Many people are facing issues pairing and connecting AirPods with their Mac. If you are facing problems with AirPods that won’t connect to Mac, this article is for you. I’ll walk you through the procedure to quickly connect AirPods to Mac and explain why it might fail sometime.
What To Do When AirPods Don’t Connect To Mac
If your AirPods won’t connect to Mac, open the charging case, place the AirPods inside and wait for 15 seconds. Click on the Bluetooth option on your Mac and manually find and pair Airpods. Also, check if a macOS update is available. Now let’s dive deep in and explore ways to fix an Airpod that doesn’t connect to Mac.
1. Ensure AirPods Has Enough Charge
The first thing you want to do is ensure your AirPods have enough charge to connect to Mac. If your AirPods is low on charge, it might turn off and fail to connect. It will fail if you try to connect to Mac when the power is low on Airpods. Take AirPods off your ear and place them inside the charging case. If the charging case has enough power, it will start charging the AirPods immediately. If your charging case is short on power, then connect the same to a wired or wireless charger.
2. Ensure Your Mac’s Bluetooth Is Turned On
As you might already know, AirPods connect to Mac over Bluetooth. So it’s essential that Bluetooth on your Mac must be turned on.
Click on the Action Center icon from the top right corner of the screenClick on BluetoothTurn it on by clicking on the toggle.
Once you enable Bluetooth on your Mac, try reconnecting your AirPods, which should connect this time. Also, make sure to disconnect any Bluetooth device connected to your Mac before connecting AirPods again.
3. Manually Connect AirPods To Mac
If your AirPods are not connecting to the Mac automatically, we have the option to connect it manually. Follow the steps to connect your AirPods to Mac manually. Force connecting a couple of times will help you to solve the issue where AirPods won’t connect to your Mac.
4. Update macOS To The Latest Version
It is advised that you update macOS to the latest version whenever available. An outdated or older version of the OS might cause pairing and connection problems with AirPods. The simple solution is to see if there are any pending updates available for your Mac. If yes, go ahead and update macOS and then try to connect AirPods. Click on the Apple logo on the top left corner of the screen Click on Software Update Wait for a couple of seconds and see if an update is available. If yes, click on the Update button and wait till it finishes. Once done, try connecting your AirPods, and it should work.
5. Login With The Same Apple ID
It is to be noted that if you want to connect your AirPods with your Mac automatically, then it should be paired under the same Apple ID. In short, you should use the same Apple ID on your Mac that you used to login in to your iPhone or iPad. This way, the AirPods can automatically detect devices in the same ecosystem and connect without any issue. Go to the Device settings on your Apple devices and make sure all of them are under a single Apple ID (iCloud account). If not, merge all of them into one.
6. Select The Proper Audio Output On Mac
Even if your AirPods are connected to your Mac, the audio won’t come out if the proper output is not selected. In Mac, we have an option to switch the audio output device without disconnecting other devices. Maybe you have connected your AirPods but select the Macbook speakers as the output source.
7. Turn Off Bluetooth On Other Devices
Apple AirPods can be connected to multiple devices. If your AirPods is already connected to a different device, it won’t connect to your Mac. You have to ensure that the Bluetooth on other devices is turned off so that the AirPods won’t get automatically connected. Go through all the devices you have connected to AirPods in the past and ensure Bluetooth is turned off.
8. Restart Your Mac or MacBook
It might sound silly, but a simple restart can solve many problems, including temporary software glitches. Click on the Apple icon from the top left corner and click on Restart to reboot your computer. Try to connect the AirPods once your Mac turns on again.
9. Remove And Re-add AirPods To Mac
Removing and adding AirPods to your Mac can help us fix the issue where AirPods won’t connect to Mac.
Go to System Preferences and click on Bluetooth.Go through the list of devices and find your AirPodsRight-click on it and select the Remove option or click on the X button next to the AirPod’s name to quickly remove it.Close the lid and wait for 15 secondsOpen the lid and press and hold the setup button for 10 seconds to put AirPods in pairing mode.You will now find the AirPods in the Bluetooth devices list on your Mac. Click on it to connect, and you are all good to go.
10. Reset Airpods
Resetting your AirPods will reset everything into factory defaults. Your AirPods will be like just how you unboxed it for the first time. A simple reset can fix a plethora of connection errors So try resettings AirPods and reconnecting it to Mac.
11. Get In Touch With An Apple Support Specialist
If none of the troubleshooting steps above helped you, it’s finally time to get in touch with the Apple support team to find a resolution for the issue. Head over to the Apple AirPods support page. Scroll down and click on Start now button under Get Support section. Select Pairing & Connectivity. Login with your Apple account to connect with a specialist.
Wrap Up
Apple Airpods is a beast of a TWS. The AirPods might sometimes run into issues where it doesn’t connect to Mac or Macbook. Most of the time, the problem can be easily solved by following the troubleshooting guide above. Let’s quickly run down what we did to fix an Airpod that won’t connect to Mac:
Make sure your AirPods have enough chargeEnsure your Mac’s Bluetooth is turned on and is discoverableTry manually connecting AirPods to MacUpdate your Mac’s OS to the latest versionEnsure you used the same Apple ID to log in on both devicesSelect the proper audio output on MacTurn off Bluetooth on other devices to which you connected AirPods in the pastRestart your Mac or MacBookRemove and re-add AirPods to MacFactory reset AirPodsContact Apple support
