How to connect AirPods to a Chromebook

Wondering how you can connect your AirPods to a Chromebook to listen to your favorite music, podcasts, or audiobooks wirelessly? While AirPods, Apple’s wireless earbuds, are known for their seamless integration with Apple devices, they also work perfectly well with other devices such as laptops and Chromebooks. So, to help you get started on enjoying wireless audio on your Chromebook, here’s how you can connect your AirPods to it in just a few simple steps. 

How to connect AirPods to a Chromebook

If you’re struggling to connect your AirPods to your Chromebook, then simply follow the steps below to start enjoying your favorite tunes or podcasts in no time: 

1. Put your AirPods in pairing mode 

Open the lid of your AirPods case lid with both earbuds inside the case, then press and hold down the setup button located on the back of the case for about five seconds. The LED light inside the case should start blinking white. 

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2. Turn on Bluetooth on your Chromebook 

Now, on your Chromebook, click on the time at the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. This will open the Quick Settings panel, where you’ll see your connection settings, including Bluetooth. Click on the Bluetooth icon and make sure Bluetooth is turned on. Then, click the ‘+’ symbol to start pairing it with your AirPods. 

3. Connect your AirPods 

Click ‘Pair new device’ to launch a window with instructions for pairing devices to your Chromebook. You’ll see all available devices in range. Click on your AirPods to start pairing. If you don’t see them listed, ensure they’re in pairing mode (flashing white).  

4. Confirm the pairing 

You may see a prompt on your Chromebook asking you to confirm the pairing. Click on ‘Yes’ to connect your AirPods. Once connected, the window will close automatically, and you’ll receive a notification confirming the successful connection of your AirPods. 

And Voila! Your AirPods should now be connected to your Chromebook. Once your AirPods are connected, you should see them listed under ‘Connected devices’ in the Bluetooth settings. You can now use your AirPods to listen to audio on your Chromebook. However, while you can connect AirPods to a Chromebook and enjoy basic functionalities, there are a few features you won’t have access to compared to using them with Apple devices. 

Things to keep in mind while connecting AirPods to a Chromebook

Firstly, unlike iPhones where playback pauses when you remove an AirPod, Chromebooks won’t automatically detect this.

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You’ll need to manually pause playback through the Chromebook itself. Additionally, you won’t see the individual battery charge level for each AirPod or the charging case on your Chromebook and some fancy audio features like Spatial Audio won’t be available.  

Even without these perks though, you’ll still be able to enjoy the AirPods’ excellent sound quality and noise cancellation capabilities while listening to music, podcasts, and more on your Chromebook.