Anyone who owns an iPhone or another device with the new Bluetooth 5 wireless standard will know that using a pair of AirPods is super easy — as long as you have both of them. It’s not so straightforward if you only have one AirPod. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to connect your AirPods when you’re missing one. If you’re reading this because you lost one of your AirPods and don’t know how to get it back, check out our article on how to find a lost AirPod. It has lots of great tips for tracking down a missing pod. However, if you’ve read that article and still can’t find the missing earpiece, keep reading for some helpful advice on connecting your single AirPod.
How To Connect Airpods With One Missing?
Download the AirPods app.
The AirPods app is a simple little tool that comes with your new AirPods. It’s available for free on the App Store, so you can download it right away if you haven’t already.
Open the app.
Once you’ve got it downloaded, open up the app and go to Settings > General > Activate Lost Mode. You can also just click here to go straight to that page in the app.
Tap Activate Lost Mode.
The app will then ask you to enter a phone number where you can be reached in case you get lost AirPods back. This is a good idea since it will allow the person who finds your earphones to contact you right away. Be sure to enter your real phone number, because this is how the Finder will reach out to you. You may also want to consider adding another email address if you have one that doesn’t contain sensitive information.
Enter your phone number and email address, then tap Submit.
You’ll then be asked to select which AirPod is missing. Choose the right one if yours are mismatched or just pick whichever one isn’t with you right now. Then let the app know if it’s still connected to your iPhone or not by tapping Yes or No.
Double-Check Your Device’s Bluetooth Settings
Make sure that your missing AirPod hasn’t somehow turned off. To do so, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad and tap Bluetooth. If you see a red dot next to the name of the AirPod, it’s not connected to anything, so you can skip ahead to step 2. If the dot is white, however, that means it’s paired with something else. You can try disconnecting it from whatever device it’s paired with and then connecting it to your iPhone or iPad again — but if that doesn’t work, read on for more tips.
Make sure that your missing AirPod is in range of your iPhone or iPad. The standard Bluetooth range is around 30 feet (9 meters), so if you left one of them at home while you went out into the world with the other one attached to your ear, that might be why you can’t connect them together now.
Check your device’s settings to make sure that it has the most up-to-date version of the AirPod firmware. To do so, open the Settings app and tap General > Software Update. If there’s a new update available, download and install it. This will ensure that your AirPods are communicating with your iPhone or iPad in the best way possible.
Use Siri To Connect Your Single Airpod
First, you’ll need to make sure both of your AirPods are charged up. (You can use the charging case for this.)
Next, open up the Settings app on your iPhone and tap Bluetooth. Make sure that Bluetooth is switched to ON.
Tap the name of your AirPod in the list of devices that appear on the screen, which should be called “AirPods” if you only have one AirPod connected at this time. You may see a Connect button here instead of a name — if so, tap it to connect your single AirPod to your iPhone or iPad. If you don’t see any device listed, or only see one device listed and it isn’t called “AirPods,” then try connecting them manually instead by following the steps below:
Open your Settings app and tap Bluetooth again for more options on how you can connect your single AirPod to your iPhone or iPad. Tap the “i” next to your AirPod’s name and then tap Forget This Device in the pop-up menu to remove it from your list of devices.
Now go back to the Bluetooth screen and tap Scan for Devices again. Your AirPod should appear in the list of found devices now, so tap it again to connect it.
If you don’t see your AirPod in the list of found devices, try closing out of Settings and then opening it up again. Then try scanning for Bluetooth devices again as per step 4 above.
Using A Password To Connect Your Single Airpod
Make sure your AirPods are both switched on and connected to your iPhone or another device.
Hold down on the top of the single AirPod until you see “Connected” appear on the display.
Now hold down until you see “Pairing” appear, then hold again until “Pairing complete” appears.
Give your AirPods a little shake to make sure they’re connected properly, and release them when you’re happy with the connection. If you don’t do this, it might take a few seconds for the connection to be established if your single AirPod is not in its usual place — like in your pocket or bag.
Conclusion
When one AirPod goes missing, it’s easy to get frustrated. But don’t give up! With a little effort, there are plenty of ways to connect your AirPods when you’re missing one. You can try one of the methods above, or try a combination of a couple of them. The most important thing is to stay positive and remember that there are plenty of ways to connect your AirPods when you’re missing one.
