Found Airpods

Question

Found Airpods

I found a set of Airpods in a public place. I posted on Craigslist looking for the owner, then took them to the local police department lost and found. 90 days later they were unclaimed so I went and got them back, now they are mine.

When I first found them, upon opening the case at my house, a nearby iPhone received a message that the owner of the Airpods was receiving a map with the device's location. No one ever came by looking for them. Now I have reset them and paired them with my phone. Is the original owner going to keep being able to track the Airpods, or did resetting them stop that ability?

iPhone

Posted on Jan 13, 2023 9:48 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

BigBobMcGillicuddy Author

Level 1

31 points

Jan 14, 2023 6:55 PM in response to sberman

Here's something interesting... after resetting the Airpods, when I open the case near an iPhone a big message appears on the phone saying "NOT YOUR AIRPODS". I can pair them with any phone or computer and they work fine, I just can't join them to my Apple ID. Because they are still connected to someone else's "Find My".

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Answer 2

sberman

Level 10

272,256 points

Jan 13, 2023 2:59 PM in response to BigBobMcGillicuddy

It's great you took the steps you took to attempt to locate the original owner.

AirPods can only be associated with one Apple ID. The fact you were able to reset them and pair them means they are now yours. The original owner no longer has access.

See especially the last paragraph here.

How to reset your AirPods and AirPods Pro - Apple Support

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Answer 3

sberman

Level 10

272,256 points

Jan 15, 2023 12:21 AM in response to BigBobMcGillicuddy

Here is a lot more information - although you’re clearly not dealing with a deliberate unwanted tracking situation.

What to do if you get an alert that an AirTag, Find My network accessory, or set of AirPods is with you - Apple Support

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Found Airpods

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