Different AirPods mixed in the same case? iOS warns you

Wired headphones have an advantage that we too often forget compared to AirPods: there is no risk of mixing up ends! If you’re the type to leave your AirPods lying around anywhere and this blemish is shared by members of your family, you may have accidentally mixed AirPods from different pairs. Since iOS 15, a notification warns of the blunder.

There are different types of alert message depending on the case

This alert, which has been slightly revised with iOS 16, appears when you open the case in which you have placed two AirPods that should not be together. It works both for personal mixes (if you have two pairs of similar AirPods) and for mixes between users, as well as when mixing two different generations of headphones.

The messages adapt accordingly. We can read “The AirPods in the charging case do not belong to you and do not work together” or “The AirPods in the charging case are not of the same generation and do not work together. » The AirPods case itself signals the problem by flashing orange.

iOS is right, these are different generation AirPods Pro in the case. On the other hand, it is the AirPods Pro on the left which is 2nd generation, and not the reverse (it is distinguished by the additional microphone at its top).

We tested with multiple pairs of AirPods Pro 1 and AirPods Pro 2 owned by the same user as well as another person (this also works with standard AirPods). Each time the notification appeared well, but the info on the headphones was not always reliable. In the example above, iOS presents the left earbud as a 1st Gen AirPods Pro and the right one as a 2nd Gen, while the reverse is true. In other cases, iOS got the brushes mixed up between two boxes belonging to the same user.

Despite the confusion of iOS on some occasions, the notification still plays its role of alert well. You can then use the Locate function to get your hands on the “good” headphones.