How to pair AirPods with an Android phone
The Apple AirPods line is one of thebest wireless earbudsdue to their excellent sound quality, ANC, and spatial audio. They work seamlessly with iPhones, iPads, and Macs. However, they don’t offer the best experience when you pair them with non-Apple products. But you can try a few workarounds to enjoy some Apple-only features. This guide shows you how to pair and use AirPods with your Android phone or tablet.
Take care of your earbuds as you look after your smartphone
Can you use AirPods or AirPods Pro with Android?
The short answer is yes. Since the AirPods are Bluetooth earbuds, you can pair and use them with any Android phone. It means you can pair your AirPods with your smartwatch or tablet.
The catch is that since Apple’s earbuds do not officially support Android, you can’t check their battery level or enjoy advanced features like automatic device switching. And because there isn’t an Android version of Siri, you can’t trigger it when pairing your AirPods with an Android device. However, there are workarounds to some of these issues to deliver a relatively better user experience.
The following AirPods models work with Android:
Below is a list of the AirPods features you can’t officially use on Android:
Handy solutions are available to get some of the above features to work on your Android phone.
How to connect AirPods to an Android device
The steps below work for pairing your AirPods or AirPods Pro to any Android phone.
And that’s it. You have successfully paired the AirPods with your Android phone. Apple uses the AAC codec to stream audio over Bluetooth to the AirPods. Android phones also support AAC. However, you may experience a difference in audio quality because of how your device manufacturer implements the codec. Unlike theSamsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, you may’t stream 24-bit audio on the AirPods, even when paired with an iPhone.
TheEar Tip Fit Testisn’t available on Android. The AirPods can’t personalize the sound output based on your hearing and fit. It affects sound quality.
Ensure you haven’t connected your AirPods to an iPhone or another Apple device before beginning the pairing process. Otherwise, they might not show up for pairing on your Android device.
While Android phones can’t take full advantage of the H1/H2 chip inside AirPods, this doesn’t impact the Bluetooth connection. Still, there can be an adverse impact on battery life.
How to use AirPods with an Android phone
You can control music playback and switch betweenActive Noise Cancellation(ANC) and Transparency modes using the AirPods (3rd gen) or AirPods Pro force sensor. Press the sensor to play or pause music playback. A double press jumps to the next song. A triple press of the force sensor plays the previous song. The actions remain the same irrespective of which earbuds' force sensor you use and are not customizable.
To switch between ANC and Transparency mode, long press the force sensor. you could switch between the noise-control modes on the AirPods Max by pressing thenoise-control button. You don’t get a visual confirmation about this change on your phone. Instead, you’ll hear a chime when the mode switch happens. It makes things difficult, as you can’t tell whether noise cancelation is turned on directly from your phone.
If you have theApple AirPods Pro 2, you may activate Adaptive Transparency mode that automatically filters out loud noises. However, it does not work as effectively when you pair it with an Android phone.
You can’t control your AirPods volume level directly using the earbuds. On iOS, this is possible by calling Siri. Since the voice assistant isn’t available on Android, you’ll control the volume level with your phone.
Automatic device switching between connected devices isn’t available on the AirPods when paired with an Android device. This feature is limited to Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Another key AirPods feature that isn’t available on Android is Find My integration, which allows you to track the location of your AirPods if it is misplaced or stolen. Apple made the Find My integration more functional with the AirPods Pro 2 since its charging case is now a part of the network. Plus, the AirPods case has a built-in speaker, making it easier to find. Since there isn’t Find My support for Google’s operating system, you may’t track the earbuds from your Android device.
you’re able to control the AirPods from your Apple Watch. On the Android side, you can use the earbuds with yourGoogle Pixel Watchor other Wear OS 3 wearable, but you are limited to controlling music playback.
Lastly, you can’t reverse wireless charge the AirPods using your Android phone due to the difference in the charging standards.
Although not as seamless as an iPhone, pairing an AirPods with Pixel is still possible
AirPods' accessibility features are not available on Android
Besides all the nice-to-have features, you don’t have access to the accessibility features of AirPods when paired with an Android phone. you may’t use Conversation Boost, customize its audio output, Headphone Accommodations, or Live Listen. Similarly, you can’t tweak the long press duration for the gestures, turn noise cancelation on or off while wearing just one AirPod, and more.
Automatic readout of incoming notifications isn’t available on the AirPods when paired with an Android device. It is a handy option, especially when working out while wearing the Apple AirPods.
Check the battery level of Apple AirPods from your Android phone
The lack of official Android support means it’s possible to’t check the battery level of your AirPods. At least officially. On the iPhone, you can check the AirPods battery level through the Battery Widget or by asking Siri. On Android, a third-party app called CAPod fixes this issue to an extent. After you grant the app the necessary permissions, it shows the battery level of each AirPod, along with the charging case and the connection strength.
That’s not it, though. If your AirPods do not automatically connect to your Android phone, jump into the app settings and turn on theAuto connectoption. There’s also an option to automatically resume music playback when your AirPods connect to your Android phone.
Similarly, you can set your phone to stop music playback when you remove the AirPods from your ears. And there’s a One pod mode, which triggers music playback even if you insert one of your AirPods in your ear.
Can you trigger Google Assistant using AirPods on Android?
No. On iPhones, AirPods support always-on “Hey Siri,” but that isn’t possible on Android. There isn’t an official companion app for AirPods on Android that you can use to customize its settings or switch to another voice assistant.
A workaround is to use the Assistant Trigger Android app. You can trigger Google Assistant with a double tap or squeeze of the wireless buds. The app works with all AirPods models and the Powerbeats Pro.
Basic features but degraded experience
Pairing your AirPods with an Android device is a relatively smooth process. Although you’re able to use third-party apps to enjoy some Apple-exclusive functions on your Android device, not all work seamlessly. For the complete experience, you’ll need to pair them with an iPhone or iPad. New notifications can interrupt your flow if you’re in the zone while listening to music. It only takes a few steps to stop your AirPods fromannouncing messages. You can also unlock more features with these topAirPods tips and tricks.
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