Few things are more concerning than cautionary beeps from high-priced tech. Airpods are certainly not an exception to this rule and for several folks are an emerging source of frequent headaches. As the title of the article implies, we are going to go over why some Airpods insist on beeping through our morning commute.
The biggest issue with this is diagnosing exactly what sound your Airpod is making. After we go over all the different sounds your Airpod or Airpod Pros can make (and why they make those nifty noises) we will start covering how to fix them and why they occur in the first place.
Whether you have the first Airpod ever conceived or a prototype Airpod Pro stolen from deep within a government facility – we will get that beeping noise under control.
What Makes An Airpod Beep?
There is a myriad of reasons why your Airpod may be beeping, but the most common cause is a dying battery. While the author would love to have you read the rest of the article, check that your Airpod has a sufficient battery.
If it doesn’t, charge it and see if the problem is resolved. Unfortunately, this is one of many reasons your Airpod may be chirping at you.
It could also indicate that your paired device is struggling to maintain a Bluetooth connection with your AirPods. If the Airpods are producing a consistent beeping and you are noticing interruptions in audio playback – you may have a pairing issue with your Airpod. The beeping is admittedly pretty annoying, however, it is used as an auditory notification that the connection is weak.
If your AirPods or Airpod Pros are unable to connect to a Bluetooth device, they will chime at you. This is also true if they power down.
Several Airpods offer background sounds that play calming noises to drown out the hustle and howls of your immediate environment. While this feature is delightful and a nice touch to the product, when pushed to eleven the beeping sound can kick up pretty hard. This obviously defeats the purpose of the background sounds, so it may be wise to keep them at a more manageable volume.
The final reason for beeping comes from issues inside the AirPods. If your AirPods continue to beep at you despite a charged battery, strong Bluetooth connection and background sounds turned off – you may have a malfunctioning Airpod. It could also be a result of liquid trapped inside the products. Either way, it should be serviced by an Apple professional.
Alternative Noises From Airpods
If none of the previous reasons match up with your scenario, then we may be talking about two entirely different noises. While the beep or chime is usually a sign of the previous reasons, what you may be looking for is a different noise altogether.
To offer a more broad range of what could be interrupting your power ballads, let’s take a look at some alternative audio cues and what they mean for your device.
If you are often hearing a shrill, high tone or sound you may have to turn off noise cancellation. There is a problem that permeates all Airpod products where the noise cancellation makes an overbearing sound to drown out external noise due to an inferior seal on some products.
It could also be the result of too many paired devices with your phone or mobile device. If the device your Airpods are connected to has multiple paired connections, try removing them and seeing if the sound continues.
The best way to fix this issue is to toggle off Noise Cancellation & Automatic Ear Detection in your device’s settings. If the sound still continues, the next best solution is to reset your Airpods which is discussed in the solutions below. Otherwise, it may be worthwhile to contact Apple support if the following solutions don’t fix your issue.
How To Fix Airpod & Airpod Pro Beeping
This problem is very often one you can fix in under a few minutes. The downside to that — if you can’t fix it in fifteen or less, it more than likely will require some external assistance from certified Apple technicians.
These solutions may come across as intended for one product, but they are absolutely universal. Regardless of whether you have a 1st generation Airpod or the newest Airpod Pro – these are all worth trying!
Charge Your Airpods
As we discussed above, the biggest reason for beeping Airpods comes from a nearly depleted battery. The beeping works as an auditory reminder that you are about to be listening to the uncomfortable silence of your surroundings and should charge your headphones.
While it can obviously prove annoying, many prefer to be alerted when their Airpods are going to die.
The most obvious solution to this issue is to charge your Airpods, but what if you want the beeping removed altogether? Well despite several consumers voicing frustrations with the loud low battery noise (there’s even a petition to make it an optional feature), there is no way to remove it as of yet.
The best bet for those who loathe the noise would be to keep their Airpods charged and try to efficiently manage charge life – though this hardly feels like a fix.
If you find that you have a low battery warning more often than you should, you may have a dying battery on your hands. This usually affects one earbud more than the other, so be aware of a specific Airpod draining faster on a regular basis. If this is the issue, you will need to get the Airpods repaired by a professional or replaced altogether.
Before going through the other solutions, try to charge your battery. Even if it doesn’t alleviate the issue, it will stop the Airpods from giving off false alerts from a dying battery. Once your device is charging or fully charged, it’s time to look at updating the firmware.
Reset BlueTooth Connection
If your music is regularly interrupted, skips seconds of audio, or sounds staticky, then you might be experiencing a shoddy connection. Despite these telltale indicators, the beeping can occur even if the Airpods perceive the connection to be bad. even if none of the previously listed symptoms are present – it is still beneficial to follow the steps below.
- Power down the Airpods and place them back into the charging case.
- Select the Settings option on your connected iOS device.
- Open up the Bluetooth tab and look for your Airpods in the list of connected devices.
- Select it and choose to Forget this device.
- Now navigate to the dropdown menu of available Bluetooth connections.
- You can now power on your Airpods
- Hit Scan for devices and choose your Airpods.
- Once the Airpods have connected, see if the beeping continues.
If you still have beeping, don’t get frustrated. Several issues we deal with have a lot of different fixes for the same problem. While the dilemma is the same here, the reason for it could be a number of different things. So if this doesn’t work, it doesn’t mean you are a lost cause – it just means you might have gotten your Airpods wet.
