,

How To Find Your Lost AirPods Case [Updated for 2023]

So you ended up losing sight of your AirPods case, and now you are just anxiously searching for how to find your lost AirPods case and are ready to leave no stone unturned to find it. Don’t worry; we have got you covered! 

So, how do you find an AirPods case? While you can find your AirPods by using the “Find my” app on your iPhone and having them play loud sounds, it is a bit of a challenge to find the AirPods case as it is incapable of playing any sound (unless you have the AirPods Pro 2 case that comes with a built-in speaker).

But as long as you see the green dot next to your paired AirPods in the Find my app, your AirPods case is nearby! 

Yes, you need more luck to find an AirPods case, but all hope is not lost. We’ve got a few more tricks that you can pull to find your AirPods case. 

How-to find your airpod case

Your AirPods case can be traced with the help of the Find My app on your iPhone; you can also use the “Find My iPhone” app if you use a Mac running macOS Mojave. Mac users that have upgraded to macOS Catalina or up to Monterey can use the “Find My” app, although please note that AirPods Pro 2 aren’t fully supported in the Find My app until you upgrade to macOS Ventura.

Although it won’t play any sound if the AirPods are not in the case when you try to find the case alone (unless you have the AirPods Pro 2!), it will still show you if the case is around. Follow the steps below to find the AirPods case. 

AirPods Case on Find My app
AirPods Case on Find My app

How to Find an AirPods Case:

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone.
  2. Check the list of devices you’ve paired with your iPhone and tap the option showing AirPods.
  3. Check if your AirPods have a green light next to their name.
  4. If there’s a green dot, then that means that the case is nearby. 
  5. And in case you own the AirPods Pro 2 and your earbuds are not in the case, you should be able to see the case listed separately, too, with a green dot.
  6. If you see a gray dot instead, then that means that your AirPods case is offline. The gray light suggests that it is out of range.
  7. For the green dot, tap the Play Sound option to play loud notes on your AirPods and track them by following the sound.
  8. If you own AirPods Pro 2 earbuds, the ‘Nearby’ status tells you that you can use Precision Finding. So use it!
  9. If offline, tap the Car icon to see the last location of your AirPods.

Although the best-case scenario would be to have the AirPods inside the case and online, as it will make it easier to find them faster, the other navigation option could also be quite effective with a little bit of luck on your side. We have to add — we’re grateful that the AirPods Pro 2’s case has the new U1 chip to make it easier to find!

Precision Finding with AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)

Apple launched its latest AirPods Pro (2nd generation) on September 23, 2022, priced at $249 (or for $239 on Amazon at the time of publication). Unlike the previous AirPods, these new AirPods come with a Precision Finding feature to locate the exact spot where your AirPods are. 

Apple upgraded the AirPods Pro 2 Charging Case by including a U1 chip for Precision Finding with Find My; if you have lost or misplaced your AirPods Pro, this guide will teach you how to utilize the Precision Finding feature to find the case.

Airpods Pro 2 Precision Finding Feature
Airpods Pro 2 Precision Finding Feature

You can track down lost individual AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) with the help of Find My by using their Bluetooth signal. However, the second-generation AirPods Pro Charging Case has a U1 Ultra Wideband chip in addition to Bluetooth — it’s the same chip that Apple uses in AirTags

With iPhones containing U1 chips, you can use the Precision Finding function in the Find My app to detect the distance and direction of your AirPods more precisely when they are nearby (about 15 to 30 feet). 

If you have an iPhone 11 or later model and a pair of misplaced AirPods Pro 2, you can use the Precision Finding feature to pinpoint their whereabouts and be guided there through the phone’s camera and sensors, like accelerometer and gyroscope, all while receiving audible and tactile cues. See below for instructions on how to use this feature. 

Note: In countries where Ultra Wideband frequencies are not fully supported, Precision Finding will not function. Remember that the AirPods Pro 2 Charging Case has a built-in speaker, so you can make it play a sound using Find My to find it more quickly.

How to Use Precision Finding to Locate AirPods Pro 2 With Your iPhone

You can use the Find My app to listen for sounds from the case speaker when your AirPods Pro 2 are inside and use the precision finding feature to locate the case (it rings at a high volume!).

If you take your AirPods Pro 2 earbuds out of their carrying case and lose one or both, you can use the device’s built-in sensors to locate the case, the misplaced earbud, or both earbuds. You can also play a sound from one or both earbuds. 

Remember that if your AirPods are not in the case, you can only use precision locating to locate the case and must use a different “find” feature for the individual earbuds that won’t give you directional guidance but will tell you when you are getting closer or farther (utilizing Bluetooth signal strength I presume).

Airpods Pro 2 Individual Bud Locating
Airpods Pro 2 Individual Bud Locating

Finding your lost Airpods case or buds:

  1. Once you pair your AirPods Pro 2 successfully with your iPhone, they’ll be automatically added to the Find My app.
  2. Now, open the Find My app on your iPhone.
  3. Tap the Devices option and then tap on your AirPods Pro 2 in the list.
  4. Now, you get to choose if you want to find the case, the left earbud, or the right earbud (please note that separate earbud options only show up when the AirPods are taken out of the case).
  5. You now need to tap on the Play Sound or Find option.
  6. If you have chosen the Find option, you can use the speaker button on your iPhone to play a sound while you look for your AirPods Pro. 

It’s worth noting that when you get close to your AirPods Pro 2 case, your phone will vibrate and play a sound to let you know you’re getting close to the object. As you approach, the AirPods icon will change to reflect your proximity. The Precision Finding feature turns off automatically after you’ve tracked down your AirPods Pro 2 using your iPhone.

How to Find Your AirPods Case with AirPods Inside

Losing AirPods is one of the worst feelings, especially when you are a commuter and spend your journey without your buds (we mean wireless earbuds!). If you lost your AirPods case with AirPods inside them, then you can take a sigh of relief as your chances of finding them just went up. Follow the steps below to find your AirPods. 

How to Find Your AirPods

  1. Open your iPhone and fire up the Find My app.
  2. Check out the list of devices you’ve paired with your iPhone and choose the option with your AirPods.
  3. If you see a green dot next to the name, there will also be a play button next to it.
  4. Tap the play button, and it will start playing music, raise the volume to the highest level and follow the music to find your AirPods.
  5. Your job is a lot easier if you own the Pro 2 version of AirPods because you can simply use Precision Finding to find your beloved earbuds; you won’t even have to play any sounds!
AirPods Play Sound on Find My app
AirPods Play Sound on Find My app

While the above method works perfectly fine when your AirPods are online and you see the green light next to their name in the “Find My” app. But what if you see a gray dot that suggests they are offline? 

Well, don’t worry! Apple has added another option to track your AirPods if they are offline. The new feature guides you to the last location where your AirPods were online. Just follow the steps below.

How to Find AirPods if they are Offline

AirPods Offline
AirPods Offline
  1. First, open the Find My app and choose AirPods from the drop-down menu on the left side of the screen.
  2. When you see a gray dot, this means they’re not connected to the Internet. Despite this, you’ll still be able to see where they were last seen. Navigate to their previous position by tapping the Car icon. Unfortunately, you can’t use AirPods to play music when they’re offline.
  3. Finally, you’ll have to go old school and search for your AirPods once you get to their location, i.e., manually search

You can also search for AirPods on iCloud.com if you don’t have your iPhone with you. You can locate your AirPods by logging in to your account and going to the Devices section.

Related Read: How to Find AirPods: Dead or offline, it doesn’t matter!

How to Find the AirPods Case Only

It’s like finding your AirPods, except you’ll need a little bit of luck. It’s easier to find the AirPods case if you have both earbuds inside the case. It’s even simpler if you own the AirPods Pro 2, as the case supports Precision Finding. And if you can’t see them online, you can still locate the case’s last location with a bit of help from Apple’s iCloud.

How to find the AirPods case only:

  1. Open the Find My app and choose the AirPods from the list of paired devices.
  2. If you see a gray dot, they’re offline. However, you’ll still be able to track their last location. Navigate to their previous position by tapping the Car button.
  3. Since you only have the case to locate without AirPods inside it, you will need to search the area thoroughly and hope to find them.

AirPods Pro 2 not showing up in Find My?

Since their debut in September 2022, the AirPods Pro 2 have received a lot of acclaim, but they have also had a few early issues. Many people who have just purchased a pair of Apple AirPods Pro 2 have taken to internet sites like Reddit to complain about an annoying audio drifting problem alongside other issues like not appearing in Find My. 

