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santaliqueur

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
1,014
578
Hello. I have a set of AirPods that are working well on my iPhone 6s and iPad mini 4. However, I can't get them to pair to my iMac and MacBook. They are all signed into the same iCloud account, Bluetooth is enabled on each device, and all are fully updated. Do I have to do something to get these to pair? The keynote made it look so easy, and it doesn't work. Any ideas? Thanks.
 

Phil A.

Moderator emeritus
Apr 2, 2006
5,800
3,100
Shropshire, UK
They paired fine for me on my iMac and rMB - they appear in the list of available speaker options and selecting them switches fine.

I did initially have an issue with my iMac which caused connection problems and which I traced to a Logitech wireless adapter I use occasionally for an alternative mouse for gaming: it was causing interference but since unplugging it I've had no issues at all
 

santaliqueur

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
1,014
578
In the Bluetooth preference pane, right? Just making sure I'm not being a complete idiot here. I have a magic trackpad/keyboard, so I'll try turning those off to see if i can get the AirPods to pair.

It's not a deal breaker if I can't get them to pair, as I'll use them with my iPhone 95% of the time and the iPad nearly the other 5%, but I'd like to be able to know everything is working properly as it should.
 

CharlesShaw

macrumors 68000
May 8, 2015
1,726
2,855
If you can't get them to pair to your Macs via iCloud, you can pair them manually (the button on the back of the battery case) the way you have to do for an Apple TV4.
 

santaliqueur

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
1,014
578
Ah, I never tried the button on the back! I'd love all this stuff to be as easy as advertised. It was so simple for iOS. I'll try the button, thanks!
[doublepost=1482796727][/doublepost]Looks like that was the problem, I wasn't using the button on the back. The AirPods pairing with iOS was so seamless that I forgot it was even there. Worked on my iMac, I'm sure it will work on the rMB. Thank you!
 
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The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,974
20,168
UK
Do you have Bluetooth icon attached to the top of the main bar?

I found it didn't appear until i reset power on my MacBook after updating to the latest software
 

santaliqueur

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
1,014
578
The easy switching between devices requires macOS Sierra.
Which I have. It does not work.
[doublepost=1482861934][/doublepost]
Do you have Bluetooth icon attached to the top of the main bar?

I found it didn't appear until i reset power on my MacBook after updating to the latest software

I hide my icons with Bartender, and I use Alfred to open apps rather than clicking on the icons.
 

alFR

macrumors 68030
Aug 10, 2006
2,834
1,070
It required a restart to get them to show up on my MBP, try that?
 

santaliqueur

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
1,014
578
Have you tried to restart your Mac? Does the AirPods show up in the Bluetooth menu/settings? Are you logged in to iCloud (System settings -> iCloud)?
As stated in my original post, I am logged into iCloud on all devices. I restarted both machines, and it did not work. I manually paired the AirPods with the button on the back as CharlesShaw suggested on each machine, and they paired without problems. The iCloud propagation never worked.
 

AppleRobert

macrumors 603
Nov 12, 2012
5,729
1,133
Never connected automatically to my iPad Pro, I gave up and just pushed in the pairing button on the back. Should not have needed to do that.
 

iAdamator

macrumors 6502a
Sep 10, 2013
698
171
South San Francisco, CA
Mine is actually not always connecting to my Watch, but in my case I think it's actually an issue with my watch and not my AirPods. I constantly have to toggle the bluetooth on my watch off and back on for devices to connect to it. It actually happened with some previous Bluetooth Headphones I used, and now the AirPods. I actually have an appointment at the Apple Store for it later today.

My only other device is an iPad and the AirPods show up in my devices options as they're suppose to.
 

santaliqueur

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Aug 7, 2007
1,014
578
Mine won't connect to my watch, but I attribute that to the watch being complete trash. It's entirely unreliable, and I hope the new ones are better. The first generation watch was supposed to get a huge upgrade in watchOS 3, and it's just as slow.

I love the AirPods so far, minus the pairing difficulties. The performance is quite good, the battery life seems excellent, and the bluetooth connection remains strong over long distances. I've had it cut off randomly during a phone call, they disconnected two other times during podcast listening, but other than that, I love them. Best purchase in years for me.
 
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