How to Set Up, Customize, and Use AirPods: The Definitive Guide

AirPods look really simple, but they offer a lot more options than they seem. In fgeneral all actions are simple, but it never hurts to collect them in an article like the one below.

How to connect AirPods to an iPhone, iPad or Mac

To use the AirPods, the first thing we need is have a device compatible with themThese are iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 10.1 or later, Apple Watch with watchOS 3 or later, and Mac with macOS Sierra or later. Now we just have to connect them to the device for the first time. On iOS, here are the steps to follow:

1. We unlock our iPhone or iPad.
2. We open the AirPods box and bring it closer to the device.
3. We press Accept in the window that will appear on the device.

Let’s remember that being connected to iCloud, the AirPods will already be automatically configured in the rest of our devices, so there is no need to repeat the process on other devices.

How to Connect AirPods to Other Devices

If on the contrary, we won’t have an iOS device but we want to use the AirPods, for example on a Windows PC, the steps to follow are these:

1. We open the charging case with the AirPods inside.
2. We hold down the button on the back until the LED lights up.
3. On the device we enter the Bluetooth section.
4. We select AirPods from the available devices.

How to Use Siri on AirPods

Unlike other headphones, AirPods are fully compatible with Siri, this means that we can ask things to the virtual assistant as if it were an iPhone. We just say “Hey Siri” and then prompts like these:

• Increase or decrease the volume.
• Call a contact.
• Ask for weather information.
• Change song.
• Play a music list.
• Check the AirPods battery.

How to Check Battery and Charge AirPods

Apple AirPods they have great autonomy as a strong point, this is due to both the headphones themselves and the case that comes with them.

• The AirPods have a battery life of 5 or 6 hours of music playback.
• The box contains multiple full charges of AirPods for up to 30 hours of playtime.
• By charging the AirPods for 15 minutes we will have up to 3 hours of playback.

For check the charging status of the AirPods and the box we can do it from the iOS battery widget. We can also put the AirPods inside the box and open it near an iOS device to show us an animation with the remaining battery. Finally, the green LED on the case means charging is complete, while orange means less than a full charge remains. With the AirPods inside, the battery of the AirPods themselves is indicated, without them the battery of the box is indicated.

How to Customize AirPods Settings

With all this we can use the AirPods very easily, but also we can customize some settings of them from Settings > Bluetooth > AirPods on our iPhone or iPad. Here are the changes we can make:

• Change the name of the AirPods.
• Enable or disable automatic hearing detection.
• Set the headset from which the microphone is used.

As we started by saying, the AirPods offer us a lot of them more options than it seems. Useful options both to interact with our headphones in a comfortable way and to personalize the use we give them.

More information | Apple Support

Pictures | John Smit, Kuiye Chen, Insung Yoon