If you are an Apple user, you probably bet on AirPods. They make listening to music, watching videos and making hands-free calls a pleasant experience, in terms of their lightness and sound quality. They are easy to use and connect to your device automatically. Plus, of course, probably the main reason people choose Apple products over others is that they are reliable.
But what should you do when they let you down and won’t connect to your Mac? In this article, we will fix this problem and help you fix it correctly, step by step.
AirPods won’t connect: Connection failed or was rejected
You have an important incoming video conference call, for which you need the best sound quality. You put your AirPods in, expecting them to connect as soon as you take them out of the case. And suddenly, an error message appears on your Mac screen: “Connection Failed.” The call starts very soon and you have little time to solve the problem.
This is certainly frustrating. Fortunately, there are some quick ways to find and resolve the problem. These are the most common reasons why your AirPods may not connect to your Mac.
Check if Bluetooth is In
AirPods work by connecting to your Mac via Bluetooth. And if it’s not on, they won’t be able to connect to your AirPods. To see if your Bluetooth options are enabled, do the following:
- Go to the menu bar on the top right toolbar of the Desktop screen and search for “Bluetooth Options.”
- See if Bluetooth connections are enabled.
If you can’t see the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar, here’s how to add it back there:
- Go to the “Apple menu.”
- Go to “System Preferences.”
- Click “Bluetooth.”
- Select “Show Bluetooth in the menu bar.”
Check if you have charged your AirPods battery
If your AirPods are low on battery, you won’t be able to connect them to your device. In this case, check the battery levels and make sure the headphones have enough power to work. Here’s how to do this:
- Make sure Bluetooth is enabled on your Mac.
- Open the AirPods case, leave the headphones inside, and place it near your Mac.
- At the top of your Mac screen, look for the Bluetooth icon.
- Enter the Bluetooth menu and you will see the power levels of both the earbuds and the charging case.
If it turns out that your AirPods’ battery levels are too low to properly connect to your Mac, leave them in their case to charge for a while. They usually take a couple of hours to charge to full capacity. You may also need to charge the case.
Restart your AirPods
Sometimes it’s better to start over. If everything on your Mac seems to be working correctly, it may be an option to reset your AirPods and see if the connection is there after you’ve done so. Resetting your AirPods by both software and hardware will give them a new, cleaner chance to reconnect.
Here are steps for that:
- Put your AirPods back in their case and close the lid.
- Leave them inside for 30 seconds.
- Open the lid of the charging case.
You may also need to forget your AirPods as a Bluetooth device on your Mac to reset the connection:
- Click the Apple logo at the top left of your Mac desktop.
- Go to “System Preferences.”
- Select “Bluetooth.”
- In the Bluetooth menu, find “Devices.”
- Hover over your AirPods or select them and click the circular “X” button.
- Click “Delete” to confirm.
- Try reconnecting your AirPods to your Mac after a few minutes.
Restart your Mac
If resetting your AirPods didn’t produce results, your Mac may be causing the problem. Restarting the device can fix minor issues such as clearing the cache, temporary files, and RAM. This can sometimes cause your Mac to become congested with junk files, which can also cause connectivity issues.
Check if you have updated your operating system
If none of the above fixes the problem, you should look for a system update. Make sure your Mac operating system version is up to date, otherwise this may be the underlying problem. It may happen that your Mac or your AirPods have been updated, which may affect their connection to each other. AirPods only work with newer versions of iOS, and for them to work well you must have updated your Mac.
AirPods of different generations require different versions of the operating system:
- First generation AirPods: iOS 10 or later.
- Second generation AirPods: iOS 12.2 or later.
Here’s how to update your Mac to the latest version of iOS:
- Go to the menu bar and find “System Preferences.”
- Find “Software Update” and click. It will check for new system updates automatically.
- If there is a new update, please click “Update Now”.
AirPods do not automatically connect to Mac
AirPods are loved because from the moment you take them out of the charging case, they are supposed to automatically connect to the nearest Apple device.
Unfortunately, this can malfunction for a number of reasons, most of them problems with the Bluetooth connection or lack thereof. Below are some ways to fix this problem.
Connect AirPods to Mac Manually
If your AirPods don’t connect to your Mac automatically, don’t worry: you can still do it the old-fashioned way. Connecting them manually via Bluetooth is always an option; you simply need to make sure your Bluetooth is enabled. Find your AirPods in the list of nearby Bluetooth devices and click to enable the connection.
Sometimes your Mac may be streaming sound to another device via Bluetooth and not accepting your AirPods. You can easily fix this by switching between connected devices and selecting your AirPods.
Here’s how to do it:
- Find the list of output devices on your Mac and select your AirPods.
- Go to the “System Preferences” menu in the menu bar.
- Go to “Sound.”
- Then select the “Output tab”.
- Select your AirPods.
Maybe it’s time to serve
AirPods are designed to connect automatically, but occasionally they need a little nudge.
However, sometimes it happens that they fail. If none of the above solutions help reconnect your AirPods to your Mac, you may need to visit the nearest Apple store for professional troubleshooting and, if necessary, repair.
What was the problem with your AirPods? Did you find a better way to solve it? Tell us in the comments p below!
