Apple’s AirPods are remarkably efficient when it comes to audio controls. You can easily pause playback on them using multiple ways. Moreover, you can configure them to perform many more actions than just pausing or playing audio. Let’s find out more about how to play around with your AirPods below:
Simplest Way to Pause AirPods
AirPods come with Automatic Ear Detection so they know when you remove them from your ear. To pause playback on your AirPods, simply remove either of the AirPods from your ear and the audio will stop playing. You can resume audio by putting the AirPod back in your ear.
If you find that this method is not working, you can configure it from your Bluetooth settings:
- Head over to Bluetooth in the Settings
- Tap the i button next to your AirPods
- Find Automatic Ear Detection and turn it on
You can also choose to keep Automatic Earn Detection turned off if you want the audio to keep playing even after removing an AirPod. This might help you when you’re multitasking while listening to music on your AirPods.
How to Pause AirPods by Tapping or Pressing
On the AirPods (2nd generation), you can pause playback by double-tapping either of the AirPods. Whereas on the AirPods Pro, you can squeeze the Force Sensor on the stem of either of the AirPods to pause the audio.
It gets a little tricky with the 1st generation AirPods though. By default, they are configured to activate Siri on a double-tap. But you can configure them to pause playback in the Settings:
- Head over to Bluetooth in the Settings
- Tap the i button next to your AirPods
- Under Double-Tap on AirPods, choose the Play/Pause option.
Use Siri to Pause AirPods
You can always use your trusted assistant to pause playback, or do any number of things for you. To pause audio using Siri, you need to activate it first. This works differently, depending on the generation of AirPods you have.
- On AirPods (2nd generation) and AirPods Pro, you simply need to say “Hey Siri” and ask it to pause the audio.
- On AirPods (1st generation), you need to configure either of the AirPods to access Siri on a double-tap, and then say “Hey Siri” and ask it to pause the audio.
Use Play/Pause on your Connected Apple Device
Lastly, you can always use the Apple device you’re using to listen to music or a podcast or any other audio, to pause playback on your AirPods. On your iPhone or iPad, for example, you can use the play/pause button in the Control Center to pause the audio.
If you’ve connected your Mac to your AirPods, you can simply press F8 on your keyboard to pause playback.
So now you’ve hopefully mastered controlling your AirPods and configuring them to do your bidding, no matter the device you’re connected to.