The AirPods, those Apple earphones that I remember well when they were launched, the most critics said that they would be lost very easily and that they would be very uncomfortable for users. Years later, neither. It is true that they can get lost, almost like any other helmet. Best of all is that currently in the market if you want similar ones you have a very wide market to choose from as they have been copied over and over again. But those of Apple have one thing that the others do not have, the ability to find those that have been lost or stolen. We explain how it’s done.
You already know that Apple is governed by what is called Apple ID. It is not just the username and password with which we access Apple services. It’s also the perfect way to make the ability to sync between different devices a reality. When you open Notes on your iPhone and want to continue writing on your iPad or Mac, it’s that Apple ID that keeps everything running smoothly. This Apple ID is the same that AirPods also have and with that we can connect to either device indiscriminately and quickly.
This Apple ID is also used to find these devices. Because our user is registered and with this we can access his location, also through Find My technology. You can search for any device assigned to you. Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods…etc. With this we can mark on a map where it is. Keeping in mind that if they are connected to a network they will show their location more accurately, but if they are not, then they will show the last site they were connected to.
Apple’s Find My network also operates, recently creating your own network or mesh via Bluetooth, not just Wi-Fi or ultra-wideband. This crowdsourcing network can help you get closer to any Apple product that has been accidentally misplaced or vanished from us. It wasn’t like that in the past. This is something that the company introduced, especially with AirTags, which made these devices so coveted and at first they were used for non-legal purposes.
Keep in mind that there are several generations of AirPods in three model categories: AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. The Find My AirPods experience is similar for all of them, although the AirPods Pro 2 have a few extra tricks. Logically, for all this to work, we must take into account that the network Find My must be enabled on our devices:
- Settings > Click on our name at the top > Find My > Check that “Find My iPhone” is enabled.
can be found additional parameters in this menu to enable network participation Find and send the last known location of your iPhone before battery life. Receive notifications… etc;
Let’s see how we can search for the devices
We open the search application and touch the devices tab at the bottom of the screen. This is where in this case we locate the AirPods we want to find and click on them. We need to enable the option to notify when AirPods have been forgotten. “Notify if forgotten”. We check that it is activated and it says “Yes”. What it does in this case is notify us if we separate from the device. Some locations can be changed so that we are not notified of being our home, for example. It is also recommended to activate the tab indicating that we are notified when we find them.
With this we ensure that if we forget, for example, in the gym, a warning will sound and we will come back for them. But if we lose them in a shopping center, there is no problem because the network Find My has the necessary tools to find them:
We open the search application> Devices tab at the bottom of the screen> Locate the missing AirPods in the list and touch them> Activate lost mode> The operation of the search menu will depend on the model of AirPods followed.
All three generations of AirPods and the standard AirPods Max have similar functionality with Find My. They are limited by the Bluetooth connection, which is only possible outside the charging case.
When connected to a nearby iPhone is when the location is updated. In the meantime, no. At the time of the update, we may allow you to leave a personalized message with your email address or phone number when a device is placed in lost mode. Very useful if they have been stolen. Although we already know…
As we said, the AirPods Pro 2 are a bit more special, because Apple has changed the way the charging case works thanks to the added speakers and U1 chip, which allows for more accurate tracking. The AirPods Pro 2 case has its own set of speakers that create a loud grinding noise when activated. Additionally, the U1 Ultra Wideband, like the AirTags, will display an arrow and guide the user inches away from the missing AirPods Pro 2 case.
We hope this will help you and especially that you will find them if you came here because you lost them or they were stolen. As you may have read, the ideal is to have the second generation AirPods Pro. With the others, we must be much more careful if possible. I still have the first generation ones and they have never fallen off. It is true that it is very useful to activate the notification in case of forgetfulness. Do it first. The rest is up to you.
