In the previous blog post《What to do if you lose your AirPods? This article teaches you how to find your AirPods.》, we learned how to retrieve lost AirPods. There's a Chinese proverb, "Prevention is better than cure," so this time, aulumu wants to discuss how to prevent your AirPods from being lost in the first place. AirPods are small and used frequently; often, we simply take them off and toss them aside after use. Even worse, some people may lose more than one AirPod. Therefore, we should be conscious of preventing our AirPods from being lost from the very beginning.
Establish good usage habits
- Avoid careless placement : The most important thing to be careful about when using AirPods is to avoid carelessly placing them down. Many AirPods losses occur because of this. Tables, bedside tables, and pockets are high-risk areas. For example, while listening to music, someone might talk to you, and you might take off your AirPods and place them on a table. When you finish talking and look for them again, they're nowhere to be found. Or, after listening to music at night, you might take off your AirPods and place them on your bedside table, only to find them missing the next morning, hidden in some corner or crevice. Also, while walking, you might take off your AirPods and put them in your pocket to communicate, only to search frantically at home without finding them. During walks, the friction between your pants pocket and your body can cause the AirPods to slip out of your pocket at some unexpected moment. Therefore, when not using your AirPods, immediately put them back in the charging case to reduce the chances of carelessly placing them down.
- Avoid removing your earbuds with one hand when out: Removing your AirPods with one hand is one of the easiest ways to lose a single earbud, especially while walking or running. Removing earbuds with one hand while moving can easily cause them to slip from your hand and fall into crevices on the ground. Sweat during exercise makes it even more dangerous; wet hands significantly increase the risk of your AirPods falling. If you need to remove your earbuds, please stop exercising, remove them, and immediately place them in the charging case to protect them.
- Place your earphones in a fixed location: Develop the habit of placing and removing your earphones in a fixed location. After getting home from work and arriving at the office, immediately remove your AirPods and put them back in their protective case. Make it a habit to remove them from a fixed location. After removing them, don't leave the earphone case lying around. Placing your earphone case in a fixed location will greatly reduce the chance of losing it.
Make good use of AirPods' system functions to prevent loss.
Actually, Apple had already set up a system to prevent AirPods from being lost before you even started using them. Using this anti-loss system can give you a reminder before your AirPods are completely lost.
- First, turn on the Forgotten Notice feature when you get your AirPods. The Forgotten Notice is a feature to prevent loss. When you leave a location and your AirPods don't go with you, your iPhone will receive a notification reminding you that you've left but your AirPods may have been left behind.
- Secondly, regularly check your Find My app to confirm that your AirPods are in the device list and that they haven't been accidentally deleted or removed. Make sure your AirPods are listed as your devices. This will prevent you from being unable to locate your AirPods after they are lost due to incorrect settings.
- Finally, don't forget to enable Bluetooth and location permissions. Bluetooth, location services, and Find My Network are among the essential permissions for recovering lost AirPods. Disabling any of these may prevent your AirPods from being found after being lost, or may prevent your AirPods from updating their location in a timely manner.
Anti-loss suggestions for different scenarios
- At home: When using AirPods at home, be sure to place them in a fixed location, such as inside your bag, on a specific spot on your table, or in your cabinet. Make it a habit to keep your AirPods in a consistent location to avoid losing them due to careless placement. Especially avoid places with large gaps, such as sofas and beds, where your AirPods might easily fall into the gap.
- When out and about: Avoid frequently taking your AirPods off and on in crowded environments. During your commute, pay extra attention to whether your AirPods are still in your ears, especially when getting on and off public transportation. Frequent taking them off and on may cause them to fall out of your ears or hands. Crowded conditions when getting on and off public transportation make it easier for AirPods to be lost, so extra care is needed.
- Exercise: When exercising, be mindful of whether the activity is suitable for wearing AirPods. For more strenuous exercise, remove your AirPods to prevent them from falling out due to excessive movement. Also, ensure your AirPods are securely in place; avoid moving them around in a rush, as this could cause them to slip out during subsequent activities. A little extra care will provide extra protection for your AirPods.
Well-matched accessories enhance protection.
Some people might think protective accessories are unnecessary, but some accessories can add an extra layer of protection to your AirPods against loss. When choosing accessories, consider those with the following characteristics:
- Anti-loss lanyard: If you're worried about losing your AirPods during exercise, commuting, or business trips, consider using an AirPods case with an anti-loss lanyard. The lanyard design can save you a lot of trouble in many situations and prevent your AirPods from being lost. You can hang the lanyard anywhere; for example, while exercising, you can hang it on your workout equipment; during your commute, you can hang it on your wrist to remind yourself of your AirPods; and when traveling, you can hang it on your bag for added protection. You might not think much of the lanyard's use when you buy it, but you'll find it incredibly useful when you almost lose your AirPods and find them again thanks to it. This is why aulumu's A39, A29, and A09 earphone cases all feature lanyards. With the lanyard, you can hang your AirPods anywhere, increasing your mental awareness of them and reducing the risk of loss.
- Hooks: Besides lanyards, another accessory that provides similar protection for your earphones is the earphone hook. Unlike lanyards, hooks can be attached to smaller places, such as your bag's zipper, your belt buckle, or your keychain. Hooks require less hanging space. For example, the aulumu A19 has a built-in hook design, allowing you to easily hang it anywhere, providing greater security for your AirPods . Of course, unlike lanyards, it cannot be hung on your wrist. Therefore, you can decide whether to buy an earphone case with a lanyard or one with a hook based on your needs.
- Choose the right silicone ear tips: If your AirPods come with silicone ear tips, you should choose ear tips that fit your ear canal size when purchasing. Properly fitting silicone ear tips will increase the fit between your AirPods and your ear canal, preventing them from falling out during daily activities like walking or exercising, and reducing the risk of one earbud falling out. Of course, if your AirPods model doesn't come with silicone ear tips, you can ignore this accessory.
The core of preventing AirPods from getting lost isn't the built-in Find My AirPods feature, but rather good habits we develop in daily use and using the right accessories . Technical features are merely supplementary in our daily use; cultivating good AirPods usage habits can significantly reduce the risk of losing them. Reducing the number of times you lose them means reducing the cost of replacing them.
