I enjoy using AirPods to listen to my favorite music, especially when commuting to work or exercising.
However, I forgot to charge them last night, and they ran out of battery while returning from work.
Once back home, I decided to put my AirPods on charge. But, as fate would have it, I couldn’t find them.
After frantically searching my pockets and bag, I realized I must have lost them while in transit.
Having no idea what to do further, I hopped onto Google and started looking for a way to find dead AirPods.
My research revealed that while locating AirPods even after they are dead is possible, certain conditions need to be met beforehand.
You can find dead AirPods using the Find My app on an iOS device. But you will only get their last live location before they ran out of charge. You can use their last live location to search around or retrace your steps to locate your dead AirPods.
Can I Track Dead AirPods?
You can keep track of your AirPods using the Find My app on your iPhone or the iCloud website.
And these two services are the only options that can help you locate your AirPods if they are dead.
They track a device via its Bluetooth and other Apple devices nearby. When your AirPods are offline but surrounded by other devices, they can interact using Bluetooth and transmit their present location.
That said, you can only track dead AirPods to the last live location via the Find My app.
And you should have activated the feature on your iOS device before the AirPods lost all charge.
To turn on Find My on an iOS device:
- Open Settings.
- Click on your name and go to Find My.
- Select Find My AirPods and set it on.
- Turn on Find My Network to track your device, even when it’s offline.
- Now, open Bluetooth in Settings.
- Tap on the i button beside your AirPods.

- Make sure Find My Network is turned on.

Turning on the Location Services on your iOS device can also help you track your AirPods on a map. You can do so via Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
Use Find My to Get the Last Live Location of Dead AirPods
The Find My app helps you to connect to lost but charged AirPods via Bluetooth if they are nearby. It also plays a chirping sound to give away their exact location.
However, it doesn’t allow you to do so for dead AirPods.
Instead, you can use this app to pinpoint the last live location of your AirPods before they lost charge.
- Launch Find My on your iOS device.
- Go to Devices. You will see a list of all devices linked to your Apple ID.
- Click on your AirPods. The AirPods might be shown as a pair or individual parts.
- Tap on one of the choices. You will see the last live location of your AirPods on the map
- You will also know whether the AirPods are within Bluetooth range. If they are far away, click on Directions in the menu to get the location.

- Once there, start searching around to locate your AirPods.
You can also visit the iCloud web client to find your dead AirPods.
- Launch your browser and go to iCloud.
- Log in to your Apple ID.
- Choose Find My.
- You will get a list of devices below All Devices.
- Select the AirPods you want to find, and their last live location will show up on the map.

Use Significant Locations to Locate Your Dead AirPods
In 2020, Apple released iOS 14, and with it came the Significant Locations feature.
This feature helps you keep track of locations you frequently visit, like a club or restaurant.
It can also be quite useful if you leave your AirPods at one such place.
To check significant locations on your iPhone:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security.
- Select Location Services.
- Click on System Services.
- Choose Significant Locations to view the places you often visit.

- Move down to Recent Records to check all the latest locations.
While Significant Locations of your iPhone may not give you the whereabouts of your dead AirPods, it will show a list of all places you have visited recently.
And you can use such information to narrow down your search.
Mark Your AirPods as Lost If You Are Unable to Locate Them
If the above two methods don’t help you find your dead AirPods, I recommend marking them as lost via the Find My app.
Doing so will let the app get a notification when the AirPods come back online, or their current location gets updated.
This feature also allows you to create a message prompt showing your contact information and address to anyone who finds your AirPods and uses them.
Follow these steps to mark your AirPods as lost:
- Launch Find My on your iPhone.
- Go to Devices.
- Choose your AirPods.
- Swipe up on the handle to bring up the menu.
- Click on Activate below Mark As Lost.

- Select Continue and type in your contact information.
- Tap on Next and go through the on-screen instructions to finish the process.
Note: This does not work for AirPods (1st generation).
Safeguard Your AirPods For Future
The Find My app greatly eases the process of finding AirPods that have some battery left.
But on the other hand, locating dead AirPods can prove highly tedious.
That’s why a few precautions (as discussed below) can go a long way if you ever lose your AirPods again.
Activate Separation Alerts
If you have an iPhone 12 or newer model, you can turn on separation alerts for your AirPods via the Find My app.
Doing so will send a message to your iPhone if you ever leave behind the AirPods.
To set up separation alerts:
- Launch Find My on your iPhone.
- Select the Devices tab.
- Click on your AirPods.
- Swipe up on the handle to bring up the menu.
- Tap on Notify When Left Behind under Notifications and turn it on.
- You also get an option to add locations that you want to exclude.
Also, don’t forget to allow notifications from Find My on the iPhone to get separation alerts.
Get an AirTag
Using a charging case having an AirTag slot plus an AirTag can also help you keep track of your AirPods, whether charged or dead.
I recommend getting this protective case for AirPods (3rd generation) and this protective case for AirPods Pro.
This combo will prove highly useful if you ever lose your AirPods in the future, as an AirTag will provide you with accurate navigational directions via an iOS device.
And since AirTags don’t need any battery, they can help you locate the AirPods case even if it has no charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do my AirPods come with GPS?
AirPods don’t have a built-in GPS chip. They use the GPS of the connected device to update their location on Find My.
Can AirPods play sound if they are dead?
AirPods can’t play a sound if they have no battery, even if you use the Find My app.
Is the Find My app accurate?
Find My won’t give you the exact location of your lost AirPods, but it will show you their last live location.