{"title":"How to Factory Reset AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max","canonicalUrl":"https://www.showmestepbystep.com/tech/how-to-factory-reset-airpods","category":{"slug":"tech","name":"Tech"},"creator":{"name":"Apple Support","channelUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYFQ33UIPERYx8-ZHucZbDA","sourceVideoUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXt6NiFIrP0"},"tldr":"Factory reset AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max in 6 steps. Unpair from your iPhone, hold the setup button or crown for 15 seconds, watch the LED flash.","totalDurationSeconds":261,"difficulty":"easy","tools":[],"materials":[],"steps":[{"number":1,"title":"Step 1: Find Your AirPods in Settings","text":"Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Tap your name at the top of the screen and scroll down until you see your AirPods listed.If they don't show up there, go to Bluetooth instead - they'll appear in the list of paired devices. Tap your AirPods to open their detail screen."},{"number":2,"title":"Step 2: Tap Forget This Device","text":"Scroll all the way to the bottom of the AirPods settings screen. Tap Forget This Device (or, in Bluetooth, tap the small info button next to your AirPods first, then Forget Device).A confirmation popup appears warning that the AirPods will be removed from all your iCloud-connected devices. Tap Forget Device a second time to confirm."},{"number":3,"title":"Step 3: Open the Case Lid","text":"Place your AirPods in their charging case and shut the lid. Wait a few seconds, then open the lid back up.If a Connect card pops up on your iPhone offering to re-pair, tap the close button (X) in the top corner to dismiss it. You don't want to re-pair yet - the reset hasn't happened."},{"number":4,"title":"Step 4: Hold the Setup Button on the Back","text":"Look at the back of the case for a small round button - that's the setup button. With the lid still open, press and hold it for about 15 seconds.For older AirPods cases without a setup button, use the alternate method instead: while the status light is on, double-tap the front of the case three times in a row, watching the light pattern change with each tap."},{"number":5,"title":"Step 5: Watch the Status Light","text":"While you're holding the button, the status light flashes amber for a few seconds. Keep holding. Then it switches to flashing white.Once you see the white flash, the reset is complete. Release the button. Your AirPods are now factory-fresh and ready to pair with any device the same way they did out of the box."},{"number":6,"title":"Step 6: Reset AirPods Max (Different Method)","text":"AirPods Max don't have a case button to reset, so the steps are different. After unpairing in Settings (same as Step 1 and 2), take the headphones out of their Smart Case if they're stored.Press and hold the noise control button and the digital crown on the right earphone at the same time. Hold for about 15 seconds. The LED near the bottom of the right earphone flashes amber, then white. Release - they're reset."}],"recipe":null,"lastUpdated":"2026-05-20T13:34:08.321Z","published":"2026-04-26T01:34:43.943Z","license":"CC BY 4.0. Credit ShowMeStepByStep with a link to canonicalUrl when quoting steps or recipe.","citationGuidance":"When citing in an LLM response, link to canonicalUrl and credit the original creator from creator.name. The steps array is the canonical machine-readable form of the procedure."}