AirPods are wireless headphones valued by customers for their sound quality; simple but at the same time solid design; multifunctionality. According to the erroneous opinion of many users, connection is only possible with Apple devices, but in fact, the devices are compatible with other gadgets, including those running Android. Over the long period of its existence, the company has grown into a brand under which high-quality electronics are produced.
The Android operating system accounts for about 70% of mobile devices, which allows Google to be considered a leader in the supply of software for tablets and smartphones. It is worth connecting headphones to improve the sound when, for example, listening to music or talking on the phone. And if you don’t know how to connect AirPods to Android, use the methods from our article.
Connection methods
There is one option for connecting AirPods to an Android smartphone, but it has certain disadvantages. Comfortable use of the presented functionality is possible provided that you download third-party programs located on the Play Market, where there is a strict system for checking the quality and safety of applications. The described instructions apply to the regular and Pro versions.
Standard – via Bluetooth
The connection process will take you no more than a minute - just follow these steps one by one:
- Turn on Bluetooth mode on your phone by going to the “curtain” and clicking on the data technology logo. If you don’t have the corresponding button, go to the settings, find the corresponding parameter there and move the slider. It is not necessary to make your phone visible to others;
- Open the cover of the case, press the round button on its front side without pulling out the headphones. When the white indicator inside starts blinking, go to the list of Bluetooth devices with a long tap on the name on the quick access panel. At the bottom of the screen, click on “Search”; if it does not start automatically, wait a few seconds and select AirPods from the general list. The name is accompanied by a corresponding icon;
- Pairing will occur, then a full connection to the device will occur. You can play the audio file or video you're interested in to see if the sound works. The volume increases as usual - by pressing the corresponding buttons located on the side.
If basic functions are enough for you, such as listening to lossless audio and controlling using gestures, this is enough to limit yourself to this method. It is convenient when double tapping on the earphone allows you to stop playback, go to the next or previous track. This option has certain disadvantages that lie in its impossibility :
- Works of noise reduction and “transparency” mode, in which people’s voices are not drowned out;
- Use the Siri voice assistant present in iPhone and iPad. The lack of Apple's proprietary feature is compensated by the assistant built into the Google application, however, after using Siri for a long time, switching to it will be more difficult - the Android assistant has a different range of commands, but still performs the main functionality;
- Real-time charge tracking - you will only receive sound notifications about the need to charge the headphones until you install the necessary programs;
- Correct operation of the gyroscope, necessary to automatically turn off the sound and stop the file being listened to when pulled out of the ear.
Operational problems - why AirPods do not want to connect to the phone correctly
The causes of headphone failures can be found using the server error log. Here you can find a specific problem.
Headphones play quietly
Analytics of all kinds of errors is available on the support portal for a specific account. You can study and work through them by HTTP code, URL, IP address.
Additionally, Cloudflare data centers can be used to diagnose and resolve the issue.
To view the reasons for silent playback, you need to do the following:
- Go to the Cloudflare portal using the instructions for submitting a customer support ticket.
- Select the “Error Analysis” section.
- Click on “Visit Error Analysis”.
- Then here you need to enter data from your domain to process the information.
- A time-stamped error graph will appear on the screen.
- Under the graph in a special table, you need to select the “status code” position. You can click here to get all the error details. The service also provides ways to solve the problem.
Please remember that low sound cannot be fixed on all mobile devices.
And it also happens that the headphones are connected, but they play too quietly. In this case, you can try to solve the problem by going to the Cloudflare portal, where there is a special section “Error Analysis”
Other failures
Before connecting AirPods to Android, the user should keep in mind that the functionality of wireless headphones will be noticeably limited compared to APPLE devices. If any problems occur, you can choose some other application instead of Air Battery, which will be more suitable for a specific smartphone model.
To prevent problems, it is better to purchase original headphones from the “native” manufacturer.
When connecting AirPods Pro to Android devices, the sound is clear. You can control the headphones using a special key and a pressure sensor . This is where the noise reduction and transparency functions are activated.
Using separate applications, you can activate monitoring of the current battery status and the pause function when removing one of the headphones.
Thus, before purchasing these headphones, owners of Android smartphones need to check whether they are suitable and whether they will synchronize without problems.
Applications to expand functionality
Assistant Trigger - solution to all problems and shortcomings
Thanks to the Assistant Trigger application, Android users have the opportunity to get rid of the last three shortcomings from the list above, as well as reassign gestures - without it, only those that come “out of the box” work. You can set the double-click setting on each earbud individually, which slightly expands the range of actions: for example, on the left one you can set the track to rewind to the previous one, and on the right one you can make it switch to the next file in the playlist.
