How to Find Lost AirPods Using Your iPhone: A Guide

Guides

Your precious AirPods happens to be one of the must-have peripherals for your iPhone. Several times, you use it when watching movies, listening to music, and even answering important calls. Thanks to its wireless feature, you won’t have to worry anymore about dangling and self-tangling wires. However, one of its downfalls is that it can easily get lost too.

Finding a pair of lost Airpods might be quite a struggle, but there is an iOS app that will surefire ease your hunt – that is the Apple Find My app. Most iOS users of today don’t even know an app like this existed in the market. Little did they know, this app will significantly make their search for lost AirPods easier just by a click on their iPhones. So, let’s jump right into it and find out more about Find My app.

 

What Is Find My App?

find my
Photo from Apple

The Apple Company innovated a conducive way of locating lost Apple devices through the help of Find My app. First launched as an app that searches for friends nearby and even missing kids, Find My app now evolved into a far more practical platform and has become a primary tracker of lost Apple devices.

If you’re always scuffling on your stuff just to find your Apple Watch, or you might have misplaced your iPad somewhere, just turn on Find My app on your iPhone and you can have peace of mind in no time. Additionally, Find My app conveniently comes pre-installed on iOS13 and PadOS.

 

How to Add AirPods on Find My?

Adding your AirPods to Find My app is an easy-peasy task. All you have to do is to pair your AirPods with an Apple device associated with your Apple ID. Once paired, your AirPods will be automatically added to Find My app. If you’re uncertain whether your AirPods has already been added on Find My, you can check first if Find My is activated on your iPhone. To do this, follow these simple steps:

  1. Go on “Settings.”
  2. Tap on your Apple ID (indicated by your name), then tap on “Find My.”
  3. Toggle on “Find My iPhone.”

 

How to Find My AirPods and AirPods Case?

On one occasion, you’re simply chilling around while listening to your favorite song using your AirPods. As you ought to do something important, you unconsciously left your AirPods sitting around somewhere — ultimately misplacing it.  You then throw off your things all around in order to find your AirPods, but to no avail, you weren’t able to do so. Lucky for you, Find My app has several means of locating your lost AirPods.

 

1. Finding AirPods on the Map

Most of the time, we become forgetful of the things we carry with us, especially the tiny ones. If ever you left your AirPods somewhere, Find My can show you its location directly on a map. Here’s how to do it:

Find Airpods
Find Airpods
  1. Open “Find My.”
  2. Tap “Devices,” then choose “AirPods.”
  3. A map will be displayed on your screen with your AirPods’ location. Tap on the Car icon to get the directions to your AirPods.

 

Bear in mind that the app searches the location of individual AirPods separately. Meaning, you have to find one of your lost AirPods first, either the left or right ones. Once you have managed to locate one, refresh the map by following the instructions mentioned above and find the remaining missing AirPods.

Moreover, take note that the app will only give you a rough idea where you last used your AirPods and you still have to scan the vicinity yourself since the Airpods are not equipped with GPS. Chances are, your AirPods might be stolen or moved already to another place. If ever this happens, you cannot activate “Lost Mode” on it.

 

2. Finding AirPods by Ringing

Oftentimes, missing AirPods are just lurking below huge furniture like sofas or tables. By the time you’re within the vicinity where the map tells you to go yet, you still weren’t able to locate your missing AirPods, Find My can help you by simply ringing your Airpods. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open “Find My.”
  2. Tap “Devices,” then tap on “AirPods.”
  3. Tap “Play Sound.”
airpods with iphone
Photo from Apple

Once this feature is activated, a loud blaring and beeping sound will be emitted from both of your AirPods.
If you’re only searching for one lost piece, you can toggle to play the sound by selecting the particular missing piece, either the left one or the right. By doing so, you can locate the missing AirPods without playing that loud sound on the other. However, it’ts best to remove the remaining AirPods from your ear to prevent discomfort just in case.

 

3. Finding AirPods Case

Now, what if you got your AirPods with you yet you lost its case?  The only way for you to locate your missing AirPods case is to know exactly where you have last used your AirPods. The case is complementary with your AirPods since it also serves as a charging dock. Logically, by following the aforesaid instructions on how to locate your missing AirPods, you might be able to locate its missing case as well.

On certain occasions, it’s highly likely that the case might be gone forever or was already nabbed by opportunist thieves. In that case, you can ask for a replacement by visiting Apple Support. However, expect that this might come extra expensive for you since lost devices are not covered by AppleCare+. Here’s a breakdown of replacement fees for lost AirPods and AirPods Pro variants.

Lost AirPods AirPods AirPods Pro
Earbuds USD 69 each USD 89 each
Wireless Charging Case USD 79 USD 99
Charging Case USD 59 Not Supported

 

What If My AirPods Is Offline?

It’s way easier to find your missing AirPods if the device is turned active by the time they’ve gone missing. If the batteries are out and the Airpods are inside the charging case, locating them will be quite troublesome. Ringing them won’t be impossible since you need them to be connected to any of your Apple devices via Bluetooth.

Though you can still make use of the map feature of Find My, it’s not 100% guaranteed that you can locate your AirPods as it will only indicate their last known location when the AirPods was still online. If by any luck your AirPods suddenly gets connected to the Bluetooth again, your iPhone will be notified immediately.

 

Takeaway

Thanks to technology, finding your precious Apple gadgets have become significantly convenient — be it your huge iPad or even your tiny AirPods. With this new innovation, there’ll be no more breaking your backs or worrisome thoughts on your mind. You can now locate your missing AirPods without breaking a sweat or maybe even breaking your bank account. Suit up and search for that missing AirPods now!