Apple today released a firmware update for its AirPods Pro and AirPods Max that introduces new options for finding the pricey products if you happen to misplace them. These capabilities were first promised for iOS 15 but didn’t quite make the launch; thankfully, it didn’t take Apple much longer after that to roll them out. Both 9to5Mac and MacRumors reported on today’s release.
Using Apple’s Find My app, it was already possible to view the location where your AirPods were last paired with your iPhone or play a sound to make them easier to dig out of the couch cushions. But this new update greatly expands that functionality. Now you can activate Lost Mode and have millions of other iPhones, iPads, and Macs aid in the search should your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max go missing. If they come within Bluetooth range of another Apple device, you’ll be alerted to their location.
Apple has also added an AirTags-like “Find Nearby” user interface for tracking down a set of AirPods Pro or AirPods Max if you know they’re somewhere close. Since there’s no U1 chip inside Apple’s earbuds or headphones, it’s not quite as precise as with an AirTag; you don’t see the arrows pointing you towards them, but the onscreen prompts will show statuses like far, near, or “here” when you’re right near them.
Also super helpful: you can now automatically receive a notification if you leave your AirPods behind somewhere. Apple’s support page on the Find My network explains the various features and how they work.
Unfortunately, Apple still doesn’t offer any straightforward way to update AirPods firmware. It just sort of happens randomly when they’re connected to your iPhone. But you can at least check what version you’ve got to see if you’ve got these latest features. If you’re on iOS 15, here’s what to do:
- Go to Settings on your iPhone or iPad
- Tap the Bluetooth section
- Tap on the “i” icon next to your AirPods under “My Devices.”
- There you’ll see a “version” field that shows which software you’re running.
The new update that offers the improved Find My capabilities is version 4A400, so look for that. As for the regular AirPods, they’re still limited to the more basic functionality that was present before. But whenever the long-rumored third-generation AirPods make their debut, hopefully those will also offer the more robust location tracking.
Update October 27th, 11:30AM ET: The article has been updated with revised instructions for checking your AirPods firmware on iOS 15.
A few years ago, Apple officially rolled out a new Find My AirPods feature that makes it easy to find your lost AirPods using the Find My app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The AirPods implementation isn’t as robust as the “Find My iPhone,” but it can still be useful if you misplace your AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max.
Read on for full instructions on how to take advantage of Find My AirPods…
Again, the most important thing worth noting is that Find My AirPods isn’t quite as sophisticated as Find My iPhone. For instance, the AirPods must be connected to the iPhone via Bluetooth to work. This means that if the AirPods are too far away, you won’t get the full feature set, though Apple will help you track them down the best that it can.
How to use Find My AirPods
Find My AirPods is accessible just like Apple’s other “Find” services for Mac, iPhone, iPod, and Apple Watch. To track your AirPods, you can do so via either iCloud.com or the “Find My” app on iPad and iPhone.
To use the feature, open the Find iPhone app and look for your AirPods in your list of devices. From there, you can see where your AirPods are located on a map and in relation to your other Apple products. If you tap the AirPods icon on the map, you’ll see the option to play a sound from the AirPods.
After you start playing the sound, you’ll see the option to mute the left or the right AirPod, or stop playing the sound. This option isn’t available for AirPods Max, since they are over-ear connected headphones rather than truly wireless headphones like AirPods and AirPods Pro.
The ability to mute either AirPod makes it easier to locate one or the other if you’ve only misplaced one of them. While the sound that is emitted from the AirPods isn’t the loudest, it should be loud enough to locate a misplaced earbud in a relatively quiet environment.
An important thing to note is that all of these steps apply only if the AirPods are out of their case and connected to your iPhone.
If you have an AirPod that you’ve left behind at another location or that isn’t connected to your iPhone, you’ll see the last known location on the map, and hitting the “Play Sound” button will present a “Sound Pending” message: “You will receive a notification when these AirPods connect to a paired device.”
Apple’s Find My AirPods feature is pretty useful for locating nearby AirPods, though less so for ones that you may have left at another location. Nevertheless, given the technical hurdles, the feature is useful and much-needed considering the truly wireless design of the AirPods.
Have you had an instance of losing your AirPods? Was Find My AirPods useful if you used it? Let us know down in the comments.
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