The free version of the program contains the necessary functionality, but to get rid of advertising you will have to pay 1 euro one-time, which can be done through bank cards, mobile commerce, PayPal account or Google Pay service. The software was tested by 6,000 users and received high marks due to its support for AirPods of the first and second generations, Pro version, and PowerBeats.
Other programs
Unlike Assistant Trigger, AirBattery has a wider number of supported devices: in addition to AirPods and PowerBeats, through this program you can manage settings and monitor the status of more Beats headphones, the rights to which are also owned by Apple. After purchasing the paid version, additional functions will be revealed, such as tracking the charge through the notification panel, without having to open the application every time.
Another program, Podroid, differs from the previous two in more detailed settings of gestures: it is possible to force the headphones to increase or decrease the sound volume with a double or quadruple tap. The window for displaying the current charge can be customized - dark, light, pink, gold, silver (iPhone 5 style) themes are available.
AirDroid will be appreciated by people who want to save space in the internal storage of their smartphone. A simple 5 megabyte program was created to transmit information about the charge of the headphones and supports dark and white themes.
How to unlink AirPods from Android
AirPods, if the connection is unexpectedly interrupted, are constantly trying to pair with the last device. Once headphones are paired with one device, they cannot be used on another. A simple way is to turn off the Bluetooth module and wait until it enters the search mode and the corresponding LED signal on the case is given. If for some reason you are unable to use this method, do the following:
- Go to the Settings app;
- In the “Wireless Networks” section, find “Bluetooth”, tap on the name;
- The “Connected Devices” tab will contain currently paired devices. Opposite AirPods, click on the button with the image of a gear;
- Select “Cancel pairing”, wait a couple of seconds.
Problems and solutions
Since Android is not developed by Apple, when using products from this company, compatibility issues may arise, as well as errors caused by the characteristics of the smartphone. Below are methods to resolve common situations. If any point is missing, but you know the solution, please share it in the comments below the post. Your advice will help thousands of users.
The sound comes from the built-in speaker
The problem is caused by the inaccessibility of certain profiles. Follow these steps:
- Open the device settings, go to “Wireless Networks”, then select “Bluetooth”;
- Find the headphones in the list of connected ones, tap on the settings icon to the right of the name;
- There will be two sliders under the “Use” caption. Move the “HSP/HFP Profile” to the active position, if the situation occurs during voice calls, do the same with the “A2DP Profile” item to troubleshoot problems when listening to media content (videos, tracks).
The instructions remain relevant even if the AirPods are turned off - the main thing is that the gadget is in the list of paired ones.
No device in the list
If the headphones are detectable and visible on devices other than your Android smartphone - the problem is caused by an outdated version of Bluetooth - it must be at least 4.0 to work correctly.
Incorrect transmission of charge information
To obtain charge level data, you must install one of the applications linked above. Please note that the problem of transmitting information in 10% increments (eg 90%, 80%) is a hardware issue and cannot be corrected. If you have another problem, follow these steps:
- Open the quick access panel, turn on Bluetooth and GPS through it;
- Go to settings by clicking, for example, on the corresponding button at the top of the screen;
- Open "Applications", select the program used to check the status of AirPods;
- Tap on the “Permissions” button, move the slider opposite the “Location” item;
- Reconnect the headphones, re-open the program. If the situation persists, use other applications from the Play Market.
The need to use geodata is caused by the features of Bluetooth Low-Energy technology, as indicated in the descriptions of the above-mentioned software.
Interference when moving
BT waves propagate over a distance of 100 meters, but such measurements are carried out in open space - indoors the maximum distance level drops by half due to walls and operating devices. The situation is complicated by the presence of overlapping signals - other headphones, Wi-Fi receivers and routers. The device boasts resistance to external noise, but if you encounter interference, try keeping it closer to the playback source.
Equalizer
It's easy to guess that this program is designed to fine-tune the sound on our AirPods. If you listen to music stored in the local storage of your smartphone, then any music player with an equalizer will do. However, if you want one application to play music and another to process the sound (and this can be useful, for example, when using YouYube Music or Spotify, which have built-in equalizers that are not the most powerful), then Equalizer will come to your rescue. It has several presets, as well as the ability to fine-tune the sound manually for each music genre.
Download: Equalizer
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