How to connect airpods to a mac

Connecting AirPods to a Mac is easy, whether you're pairing your wireless earbuds for the first time or trying to set up automatic switching between all your Apple devices. Don't get me wrong, it's not quite as simple as pairing AirPods to an iPhone, but it's not far from it.

In fact, if you own an iPhone, your AirPods might be connected to your Mac already.

Whatever the case, we'll show you how to connect your AirPods or AirPods Pro to your Mac in no time, and show you how to effortlessly switch your AirPods from one device to another.

How to Connect AirPods to a Mac for the First Time

If you've never used your AirPods or AirPods Pro with your Mac before, the first thing you need to do is pair the two devices together. This is the same whether you're connecting AirPods to an iMac, a MacBook, a Mac mini, or any other kind of Mac.

How to Check If Your AirPods Are Already Connected to Your Mac

However, if you've already used your AirPods with your iPhone, it's possible that they've automatically paired with your Mac already. This will only happen if your iPhone and Mac are compatible with Apple's Handoff feature and are using the same Apple ID account.

To check if your AirPods and Mac are already connected:

1. Open the Control Center from the menu bar on your Mac.
2. Hover your mouse over the Sound section of Control Center, and click the arrow that appears.
3. You'll see a list of Output options; if your AirPods are there, click to connect them to your Mac. You'll need to take your AirPods out of the charging case before you can connect them.

How to Pair Your AirPods With Your Mac

If your AirPods don't appear in the list of outputs, then they aren't connected to your Mac yet. That means you need to pair them. The process of pairing your AirPods to your Mac is the same process you'd follow for pairing your AirPods to any non-Apple device.

Just follow these steps to pair your AirPods or AirPods Pro:

1. Return your AirPods to the charging case, but don't close the lid.
2. Press and hold the Setup button on the back of the case until the status light flashes white. Make sure you keep holding the button until the light flashes. Now your AirPods are in pairing mode.
3. On your Mac, click the Apple logo in the menu bar and go to System Preferences > Bluetooth.
4. Your AirPods should appear among the list of devices. If they don't, toggle your Mac's Bluetooth off and on.
5. Click Connect next to your AirPods to pair them.

If you still can't pair your AirPods, make sure you update to the latest version of macOS. The AirPods (3rd generation) only work with macOS Monterey or later.

How to Automatically Switch AirPods to Your Mac

After the first time you connect your AirPods to your Mac, they should automatically switch to your Mac whenever you start using it. This means that you can just stick your AirPods Pro in your ears and start playing music from your MacBook Pro, and they'll automatically connect for you.

The process is usually automatic—you don't need to do anything—but if you were already using your AirPods with another device, like an iPhone, you'll need to click Connect in the notification that appears on your Mac.

Make Sure Your AirPods Sound as Good as Possible

That's all there is to it. Usually your AirPods connect to your Mac automatically, and you don't need to do anything except put them in your ears and start playing some music. However, if that doesn't happen, now you know how to manually pair your AirPods and select them from the audio output options.

With all that out the way, be sure to take full advantage of this connection by making your AirPods sound as good as possible.