Apple ditched the headphone jack on its new line of iPhone and introduced Apple AirPods, new wireless earphones that are good for music, taking calls and of course using Siri. This is all good until AirPods stops working or starts facing minor yet annoying problems. Is your AirPods not working properly as well? Don’t worry; you are not alone. Continue reading as we tell you how to fix common Apple AirPods problems with a step by step guide.

There are several AirPods problems and the most common AirPods problem being AirPods not charging issue, won’t connect to iPhone and Mac, automatic ear detection not working, glitchy play and pause, Airpods disconnecting calls and other issues to name a few. Some of these problems can be fixed by resetting the Apple AirPods. However, if that doesn’t work you, we have other solutions as well.

Reset Apple AirPods

Resetting Apple AirPods is nothing like resetting your iPhone. When a user resets the AirPods, he is only resetting the AirPods to its factory state. Since the user is not losing any data because there is nothing to lose, one only needs to re-pair AirPods with their iPhone and Mac to get it to work again.

Here is how to reset Apple AirPods to fix common problems.

1. Place both the AirPods (Righ/Left) in the AirPods charging case.
2. At the back of the case, look for a button. Press and hold the button for 15 seconds. Release the button when the LED flashes.
3. Remove AirPods from the case and pair it with your iPhone / Mac.

Still not working? Proceed with other Apple AirPods fixes listed below.

Automatic Ear Detection Not Working

Apple AirPods come with proximity sensors that detect when the user inserts or removes the AirPods from their ears. Based on the input, AirPods will either play the music or pause it. In case, Automatic Ear Detection is not working, make sure Automatic Ear Detection is turned on in the Settings.

1. Go to Settings.
2. Open Bluetooth.
3. Tap Airpods and tap on i next to the paired AirPods.
4. Enable Automatic Ear Detection by tapping the slider.

AirPods Play/Pause Music Abruptly.

Apple AirPods comes with proximity sensors integrated that helps the device detect if the user is using inserting the AirPods into ears or removing them. Based on the input, AirPods will resume or pause the music.

However, if your AirPods are not working as it should and pausing/playing music abruptly, you may need to check the proximity sensor for the problems.

The proximity sensors don’t work if dust or skin care products cover the sensors resulting in malfunctioning of the AirPods. To fix the problem, do the following.

1. Clean AirPods with a cleaning cloth with some isopropyl alcohol like the Cleanmax etc.

2. Reset AirPods once again after cleaning.

3. Disable and enable Automatic Ear Detection from Settings > Bluetooth > AirPods > i.

4. If you think the problem is hardware related, take the AirPods to Apple Support.

AirPods Battery Drain Issue

Some users have reported battery drain issues with their AirPods. Apple AirPods offer some best in class battery life. However, the battery draining issue is real. Here are a couple of solutions to fix AirPods battery draining issue.

1. Reset – As explained earlier, resetting AirPods seems to have solved the battery draining issue for AirPods.

Put the AirPods into the charging case. Press and hold the button located at the back of charging case for 15 seconds. Release the button when the LED flashes. Pair the AirPods again and make sure to enable features like Auto Ear Detection.

2. Completely Drain and Recharge AirPods

Another way to fix the battery draining issue is to let the AirPods battery drain completely to 0. Put the AirPods back in the charging case and allow it to charge till %100 capacity.

3. Unpair and Pair AirPods

You can also try to unpair and re-pair the AirPods to fix the battery draining issue. This may not look like a solution but supposedly has worked for some users.

1. Go to Settings > Bluetooth > My devices.
2. Tap the i button and then select Forget this Device.
3. Tap on Forget Device to confirm.

Once done, pair the AirPods again with your iPhone and see if it resolves the battery draining issue.

4. Enable Auto Ear Detection

The Auto Ear Detection feature in AirPods automatically pauses and plays the music whenever the user inserts or removes the AirPods from the ears. For those that facing battery draining issue can leave Auto Ear Detection enabled for AirPods in settings to reduce the battery consumption.

1. Open Settings and go to Bluetooth > AirPods.
2. Tap the i button and disable/enable Auto Ear Detection option.

5. Replace AirPods Battery

AirPods run on lithium-ion batteries so is the charging case. In the long run, the AirPods battery starts to give less battery life. Apple does offer battery replacement for both AirPods and charging case starting at $49 each. When under warranty, the service centre might replace it free of charge. Check Apple AirPod service page for more.

AirPods Won’t Connect to MacBook

If you use AirPods with your Mac, you may face connection error. Older MacBooks had unreliable Bluetooth hardware which might be causing the AirPods connection issues.

Here are a couple of solutions to fix AirPods issue with Mac.

1. Turn On/Off Bluetooth – On your Mac, click the Bluetooth icon and turn off Bluetooth. Wait for a few minutes and turn on Bluetooth from the menu bar. Try pairing AirPods with Mac again.

2. Restart Bluetooth Process in Mac – Killing and restarting the Bluetooth process in Mac can also help you fix the AirPods not working with Mac issue. Restart Bluetooth process in Mac is easy.

Open the Terminal window and type:

sudo pkill blued

Hit enter. Enter the password and hit enter again.

The command will kill and restart the Bluetooth process in Mac. Try connecting to the AirPods again to see how it works now.

AirPods Won’t Connect to iPhone / iPad

The AirPods not working issue can also occur with iPhone and iPad. However, you cannot kill the Bluetooth process in iPad and iPhone, so here are a couple of solutions to fix the problem.

1. Turn on / Off Bluetooth – Start by turning off Bluetooth. Wait for a few seconds and turn on Bluetooth. Try connecting again.

2. Unpair – Try unpairing the AirPods from iPhone.
Go to Settings > Bluetooth > My Devices.

3. Next, tap the i button. Tap on AirPods and select Forget this device. Tap Forget Device once more to unpair.

Turn on Bluetooth on iPhone and search for Bluetooth device. Select AirPod from the list to start the pairing process.

Find Stolen / Lost AirPods

AirPods like iPhone can be located when stolen or misplaced using Find iPhone feature. Users can track the AirPods last known location and current location depending on the status, through Find iPhone interface.

1. Open Safari and go to iCloud.com.
2. Sign in with your Apple ID.
3. Click on Find iPhone. Click All Devices drop-down menu.
4. Select your AirPods from the list and location of AirPods will be shown on the map.
5. If it is nearby, click Play Sound option and the AirPods will start beeping.

The AirPods’s current location is trackable only if the AirPods is powered on. In case of discharged AirPods, the users can only find the last known location of the earphones.