Airpods 2nd Gen Can't Update Firmware

[Heat_Fan89]

I purchased a new pair of Airpods 2nd Gen from a seller on Ebay for $35. The package was sealed and they still have a warranty till Jan 28th 2025. I have never owned Airpods so I am having trouble trying to get them to the latest firmware. The current FW is 3A283 and according to Apple they should be at 6A326.

I tried updating the FW on my iPad's, iPhone 13 and on my M2 Mac Mini. I watched YT videos and it says to make sure they are plugged in and fully charged, then connect them and close the lid. When I close the lid with the Airpods inside the Airpods disconnect, which is what all my other wireless earbuds do. Currently they are setup with my iPhone 13.

Can anyone tell me what I am doing something wrong or if I missed a step? 🧐

 

[Bandoholic]

Sounds too cheap to be the real thing. So many fakes on Ebay.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Sounds too cheap to be the real thing. So many fakes on Ebay.

No, they're the real deal because it shows up in my settings app under BT with a recognized Apple serial number and it even has an Apple warranty. None of that would show up if they were fakes.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Yeah, these are definitely legit. I verified the serial number on Apple's website. These were probably purchased in bulk from a vendor as it shows they were purchased Feb 2024 and the warranty ends Jan 2025. Anyway, the Ebay seller offered me a $20 refund so these only cost me $13.58 for a brand new pair of Airpods 2nd gen. I still can't update the FW. Apple should make an app for the Airpods.

 

[Bandoholic]

I love to hear someone getting a good deal as I too, rely on eBay to find good deals on things I want.
If you’re close to an Apple Store, I would recommend taking it there to see why it won’t update.
And another word of caution, counterfeit Apple devices, watches, headphones, etc have been known to have real serial numbers.
Anyway for the price you paid, if they work with your phone, enjoy it even if you can’t update them.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I love to hear someone getting a good deal as I too, rely on eBay to find good deals on things I want.
If you’re close to an Apple Store, I would recommend taking it there to see why it won’t update.
And another word of caution, counterfeit Apple devices, watches, headphones, etc have been known to have real serial numbers.
Anyway for the price you paid, if they work with your phone, enjoy it even if you can’t update them.

Good advice and that crossed my mind to take them along with my iPhone to my local Apple store. I'm thinking they would be able to tell if they are counterfeit or real. I did watch a 4 year old YT video and to my surprise nothing stood out that these are fake Airpods. The only question that was brought up in another thread is that something doesn't appear right that they have a 5 month warranty. It should be 12 months from when I activated them.

Someone also mentioned spoofing legit SN's but on my iPhone, iPad's and Mac's they show up with a legit model and serial number. Weird

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Update: The seller gave me a full refund and no need to send them back which might indicate these are questionable Airpods.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Man, i'm more confused whether these are fake or legit. I read an article on MacWorld that shows you what to check for to verify if they are legit. But one thing stood out is that Siri on the Airpods 2nd only works if it has an H1 processor. So I double tapped either earbud and Siri popped up on my iPhone.

Fake AirPods: How to tell if your AirPods Pro are fake

Fake AirPods are widespread. We explain how to spot fake AirPods and AirPods Pro and check if your Apple AirPods are original.

www.macworld.com

I'm wondering if these were activated and refurbished and resold on Ebay. I considering taking these as suggested along with my iPhone to my local Apple store and see if I can get the FW update and to verify if these are legit 2nd gen Airpods. The other thing is they do sound good.

 

[chrfr]

Some time ago I was at an Apple Store for something else and overheard a genius explaining to a customer that the AirPods they had were counterfeit and that they had lots of them using the same serial number, which is how they knew for sure that they were fake.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Some time ago I was at an Apple Store for something else and overheard a genius explaining to a customer that the AirPods they had were counterfeit and that they had lots of them using the same serial number, which is how they knew for sure that they were fake.

That wouldn't surprise me at all. What puzzles me is that Siri actually works which according to the MacWorld article I linked says that Siri only works with a double tap if the Airpods have the H1 chip inside and I can't see counterfeiters using the H1 chip. The other puzzling part is that there isn't anything on the box that screams counterfeit, including the packaging, the fonts used etc.

I ended up getting these for free as I got a full refund but I am curious if these are fakes or real. I'm trying to scheduled an appointment at the local Apple Store but the Chat session hasn't connected with either FF or Safari. I may have to call and make an appointment instead.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

LOL, so I used Siri with my questionable 2nd Gen Airpods on my iPhone and scheduled an appointment tomorrow at 12PM at the Apple Store. That was pretty slick. It even dropped it in my iPhone calendar. I'm curious to see what they find.

 

[erihp]

$35 airpods sealed like new and you got $20 out of the seller bc they dont update firmware... then they gave you a full refund?

you got fakes dude.

i get it, they seem legit. the fakes really do look and sound decent. but they are knockoffs. google it, you can find x-rays pf differing guts, yet from the outside you'd never know.


they can afford to give refunds and take losses because most people dont complain if as long as 'they work'. so they bank on no one reporting it. they appease people with refunds. They probably pay somewhere around $$5-8 for each pair.


One tip i got for checking if they are real, do they show up on Find My? I had a pair of really convincing fakes that did not.

Call Apple, theyll confirm your serial number is bunk and tied to who knows how many devices. They obtain serials for one legit pair and use them all over.


as far as Siri activation on double tap, any bluetooth headset device can prop siri by holding a button. they just madr 'double tap' on a sensor inside == said button hold.

I assure you there is no H1 chip inside. When i requested a return label for my fakes, the address on the label was a particular WHITE HOUSE on pennsylvania avenue.

