AirPods Gen 3 won’t connect…..

[Ifti]

AirPods Gen 3 - always worked fine with my iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Now upgraded to 15 Pro Max.
Same AirPods will no longer connect.
I have removed them from Bluetooth as well as Find My etc
I then opened the case and pressed the button on the rear for 15 seconds to ‘reset’ them.

When I try to connect to my iPhone now, I get the animation pop up and the ‘connect’ button.
I tap to connect and it tells me to press the rear button, which I do.
It then says ‘connecting’ for a while, times out, and states ‘Connection Failed’, with an option to try again.

Went to Apple Store today (no appointment) where they had me reset network settings etc as well. No joy. Hence have an Apple appointment for next week, which is a pain as its a drive away.

Heres what’s weird……

AirPods connect fine to someone else’s iPhone - no issue at all. So that rules the AirPods out, right?

However, someone else’s AirPods connect to my phone fine also - so that would rule my phone out as being the issue as well!!

It just seems like these specific AirPods wont connect to my specific handset.
They will also not connect to my iPad either.
So it’s like they wont connect to anything with my Apple ID, but connect fine to other peoples devices with a different Apple ID?
Could they still be tied to my Apple ID somehow, and hence wont reconnect??
How do I break all ties?? (As stated, I’ve removed them from Find My, as well as from Bluetooth settings, and have ‘reset network settings’ on my handset too….

Any ideas?

 

[Lwismeister]

Hey - did you manage to figure out the issue? (sorry for the late reply)

 

[Ifti]

Afraid not - have a 'genuis' appointment tomorrow.....
I'm hoping they just swap the airpods over, since others seem to connect fine.....

 

[Lwismeister]

Ahh I see, goodluck! Feel free to keep me updated haha 😁 I’m rather curious

 

[Ifti]

So here's a twist to the story!

Went to the Apple store appointment.
'Genius' took a look at the Airpods and replicated the same issues. However, upon holding the rear button he noted that the light was going green rather then white, which he said he had never seen before......

Upon checking the serial he asked if I had changed the Airpods in August - I said no.
In fact, apparently there had been 5 visits to the Apple store in just the last 3 months!!
I said I had never bought them in before!!!

Called a manager over and upon closer inspection we began to notice some very slight differences. Text color on the airpods case being slightly darker then normal. The seam in the airpods being in a slightly different location.

Turns out the Airpods are counterfeit!!!
They suspect there is a huge number of these all with the same serial number, which explains why there had been so many visits noted under this serial.
They said they are some of the best counterfeits that they had ever seen. Unless you had an original pair to compare with you would not possibly tell the difference.
They also said it was the first time they had seen fakes that actually link to your Apple ID, show up in 'Find My' and show up on my other iDevices as normal. Usually the fakes are Bluetooth only so only connect to one device. Mine acted like real Airpods where I connected to my phone, and they would automatically be on my iPad and MacBook etc.

Nevertheless, they provided me with a report.

I then contacted Amazon (where I had purchased them in Dec 2021). They were from Amazon direct - not a third party seller. Spoke to 3 different people, informing them they had some me counterfeit goods and I was claiming under Consumer Law.
The rep asked what troubleshooting steps I had taken!!! lol
Told them I had a report from Apple.
She then said I could send them back for repair!!
Told her I do not want counterfeit goods. I paid for original and they sent me counterfeit, which I was very upset about!
Hence they have now said to return for a refund - which is what I will be doing!!

Can't even trust Amazon now. As soon as they are refunded I will be purchasing from Apple direct!!

 

[okkibs]

Unless anything changed recently Amazon combines its own stock with that of third party sellers (marketplace) so even if sold and shipped by Amazon you can get items that someone else supplied. This has been an issue precisely for reasons like your experience for a long time. If that's what happened here then the only solution is not to buy from Amazon.

Did Apple really hand these counterfeits back to you? Can you take some photos and post the serial at least? Might help other users here. I'd actually expect Apple to keep these.

 

[Ifti]

Apparently Amazon are now authorised Apple resellers - they weren't 2 years back when I originally purchased though, so your comment makes sense.
Either way, I will no longer be making such purchases from Amazon!

 

[Lwismeister]

So here's a twist to the story!

Went to the Apple store appointment.
'Genius' took a look at the Airpods and replicated the same issues. However, upon holding the rear button he noted that the light was going green rather then white, which he said he had never seen before......

Upon checking the serial he asked if I had changed the Airpods in August - I said no.
In fact, apparently there had been 5 visits to the Apple store in just the last 3 months!!
I said I had never bought them in before!!!

Called a manager over and upon closer inspection we began to notice some very slight differences. Text color on the airpods case being slightly darker then normal. The seam in the airpods being in a slightly different location.

Turns out the Airpods are counterfeit!!!
They suspect there is a huge number of these all with the same serial number, which explains why there had been so many visits noted under this serial.
They said they are some of the best counterfeits that they had ever seen. Unless you had an original pair to compare with you would not possibly tell the difference.
They also said it was the first time they had seen fakes that actually link to your Apple ID, show up in 'Find My' and show up on my other iDevices as normal. Usually the fakes are Bluetooth only so only connect to one device. Mine acted like real Airpods where I connected to my phone, and they would automatically be on my iPad and MacBook etc.

Nevertheless, they provided me with a report.

I then contacted Amazon (where I had purchased them in Dec 2021). They were from Amazon direct - not a third party seller. Spoke to 3 different people, informing them they had some me counterfeit goods and I was claiming under Consumer Law.
The rep asked what troubleshooting steps I had taken!!! lol
Told them I had a report from Apple.
She then said I could send them back for repair!!
Told her I do not want counterfeit goods. I paid for original and they sent me counterfeit, which I was very upset about!
Hence they have now said to return for a refund - which is what I will be doing!!

Can't even trust Amazon now. As soon as they are refunded I will be purchasing from Apple direct!!

Oh wow, that's interesting stuff! Thanks for the update, appreciate it

 

[erihp]

I got some nearly perfect clone/reproduction airpod gen 3s from ebay recently. average person would have no idea they were fake. these counterfeiters are getting good, and the reseller platforms aren't doing enough to stop them.

 

[StoneJack]

I got some nearly perfect clone/reproduction airpod gen 3s from ebay recently. average person would have no idea they were fake. these counterfeiters are getting good, and the reseller platforms are doing enough to stop them.

Why u bought fakes?

 

[erihp]

Why u bought fakes?

I didnt know they were fake until i received them.

When I filed for a return, the address was 1600 pennsylvania ave in the prepaid label! Buncha crooks.