Pairing Apple AirPods with iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch 1

Pairing Apple AirPods with iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch

The new Apple AirPods cost more than most Bluetooth headphones or earbuds, but they’re so simple to use that they’re worth the price. For Bluetooth headphones, they sound good and feel more comfortable than the EarPods that came with your iPhone. They also automatically work with other Apple products like iPad or Mac when you pair them with your iPhone. Apple has made pairing with an iPhone super simple.

We will show you how to pair your Apple AirPods with your iPhone. Next, we’ll look at how to connect them to an iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch later on.

Pair Your Apple AirPods with iPhone

Before you begin, make sure the Apple AirPods are fully charged and you have Bluetooth turned on on the iPhone. Also, AirPods require iOS 10.2 or later. If your iPhone is running an older version of the operating system, you must update it first.

Updated to iOS 10.2 and with Bluetooth turned on, follow these steps:

apple airpods connect and hold button dialogs

Open the Apple AirPods container and the left screen appears. Tap Connect and the correct screen appears.

  1. Open the Apple AirPods cover until the top left image appears on the iPhone.
  2. Tap the Connect link in the dialog box.
  3. The correct image above appears on the iPhone, so press and hold the little button on the back of the AirPods case.
  4. Apple AirPods will start connecting to iPhone showing lower left screen.
  5. When the AirPods finish connecting, the lower right screen notifies the user that the connection has been established.
  6. Tap on Done.
airpods-connect-done-dialog

The left screen appears after pressing the button on the back of AirPods. When finished, the correct screen appears.

Notice that the battery life of both the AirPods and the box appear on the screen. This will appear every time the user opens the box to remove one or both AirPods.

Connecting AirPods to iPad

Connecting AirPods to other Apple devices like iPad, Mac or Apple TV is easy thanks to iCloud. Note that you can only use AirPods with one device at a time. You don’t need to turn off Bluetooth on any device except when connecting to Apple TV.

For the steps in this How-To, the user needs to turn on iCloud syncing on the devices.

how to open icloud keychain on ipad

Open the Settings app on iPhone and tap the username at the top of the screen. Then tap iCloud. Make sure Keychain is turned on. If not, tap it and then tap the ON/OFF button to turn it on. It turns green to show it’s on.

turn on icloud sync in settings app

Open the Settings app on iPad. iCloud appears down the left column in the fourth section. Tap iCloud and see if Keychain shows as On. If not, tap it and then tap the button as you did above.

Now is the time to connect. Get started with the iPad. Open the Settings app again and tap on Bluetooth. You should now see your AirPods listed.

connect ipad to apple airpods

Tap the AirPods in the list on the right and they should connect to the iPad.

Connect AirPods to Mac

macos 10 system preferences

On a Mac, open the System Preferences app from the Dock or the Apple menu. Click to open iCloud. You can also long press the System Preferences icon in the Dock until the menu appears.

macos 10 system preferences icloud keychain sync settings

Click iCloud to turn it on. Make sure a checkmark appears next to Keychain.

Now it’s time to turn on Bluetooth and make sure the Bluetooth icon appears in the macOS 10 menu bar. Click the back button in the upper left corner and find the Bluetooth app in System Preferences.

open system preferences from dock icon menu

Click and hold the System Preferences icon in the Dock to show the menu. Then click the item you want to open.

If you have already closed System Preferences, open it again. You can also quickly open any System Preferences app by clicking and holding the System Preferences dialog. The menu appears as seen above. Click on Bluetooth.

menu bar show bluetooth on macos 10

In the Bluetooth dialog in System Preferences, make sure Bluetooth is turned on and has a checkmark next to “Show Bluetooth in menu bar”. It looks like you should be able to connect from this dialog, but it’s not working. You have to use the menu bar dropdown list.

connect airpods to mac from bluetooth menu bar icon

You can now connect from the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar. Click on the menu bar Bluetooth icon and a popup box appears. Find your AirPods in the list and click them. A Connect link flies to the right. Click to connect.

volume button showing airpods in macos 10 menu bar

Click on the Sound icon in the menu bar and you should see your AirPods listed. It also shows the battery level of the AirPods.

The Sound drop-down menu also lets you connect to AirPods you’ve already paired with the Mac. Click the audio link in the menu bar, and then click the AirPods in the list. As with any other device, you need to hold the AirPods close to the Mac for it to discover.

Connect Apple AirPods to Apple Watch

To use Apple AirPods with an Apple Watch, the Watch must run watchOS 3. You also need to pair the AirPods with the iPhone first. If you don’t know how to listen to music on your Apple Watch, you can follow. Apple’s instructions.

apple watch airplay icon

Connect to your AirPods by swiping up on the clock display on your Apple Watch. Swipe until you see the AirPlay icon. Tap it and tap your AirPods.

apple watch airplay airpods

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