While Apple is yet to come out with a firmware update to resolve the audio drifting issue, we might have a fix for the device not showing up in Find My.

How to fix AirPods Pro 2 not showing up in Find My

As per this thread on Apple’s community boards, AirPods Pro 2 users affected by the issue are vouching for a fix wherein disabling Find My for their iPhone for a few minutes and enabling it again seems to have fixed the issue. Try disabling Find My on your iPhone and enable it again to see if your AirPods Pro 2 appear. If not, we suggest contacting Apple Support. 

Also, it’s worth noting that some advanced features of AirPods 2 Pro might not work with macOS and iPads just yet. You will need to update your MacBook and iPad to the latest OS version to get full support. 
In a Press Release for the launch of AirPods Pro 2, Apple itself mentioned in the footnotes — “Personalized Spatial Audio profiles and Find My will be available with iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura in October.”

How to Find an AirPods Case with the Serial Number

We hate to break it to you, but it is impossible to use a serial number to locate your AirPods case

There is nothing you can do with your serial number besides using it as a reference when talking to Apple support. You may call the Apple store with your serial number and check if they can get you a replacement. And not, it won’t be for free because Apple does not cover lost or stolen AirPods.

You should still try your luck with Apple if you have AppleCare protection, but chances of catching a break from the Cupertino giant are low since the warranty and AppleCare both do not cover losing your AirPods.

How to Find an AirPods Case without Your iPhone (via browser)

Losing AirPods can be hard on users, but what if you lose them and do not even have access to your iPhone to track them using the Find My app. Thankfully, there’s a way around this. You can just sign in to your Apple account on the iCloud website and access the last location of your AirPods. Nifty, right? Just follow the steps below to do that.

How to find the AirPods case via a web browser:

  1. Open the iCloud website on your device
  2. Authenticate with your Apple ID and password (select the Apple ID that’s linked with your AirPods, in case you have several Apple IDs) 
  3. Now, type in your Apple ID password
  4. Click on the Find iPhone icon 
  5. In the Find My iPhone section, click on All Devices and choose your AirPods from the drop-down list
  6. The last location of each device is displayed as Offline under the device
  1. Open the iCloud website on your device.
  2. Authenticate with your Apple ID and password (select the Apple ID that’s linked with your AirPods, in case you have several Apple IDs).
  3. Now, type in your Apple ID password.
  4. Click on the Find iPhone icon. 
  5. Next, click on All Devices and choose your AirPods from the drop-down list.
  6. The last location of each device is displayed as Offline under the device.
Find AirPods via iCloud
Find AirPods via iCloud

How to Find an AirPods Case with the Find My App

Apple’s Find My app is a savior. It was introduced with the updated macOS Catalina and iOS 14. The new version combines the features of Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into one streamlined app. It can show you the last location of your Apple devices, including AirPods. 

The app comes in handy for both online and offline AirPods. Additionally, it helps track your AirPods and AirPods case together or individually.

How to find the AirPods case with the Find My app:

  1. Open your iPhone and fire up the Find My app.
  2. Tap Devices at the bottom in between People and Items.
  3. Check out the list of devices you’ve paired with your iPhone or Apple ID, and choose your AirPods.
  4. You will see the time since they were last online in red characters and their last known location if offline, or the word Now if online currently.
  5. Tap the Play button, and it will start playing music if they are online; raise the volume to maximum and follow the music to find your AirPods (this method works when the AirPods case is nearby with AirPods inside it).
  6. If you see the time they were last online in red, just hit the Directions button and navigate to the last location (this method works when your AirPods case is not nearby and does not even have AirPods inside it).
  7. If you have AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro/Pro 2, or AirPods Max and iPhone 11 or newer, you can use Precision Finding to locate them if you are within close range.
AirPods Find My App Directions
AirPods Find My App Directions

How to Find an AirPods Case with the older Find My iPhone App

What if you have your Apple ID on an old iPhone without the latest version of the Find My app? Well, you can still use the old Find My iPhone app to track your lost AirPods. Just follow the instructions below. 

How to find the AirPods case with older Find My iPhone app:

  1. Open the Find My iPhone app, scroll through the list of paired devices, and then tap on your AirPods’ name.
  2. As soon as you tap the name, a map will open automatically, showing the last location of your wireless earbuds.
  3. Look out for the green dot before you tap the name of your AirPods. It means that the device is nearby, while a gray dot means that the device is offline. The old app also shows a blue dot that denotes the device you’re using to track AirPods. 
  4. Once you reach the location, tap the Actions option in the Find My app
  5. If your AirPods are online, tap the Play Sound option to play the sound. If offline, just search the location manually.

