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In case your AirPods get stolen or disappear, you should use Apple’s Discover My app to find them and probably get them again. Here is how.
Not like an iPhone or iPad, AirPods haven’t got invaluable person data so having a pair disappear as a result of theft or loss is not as important. Nevertheless, they’re a monetary funding, so you may wish to pursue them if there’s an opportunity of getting them again.
Apple sells a wide range of AirPods, however the danger for any earbud-style gadget is identical — shedding one or each earpieces, the charging case, or the entire set. Fortunately there is a option to monitor down your misplaced or stolen AirPods.
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Guarantee Discover My is enabled forward of time
Because of Apple’s Discover My community, you may probably be capable of pinpoint exactly the place your AirPods are, or not less than the place they most just lately had been. Observe, solely the earbuds themselves will be tracked, not the Charging Case, as a result of the case itself would not have Bluetooth or audio system.
It’s important to have enabled Discover My earlier than your AirPods went lacking, or you may’t use Discover My to find them.
The way to arrange Discover My in your iPhone
Observe these steps to make sure Discover My is enabled in your iPhone. As soon as enabled, equipment related along with your iPhone will probably be obtainable on the Discover My community.
- Open the Settings app.
- Faucet in your identify on the prime.
- Faucet on Discover My.
- Confirm “Discover My iPhone” is on.
Further settings will be discovered on this menu to allow collaborating within the Discover My community and sending your iPhone’s final recognized location earlier than battery exhaustion.
The way to be notified in case you depart your AirPods behind
You probably have an iPhone 12 or later, you may arrange separation alerts for AirPods, AirPods Professional, or AirPods Max. That is achieved from the Discover My app’s gadgets menu.
- Open the Discover My app.
- Faucet the Gadgets tab on the backside of the display screen.
- Find your AirPods from the listing and faucet them.
- Faucet “Notify When Left Behind”
- Toggle the characteristic on and setup exceptions like your property deal with.
The characteristic features just like AirTags and can notify you when your AirPods lose Bluetooth connection unexpectedly as a result of distance.
Utilizing Discover My to find misplaced or stolen AirPods
The Discover My app can find your lacking Apple gadgets, AirTags, and a few third-party equipment utilizing the Discover My community. Each iPhone, Mac, and iPad that is not opted out of the community acts as a beacon for lacking gadgets.
When you’ve misplaced your AirPods or suspect they’re stolen:
- Open the Discover My app.
- Faucet the Gadgets tab on the backside of the display screen.
- Find your AirPods from the listing and faucet them.
- Use this menu to seek out your AirPods or activate misplaced mode.
The map will present the final location the AirPods had been linked to a tool inside the Discover My community. If the AirPods are within the charging case they usually have not been linked just lately, they won’t be able to replace their location on the map.
If the AirPods are free from the case or the case lid is open, the AirPods will try to hook up with any close by gadget and replace their location. Use the “Discover” or “Play Sound” operate if you realize the AirPods are close by and need assistance finding them. Nevertheless, these features will solely work if the iPhone can join with the AirPods through Bluetooth.
Connecting to the AirPods and enjoying a high-pitch sound will be useful in a number of conditions. The obvious use circumstances could also be finding an earbud that slipped between some sofa cushions, however the characteristic additionally turns out to be useful for locating a stolen gadget.
Many people have been in a scenario the place a coworker or classmate might need sticky fingers and “borrow” extra issues than we might like. When this happens with AirPods, the situation and sound playback options can shortly settle an argument over which gadget belongs to who.
For extra extreme theft circumstances, you’ll need to depend on Misplaced Mode and the authorities.
Misplaced Mode
The Misplaced Mode in Discover My tells a tool it’s lacking and might notify the proprietor when it’s positioned. From the AirPods Discover My menu, choose “Activate” beneath “Mark As Misplaced.” This initiates the Misplaced Mode system for the AirPods.
Since AirPods can’t hook up with the web on their very own, Misplaced Mode would not do something till the AirPods hook up with a brand new on-line gadget. Stolen, misplaced, or in any other case, the following time your AirPods hook up with an Apple product, a message will seem, and the proprietor is notified with an up to date location.
You’ll be able to depart a customized message alongside along with your e mail or telephone quantity when a tool is positioned in Misplaced Mode. So in case you suspect the AirPods are stolen, a message of “We’ve got your location and police have been notified” could also be apt.
Misplaced Mode would not forestall the AirPods from getting used, and whoever has them can join and use them as Bluetooth earbuds. Nevertheless, the iCloud knowledge will stay hooked up to the AirPods, and the gadget identify will present up as “Not Your AirPods.”
Escalation and involving police
Whereas some conditions will not warrant police, just like the aforementioned coworker, others will. AirPods are small gadgets that may be swiped from a desk in a second, and your solely recourse can be to contain the police.
By no means chase down a thief or use Discover My to trace stolen gadgets to personal property. AirPods aren’t price your life.
In case your AirPods are stolen, and the thief tries to make use of them or promote them, chances are high, Misplaced Mode will inform you precisely the place to seek out them. Notify the police, file a police report, and hope for the most effective.
Since AirPods lack private data and are comparatively cheap, having a set stolen is not a world-ending situation. There is a slight likelihood a stolen set may very well be recovered, however you are probably going to be shopping for new ones.
Ordering substitute components
Apple can present a brand new earbud or charging case at a decreased value if one goes lacking. Present the serial quantity to Apple Help to arrange a substitute.
The AirPods serial quantity is saved in your iPhone:
- Open the Settings app.
- Faucet on Bluetooth.
- Find your AirPods within the listing and faucet the “i” icon.
- The serial quantity is listed right here.
Apple would not supply insurance coverage for misplaced AirPods with AppleCare because it does for iPhone. So, if a whole set of AirPods goes lacking, then you definitely’ll have to purchase a brand new set at retail value.
Discover out what to do in case your Apple Watch is misplaced or stolen or your iPhone is misplaced or stolen.