As an AirPod owner, I’ve had my fair share of frustrations trying to track down my beloved headphones. I’ve had them go missing or get lost in a couch cushion more times than I can count. After countless hours of searching and stressing, I decided to do some research to figure out if there was a way I could track them down.
After a lot of digging, I’ve found that it is not possible to track AirPods if they were reset. In this blog post, I’m going to share with you the methods I used to locate my AirPods and the other solutions I discovered.
So, can you track AirPods after being reset? After getting reset, AirPods will no longer update their location on the “Find My” app and it will be possible for the person to use your AirPods as if they were new AirPods.
| Quick Tips |
|---|
| After AirPods are reset, tracking is not possible. |
| The Find My app will show their last location for 24 hours after resetting. |
| Someone can reset your AirPods without your case. |
| AirPods will only update location when connected to your iPhone. |
| AirPods won’t update location if in the case, out of power, or broken. |
| Someone else can use your AirPods if they are reset. |
Table of Contents
Can you track AirPods if they were reset?
If someone resets your AirPods, it will no longer be possible to track them. This is because your AirPods forget their connection with your devices as well as your iCloud network which is used to track the AirPods.
After the AirPods are reset, it will be like a new pair of AirPods. They will pair to the Apple account of the first device that they connect to and that will become the account that tracks them.
After the person resets your AirPods, your Find My app should continue to display their last known location for 24 hours. After 24 hours, it will usually stop displaying the AirPod’s last known location.
For someone to reset your AirPods, it is not necessary for them to have your case. They are able to reset AirPods using any case that they fit in.
Read more: Can I charge AirPods with an Apple Watch charger?
Other reasons why your AirPods can’t be tracked
If the AirPods are not updating their location, it is not necessarily because someone has reset them. There are actually many possible reasons why your AirPods won’t update their location as mentioned below.
They are not in range of your device
Tracking the AirPods does not work like tracking an iPhone itself. AirPods will only update their location on your Find My app when they are connected to your iPhone.
It is not currently the case that the AirPods will update their location when someone else’s iPhone comes near them.
They are in the case
If the AirPods are in the case, they get disconnected and turned off, so will no longer update their location on the Find My app.
They are out of power
If the AirPods are out of power, they will not be able to update their location on the Find My app.
They were never connected to Find My in the first place
AirPods should automatically get connected to your Find My app when you connect the AirPods to your iPhone.
However, it is possible that they were never connected. This would be more likely if you have never tried to find your AirPods on the app before.
They are broken
It could also be the case that the AirPods are broken. In this case, the Find My app should still have shown the last known location for 24 hours and then stopped after that.
Read more: Why are my AirPods cutting out on Mac?
If you think the AirPods have been reset and the Find My app is unable to find the location of your AirPods, you could still try walking around to see if you can pick them up on your Bluetooth settings.
However, if you cannot find them on your Bluetooth, it will be necessary for you to retrace your steps and to look in places where you frequently use your AirPods. Other than that, there is not much that you can do.
Can someone use your AirPods?
It is possible for someone else to use your AirPods. If they are able to put your AirPods in a case and reset them, it will be like the AirPods are new again and will lose all of their previous connections.
