There's no getting around it: the AirPods are small. It's what happens when you chop the cord off a set of in-ear buds; they don't have much mass, and if you don't remember to store them in their pillbox case, you may find yourself frantically searching for an earbud or two.
Thankfully, if you've accidentally misplaced one of your AirPods, iOS 10.3 and Apple's Find My iPhone app will let you hunt it down as long as you're within Bluetooth range.
To start, you'll need both iOS 10.3 and the Find My iPhone app.
How to find missing AirPods earbuds
Note: This feature is primarily to locate individual missing AirPods earbuds — the AirPods case itself doesn't have speakers, and the earbuds themselves won't make a sound until they come within range of your iPhone.
- Open (or download, if you don't yet have it) Find My iPhone.
- Sign in with your iCloud account.
- Tap on the entry for your AirPods.
Select Actions.
- Press Play Sound.
- Both earbuds will start making a triplicate chirp — quietly at first, then increasing in volume. If you're trying to find just one of the buds, you can mute the left or right earbud to focus in on finding the other earbud.
Still can't find your earbuds?
If your missing AirPods earbud is out of charge, you may be out of luck in locating it via the Find My iPhone app. That said, you can still go about finding it the old-fashioned way — back-tracking where you had them previously.
And if you've exhausted all other options, you can always pay a lost AirPods fee to Apple to get a new earbud — it's just $69 per lost bud.
Questions?
Let us know below.
AirPods: Ultimate Guide
Main
- Everything you need to know about AirPods
- AirPods, Beats X, or PowerBeats 3?
- Best way to buy AirPods
- How to personalize AirPods
- How to pair AirPods with W1
- How to pair AirPods with Bluetooth
- How to configure AirPods
- How to use AirPods
- How to use AirPods offline
- How to clean AirPods
- How to find lost AirPods
We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

One iPhone 14 model could be in short supply at launch, here's why
At least one iPhone 14 model is behind its production schedule and could be in short supply at launch, according to a new report from Apple's supply chain.

Music MiniPlayer brings some 2007 iTunes nostalgia to your modern Mac
Fans of the classic iTunes Mini Player are in for a treat because someone came to our rescue and brought it to the Music app on modern macOS.

Apple begins notifying the winners of its WWDC22 Swift Student Challenge
Apple has begun to email winners of its WWDC22 Swift Student Challenge, with some taking to Twitter to share the news of their success.

Buy one of these silly AirPods cases to stand out
You want something really weird, silly, or wonderfully different to protect your AirPods from life's bumps and drops? We've got you covered.