Why is my iPhone showing "Not Your AirPods Pro" popup?

Question

Why is my iPhone showing "Not Your AirPods Pro" popup?

I have had this issue for the past 18 months now. I wonder if anyone else has had the issue and been able to resolve it. Apple seem to be absolutely stumped by it.

Every 2 or 3 days when I try to use my AirPods pro I get the message "not your AirPods pro"/"AirPods not connected to this iPhone" popup. I can resolve the issue by restarting the phone and they will work fine for another 2 or 3 days and then it starts again.

In the time I have had the issue I have had 3 iPhones and at least 2 pairs of AirPods pro so I don't think it is a hardware issue. In fact Apple have replaced the AirPods and this has not resolved the issue.

I have done the following to try and resolve.

Completely reset the airpods/removed them from FindMy and re-connected them countless number of times
Reset network settings on numerous occasions
Signed out of iCloud, removed AirPods, restarted iPhone, signed back in to iCloud, reconnected AirPods
Connected the AirPods to a different account, completely reset them, removed from other FindMy and then reconnected to my account
Contacted Apple and gone through all sorts of troubleshooting

I am absolutely convinced that this is an iCloud issue but Apple seem to be unable to find anything. I do not get this issue on my iPad or Mac. They always connect. It is just the iPhone. There is no point in buying new AirPods Pro as I know the issue will still be there. I've already bought new ones believing it to be a hardware issue. It's not the phone, I have had 3 different ones during the time this has been happening.

Does anyone have a miracle cure before I give up, return the AirPods and but a third party alternative?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 16 Pro

Posted on Dec 10, 2024 7:25 AM

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Answer 1

brbo

Level 8

38,959 points

Dec 10, 2024 8:45 PM in response to tommy.stranack

Re: "Not your AirPods pro" popup

Am no expert in this area, yet your post deserves some response.It is an intriguing issue you are experiencing, in that the issue happens repeatably ... haven't heard of that before. (It now seems others do experience this issue.) Will list any trouble-shooting suggestions that come to mind below ... please disregard any you can rule out.

✽ You could check the serial numbers just in case one or both (or even the case) have been swapped unintentionally with some-one else's AirPods. It happens. Find the serial number of your AirPods - Apple Support

✽ Does the message pop-up only occur with a certain app, or a particular change you make ... eg: involving a switch between one device and another, or from one particular app to another ... ie: Check for a "pattern" in what you were doing just before you got that intermittent pop-up.

✽ Could it be something to do with AirPods not correctly switching to the phone ...ie: AirPods can only be used with one device at a time. Eg: Tried manually switching to iPhone when the message pops up?

See: Switch AirPods between Apple devices - Apple Support for tips.

Also: Switch your AirPods to another device - Apple Support

✽ Guess you have tried it already, but if not:

You may want to totally remove the AirPods from your Apple account, before pairing them as if new:

Eg: what to do: Before you sell, give away, return, or recycle your AirPods - Apple Support

✽ I trust all your computer(s) and devices are correctly signed in to the same Apple Account.

Re-naming the AirPods may or may not help:

Eg: Article below says: When you’re signed in to the same Apple Account on multiple devices, the new name is updated across devices. See: How to: Rename your AirPods - Apple Support

If the message pops up ... does the AirPods name still display, or are they not recognised by the phone ?

✽ Ensuring all devices have the most recent compatible OS updates installed,

and thar the AirPods firmware is also up-to-date, can be helpful in side-stepping issues.

✽ Troubleshooting what to do: If your AirPods or AirPods Pro won't connect - Apple Support

All the best :-)

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Answer 2

Dec 10, 2024 11:28 PM in response to brbo

Thank you very much for your response. Answers to your points as below.

✽ You could check the serial numbers just in case one or both (or even the case) have been swapped unintentionally with some-one else's AirPods. It happens. Find the serial number of your AirPods - Apple Support

Serial numbers all match and they have never been swapped. I have had 2 sets of AirPod Pro's, both purchased from Apple, and both pairs exhibit the same issue.

✽ Does the message pop-up only occur with a certain app, or a particular change you make ... eg: involving a switch between one device and another, or from one particular app to another ... ie: Check for a "pattern" in what you were doing just before you got that intermittent pop-up.

The message only pops up on the main Home Screen when opening the case, every 3 days until the iPhone is restarted. They then connect fine for 3 days and start displaying the "not your AirPods" message again.

✽ Could it be something to do with AirPods not correctly switching to the phone ...ie: AirPods can only be used with one device at a time. Eg: Tried manually switching to iPhone when the message pops up?

See: Switch AirPods between Apple devices - Apple Support for tips.

Also: Switch your AirPods to another device - Apple Support

AirPods switch to my other devices absolutely fine and the other devices do not suffer the same "not your AirPods" message. Only the iPhone displays this popup.

✽ Guess you have tried it already, but if not:

You may want to totally remove the AirPods from your Apple account, before pairing them as if new:

Eg: what to do: Before you sell, give away, return, or recycle your AirPods - Apple Support

Yes, I have lost count on the number of times I have completely removed them from my account and set them up as new.

✽ I trust all your computer(s) and devices are correctly signed in to the same Apple Account.

Re-naming the AirPods may or may not help:

Eg: Article below says: When you’re signed in to the same Apple Account on multiple devices, the new name is updated across devices. See: How to: Rename your AirPods - Apple Support

If the message pops up ... does the AirPods name still display, or are they not recognised by the phone ?

Yes, they are correctly signed in to iCloud. I have renamed them to all sorts in the hope that this might resolve the issue. It doesn't.

No, when the message pops up the nae does not appear, just "not your AirPods" and "The AirPods are not connected to this iPhone"

✽ Ensuring all devices have the most recent compatible OS updates installed,

and thar the AirPods firmware is also up-to-date, can be helpful in side-stepping issues.

Yes, all software/firmware is the most recent.

✽ Troubleshooting what to do: If your AirPods or AirPods Pro won't connect - Apple Support

The other thing that is odd is that if I log in to iCloud online I notice I do not have an option to "remove AirPods" in FindMy. Other family members with AirPods all have the option to "remove AirPods" when viewing items in FindMy online. Not sure if this has any reflection on the issue but odd that all family members have this option using FindMy online, but I don't!

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Answer 3

brbo

Level 8

38,959 points

Dec 11, 2024 1:37 AM in response to tommy.stranack

Thank you kindly for your diligence in working through those possibilities, and for your prompt reply. Now I'm stumped too!

Re: "I am absolutely convinced that this is an iCloud issue but Apple seem to be unable to find anything".

Mmmm ... seldom use iCloud, so am no help there.

Re: "remove AirPods" :Seems a device must be offline before you can remove it from the Devices list.

The fact that the iPhone shows a regular pattern of no longer recognising the AirPods as the ones it has been accepting must count for something ... the 3 day interval suggests something triggers this "behaviour" regularly ... eg: some hidden setting, or some accidental keyboard shortcut, or such. I could be wrong.

Finding the cause in order to apply a solution is not easy.

Eg:

Maybe there is some kind of regular wireless interference: Resolve Wi-Fi and Bluetooth issues caused by wireless interference - Apple Support

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Why is my iPhone showing "Not Your AirPods Pro" popup?

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