AirPods are designed to work with Apple products; the Apple products that support AirPods natively include iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macs. When you have any of these devices and you can’t enjoy the full functionality of the earbuds from Apple, you should know there’s a problem.
One of the connection problems you could face with a pair of AirPods is the device not connecting properly to your Mac. If you notice, I listed Macs as one of the device categories that should work natively with the earbuds, so this is certainly an issue that needs to be fixed.
In this article, I’ll show you how to go about fixing your AirPods not connecting to Mac. First, you’ll learn about the issues that could prevent the Bluetooth headset from connecting properly to your device. Then, you’ll learn how to fix those issues for a seamless connection to your computer.
Why are AirPods Not Connecting to Mac?
Your AirPods don’t just come up with problems out of the blue; there’s always a reason why it’s incapable of connecting to your Mac. The problem might be a simple software issue, which you can usually fix pretty easily, but it could also be a more complex hardware issue.
One of the reasons why your AirPods may not connect properly to your Mac is when it has a low battery level. You need to charge your AirPods for it to work properly, and when the battery level is too low for the device to work properly, you may have to charge it before use.
Also, your Mac has a robust interface where you can pick what device you intend to use in playing sound. The fact that you have a pair of AirPods connected doesn’t mean it will automatically default to the device for audio. You may still have to set your earbuds as the default audio output device.
Another problem that may be preventing your Mac from connecting to your AirPods is outdated software. All AirPods from Apple require the target device to have a specific version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS installed as the bare minimum; anything lower than that, and the AirPods won’t work correctly.
Finally, you want to confirm that the Bluetooth service is indeed active on your Mac before trying to connect a pair of AirPods. In the following section, I’ll outline the fixes for your AirPods not connecting to Mac to help you fix the problem and get you back to enjoying the excellent audio from your pair of AirPods.
How to Fix AirPods Not Connecting To Mac
Judging by just how many potential issues the preceding section listed, it’s clear that there should be many possible fixes for your AirPods not connecting to Mac. If you guessed so, you’d be right, as there’s a fix for almost every problem I listed earlier.
Enough discussions about the problems, here are the fixes to apply when your AirPods won’t connect to your Mac.
- Ensure the AirPods are charged
For your AirPods to connect to your Mac, they need a charge. You may already know this, but AirPods are fundamentally different from wired headsets in the sense that they need a charged battery to function. If your battery isn’t properly charged, you should expect weird performance.
You can charge your AirPods by enclosing them in the included case for a couple of minutes. Charging up your AirPods is easy, and it takes only a couple of minutes to get hours of listening time. If the charging case is low on battery, you can charge it by plugging it in using the charging brick you use for your iPhone.
- Set the AirPods as the default audio device
If you’ve connected your AirPods to your Mac, you may still have to set it as the default audio device for it to work correctly. While that isn’t always necessary, it’s always a good thing to try, especially when the device seems not to be connecting to your Mac properly.
To set your AirPods as the default audio device, you should hold the lid of the carrying case open, while keeping it close to your Mac. From there, click on the Apple logo and open System Preferences. Select Sounds from the options that appear and click on Output to select your preferred audio output device.
- Forget and reconnect the AirPods
One of the more extreme steps you can follow when your AirPods isn’t connecting to your Mac is trying a factory reset. The steps for a factory reset on a pair of AirPods is pretty simple: forget the AirPods from your Bluetooth devices and reconnect.
To forget your AirPods, head over to the Bluetooth options from the Preferences while having your AirPods near your MacBook. Click on the options icon next to AirPods and select to forget the device. Now, follow the steps required to reconnect your AirPods all over again.
- Update your Mac
As explained earlier, some AirPods will not work at their full capacity unless you have specific macOS versions. If you have the AirPods Pro, the AirPods 3, or the AirPods Max, you may have to update your Mac to take full advantage of the new features it offers.
Fortunately, it’s pretty easy to update your Mac. To do that, click on the Apple logo at the top left and select “About This Mac” from the options. There, you should see the general specifications of your computer, and below that, you should see the Software Update button. Click on that and you should be able to download and install any updates if available.
Conclusion
If your AirPods aren’t connecting to your Mac, you can correct that by trying a series of fixes. Before coming up with the best fit for your scenario, you need to understand why you’re facing this problem in the first place. To help you with the entire connection process, this article has explained some of the top reasons AirPods is not connecting to Mac and what you can do about it.