How to manually pair AirPods or Beats devices using AirBuddy

In most cases, you won't need to pair your AirPods or Beats device with AirBuddy manually, since the pairing is synchronized using your iCloud account. However, if you plan on using AirBuddy in another Mac that's not logged in to your iCloud account, you’ll need to perform a secondary pairing.

How to perform a secondary pairing with AirBuddy

This process only has to be done once in each Mac that's not logged in to your iCloud account.

To pair your headset to a new Mac that's not logged in to your iCloud account, launch AirBuddy, select the “Devices” tab, then click the “+” button (if a menu appears, select “Add New Device”).

Select “AirPods or Beats device” from the list of options. The exact procedure now will depend on which device you're trying to pair, but for all devices it’ll involve holding down a button on the device.

In the case of AirPods, make sure that both buds are in the charging case and the lid is opened, then hold down the button on the charging case until the light starts flashing white, and wait for the pairing to complete.

If the secondary pairing fails

If the pairing fails for the first time, try again a few times. If it still fails after a few attempts, you may try completely resetting your AirPods (this will require you to re-pair them to your iOS device later).

To reset your AirPods, hold down the button on the charging case for several seconds (the light will flash white then flash amber five times, then start flashing white again). After that's done, close the lid on the charging case, wait at least 30 seconds, then open the lid and try pairing again.