Apple Officially Retires Beats Updater Utility in Favor of Over-the-Air Firmware Updates

Apple has officially retired Beats Updater, the software utility that lets users update the firmware of their Beats Wireless headphones, earphones, and speakers.

beats updater
Beats Updater allows users to plug their Beats product directly into the USB port of their computer to check for firmware updates online, but with Apple's growing tendency to deliver over-the-air updates to wireless products via iOS and iPadOS, the company clearly feels the utility has reached the end of its life.

Beats Updater is still available to download for use with the following products, but Apple says no new versions will be available in future.

  • Beats Solo2 Wireless
  • Beats Studio Wireless
  • Powerbeats 2 Wireless
  • Beats Pill 2.0
  • Powerbeats
  • Powerbeats Pro
  • Powerbeats3 Wireless
  • Solo Pro
  • Beats Solo3 Wireless
  • Beats Studio3 Wireless
  • BeatsX

If you have one of the Beats headphones or earphones listed below, pairing them with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch will update them automatically. If you have an Android device, download the Beats app for Android from the Google Play store to update your firmware.

  • Powerbeats
  • ‌Powerbeats Pro‌
  • Powerbeats3 Wireless
  • Solo Pro
  • Beats Solo3 Wireless
  • Beats Studio3 Wireless
  • BeatsX

Apple recently released over-the-air firmware updates for AirPods (second generation), AirPods Pro, Powerbeats, ‌Powerbeats Pro‌, and Solo Pro. The new firmware adds automatic switching support to these models and requires iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, or later. In addition to automatic switching, ‌AirPods Pro‌ also gained a new spatial audio feature.

Tag: Beats

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...

Top Rated Comments

az431 Avatar
57 months ago

Apple getting rid of something that just works...
What a surprise!!!
I must have missed the part of the article where it states that wireless updates usually don't work.


Just like getting rid of iTunes 12.6.5.3.
So, we have to download the same thing over and over if we have multiple products.
This is the way Apple considers "for the environment".
A firmware update doesn't affect the environment any more than your post.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
57 months ago

Great. So now you plug them in and wait for them to update when they feel like it like the AirPods? STUPID
No. They update when paired and not in use. Just like AirPods.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
-DMN- Avatar
57 months ago
Apple getting rid of something that just works...
What a surprise!!!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
57 months ago

Apparently you haven’t been one of many here where this just doesn’t work that way. There are entire threads dedicated to it.
Correct. It always just works for all the AirPods and AirPods Pro in this house. But, then, we aren’t obsessed forum members who demand the update immediately and aren’t willing to wait a day until it updates.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jbachandouris Avatar
57 months ago
Great. So now you plug them in and wait for them to update when they feel like it like the AirPods? STUPID
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bandaman Avatar
57 months ago

No. They update when paired and not in use. Just like AirPods.
Apparently you haven’t been one of many here where this just doesn’t work that way. There are entire threads dedicated to it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)