Smart & Connected Life > Headphones & Ear Buds How to Reset AirPods Perform a hard reset on your Apple AirPods By Sam Costello Sam Costello Facebook Twitter Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 25, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Headphones & Ear Buds Eco Tech Electric Vehicles Working From Home Headphones & Ear Buds Smart Home Smart Watches & Wearables Travel Tech Connected Car Tech iPods & MP3 Players What to Know Go to Settings > Bluetooth, tap the i icon next to AirPods in My Devices then tap Forget This Device > Forget Device.Next: Put Airpods in charging case, wait 30 seconds, then open and press/hold the button until status light flashes yellow, then white.After a reset, you'll need to set your Airpods up again just as if they were brand-new. This article explains how to reset your Airpods plus what to do after you reset them (and a few reasons why you might need to perform a reset in the first place.) How to Hard Reset Your AirPods If you encounter any of these situations, it's time to reset your AirPods. Here's how. On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, go to Settings > Bluetooth. Tap the i icon next to your AirPods in the My Devices list. If your AirPods don't show up on this screen or you don't have an iOS device, skip to Step 4. Tap Forget This Device > Forget Device. Put your AirPods in their charging case. Wait 30 seconds or so and then open the lid of the case. Press and hold the button on the back of the AirPods case until the status light flashes yellow. When the status light begins to flash white, you've succeeded in resetting your AirPods. What to Do After You Reset Your AirPods If you want to use the AirPods with your devices again, you need to set them up as if they were new. Then you can connect them to your MacBook, pair them with an Apple TV, or connect them to a Windows 10 PC. Why You Might Need to Reset Your AirPods Resetting the AirPods, also known as performing a hard reset, is how you return them to their factory settings. After you do this, you can set them up again. Some of the situations in which you'll need to reset your AirPods include: You can't connect AirPods to your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or another device. The AirPods won't charge. You're giving away or selling your AirPods. You want to reset your AirPod settings to their original factory state. You're facing other problems with the AirPods, and nothing else has solved them. How to Fix AirPods That Won't Reset Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit