Colin Boyd
JANUARY 31, 2022
The AirPods Max are Apple's top-of-the-line over-ear headphones.
While they look and sound great, they don't always work as seamlessly as they're supposed to.
In this article, I'll explain why your AirPods Max won't connect to your iPhone and show you how to fix the problem for good.
Are My AirPods Max Broken?
If you're having trouble pairing your AirPods Max with your iPhone, don't panic! There are number of explanations for this problem. Unless you can think of recent trauma that may have occurred to your AirPods Max, it's unlikely they're broken.
The AirPods Max pairing process is unique for a pair of Bluetooth headphones, and several things could go wrong. In fact, until you start troubleshooting, you won't be able to know for sure whether the issue stems from your iPhone or your AirPods Max.
Why Won't My AirPods Max Connect?
AirPods Max should connect with any iPhone running iOS 14.3 or newer. If your device is up to date, keep reading to identify the problem and how to repair it!
How To Repair AirPods Max That Won't Connect To iPhone
14 Steps Total
1.
Turn Your iPhone Off And Back On
When you turn off your iPhone, the operating system shuts down all the little background programs that keep your iPhone running. When you turn your iPhone back on, all those little background programs start fresh, and sometimes that’s enough to fix asimple software glitch.
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How Do I Turn My iPhone Off And Back On?
- Press and hold the power button (iPhones without Face ID) or the side button and either volume button (iPhones with Face ID)until "slide to power off" appears on the screen.
- Use your finger to swipe thered power icon across the screen from left to right.
- Wait for your iPhone to turn all the way off. This may take up to 30 seconds.
- To turn your iPhone on again, press and hold the power button (iPhones without Face ID) or side button (iPhones with Face ID) again until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
- Let go of thepower button or side button and wait for your iPhone to turn on.
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2.
Turn On Bluetooth On Your iPhone
Turning on Bluetooth allows you to connect your iPhone to Bluetooth devices such as AirPods, keyboards, speakers, and more.
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How Do I Turn On Bluetooth On My iPhone?
There are three ways to turn on Bluetooth on your iPhone:
How To Turn On Bluetooth In The Settings App
- Open the Settings app.
- TapBluetooth to open the Bluetooth menu.
- If the switch next toBluetooth is green, then Bluetooth is already turned on.
- If the switch next to Bluetooth is gray, tap the switch with your finger to turn Bluetooth on.
How To Turn On Bluetooth In Control Center
- Open Control by swiping up from below the bottom of the screen (iPhones without Face ID) or down from the upper right-hand corner of the screen (iPhones with Face ID).
- To turn on Bluetooth, tap the Bluetooth icon,which looks like a "B" made of triangles. If the icon is highlighted in blue, then Bluetooth is already turned on.
How To Turn On Bluetooth Using Siri
- Open Siri by pressing and holding the Home button (iPhones without Face ID) or side button (iPhones with Face ID) until Siri appears, or say, "Hey Siri."
- Say, "Turn on Bluetooth." Siri will tell you if Bluetooth is already turned on.
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3.
Update Your iPhone Software In Settings
Apple putsout new software updates to improve efficiency, fix bugs, and introduce new features. Updating iOScan fix problems with your iPhone's software.
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How Do I Update My iPhone Software In Settings?
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Tap Software Update.
- Tap Download and Install or Install Now.
- Enter your passcode if prompted.
- The update will begin onceit has been verified.
- The update is complete after your iPhone restarts.
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4.
Set Up AirPods Max With iPhone
AirPods Max are not like your average pair of Bluetooth headphones. Like the original AirPods and AirPods Pro, these over-ear headphones are designed to connect seamlessly to your iPhone.
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How Do I Set Up AirPods Max With iPhone?
- Go to theHome screen on your iPhone.
- Remove your AirPods Max from the Smart Case.
- Hold your AirPods Max next to your iPhone until an AirPods Max pop-up appears on your device's screen.
- TapConnecton your iPhone.
- Tap See & Hear How It Works to configure more AirPods settings.
- TapDone.
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5.
Charge Your AirPods Max
Lack of battery life is a common reason why AirPods Max won't work. If your AirPods Max don't have any power, they won't be able to connect to your iPhone or other device!
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How Do I Charge My AirPods Max?
- Plug a Lightning cable into the Lightning port in the right AirPods Max ear cup.
- Plug the other side of the Lightning cable into a power source, such as a wall charger or a computer's USB port.
- Keep your AirPods Max plugged in to let them charge for a while.
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6.
Clean Your AirPods Max And Charging Case
It's possible that your AirPods Max stopped working normally because they're too dirty. When dirt or debris gets stuck in the wrong place, it can interfere with the charging process and wireless connection.
Keeping your AirPods Max and Smart Case clean are a great way to make sure they continue to operate normally for a long time. Before you start the cleaning process, remember that these tips only apply to the outside of your AirPods Max! Do not wipe down your AirPods Max ear cups or Lightning port this way.
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How Do I Clean My AirPods Max And Charging Case?
Cleaning The Surface Of Your AirPods Max
- Grab a dry, lint-free cloth.
- Wipe down the surface area of your AirPods Max.
- For more persistent smudges on the exterior surface of your AirPods Max, try using a Clorox wipe or a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe.
Cleaning The Smart Case
- Grab a dry, lint-free cloth.
- Wipe the inside and outside of the Smart Case with the cloth.
- For more persistent smudges and debris, try using a Clorox wipe or a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe.
Cleaning The Lightning Port
- Grab an anti-static brush or a brand new toothbrush.
- Scrape any lint, gunk, or debris out of the Lightning port.
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7.
Make Sure Your AirPods Max Are Within Range Of Your iPhone
Once your AirPods Max get too far away from your iPhone, audio quality can drop significantly. Songs may sound like they're skipping, and your phone calls may break up.
If you're having trouble with your AirPods Max, it's possible you just need to bring them closer to your iPhone.
How Do I Make Sure My AirPods Max Are Within Range Of My iPhone?
- Put your AirPods Max over your ears.
- Locate your iPhone.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- TapBluetooth.
- Under My Devices,make sure your AirPods Max are listed as Connected.
- Holding your iPhone, begin playing some audio. With both devices so close, this should rule out whether or not range is the problem.
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8.
Put Your AirPods Max In Bluetooth Pairing Mode
AirPods Max are supposed to connect to iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices seamlessly, but that doesn't always happen. Putting your AirPods Max in pairing mode can sometimes fix the problem when the connection doesn't happen automatically.
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How Do I Put My AirPods Max In Bluetooth Pairing Mode?
- Take your AirPods Max out of the Smart Case.
- Press and hold the Noise Control button.
- Keep holding this button until the status light begins flashing white.
- Let go of the Noise Control button. Your AirPods Max are now in Bluetooth Pairing mode.
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9.
Manually Pair Your AirPods Max With Your iPhone
Sometimes minor Bluetooth or software problems can prevent your iPhone and AirPods Max from pairing as they're designed to. Manually pairing your devices is a quick workaround when they won't connect automatically.
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How Do I Manually Pair My AirPods Max With My iPhone?
- Press and hold the Noise Control button on AirPods Max.
- Continue holding the Noise Control button until the Status Light blinks white.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Tap on AirPods Maxin your list ofDevices.
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10.
Make Sure Your AirPods Max Are Connected To The Right Device
AirPods Max can quickly pair to any device connected to your iCloud account. This means that sometimes it may connect to the wrong one. It's possible your AirPods Max won't connect to your iPhone or iPad because they're already connected to one of your other devices.
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How Do I Make Sure My AirPods Max Are Connected To The Right Device?
On iPhone And iPad
- Open Settingson your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Look at your list of Bluetooth accessories under Devices.
- Make sure it says Connected to the right of your AirPods Max.
- If your AirPods Max are labelled Not Connected, find the other devices connected to your iCloud account.
- Turn offBluetoothon the other devices.
- Select your AirPods Max underDeviceson your iPhone or iPad to try pairing them again.
On Mac
- Click on the Bluetooth icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
- Click Bluetooth Preferences.
- Make sure it says Connected next to your AirPods Max.
- If your AirPods Max are labelled Not Connected, find the other devices connected to your iCloud account.
- Turn offBluetoothon the other devices.
- Go back to Bluetooth Preferences on your Mac and select your AirPods Max.
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11.
Turn Bluetooth Off And Back On Again
Turning Bluetooth off and back on again is sometimes enough to fix minor connectivity issuesbetweenyour iPhone and Bluetooth devices.
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How Do I Turn Bluetooth Off And Back On Again?
There are three ways to turn Bluetooth off and back on:
InThe Settings App
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Bluetooth.
- Tap the green switch next to Bluetooth to turn it off. You'll know Bluetooth is off when the switch is gray.
- Tap the switch again to turn Bluetooth back on. You'll the Bluetooth is on when the switch turns green.
InControl Center
- Open Control Center by swiping up from below the bottom of the screen (iPhones without Face ID) or down from the upper right-hand corner of the screen (iPhones with Face ID).
- Tapap the Bluetooth icon, which looks like a "B" made of triangles. You'll know Bluetooth is off when the icon is black with a gray background.
- To turn Bluetooth back on, tap the Bluetooth icon once again. You'll know Bluetooth is on when the icon is white with a blue background.
Using Siri
- Open Siri by pressing and holding theHome button (iPhones without Face ID) or the side button (iPhones with Face ID) until Siri appears, or by saying, "Hey Siri."
- To turn off Bluetooth, say,"Turn off Bluetooth."
- To turn Bluetooth back on, say,"Turn on Bluetooth."
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12.
Reset Network Settings
When your iPhone connects to a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth device for the first time, it saves information about how to connect to that network or device. If something changes with that process, it may cause connectivity issues.
Deep software problems, especially with network settings, can be difficult to track down. Rather than trying to track an issue down, we're going to reset all network settings and give your iPhone a fresh start.
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How Do I Reset Network Settings?
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General.
- Scroll down and tap Transfer Or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Reset.
- Tap Reset Network Settings.
- Enter your passcode if prompted.
- Your iPhone will shut down, reset, and turn itself on again when the reset is complete.
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13.
DFU Restore Your iPhone
A DFU restore has the potential to fix software problems by completely erasing the code which may be causing your problem. The code is rewritten as ifyour iPhone is brand new, so the software problem may get solved.
Think of it like a house that has cracks in the foundation. Rather than try and fix the cracks, we are building an entirely new foundation.
If you can, back up your iPhone before completing a DFU restore. Any timeyou do a restore, it erases everything from your iPhone. However, after the restore is completed, you restore all your backed up data back onto your iPhone.
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How Do I DFU Restore My iPhone?
How To DFU Restore An iPhone SE, 6s, Or Older
- Using a Lightning cable, plug your iPhone into a USB port on your computer.
- OpeniTunesif you have a PC or Mac running Mojave 10.14 or earlier. OpenFinder if you have a Mac running Catalina 10.15 or newer.It doesn’t matter if your iPhone is on or off.
- Press and hold the Home button and the power button simultaneously.
- After 8 seconds, release the powerbutton, butcontinue to hold the Home button.
- Let go of the power button when your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder.
- Your iPhone’s display will be completely black if you’ve successfully entered DFU mode. If it’s not, try again from the beginning.
- Restore your iPhone using iTunes or Finder.
How To DFU Restore An iPhone 7 Or 7 Plus
- Using a Lightning cable, plug your iPhone into a USB port on your computer.
- OpeniTunesif you have a PC or Mac running Mojave 10.14 or earlier. OpenFinder if you have a Mac running Catalina 10.15 or newer.It doesn’t matter if your iPhone is on or off.
- Press and hold the power andvolume down button simultaneously.
- After 8 seconds, release the power button, but continue to hold thevolume down button.
- Release the volume down button when your iPhone appears in iTunes or Finder.
- You'll know your iPhone is in DFU mode if the display is completely black.
- Restore your iPhone using iTunes or Finder.
How To DFU Restore An iPhone 8 Or Newer
- Connect your iPhone to your computer using a charging cable.
- Open iTunes (PCs and Macs running macOS 10.14 or older) or Finder (Macs running macOS 10.15 or newer).
- Quickly press and release the volume up button.
- Quickly press and release the volume down button.
- Press and hold the side button until the screen goes black.
- When the screen goes black, press and hold the volume down button while continuing to press and hold the side button.
- Hold both buttons for five seconds.
- After five seconds, release the side button while continuing to hold the volume down button.
- Keep holding the volume down button until your iPhone appears in Finder or iTunes.
- Restore your iPhone using iTunes or Finder.
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14.
Repair Your AirPods Max With Apple
When you've completely ruled out a software problem, it's a good idea to contact Apple support to see if they can fix a potential hardware problem.
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How Do I Repair My AirPods Max With Apple?
- Visit Apple's support website.
- Click AirPods.
- Click the option that most accurately describes the problem you're experiencing.
- Choose a support option.
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AirPods Max: Paired To Your iPhone!
You've fixed the problem and your AirPods Max are connecting to your iPhone again.
Next time your AirPods Max won't connect to your iPhone, you'll know exactly how to fix the problem.
Leave a comment down below if you have any other questions!