How to reset AirPods: the ultimate guide

Just turn it off and on again. You’ll definitely have heard that before – after all, it’s the oldest trick in the book when you’re trying to solve any little technical gremlins. And the same tip goes for your AirPods. Resetting them can quickly fix a bunch of annoying problems. Hey, sometimes it’s the simple suggestions that work the best…

Common AirPods issues

When your AirPods start acting up, it can be a right pain – especially if you’re on a long train journey, and now you can’t listen to any music. We’ve all been there…

These are some of the most common problems you might have come across:

• Your call drops – On the phone to a mate and the line goes dead? It’s rare, but sometimes calls drop out and then reconnect after a few seconds.
• You can’t connect to a phone or tablet – If you can’t hook them up to your different gizmos, then you can’t listen to anything at all. Boo.
• There are static and audio issues – That white noise might be relaxing when you’re trying to sleep, but it’s really ruining the morning commute right now…
• The right or left AirPod won’t connect – Listening to half a song isn’t much fun. And how else are you meant to block out that noisy office?

If you’re experiencing any of these issues, don’t panic – they’re only temporary. We’ll show you how to reset your AirPods down below and get everything back to normal.

How to reset AirPods

Listen up. Factory resetting AirPods is going to come in handy if you ever run into any problems. So, it’s worth learning how to do it.

This is how to reset AirPods – whether you’ve got regular AirPods (every generation) or a set of AirPods Pro (all generations):

1. Put the AirPods in their charging case.
2. Shut the lid and wait for 30 seconds.
3. Open the lid, then press and hold down the setup button (it’s on the back of the case) for 15 seconds or so.
4. The status light should flash amber, then change to white.

It’s a tiny bit different if you’ve got AirPods Max:

1. Pick up your right headphone.
2. Press and hold down the Digital Crown and noise control buttons at the same time.
3. The status light (which is next to the charging port) will change from flashing amber to flashing white in about 15 seconds.

And that’s how to factory reset AirPods. Pretty straightforward right?

Reconnecting your AirPods

So, you’ve done a full AirPods reset, and now you need to hook them back up to your devices. First things first, make sure your gadgets are updated to the latest version of iOS. Then just follow these steps:

1. Head to the home screen.
2. Put your AirPods in the charging case.
3. Open the case and hold it up next to your iPhone, iPad etc.
4. A setup box should pop up on screen.
5. Tap ‘Connect’.
6. If you’ve got AirPods (3rd gen) or AirPods Pro (1st or 2nd gen) have a read of the next three screens.
7. If you’ve got AirPods (2nd or 3rd gen) or AirPods Pro (1st or 2nd gen) and have already set up Siri, then you can use it straight away with your AirPods. If not, you’ll be guided through getting it set up.
8. Press ‘Done’.
9. Signed into iCloud already? Then your AirPods will be set up automatically with any of your tech that’s signed into it (and uses the same Apple ID).

Removing AirPods from your Apple ID

Selling, recycling, or returning your Apple AirPods? Make sure you remove them from your Apple ID first. You can do this on your Mac, iPad or iPhone and it’s super quick and easy to do. Plus, you only have to remove AirPods from your Apple ID on the one gizmo to unpair them from them all. Nice.

Before you get going though, it’s worth connecting your AirPods to your gadget over Bluetooth. It can make removing them way faster.

Right, here’s how to remove AirPods from your Apple ID (on iPhone and iPad):

1. Open up the ‘Find My’ app.
2. Select the ‘Devices’ tab, press on your AirPods, then swipe up.
3. Tap on ‘Remove This Device’, then tap on ‘Remove’ to confirm your choice.

Here’s how to do it on a Mac:

1. Fire up the ‘Find My’ app.
2. Pick the ‘Devices’ tab, then choose your AirPods.
3. On the map, click on the ‘More Info’ button.
4. Click ‘Remove This Device’.

FAQs

Why is only one of my AirPods working?

It could be down to a few different things. If there’s no sound coming from one of your AirPods…

1. Check that your charging case is fully charged.
2. Put both AirPods back in the case and leave them to charge for about 30 seconds.
3. Flip open the charging case near your iPad or iPhone.
4. Look at the charging status on your device to see whether each AirPod is charging properly.
5. Pop both AirPods back in your ears.
6. Play a song, podcast, or video to test that they’re both working.

Still not fixed it? You’ll have to reset your AirPods using our tips further up. And if that’s not helped either, get in touch with Apple Support.

Why won’t my AirPods do a hard reset?

If your AirPods won’t reset, it might be because…

• The charging case is damaged.
• You haven’t disconnected your AirPods from the gadget you were using them with.
• There’s dirt or gunk on the charging case connectors.
• Your AirPods aren’t the real deal. If they’re not proper Apple AirPods, doing a factory reset won’t work.

Source: CURRYS