Can You Use AirPods with an Android?

If you’re an Android or Apple user, you probably stick to just those products. But what happens if you’re an Android user, and you test out your friend’s Apple AirPods and fall in love? No, you don’t you have to completely switch over to team iPhone to continue enjoying their wireless headphones. Android phones actually let you use AirPods with them, and setting it up is pretty simple. Android users, make sure you also know about these other Android hacks that will change the way you use your phone. Plus, in case you lose them, here’s how to find your lost AirPods.

How to connect your AirPods to your Android

Predictably, AirPods don’t connect with Androids as easily as they connect with iPhones, but the process is similar to how you would connect any pair of Bluetooth headphones to your phone. With an iPhone, all you have to do is open the AirPod’s case and wait for a message to pop up to pair the devices. Using AirPods with an Android requires a few more steps.

1. Swipe down on your home screen to open the quick settings panel, then press and hold the Bluetooth icon button.
2. Select “Add new device” or “Pair new device” (depending on the model phone you have, one of these two options will pop up).
3. Open the AirPods charging case and press and hold the small button on the back of the case until the light starts blinking white.
4. Select your AirPods from the pairing menu on your phone and follow further prompts that pop up on your screen.

After you pair the AirPods with your Android phone for the first time, they will work like any other Bluetooth headphones and automatically connect to your phone when you take them out of the case and disconnect when you put them back into the case. Here are some things that Android phones can do that iPhones can’t.

The downside of using AirPods with an Android

Since AirPods were made to work best with iPhones, there are a few downsides to using them with an Android device. One feature that you’ll miss out on is easily being able to see the battery level of your headphones. On an iPhone, you can just swipe left to see how much juice your AirPods have left, but on an Android, it’s a little tedious. You’ll have to download a new app to check the AirPods battery level. Another feature AirPods don’t have when paired with an Android is auto-pause and resume when you take an AirPod out of your ear and then put it back in. And lastly, you won’t be able to summon the Google Assitant from your AirPods as you can with Siri on the iPhone. You’ll have to stick to using the voice assistant as if you weren’t wearing headphones and just talk into the phone.

Android users, now that you know AirPods will work with your phone, are you thinking about snagging some? Reading up on these things you didn’t know your AirPods could do might convince you to purchase the Apple product.