How to Find Your Lost AirPods with iPhone/Mac?

One of the major issues with these wireless and particularly small AirPods was that they were very easy to misplace. As a solution to this issue, in March 2017, Apple released iOS 10.3 that came forward with many new features. One of the most notable updates was the expansion of the Find My feature to AirPods. With this update, you can easily locate your AirPods. Here is a complete guide on how to find your lost AirPods with iPhone/mac.

In this article, we will be discussing the following：

1. What’s Find My and How to Use Find My AirPods 

2. Find AirPods from Your iPhone 

3. Find AirPods on a Mac

4. Limitation of Find My AirPods

1. What’s Find My and How to Use Find My AirPods?

Find My iPhone is a built-in Apple app that helps you to locate your iOS devices such as Mac, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch, and AirPods remotely. It also helps you in the protection of your data in case of theft. You can access this app from any of the iOS devices or iCloud.  

Here we will be talking about AirPods specifically. As they are the tiniest of the devices and they can be very easily misplaced and lost. So, to find them, you can either look for them the old-fashioned way (physically checking all the places you may have left them) or you could use the Find My app. This app will help you locate your AirPods by either giving you their location on the maps or by allowing you to play a sound.

However, there is a catch. To be able to use the Find My Airpods feature, you must have the app set up for your iPhone or some other iOS device beforehand. In this case, Apple will automatically switch on the Find My AirPods feature. But if it is not enabled for any of your iOS devices, then sadly you are out of luck. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that the location of AirPods shows up on the map only when they are connected via Bluetooth to any iOS device. If they are disconnected, the last known location will be displayed. Furthermore, if they have been out of use for a while, then they will be shown as “offline”.

2. Find AirPods from Your iPhone 

To use Find My for your AirPods, follow the following process:

Step 1

Go to Find My app. Tap on your AirPods from the “Devices” tab.  On the map, you will be shown the last place they were connected. 

Step 2

The app will show you two options: one to use “Directions” and the other of “Play Sound”.

a. Directions

If your AirPods are in their case or out of range, use this option to find their last known location. Simply tap on “Directions” and the map will lead you to that location. 

b. Find AirPods by Playing A Sound 

For this feature to work, your AirPods must be connected to your iPhone and within range (30-50 feet). 

1. Tap on “Play Sound”. 

2. If the left and right sides are separated, then you also have the option to mute either of the sides to find one at a time. 

3. Follow the sound to find your AirPods.

4. To stop the sound, place your AirPods in their case or tap on “Stop” in the Find My app.

If your AirPods are disconnected, out of range, or discharged, a “Sound Pending” message will be displayed.

3. Find AirPods on a Mac 

In case of unavailability of your iPhone, you can also use the Find My app on your Mac to find your AirPods. All you have to do is:

Step 1

Open the “Find My” app. Select your AirPods from the “Devices” tab. 

Step 2

Click on the Info button on the map. Now you have two options: “Play Sound” and “Directions”.

a. Play Sound

1. Click on “Play Sound”. Follow the sound to find your AirPods. If the left and right sides are separated, then you also have the option to mute either of the sides to find one at a time. 

2. To stop the sound, place your AirPods in their case or tap on “Stop” in the Find My app.

3. If your AirPods are disconnected, out of range, or discharged, a “Sound Pending” message will be displayed. 

b. Directions

If your AirPods are in their case or out of range, use this option to find their last known location. Simply tap on “Directions” and the map will lead you to that location. 

4. Limitation of Find My AirPods

One of the major drawbacks of this feature is that your AirPods must be powered, turned on, and connected to your iOS device for the above methods to work. Furthermore, they should be in range to play a sound or get directions. If they are out of range, then you can only view their last online location. 

Another thing to keep in mind is that Find My AirPods only works for the AirPods themselves, it does not work for the AirPods case nor does it work if the AirPods are disconnected and stored in the case.

Moreover, if you have not added AirPods to your list of devices before you lose them, then there is no way to find them using the Find My app. Thus, it’s best to enable your Find My app on all your Apple devices.

Check out our blog for further assistance.