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Can you stop AirPods from being tracked?

As an owner of AirPods, I recently became frustrated with the fact that they could easily be tracked. In an effort to protect my privacy, I decided to do some research and learn how I could prevent my AirPods from being tracked. I’m here to share with you what I discovered about how to stop AirPods from being tracked, as well as other solutions that others have found to help protect their privacy.

Airpods are a little tricky when it comes to tracking. You can track them with iCloud’s Find My feature and the Find My app, but this tracking heavily depends on how close you are to your airpods. This tracking can also be quickly and easily stopped by resetting your devices. 

However, if you are worried about other people tracking your AirPods, without access to your Apple Devices, this is not something you should worry about. This is because you can only track AirPods through the find my network that they are paired with.

Here’s everything you need to know about tracking, airpods, and Airpods Pro. 

Key Takeaways
Airpods can be tracked through iCloud’s Find My feature and the Find My app, but proximity plays a significant role in the tracking process.
Factory resetting your Airpods or deactivating the Find My feature in iCloud settings are simple ways to stop them from being tracked.
Airpods don’t have GPS chips, which means they rely on being connected to a device to be tracked.
To disable Airpods tracking, you can make your devices “forget” them, reset them to factory settings, or turn off the Find My feature.
Stolen Airpods can be tracked, but only if they have not been reset.

Can You Stop Airpods From Being Tracked?

You can easily stop airpods from being tracked in a variety of ways. Factory resetting your airpods is the quickest way to stop them from being tracked as this instantly disconnects them from all other Apple devices and accounts.

You can also stop your airpods from being tracked by deactivating the Find My section of your iCloud settings.

You’re probably wondering how the tracking works inside your airpods. It’s worth spending a moment talking about how tracking works.

Your iPhone, iPad, and Macbook all have their own GPS chip or the ability to connect to the internet.

This allows them to communicate directly with a global positioning satellite and Apple’s servers to give you pinpoint accurate tracking information.

In short, if someone steals your iPad you can track the signal from your tablet as long as it’s got battery power.

However, airpods are too small to have GPS chips which means that they rely on being connected to a device in order to be tracked.

The tracking also only works when connected to one of your own devices. If you connect your airpods to a friend’s iPhone, for example, you can’t track the location of those airpods anymore. 

Read more: Why are my AirPods really loud?

How To Turn Off Tracking For Airpods?

You might want to turn off tracking on your airpods for a variety of good reasons. If you bought second-hand airpods, you’re borrowing some from a friend or family member, or you’re considering trading yours in and want to make sure they’re off your account.

Here’s how you can turn off tracking for airpods with step-by-step instructions. 

The first step in any method is to have your devices “forget” your airpods. This can be quickly done in the Bluetooth settings menu. Here’s how to have your devices forget your airpods. 

  1. Go to your Bluetooth settings menu 
  2. Find your airpods 
  3. Tap the information “circle I” icon next to your airpods 
  4. Tap “forget this device” 
  5. Tap again to confirm 

We’re going to start with the factory reset option. This will disconnect your airpods from all devices and accounts. Once the factory reset is complete, you can pair them with any devices and have the tracking start again if you want. Here’s how it works. 

  1. Open your airpod case
  2. Place your airpods into the case 
  3. Press the button on the back of the case and hold for 15 seconds
  4. The light will flash amber and then white
  5. The factory reset is now complete 

Next we’re going to turn off the “Find My” feature. This is the nuclear option and not only turns off the tracking for your airpods, but also for all of your Apple devices. This step isn’t necessary if you’re just selling or trading in your old airpods, but it could be useful for people cautious about their geo location data. 

  1. Open your settings menu 
  2. Navigate to your iCloud settings
  3. Toggle the “Find My” button off 

Can Airpods Be Tracked If Reset?

Read more: How do I reconnect my AirPods after forgetting device?

Tracking on your airpods is entirely dependent on them being connected to one of your devices. If your airpods are disconnected from your Apple device, they can no longer be tracked. This means that your airpods cannot be tracked if they’ve been reset.

This also means that you can rest easily knowing that no one can track your airpods if you have bought them second-hand.

This also means that there is a risk that a thief could steal your airpods, do a factory reset, and you would not be able to track those devices. 

How Do I Turn Off Airpods Tracking?

It’s easy to turn off tracking on your airpods. The easiest way is to go into your Bluetooth settings, select your airpods, and then select forget to this device.

This will remove the airpods from your Apple device. You can also factory reset your airpods to remove them from all of your Apple devices. 

The most complete option is to turn off the “Find My” feature altogether which would stop Apple from offering their location services for your devices. 

Here’s the quick notes for how to stop your airpods from being tracked. 

  • Select “Forget this device” in your Bluetooth menu 
  • Factory reset airpods
  • Turn off “Find My” in your iCloud settings

Can Stolen Airpods Be Tracked?

Stolen airpods can be tracked, but only if they haven’t been reset and paired to a new Apple device. If your airpods are still within Bluetooth range, you can track them as well as have them emit a loud noise to help you find them.

Once they leave Bluetooth range, the Find My app can only list the last known location where they were paired with one of your Apple devices.

Apple offers impressive security features and solid theft deterrent for their flagship devices. However, there’s a limit to what they can offer with their airpods.

Airpods are simply too small to have all of the additional circuitry they would require in order to offer full GPS security features like other devices do. 

Can You Track Airpods If They Are Connected To Another Phone?

You cannot track your airpods once they’ve been connected to another phone. In order for the airpod tracking feature to work, they need to have an active connection to one of your devices.

After they’ve been connected to another iPhone, the only tracking information you can get is the last known location where they were paired with your iPhone. 

Pros

  • Airpods can be easily tracked through iCloud’s Find My feature and the Find My app.
  • You can quickly and easily stop your airpods from being tracked by factory resetting your devices or deactivating the Find My section of your iCloud settings.
  • You can turn off tracking on your airpods by having your devices “forget” your airpods, factory resetting them, or deactivating the Find My feature.

Cons

  • Stolen airpods can be tracked, but only if they haven’t been reset.
  • Airpods are too small to have GPS chips which means that they rely on being connected to a device in order to be tracked.