The tiny wireless earbuds are the coolest headphones around:

• They work seamlessly with iPhones, Apple Watch and Macs

• They automatically turn on when you put them in your ear

• …and pause what you’re listening to when you take them out

• Their case also doubles as a charging point

• Plus, you can talk to Siri with them

But, all of this is useless if you’ve lost one – or both – of your AirPods. Luckily, Apple knows their audience and have put a couple of safety features in place to help you track down your AirPods if they’ve gone missing.

Finding lost AirPods

There are two ways you can find lost AirPods – as long as they’re online:

Follow the sound

If you think your AirPods might be at home or in the office somewhere, you can make them play a sound if they’re near your Apple device and connected to Bluetooth. Just like the old-school way of finding your phone by getting someone else to ring it.

You can do this via iCloud.com or the Find My iPhone app.

The sound gradually gets louder for two minutes – or until you find your AirPods. If you’ve lost them in different places, you can choose ‘Mute Left’ or ‘Mute Right’ so that only one beeps to let you know where it’s hiding.

Make sure that you’re not still wearing an AirPod when you play the sound, as it could seriously damage your hearing.

Location

If you think you might have dropped your AirPods while you were out and about, iCloud.com or the Find My iPhone app can pinpoint them on a map.

Log in and you’ll be able to see the location of any Apple devices or AirPods that are registered to your Apple ID.

If – somehow – you’ve lost your AirPods in two different places, you’ll only see one location on the map. When you’ve found that one, refresh the map and it’ll show you where the other AirPod is.

Finding AirPods if they are offline

If your AirPods are off or out of battery, or you forgot to turn on Find My iPhone before you lost them, things are a bit trickier.

iCloud.com or the Find My iPhone app will only be able to show you where they last were and at what time. From there you’ll have to retrace your footsteps.

If you get close enough that they turn back on, you’ll get a notification on your Apple device – then you can try the sound or map methods.

AirPods FAQ

Here's some questions people commonly have about their AirPods:

Can I buy one AirPod?

Yes – if you lose one AirPod, you can replace it under Apple’s Service and Repair. But it will cost you £65* per earbud.

How can I replace my AirPod case?

You can also replace your AirPod case under Apple’s Service and Repair. This costs £55* for a charging case, and £75* for a wireless charging case. Set up an appointment at an Apple Store, or put in a service request.

How do you reset AirPods?

Put both AirPods inside the charging case, then press and hold the button on the back of the case for around 10 seconds. The status light will flash amber, and the go white – showing that your AirPods have gone back to factory settings.

Do AirPods work with Android?

Yes. You won’t get the same seamless experience as with an Apple device, but you can pair your AirPods with an Android device.

Press and hold the button on the AirPods charging case until the link flashes, then find AirPods on your Android device’s Bluetooth setting.

*as per June 2019

Upgrade to Apple AirPods 2nd Generation, with a wireless charging case.