How to pause AirPods

Apple AirPods have no buttons, so we can understand why trying to figure out how they work may be a bit confusing. Today, we’ll show you how to pause your AirPods. There are actually multiple methods!

Pause AirPods by removing one AirPod

AirPods can sense when they are in your ear and when you remove them. This feature is Automatic Ear Detection. It makes it so that audio pauses if you remove one of your AirPods from your ear. If you put it back in, the audio will play again. If you remove both, audio will play from the phone’s speaker.

Automatic Ear Detection is turned on by default, but it can be turned off. If the feature was turned off for any reason, follow these steps to turn it back on.

How to turn on AirPods Automatic Ear Detection:

1. Put your AirPods in your ears and ensure they are connected to your iPhone.
2. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
3. Tap on your AirPods.
4. Turn on Automatic Ear Detection.

Pause AirPods by using the double-tap gesture

If you’re rocking either the first-generation or second-generation AirPods, these use the double-tap gesture to pause or play audio by default. If you try this, and the feature doesn’t work, chances are you modified the option at some point. Here is how to change it back.

How to set double-tap to play or pause on first-gen and second-gen AirPods:

1. Put your AirPods in your ears and ensure they are connected to your iPhone.
2. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
3. Go into Bluetooth.
4. Find your AirPods and tap on the i icon next to them.
5. Under the Double-Tap on AirPod section, select either Left or Right.
6. Select Play/Pause.

Pause your AirPods by using the force sensor

Newer and higher-end AirPods use a force sensor for gestures, as opposed to tapping actions. The force sensor is available in third-generation AirPods, as well as first-gen and second-gen AirPods Pro. If you have any of these, just press the force sensor once to pause or play audio.

Pause your AirPods by asking Siri

All AirPods except the first-generation AirPods support Siri voice commands. If yours do, simply say “Hey Siri” and say ” pause” or “play” right after.

If you use the first-generation AirPods, you can still use Siri, but you will need to set it as the double-tap action.

How to set double-tap to launch Siri on first-generation AirPods:

1. Put your AirPods in your ears and ensure they are connected to your iPhone.
2. On your iPhone, launch the Settings app.
3. Go into Bluetooth.
4. Find your AirPods and tap on the i icon next to them.
5. Under the Double-Tap on AirPod section, select either Left or Right.
6. Select Use Siri.

If you are not a fan of Siri, we also have a guide for turning Siri off on your AirPods.

How else can you pause your AirPods?

Aside from all the methods to play/pause from your AirPods, you can use your connected device to play/pause your audio. If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, you can launch the player and pause or play. There are also the usual music controls on the iOS lock screen and control center. If you own an Apple Watch, you may find it easier to simply use it to control your music.

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