How to change the settings of your AirPods and AirPods Pro
Occasionally, you may need to change the settings of your AirPods or AirPods Pro. Here’s how:
How to name your AirPods or AirPods Pro
- Open your charging case.
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
- Tap the More Info button next to your AirPods.
- Tap the current name.
- Enter a new name for your AirPods.
- Tap Done.
How to change the press-and-hold action on AirPods Pro
AirPods Pro have three noise control modes: Active Noise Cancellation, Transparency mode, and Off. You can switch among all three noise control modes in Control Center or Settings.
By default, when you press and hold the force sensor on the stem of your left or right AirPod, your AirPods Pro switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode. You can change which noise control modes the press-and-hold action uses:
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
- Tap the More Info button next to your AirPods in the list of devices.
- Under Press and Hold AirPods, tap Left or Right, then make sure that Noise Control is selected.
- Select the two or three noise control modes that you want to use with press and hold. If both AirPods are set to change noise control modes, a change to the press-and-hold action settings on one AirPod applies to both.
You can also set the press-and-hold action to allow you to use Siri. In the AirPods Pro settings screen, tap Left or Right, then select Siri. You can have one AirPod set for Siri and the other set to change noise control modes.
How to change the double-tap action on AirPods (1st and 2nd generation)
You can choose what you want to happen when you double-tap one of your AirPods (1st and 2nd generation):
- Open your charging case.
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
- Tap the More Info button next to your AirPods.
- Select the left or right AirPod to choose which AirPod you’d like to double-tap for Siri, playing or pausing audio content, or skipping between tracks.
How to Turn Automatic Ear Detection on or off
By default, AirPods sense when they’re in your ear and receive the audio from your device. AirPods also pause and resume playback when you remove one of your AirPods, or stop playback—and won’t resume—when you remove both. When you have Automatic Ear Detection on and you’re not wearing your AirPods, audio plays through your device’s speakers.
When you turn off Automatic Ear Detection, these features are off and all audio plays to your AirPods whether or not you’re wearing them.
How to a set the microphone to left, right, or automatic
There’s a microphone in each AirPod, so you can make phone calls and use Siri. By default, Microphone is set to Automatic, so that either of your AirPods can act as the microphone. If you’re using only one AirPod, that AirPod will be the microphone.
You can also set Microphone to Always Left or Always Right. You can also set Microphone to Always Left or Always Right to always have either the right or the left AirPod use the microphone even if you remove it from your ear or put it in the case.
(This how-to is based on my experiences and info on Apple’s support pages.)
