How To Change The Name Of Your Apple AirPods
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Owning a wide array of devices can become a complicated affair. It can be especially confusing if you are the type of person who has multiple brands and models of a certain type of gadget and even more so if you tend to connect a certain accessory to multiple machines. For example: If you own several iterations of a particular brand of headphones and use it not just on your smartphone but on your desktop computer as well, then it can become somewhat of a mess. This is where gadget naming conventions come into play.
By default, when you buy and register or pair an Apple device, it automatically names it using the first name you used when you registered for an Apple ID, followed by the gadget name or model, like "Jam's AirPods." If you decide to get another gadget — like another pair of the exact same AirPods model — it should tack on a number at the end of the device's name when you pair it, such as "Jam's AirPods (2)."
To help better identify which accessory is what, it is recommended that you rename similarly named devices to something more unique. That way, pairing with multiple devices like smartphones, tablets, or computers becomes less of a headache.
While connected to an iOS device that you own
If you use Apple brand accessories like AirPods to listen to audio content on fellow Apple devices like an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac computer, it should be fairly easy to modify the way they appear under your main gadget's list of connected Bluetooth devices. Assuming you've already set up and paired your AirPods with an Apple device, here's how you can go about renaming the earbuds, first on a Mac computer:
- Wear your AirPods and ensure that they are properly connected to your machine.
- Click on the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the computer screen
- Go to System Preferences.
- Select Bluetooth.
- Right-click on the AirPods you want to rename and choose Rename.
- Type in a new name then hit Rename to save the change.
Meanwhile, on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, after wearing your AirPods and establishing a connection:
- Launch the Settings app on your Apple device.
- Tap the name of the AirPods you are wearing near the top of the page. Alternatively, you can select Bluetooth and hit the lowercase "i" icon next to the AirPods you are wearing from the "My Devices" list.
- Tap the Name field.
- Enter your desired new name for the AirPods.
- Hit Done to save the change.
If you have other Apple devices that you can connect the AirPods to and they're all signed into the same Apple ID, you should be able to see the name change across all compatible gadgets.
When your AirPods are connected to a non-Apple mobile device
You can connect AirPods to non-Apple brand gadgets like smartphones or computers. However, you may not experience the full functionality of the listening device. For instance, Siri will not be accessible when you attempt to use the AirPods through an Android phone or Windows 11 laptop. Other available features will depend on what Bluetooth device your earbuds are connected to.
Renaming a Bluetooth accessory like a pair of AirPods should be very easy to do on an Android phone. As long as you have already connected the Apple earbuds to your Android mobile device before, you can rename it, whether or not it is actively connected. Here's how:
- Launch the Settings app on your Android phone.
- Go to Bluetooth or "Connected devices."
- Locate your AirPods on the list of paired or saved devices.
- Hit the gear icon next to the AirPods you want to rename.
- Tap the pencil icon near the top of the screen
- Type your preferred new name for the AirPods.
- Hit Rename to save the changes.
Remember that menu names may differ, depending on which Android phone model you have. Also note that the AirPods' name is only changed specifically for the Android device you changed it on. You will have to go through the renaming process again on other devices.
When you've previously used your AirPods on a Windows 11 computer
Changing the name of a Bluetooth device like AirPods on a PC is certainly doable, but the steps are a bit more complicated compared to the ones mentioned earlier. Follow these instructions:
- Use your computer's search function to look up Control Panel and open it.
- Click on Hardware and Sound.
- Select Devices and Printers.
At this point, if you have Windows 11 installed, you may have an updated view of the Settings page. Continue on by doing the following:
- Select Devices.
- Scroll down and under "Related settings," choose "More device and printer settings."
- This should produce a window that lists all the devices you've previously connected to your computer. Find the AirPods you wish to rename, right-click on its icon, and select Properties.
- Go to the Bluetooth tab and in the text field that contains the device's name, type in your preferred new one.
- Click Apply to save changes, then hit OK.
If you do not see the change immediately take effect, you may need to disconnect the AirPods and reconnect them again to refresh the name. Again, unlike on Apple devices, the name change will only be applied to the AirPods when used on the Windows computer on which you followed the renaming steps.
What to do when your AirPods' name keeps changing
Some AirPods users are reporting a variety of issues regarding renaming the accessory, mainly the inability to do it or the impermanence of the change, with the name sometimes inexplicably reverting to its original moniker. Most reports online relate the AirPods name switch-back taking place when the earbuds are placed back into the charging case or when they are re-connected to multiple devices. Others say that their AirPods are magically named to something else entirely.
To date, an official Apple support page for this particular issue doesn't exist. Similarly, there doesn't seem to be a potential solution suggested within the Apple community platform that Apple itself has recommended or backed. The consensus among tech publications that have covered the glitch seems to point to the catch-all fix that also happens to address malfunctioning AirPods in general: Reset the AirPods to factory settings. Note that doing this would essentially wipe all data and settings associated with the accessory, potentially fix the naming hiccup, and restore the earbuds back to their out-of-the-box state.