Have you lost your AirPods or AirPods Pro or worse, they have been stolen? Well, worry not, as in this guide, we will tell you how to block or recover stolen AirPods in the easy steps below. There is an inbuilt application in your iPhone called Find my app that you can use to easily find your AirPods. Read the complete tutorial below to track down your lost or stolen AirPods or even block them if you would like.
How to Block and Recover Stolen AirPods (2023)
First, let’s start with the bad news. Because AirPods use Bluetooth to connect to your Apple devices, they are harder to locate than iPhones, iPads, and Apple Watches that use WiFi. However, to attempt to recover them (also because they are not cheap), Apple has made available to users the Find My app (formerly known as Find My iPhone) and the iCloud website.
The downside is that this technology only works by proximity, so if you are beyond the earphones’ Bluetooth range, in other words, you won’t be able to do anything. Also, it’s imperative that the AirPods are still charged and out of their case.
If, on the other hand, you have AirPods Pro or AirPods Pro Max and you have updated to iOS 15, then you are in luck, as the entire Find My network is at your disposal to find the missing headset or earbuds.
How to find AirPods again using iCloud
To locate one or a pair of AirPods from a computer, do this:
Open iCloud.com on any browser on your computer.
Enter your Apple ID credentials to log into your account.
Click the Find iPhone icon.
Click All Devices and look for AirPods in the list.
Using the Find My app on iPhone and iPad to find AirPods
- Open the Find My app on iPhone and iPad. If you don’t have it, download it from this page of the App Store.
- Sign in with your Apple ID.
- The list will appear with all connected Apple devices including AirPods and their location if available.
There are 3 possible cases here on how to check the status of your AirPods:
- Blue dot: Indicates that the device is currently in use (by someone else, obviously).
- Green dot: Great news! The device is online and reachable. Don’t move from there.
- Gray dot: Device offline. Perhaps the battery has run out, or perhaps it has been turned off or is unreachable. The map shows the last approximate location it was online. Optionally, you can set up a notification as soon as the device is back online.
At this point, if the AirPods are in the Bluetooth range, it will be possible to make them emit a loud sound, just select the Play sound command. The acoustic signal will sound for two minutes, with increasing volume, and once found, the process can be stopped.
AirPods Unreachable
If your AirPods are offline then you have a problem. The position on the map, in fact, is only indicative and reveals where they were the last time they were correctly connected and/or in use. Unlike iPhones and iPads, which enjoy Activation Lock protection, AirPods can’t be locked remotely, nor can they be prevented from being paired with iPhones other than yours.
This is the bitter truth. The good news, however, is that in the future, with the smart AirTag keychain and thanks to the U1 Ultra-Wideband chip, it will also be possible to identify lost or stolen AirPods by exploiting the iPhone network around the world. But until then, the only real option is to buy a spare earbud.
That’s all there is to know about how to block and recover stolen AirPods. If you are searching for more AirPods Guides, check out our other articles here: How to Update AirPods Firmware With or Without iPhone, and How to Clean your AirPods.