How To Connect Your Airpods To Your Iphone

To connect AirPods or AirPods Pro to your iPhone, open the case with your headphones in and bring it close to the phone.
To pair AirPods Max, take the headphones out of the case before moving them close to your phone; press the Noise Control button on the right earcup if they don't automatically pair.
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Apple's AirPods may not offer the kind of absolute best-in-class audio quality that true audiophiles look for, but they sound quite good and are easy to use — two criteria that have made them popular among iPhone owners.

Whether you're setting up AirPods for the first time or want to connect them to a second iPhone, the setup process is simple and only takes a few moments.

How to connect your AirPods to an iPhone

1. Before you begin, make sure that the iPhone is up to date with the latest version of iOS and that your AirPods are charged. They don't need to be fully charged in order to pair them to an iPhone, though.

2. Your Bluetooth is probably already turned on, but you might want to double-check. To do that, start the Settings app, tap Bluetooth, and make sure the slider is on with the button swiped to the right.

Your Bluetooth must be turned on to pair your AirPods.

3. Go to your iPhone's Home screen and make sure the screen is on before going to the next step.

4. Depending on which AirPods model you have, do one of the following:

AirPods (2nd or 3rd generation) or AirPods Pro. With the AirPods in the charging case, open the case and hold it close to the iPhone. If you don't see the pairing instructions appear, press and hold the button on the back of the case for several seconds.
AirPods Max. Take the AirPods Max out of their case and hold them close to the iPhone. If you don't see the pairing instructions appear, press the Noise Control button on the right earcup and then hold the headphones close to the iPhone.

5. If these AirPods have already been connected to another iPhone, you'll see a Not Your AirPods pop-up. To continue, tap Connect.

If you're pairing AirPods that are already connected to a different iPhone, you'll need to tap Connect.

6. Follow the onscreen instructions. When you're finished, tap Done.

7. Your AirPods will automatically be added to your iCloud profile on all your other Apple devices with the same Apple ID, such as your iPad and MacBook — you won't need to pair the AirPods again.

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.