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Why did my AirPods suddenly stop working?

As an owner of Apple’s AirPods, I was recently frustrated when they suddenly stopped working. After doing some research and testing, I was able to figure out the cause of the problem, and I’d like to share my experience as well as some other potential solutions that I discovered. In this blog post, I’ll be exploring why my AirPods suddenly stopped working and how I solved the issue.

Likely reasons why your AirPods stopped working are as follows:

  • They are not selected as an output device on the device you are using
  • They are broken
  • The case is broken
  • They are out of battery
  • They need to be reset and re-paired to your devices
  • The volume is turned down
  • They are actually connected to a different device

Why did my AirPods suddenly stop working?

Below are likely reasons why your AirPods have suddenly stopped working.

Broken AirPods

It might be the case that your AirPods are broken. This would be more likely if you dropped them or if you got them wet. It would also be more likely if only one of your AirPods has stopped working.

If only one of your AirPods has stopped working, it would help to try resetting and reconnecting them as mentioned below and it could be the case that there is debris in the case causing them not to charge properly. But, it is likely that you will need to take the AirPod to an Apple store.

Broken case

It is also possible that the case is broken. This would be more likely if your AirPods have stopped working after you dropped the case or got it wet.

However, it might also be the case that the case is simply out of power. It would help to make sure that the case is not out of power.

It would also help to inspect inside the case since there might be debris that is causing your AirPods not to charge.

They’re out of power

It could simply be the case that your AirPods have run out of power. It would help to make sure that there is power in the case and to put your AirPods in the case to charge them.

You can see how much power is in the case by opening the lid when the AirPods are not in the case.

If the light is orange, it means that there is less than one full charge remaining in the case and you should charge it.

You need to reset and reconnect them

It could simply be the case that you need to reset and reconnect your AirPods to your devices.

To do this do as follows:

  1. Forget your AirPods from your devices
  2. Put your AirPods in the case
  3. Open the lid of the case
  4. Hold down on the button of the case for 15 seconds until the light flashes orange then white
  5. Reconnect your AirPods to your devices

The volume is turned down

It could also be someone as simple as the volume being turned down.

Debris in the case

It might be the case that there is some debris in the case that has caused the case to stop charging the AirPods. It would help to try cleaning the inside of the case using a q-tip.

Broken charger

It could also be the case that the charger has broken which has resulted in your case not getting charged.

Consider

If both of your AirPods have stopped working and they have not gotten wet, it would be more likely that they are out of power, you need to reconnect them or that the case is broken.

If only one AirPod has stopped working, that AirPod might have broken, there might be debris in that part of the case, or that AirPod might be out of power.

It would still help to try resetting and reconnecting the AirPods.

Read more: How to tell if someone switched your AirPods

AirPods
AirPods

What to do if my AirPods suddenly stopped working?

If your AirPods have stopped working, start by making sure that there is charge in the case.

If you open the lid of the case, while the AirPods are not inside the case, the light should be green showing that there is at least one full charge in the case.

Next, it would help to reset and reconnect your AirPods to your devices as explained above.

If that does not work, make sure that the volume is turned up on your device.

Also, make sure that it is actually your AirPods that are being used as the output device on your device. This is particularly likely to be an issue if you are using a PC or laptop.

Also, make sure that your AirPods are not actually connected to a different device.

If none of that works, it would be necessary for you to take them into an Apple store to see if they can be fixed or replaced.

Read more: Why aren’t my AirPods showing battery?

Why did my AirPod Pros suddenly stop working?

If your AirPod Pros suddenly stopped working, it could be a result of any of the same problems as with regular AirPods as mentioned above.

It would also help to try going through the same steps to fix them as is also mentioned above.