The Airpods are Wet
Moisture is not often something that blends in well with most electronics. So when Apple was making Airpods, they really decided to let you know about moisture seeping into the internals of the device. If you have recently exposed your AirPods to water, heavy humidity, or a particularly moist terrarium – it may have caused trapped liquid inside of your Airpods.
If you recently decided to leap into your friend’s pool spontaneously before checking your pockets, there may still be hope. While AirPods are certainly not waterproof, they do offer a bit of water resistance. With an IPX4 rating (resistant to splashes of water), there is still hope for the miniature audio equipment even if it takes a spill.
If you are looking to dry your Airpods, do the following:
- Get a somewhat large container and fill it with any rice you have around the house. If you don’t have rice, you can try to dry the Airpods in a warm environment with good airflow. This may take longer, however. Better yet, purchase some desiccant to pull moisture out of the surrounding environment — it functions like rice, but is even more effective.
- Place your AirPods into the rice (or desiccant) and allow them a day or so to dry out. Don’t overheat them during this time, as it may cause permanent damage to the internal hardware.
- When you deem them dry enough, place them back into the charging case.
- Press down on the Reset option on the rear of the case.
- Pair your Airpods with your preferred device and see if the issue persists.
We have all done this process or seen someone do this process with an old cell phone or mp3 player – and it still has its merits. If you think that your Airpods have fallen victim to a particularly ambitious stream of water, this is one of the best ways to dry an electronic device without damaging it permanently.
Turn Off Background Sounds on Airpod
There is a really pleasant feature offered by some Airpods (Pro and Max) that allow background noise to play in your Airpods to eliminate noise pollution from the environment.
Unfortunately, this can very easily malfunction from a poor seal or even if the Airpod is near loud noise. It can produce a beeping sound that can grow louder in tandem with the noise around you until it becomes unbearable.
To Turn off Background Sounds, simply follow the steps below:
- On your connected iOS device, select the Settings icon.
- Now select the Accessibility tab and navigate and click on Physical and Motor.
- Choose your Airpods and hit the Sound Accessibility tab.
- Choose Background Sounds and move the toggle to OFF.
- To be absolutely certain, you can also tap on the Volume tab and move the slider to the leftmost option. This will essentially mute the volume of the beeping.
- Test to see if the beeping has been resolved.
While background sounds are nice in theory, there still seem to be a few screws that require tightening when it comes to its reliability. So while it might be nice for some, if you encounter this problem often – it might be worth trekking on without background sounds until they patch this annoying glitch out.
Reset Your Airpods or Airpod Pros
One of the many possibilities that could be affecting your Airpods is an interrupted connection. If the connection is skipping, lagging, weak, or prone to disconnections – beeping may occur. If you own some Airpods, you can usually determine this by the beep happening twice in quick succession. While it can certainly benefit to try and improve the connection by keeping your paired device closer to your Airpods, resetting the Airpods will make sure it isn’t an internal error.
To reset your device is very simple, follow the steps listed below:
- Insert your Airpods or Airpod Pros back into their case and then firmly shut the lid.
- Press down on the Reset button located on the rear of the charging case. Keep the button held down for at least ten seconds.
- Allow for a couple of minutes to pass.
- Open the Settings menu on your preferred iOS device and select the Bluetooth tab.
- Find your Airpods from the list of available devices and connect to them.
- Check to see if the beeping persists.
Resetting your AirPods can be a healthy thing to do if you are ever concerned about something being wrong with them. While it isn’t exactly the technological panacea everyone makes it out to be, it is shocking how simply resetting most electronics can fix a small library of issues.
Check Your Warranty or Get Them Repaired
There is a very real possibility that your Airpods have internal issues and are trying to warn you about them. Beeping can occur for a number of reasons, but the most terrifying reason for any consumer is that beeping can mean your Airpods have internal damage. If you have tried all the solutions listed above and the beeping still hasn’t stopped – you might want to reach out to customer service.
All Airpods come with a one-year warranty. Should you find yours breaking down within that time, you have a good chance of a free repair or replacement.
Contrarily, if we have gone past the expiration of our warranty, the repair process will probably cost us a few bucks. Before committing to any real replacement, try to reach out to Apple’s customer service team as they may have unique solutions not listed here (we certainly aren’t perfect).
If you want to go the repair route you can opt for sending in your product to a local Apple store or 3rd party repair shop. While some locations won’t have an Apple store nearby, it is very likely that you have a computer repair closer than you think.
So while it may be more fruitful to go to Apple long-term, it could prove cheaper and more convenient to go the alternative route for a more rural lifestyle. At the end of the day, the choice is entirely up to you – we just enjoy offering options.
Conclusion
For a problem like this, diagnosing what causes it is a good bit of the battle. Due to the numerous reasons that could be behind the monotonous beeping, it can feel hard to understand what is ailing your Airpods. Regardless, if you follow this guide carefully it shouldn’t matter unless you are dealing with a severe internal problem.
For those that are dealing with a more faulty device than they might like – most parts for Airpods can be individually replaced if you find that your charging case or a specific earbud is the culprit. If you can’t immediately afford to drop a hefty dime on new Airpods, replacing the faulty part might be preferable.
Tech doesn’t have the tortoise-like lifespans that we wish they did, but Apple does offer several solutions for those suffering from broken or malfunctioning products.
