Can i track my airpods without the case

• To find your AirPods, you can use the Find My app from an Apple device or iCloud.com.
• The Find My app will reveal the current or last known location of your AirPods. 
• If the AirPods earbuds are charged and within range of a Bluetooth-enabled Apple device, you can also have the earbuds emit a helpful chirping sound via Find My.

Apple's popular AirPods are a highly convenient way to enjoy podcasts, music, and videos on the go. 

But like your other small wireless devices, they're prone to being misplaced.

Fortunately, you can use Apple's Find My app. The app can locate your AirPods on a map and make them emit a helpful chirp, allowing you to find the earbuds more easily.

You'll need a bit of luck — namely, that the AirPods case and/or buds still hold a battery charge. If that's the case, the Find My app is your friend. If you don't have another Apple device with the app, you can use Find My by entering your Apple ID credentials at iCloud.com.

How to make AirPod earbuds send a locating chirp

If you need more help finding earbuds that have been separated from the case, and the AirPods are near another one of your Apple devices that have Bluetooth enabled, you can aid your search with a helpful chirping sound.

Simply tap the AirPods listed under "Devices" in the Find My app or "All Devices" on iCloud's website, and select "Play Sound."

How to find one AirPod if the pair becomes separated

The maps on the Find My app and iCloud website will show a location for one AirPods earbud at a time. If you only need to locate one earbud but not the other, locate the AirPod you have on the map and then place it inside the case. Refresh the map, and it will now share information on the missing earbud.

How to find an AirPods case

Unfortunately, the Find My app only tracks the location of your AirPod earbuds, and not the case itself. As a result, the case itself will also not be able to emit a sound for location tracking, as that feature is tied to the earbuds and the case itself lacks speakers.  

You can, however, attach a tracking device like an AirTag or Tile to your AirPods case as an added precaution to track the case's location apart from the earbuds. 

What it means if Find My says it can't find your AirPods

If your AirPods are too far away to be located, or have lost their entire battery charge, you'll likely see one of two options in the Find My app: You'll be able to see the AirPods last known location, or you'll get a message reading "No location found" or "Offline."

If and when they are able to come back online, you'll receive a notification via the Find My app.

Once you find your AirPods, check out our handy guide to rid them of the dust and debris they have likely accumulated while stuck between your couch cushions.

Emma Witman is an Asheville, NC-based freelance journalist with a keen interest in writing about hardware, PC gaming, politics, and personal finance. She is a former crime reporter for a daily newspaper, and has also written extensively about bartending for Insider. She may or may not judge your drink order when behind the bar. Follow her on Twitter at @emwity.

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No matter which pair of AirPods you have -- the second-generation version, the AirPods Pro or the AirPods Max, earbuds can get lost, misplaced or even carried away by the family pet. Small earbuds, especially, can fall between couch cushions, fly under furniture or wedge deep into a pocket.

I'm grateful for Apple's Find My app that's built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac. I most often use it to play a sound to locate my iPhone around my home, but occasionally I use the same tool to find a lost or misplaced AirPod earbud. 

It's not immediately obvious that you can just use the Find My app to track down more than just your phone or tablet, but it's possible and -- under the right circumstances -- useful. 

Below I'll show you how to use the Find My app to locate a missing AirPod. 

Make sure Find My is set up

Before you can use the Find My app to locate anything you've lost, make sure it's set up. Double-check that Find My is turned on by opening the Settings app, tap on your name at the top of the screen, then select Find My. Next, tap Find My iPhone and move the switch to the On position. As long as Find My is enabled, your Apple Watch and AirPods will automatically be added to the app. You can't activate and use Find My for your AirPods after you've lost them, so do this step right now. I'll wait. 

Done? OK, good. 

How to find your lost AirPods, AirPods Pro or AirPods Max

After realizing your AirPod is nowhere to be found, take a deep breath, grab your iPhone and open the Find My app. Tap the Devices tab, then find and select your AirPods on the list. Alternatively, you can use your computer to visit iCloud.com/find to help find your lost devices.

If your AirPods are within Bluetooth range of your iPhone, you'll see their current location on a map and have the option to play a sound on one or both earbuds. Tap Play Sound and start listening for a chirping sound to come from each earbud. If one AirPod is in the charging case, it won't play any sound. 

The sound will gradually get louder as it plays for two minutes. If you can hear it, but not find it before the sound stops, then tap Play Sound again. 

You can switch which AirPod the sound is playing on by tapping the L or R button in the Find My app. When you've found both AirPods, tap Stop. 

There are some situations when Find My won't work

Finding a lost AirPod is easy so long as it's out of the case, still charged and close enough to your iPhone. In a situation where the AirPods aren't within range for your phone to trigger a sound, you should still see the last location your phone had a connection to them. You can get directions to their last known location, where hopefully your phone can find them and then play a sound. 

If you lost your AirPods while they were in the case, your odds of finding them goes down significantly. You likely won't see their last location on a map, and you won't have the option to play a sound. However, there's still a chance another Apple device user finds them, opens the case and the Find My app is able to let you know they were found.

It's a long shot, sure, but it's better than nothing. 

For those with AirPods Max, the caveats are a little different. If your AirPods Max are in their case, your iPhone can find them for up to 18 hours. If they're outside of the smart case, you'll have 72 hours to connect to them and trigger the sound. 

After finding your AirPods, take a few minutes to ensure that you can find your iPhone should you ever lose it. Need some AirPods tips? We've got you. Here are some general tips, a few tricks for the AirPods Pro and some for the AirPods Max.

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