Apple hasn’t been able to track which AirPods are mine, which could point to a larger problem with iCloud’s ability to ensure the reliability of devices linked to their own devices via IDs. only
You can have heard about brouhaha via Apple’s AirTag device in recent months. This lightweight tag, which Apple sells for $29, can be clipped to almost any item to keep track of anything. They can also be glued to something, or simply tucked into a pocket or purse.
As a result, malicious parties have used the device in some cases to track people, prompting Apple to take measures to warn its customers when it detects an AirTag in the presence of a possible person. installed by a malicious party, such as in a book. the bag.
I’ve been experiencing a curious and concerning phenomenon in recent weeks: Apple mistakenly thought my tool was spying on me.
I’ve received a message on my iPad mini’s screen many times that says “AirPods Pro detected: AirPods Pro have been moving with you for a while. Owners can see its location. You can play a sound to find it”. The alert, the first time it shows up, gives you options to let the alert run or turn it off.
The point of the caveat is that just like AirTags, other i-devices, including AirPods, can be slipped into someone’s pocket or bag and used as a tracking device to track that person’s movements. .
Also: Apple plans to make it easier to find unwanted AirTags
However, in this case, the warning is completely false. This is my AirPods Pro, which I’ve had for years now as I can verify using my iPad to play audio on the AirPods.
Apple tech doesn’t know these are my own AirPods. The strange behavior started showing up in February.
I am not alone in experiencing this annoying confusion warning. The AirPods Support User Forum shows a number of individuals in recent months with the same frustrations.
“Annoying warning from Find My iPhone,” write Fufi1973 on April 18, on the Apple discussion forums.
Fufi continued,
I keep getting warnings that an AirPods Pro I carry isn’t mine. I have tried forgetting it and resetting it many times. It still happens several times a day. I’m annoyed. I get it on my phone and iPad every time I open the case and use my AirPods. I play the sound to make sure it’s really mine and it’s really mine.
There are many examples of this.
“I have my airpods and they connect to my phone but a message pops up saying air pod experts detected near you and they are my airpod so what do I do to reset it they?” write Manny321_13 on April 12.
Users have also reported issues with their AirTags not being recognized.
Also: Lose Apple’s iCloud and you lose more space
“I kept getting a notification that the air tag was near me, but it turned out to be mine. Shouldn’t my phone know the difference?” write Joe Thomas 3 on February 8th.
In each of these cases, the suggestions given were to reset the device, the AirTag, or the AirPods, whatever was misbehaving.
It’s ironic, since many entries in Apple’s AirPods support user forum fall under the “Lost My AirPods” category, asking for help finding AirPods. (Note: to intentionally track your own AirPods, you must have an iCloud account and have the “Find My” feature enabled for the AirPods in question.)
Also: Apple closed my iCloud account for five days, no warning, no explanation, no reason
Many of Apple’s public relations questions went unanswered at press time. It is worth noting that Apple has posted a promising note “a series of updates that we plan to roll out later this year”, including something like “accuracy detection” for AirTags and “Tweaking unwanted tracking alert logic”.
Notes do not mention unwanted warnings.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Apple’s software isn’t always able to recognize my AirPods as my own. In my experience, the way the AirPods connect – or don’t connect – is a frequent cause of frustration.
Also: Remember when Apple seemed to know about their own products?
I have an iPhone, a MacBook, two iPad Pros, and an iPad mini. They all want, at certain times, to keep AirPods as their bluetooth output device.
This can lead to real comedy when my device do not want to use grab the AirPods, thus blocking it from the device I actually want to use the device on.
A frequent example is when I walk out of the house, with my iPhone in my pocket, one of my AirPods, and I say, “Hey, Siri, call Tommy.” I don’t know, the AirPods were supposed to connect without my knowledge, to my MacBook instead of my phone.
And so the message I get is that Siri can’t make calls right now. Then I had to take out my iPhone and select the AirPod for it to connect.
As a result, AirPods have a lot of options, but no idea what you really want to do.
Also: One thing Apple is certain to announce at WWDC (and four more that are almost certain to happen)
What can one conclude? The fact that the same problem occurs in multiple device types, both AirTags and AirPods, suggests a larger problem than individual device types. Furthermore, the fact that the problem occurs intermittently indicates that something is periodically breaking.
And the fact that AirTags and AirPods are linked to their owners by iCloud through a unique ID suggests that the problem isn’t a bluetooth issue and more of an issue with iCloud services. It is conceivable that iCloud is periodically losing the association between devices and unique identifiers.
It’s all just conjecture. Without Apple’s response, we can only guess. Apple will hold its annual developer eventWWDC, on June 6-10. Maybe that can bring some clarity.
