If you’re one of the lucky folks that scored a pair of AirPods or AirPods Pro under the tree this holiday season, congratulations! In this article, I’ll be sharing ways to help you get the most out of your new wireless earbuds.
1) Pair Them With Non-Apple Devices
Pairing your AirPods with your iPhone was simplicity personified. (You opened the charging case, looked for a prompt on your phone, tapped “Connect” and you were done, simple, right?) Did you know they also work great with non-Apple devices?
There is a small, flush button on the back of the charging case. To start pairing your AirPods with a non-Apple device, put the AirPods in their case, flip the lid up and press and hold that small button until the LED light starts flashing white. Your AirPods should then show up in the Bluetooth-pairing settings of any Bluetooth-enabled computer, Android phone or tablet, or even television.
Be warned, you won’t have access to all of the magical AirPods features you generally have when they’re connected to an Apple product, but they’ll still sound great.
To return to using the AirPods with your iPhone, just tap “AiPods” in your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings, and they’ll pair up once again.
2) Use Them One at a Time to Extend Your Listening Enjoyment
This is probably my favorite way to use AirPods. (I listen to quite a few podcasts, news radio, and such.)
One AirPod can work solo as a Bluetooth headset. The second AirPod can stay in the case charging, ready to be used as needed. Pop the fresh one on your ear, pop the old one out, and the fresh bud takes over seamlessly. (But, don’t forget to pop the drained AirPod back into the charging case so it’ll be ready for later.)
3) Listen to Stereo Music Using a Single AirPod
If you want to extend your music listening sessions, pop a single earbud in and keep the second one in the charging case. You’ll get both music channels in one ear, enjoying the full effect. Then, switch out as needed, as I told you about in tip #2.
4) Use “Hey, Siri!”
Your AirPods and AirPods Pro will happily recognize the “Hey, Siri!” wake-up command. Just say “Hey, Siri” and you can use our AirPods to issue the usual Siri commands and requests. When you say “Hey, Siri,” the volume of the content you’re listening to will lower, indicating Siri is ready for your command.
5) Pair to One Apple Device And Pair to Them All
You are likely aware of how simple it is to pair your AirPods to your iPhone, it only takes a few seconds. Open the charging case, wait for a prompt on your iPhone, and tap “Connect.” Simple, no?
But, did you know that once you’ve paired with your iPhone, your new AirPods are paired with all of your other Apple devices? Yep, your AirPods are now paired with your iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. (As long as those devices are signed in on the same iCloud account as the iPhone.)
