Tips, tricks, and customizations for your new AirPods

Here's how to get the most out of your AirPods -new or old -with AppleInsider's extensive list of tips, tricks, and customizations.

AirPods basics

Getting the basics out of the way first. The setup process for AirPods is legendary. Open the case near your iPhone / iPad and it walks you through the steps. That action is also how you can check the battery life of your AirPods.

Open the case and your battery life will appear on screen. It will show your AirPods as well as your AirPods.

If you want one of the AirPods from the case, the on-screen card will then show you the individual battery life of each AirPod. A small charging indicator will let you know which, if one, of the two are charging so you know if they are receiving power.

AirPod at a time – not just both. This is handy if you want to hear what is going on? As AirPods have no way to let in some audio, this can be used as an office environment.

Making them your own

You can easily customize your AirPods by heading into the Settings app. First, make sure your AirPods are connected and say a lot in the Bluetooth settings. If they do not show as connected, just make sure to open the case. Leave the box open, or pop the buds in your ears.

Then tap on the i icon to the right.

The AirPods themselves can be renamed. If this is your second set of AirPods it may be named along the lines of "Andrew's AirPods # 2" which you could change to "Andrew's AirPods" if you no longer have a different name.

For more customization, you can control what happens when you double tap on the outside of each earbud. By default, it is set to go to the next music track on both. It can be changed to previous track, activating Siri, playing / pausing, or nothing at all.

We recommend going forward with the track here. Music is automatically paused when the earbuds come out of your ears and sounds like well-known key phrase "Hey, Siri!" That leaves previous and next track controls the most intuitive.

Automatic Ear Detection can also be turned off, if you so choose. Ear detection automatically transfers to your headphones when placed in your ears and disables it when removed.

AirPods automatically transfer audio to the right or the right microphone, but it is not always the best route. By designating this manually, you can be sure the best option is chosen for your environment. If you leave this one, you'll be able to get your hands on the phone. If the battery is going to get you started, then you will be able to get your head on the road. .

All of your devices

Thanks to iCloud, AirPods are automatically available at your device Apple device you own. That includes Apple Watch, Mac, iPad, and Apple TV.

On Apple Watch, get in touch with the control center and tap the AirPlay icon. Now just choose your AirPods. On your Mac, open your AirPods and select the audio icon in the bar menu (your battery life will also be shown).

From the Apple TV, go to the audio section, and your AirPods should be listed. From the Home menu, tap and hold the play / pause button to bring up the audio controls which will also list your AirPods.

You need to be signed into your account for this feature.

From Apple Watch, you have a few more handy options. In Control Center, if you tap the battery icon while the AirPods are connected, you will see the remaining charge on each bud.

Since we are talking battery, the battery is on your device.

Getting more out of AirPods

If you've ever misplaced your AirPods, you know what to struggle with. Using Find My iPhone, you have been connected. Even better, if within range, you can make them play a tone. This works both in the case of an earbud and a pillow, make it beep so you can more quickly locate it.

From the Find My iPhone app you can pause the audio or mute the left / right bud if you found one of them and the other. Siri is also skilled enough to find your My iPhone app.

Knowing what the lights on your AirPods mean can be helpful. For example, when you remove your AirPods and the light goes amber, this means there is less than one full load in the remaining box. When you remove AirPods and the light is green, it means there is at least one full load left in the tank.

The light is also used when pairing AirPods to other devices. Just hold the button on the back of the AirPods case for a few seconds until the light flashes white. This device is not compatible with Samsung Galaxy phone, a Windows PC, and more.

Fairly recently, Apple added a new feature called LivePod as a listening device. It is designed for accessibility users but it can also be used for eavesdropping on conversations. Place an earbud where you want to listen, place the other in your ear, move to a bit, and toggle the feature on Control Center. Enable it by going to Settings, Control Center, Customize Controls, and tap on the Hearing control.

If you do not have an Apple Watch and do not want to look at your iPhone every time you call, you can turn on "Announce Calls". With this one, when your phone and headphones are in the field of caller ID. To enable, head to Settings, Phone, Announce calls, and choose Headphones only.

Lastly, the second generation AirPods have two new features that can fly under the radar for new users. First, is Hey, Siri functionality that allows you to activate the digital assistant by using your voice. Second is wireless charging. This is an optional accessory that allows you to wirelessly charge your device.

Where to buy

Apple's second-generation AirPods are now shipping from Walmart with free 2-day delivery. This puts the new accessory in your hands the quickest, as Apple reports to nearly month-long wait.

2019 AirPods deals