks, Joe