How to Find Your AirPods Case when AirPods are Offline

You can use this method when your AirPods case shows up as offline in the Find My app. It is a simple method to help you get to the last location where your AirPods case went offline. Follow the steps below to find your AirPods when they are offline. 

How to Find AirPods Case when it’s offline:

  1. Open the Find My app.
  2. Check out the list of devices you’ve paired with your iPhone or Apple ID, and choose the option with your AirPods.
  3. If there is a gray dot next to your AirPods, then this means that your AirPods are offline.
  4. In such a case, look for the Car button and tap on it. You can now navigate to the last location.

Common Issues When Trying to Find an AirPods Case

There are different scenarios for users who lose their AirPods. Some of them end up losing AirPods in different locations, or some other uncommon issue hovers between them and finding their AirPods. We try to address such scenarios with our definitive – Find My AirPods — guide. 

What if my AirPods are missing in different locations?

You can only view one AirPod location at a time if your AirPods are not in the case. Locate one AirPod by using the map or sound. Once you’ve located it, be sure to store it in the AirPod carrying case. Next, reopen the Find My map and find the other lost AirPod. 

What if I only lost one AirPod?

Start with the AirPod you have left in the case if you’ve only misplaced a single pair. One location at a time appears on the map while your AirPods are apart. You should keep the one you have inside its case for this very reason. 

Using the Find My App, locate the AirPod by tapping its name. A sound will play when the AirPod is found. Both right and left AirPods (whichever one is missing) can play sounds. If you are using iOS 12’s Find My iPhone app, you can silence the AirPod you already have inside the case. This allows you to listen and focus on the sound made by the missing AirPod.

What if my AirPods were stolen

If someone steals your AirPods, then they can easily reset and connect them with their own device and Apple ID, even if you have the Find My feature activated. 

Resetting them and then re-pairing those AirPods to a different device removes their location from the Find My app and removes them from your device list. 

Also Read: Can stolen Airpods be used? 

Once the AirPods have a new owner and have been linked to their device and ID, you will no longer be able to activate the buzzing sound, update their location, or track them, even if they are nearby. 

What if my AirPods are completely lost

Replacement programs for AirPods and the charging case are available from Apple if you fail to find your AirPods, and the Find My app does not assist in locating them, or they are not found in the last location. But you won’t get the replacement for free. Maybe a discounted price, but Apple won’t provide you with a free replacement. 

Apple now has a fee-replacement option in place if you lose an AirPod or charging case. Apple charges around  $59 to $99 per AirPod or AirPods case if the current retail price varies depending on the region. You can also buy a standalone case for your AirPods. Yes, Apple sells AirPods cases separately as well. Usually, it costs around $70. 

The real kicker is that Apple’s One-Year Limited Warranty covers servicing for your AirPods and charging case. Unfortunately, this warranty only covers battery malfunctions, not regular depreciation. This means that if you see that your AirPod batteries are running low, you may have to pay Apple’s battery service cost.

Conclusion

It’s an unfortunate experience to lose your AirPods or the case. To begin with, you’ll need to be careful to protect them from being lost or misplaced. While we did suggest some functional methods about how you can find a lost AirPods case, we also have a great article on how not to lose your AirPods in the first place!

Check this out: How to not lose airpods (even if you forget things easily)

Apple’s “Find My” function has made our lives easier, but it’s worth acknowledging its restrictions. Your AirPods or AirPods Pro 2 case can be hard to locate if they are outside of the Bluetooth range since you cannot use the Precision Finding feature. After losing it, replacing your AirPods case is a huge pain since it must be done right away for your devices to operate properly. 

We hope this guide helps you in finding your lost AirPods case. Let us know in the comments!

Related Read: How to Turn On AirPods without Case

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About Melissa

Hey! I'm Mel, I write the occasional article for Spacehop, amongst other things. I love meeting new people and chatting, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

2 thoughts on “How To Find Your Lost AirPods Case [Updated for 2023]”

  1. Very interesting, Melissa has covered every step in finding the AirPod, it’s a very helpful article and thanks for sharing it. Keep up the good work!

    Reply

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