Ebay refunded my money.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

One tip i got for checking if they are real, do they show up on Find My? I had a pair of really convincing fakes that did not.

Yes, they show up in the Find My app. They even play a sound (beeps Left/Right) but only when they are connected to my iPhone but with the case closed they do show a pretty close range where they actually are.

 

[erihp]

Yes, they show up in the Find My app. They even play a sound (beeps Left/Right) but only when they are connected to my iPhone but with the case closed they do show a pretty close range where they actually are.

Damn, maybe they’ve gotten this working on the latest clones. It really is incredible how good every aspect of the fakes are, from packaging to function.

 

[Bandoholic]

Too good to be true is valid 99.99% of the time.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

Damn, maybe they’ve gotten this working on the latest clones. It really is incredible how good every aspect of the fakes are, from packaging to function.

Yeah, that’s why I have kept updating this thread. It all started out not being able to update the firmware. Then I learned that in order to show these Airpods are indeed real fakes, they actually mimic the real Airpods and not the fake ones.

The box fonts, spelling, grammar are correct. The serial number inside the Airpods case matches the SN on the box. There isn’t anything about these Ebay Airpods that scream fake but i’m in agreement with you all, that they are likely fakes otherwise they should update and I agree if these were in fact real, I would not been given a full refund.

Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if I go to the Apple Store tomorrow and they are fooled. In fact i’m not going to tip them off, i’m going to see if they figure it out first before I tell them I got them from an Ebay seller for $34.

 

[erihp]

Yeah, that’s why I have kept updating this thread. It all started out not being able to update the firmware. Then I learned that in order to show these Airpods are real, actually mimics the real Airpods and not the fake ones.

The box fonts, spelling, grammar are correct. The serial number inside the Airpods case matches the SN on the box. There isn’t anything about these Ebay Airpods that scream fake but i’m in agreement with you all, that they are likely fakes otherwise they should update and I agree if these were in fact real, I would not been given a full refund.

Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if I go to the Apple Store tomorrow and they are fooled. In fact i’m not going to tip them off, i’m going to see if they figure it out first before I tell them I got them from an Ebay seller for $34.

No, once they lookup the serial number there will be other hits in the system from people like you visiting their store who bought from that same batch.

the low price is the other clear giveaway. if you have legitimately obtained, factory sealed originals, why would you sell them for $35?

the warranty being off is another one they havent figured out i guess. 'ship them quickly!.' is the strat i guess.

the only other thing it could be is stolen. thats not a good look either.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

No, once they lookup the serial number there will be other hits in the system from people like you visiting their store who bought from that same batch.

the low price is the other clear giveaway. if you have legitimately obtained, factory sealed originals, why would you sell them for $35?

the warranty being off is another one they havent figured out i guess. 'ship them quickly!.' is the strat i guess.

the only other thing it could be is stolen. thats not a good look either.

That crossed my mind. Before heading out to the AS, I will try and either call or have a chat with them.

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I just got the deal of a lifetime. A free pair of genuine AirPods 2nd Gen from an Ebay seller. I called Apple tech support this morning and they confirmed the serial number. They saw it in my list of devices, the support agent said that shows they are genuine if they are in my account and in my group of devices and they would not show up on someone else's account (spoofing). They also said I can take them into an Apple Store before the warranty ends and they will either fix the problem or replace them.

As far as the warranty only lasting another 5 months. The support agent explained that the AirPods warranty starts the day of the purchase which was in Jan this year and not when the device is activated.

So that explains why the box, fonts, grammar, SN's, Siri, Find My features were all correct etc. Now I feel real bad that the Ebay seller gave me a full refund.

 

[erihp]

I just got the deal of a lifetime. A free pair of genuine AirPods 2nd Gen from an Ebay seller. I called Apple tech support this morning and they confirmed the serial number. They saw it in my list of devices, the support agent said that shows they are genuine if they are in my account and in my group of devices and they would not show up on someone else's account (spoofing). They also said I can take them into an Apple Store before the warranty ends and they will either fix the problem or replace them.

As far as the warranty only lasting another 5 months. The support agent explained that the AirPods warranty starts the day of the purchase which was in Jan this year and not when the device is activated.

So that explains why the box, fonts, grammar, SN's, Siri, Find My features were all correct etc. Now I feel real bad that the Ebay seller gave me a full refund.

I still don't believe it

 

[Heat_Fan89]

I still don't believe it

You and me both. I still don’t believe it. I even asked the tech support agent if my serial number had been used on another account and she told me NO. If someone had tried it wouldn’t show up on their list of devices. While on the phone she saw all my Apple devices associated with my Apple ID. When she saw the AirPod’s 2nd gen, she told me they are genuine AirPod’s. That’s when she said the warranty is good till Jan 2025 and I can make an appointment with my Apple Store and they’ll either fix the problem or replace them.

 

[eelpout]

One tip i got for checking if they are real, do they show up on Find My? I had a pair of really convincing fakes that did not.

I recently got a pair of Pro Gen 2 fakes (same serial number all around, misspellings on the box, and serial number a dud on coverage check) and "Find My" worked, even the tones, but there was no precision tracking nor separate "find device" for the case. Head tracking didn't work either. And they wouldn't update firmware which is a sure sign.

they are getting better at this.

 

[erihp]

I recently got a pair of Pro Gen 2 fakes (same serial number all around, misspellings on the box, and serial number a dud on coverage check) and "Find My" worked, even the tones, but there was no precision tracking nor separate "find device" for the case. Head tracking didn't work either. And they wouldn't update firmware which is a sure sign.

they are getting better at this.

wow. they really are.

anyone seen airpod 4 anc fakes yet?