How Tos - Page 78

Once you've paired a new set of AirPods with an iPhone running iOS 12 or later, they should automatically pair with your Apple Watch as long as your watch's software is up to date. First-generation AirPods require watchOS 3 or later, while second-generation AirPods need watchOS 5.2 or later. To check which version of watchOS your watch is running, open the Watch iOS app and select My Watch -> ...

When you pair AirPods to your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac or Apple TV, the pairing information is synced across all the devices linked to your iCloud account. That means if you've already paired your AirPods to one of your other devices, then you shouldn't need to go through the process again when it comes to connecting them to your ‌Apple TV‌. Of course, if you haven't paired your...

Apple's original AirPods, AirPods 2, AirPods 3, and AirPods Pro all have a reset function that returns them to their factory settings. This can come in handy if you're handing down the wireless earphones to someone else or you're having any sort of problem with them. Here's a video walkthrough of how to reset AirPods and ‌AirPods Pro‌: How to Reset AirPods and ‌AirPods Pro‌ Put your...

AirPods and AirPods 2 have built-in beamforming microphones in each earpiece that make it easy for you to take calls or interact with Siri when you're wearing the earphones. For optimal performance and to make the experience as seamless as possible, the default setting is for the active microphone to switch automatically between one AirPod and the other. And if you wear only one AirPod,...

Apple's first-generation AirPods offer five hours of listening time and two hours of talk time on one charge, while second-generation AirPods get up to three hours of talk time per charge. Both AirPods and AirPods 2 models charge very quickly –- you can get two hours of listening time by putting them in their case for just 15 minutes. The AirPods case itself stores 24 hours of additional...

When you open the charging case that comes with first-generation AirPods, you'll see a status light in between the spaces for the earpieces. On second-generation AirPods and the optional Wireless Charging case, this status light is on the front of the case. Here's what the different status colors mean. If your AirPods are in their charging case, the light automatically shows the charge...

Apple's shiny white AirPods and AirPods Pro are designed to look cool and perform consistently, and chances are you want to keep them that way. You've probably noticed how that fresh out-of-the-box sheen of your AirPods soon starts to fade as dirt, lint, and other nasties slowly build up in the crevices. It's just the normal result of regular use, but that's no excuse not to clean them now...

When worn in-ear, AirPods and AirPods Pro provide excellent stereo audio output, but Apple has designed the wireless Bluetooth earphones so that you can use them one at a time. There are a few reasons why you might want to use AirPods earphones individually rather than together. The most obvious one is if you want to take phone calls and keep one ear free to listen to the outside world....

When connected to an iOS device, AirPods and AirPods 2 can be used to summon Siri, Apple's digital assistant, allowing you to speak a variety of handsfree commands. With first-generation AirPods, you need to use the default double tap gesture on the left or right earpiece to activate ‌Siri‌ before you could start talking. But with second-generation AirPods, all you have to do is say "Hey ‌Siri‌"...

Apple's AirPods and AirPods 2 include a feature called Automatic Ear Detection that allows the audio routed from a connected device to seamlessly switch to the AirPods the moment you put them in your ears. This means the AirPods can automatically pause the audio track when you remove them, and resume playback when you put them back in again, ensuring you won't miss a thing. The feature...

Once you've successfully paired new AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max to an iPhone or iPad, they'll be given the default name "[Your Name]'s AirPods." If you want, you can change this name by following the simple steps below. How to Change the Name of AirPods, ‌AirPods Pro‌, or ‌AirPods Max‌ on ‌iPhone‌ and iPadOn your iOS device, launch the Settings app. Tap the name of your connected...

Once you pair your AirPods or AirPods 2 to an iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or Apple TV, the wireless earphones will attempt to connect to that device again the next time you use them. Some Bluetooth headphones are capable of switching automatically between multiple paired devices depending on which one is playing audio. However, AirPods will only perform this function between your ‌iPhone‌...

New Apple AirPods usually come fully charged out of the box, offering around five hours of listening time and two hours of talk time (or in the case of AirPods 2, up to three hours of talk time) before you have to charge them again. New AirPods Pro earbuds can get up to 4.5 hours of listening time or up to 3.5 hours of talk time on a single charge. There are several ways you can manually...

There's a serious bug affecting FaceTime right now, which lets someone who calls you hear the audio on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac even if you don't answer the call. There does not appear to be any way to avoid getting these unwanted calls, short of turning off ‌FaceTime‌. Luckily, it's easy to do. How to Turn Off ‌FaceTime‌ on Your ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ Open the Settings app. Scroll down to...

For those of you who like to rearrange the Home screen on your iPhone and iPad to organize your apps, you might be interested to know that there's a handy little hidden feature for moving multiple apps at one time. With this option, you can move multiple apps from your Home screen to another screen or into a folder, making organization a breeze. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel ...

When an over-the-air iOS update starts downloading on your iPhone or iPad, you can monitor its progress in the Settings app via General -> Software Update. The lack of a cancel option on this screen seems to imply that there's no way to prevent a software update from downloading once it's started, but don't be fooled. You can stop the update process in its tracks at any time and even delete ...

Apple doesn't have an official method for individually locking sensitive apps like Photos with a passcode, but there is a workaround that was introduced with the Screen Time feature that first came out in iOS 12. This article explains how it's done, but if your device is running iOS 16.4 or later, you can use a new Lock Screen action to lock specific apps behind FaceTime or your iPhone's passcode,...

If the screen of your iPhone or iPad is too bright for comfort, the usual solution is to go to Settings -> Display & Brightness and drag the Brightness slider to the left, or open Control Center and adjust the corresponding setting from there. However, if the lowest setting offered by the Brightness level just isn't dim enough for you, there are a couple of ways to make your screen even...

The ever-present Help menu in your Mac's menu bar is an easily overlooked aspect of macOS, but it's home to some surprising and extremely handy features that every user can benefit from. Apart from being a useful first port of call for any queries you may have about the application in use or your Mac in general, it also serves as a menu navigator. Let's take a closer look. How to Use the...

If you've set up first-generation or second-generation AirPods with your iPhone and your Mac is signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID, then your AirPods should be ready to use with your Mac. Ideally, all you need to do is put your AirPods in your ears, click the Bluetooth icon in your Mac's menu bar, select your AirPods from the dropdown list, and click Connect. If you don't see...