With the first wave of AirPods Max orders now arriving into the hands of customers, as always there are bound to be a few hiccups encountered when trying to connect and use the over-ear headphones with different devices for the first time.

airpods max pairing
If you're experiencing issues, the first thing you should do before anything else is reset the headphones and see if that resolves the problem. If that doesn't work, or if you've decided to return the headphones, you can reset them to factory settings and unpair them from your iCloud account.

How to Reset AirPods Max

  1. Before you reset your ‌AirPods Max‌, make sure they have some charge by plugging them into a charging point via the supplied USB-C to Lightning Cable.
  2. Press and hold the Noise Control button and the Digital Crown until the LED status light at the bottom of the right-hand earcup flashes amber.

If that doesn't solve your problem, you can reset the ‌AirPods Max‌ to factory settings. If you go down that route to return the headphones to Apple, remember to unpair them from your ‌iCloud‌ account.

airpods max digital crown

How to Reset AirPods Max to Factory Settings

  1. Make sure the headphones have some charge by plugging them into a charging point via the supplied USB-C to Lightning Cable.
  2. Press and hold the Noise Control button and the Digital Crown for 15 seconds, until the LED status light at the bottom of the right-hand earcup flashes amber, then white.

If neither of these options work to resolve your particular problem, contact Apple Support.

There are a couple of other notable customization options with the ‌AirPods Max‌ that are worth knowing about. You can reverse the direction of the Digital Crown volume controls, and also customize the mode selection of the Noise Control button.

Related Roundup: AirPods Max
Buyer's Guide: AirPods Max (Caution)
Related Forum: AirPods

Top Rated Comments

RPhoto Avatar
43 months ago

Wait - so you can remove them from your iCloud account (removing activation lock) just by pressing the buttons on the headset, without entering your iCloud password at any point? That's not great for something that costs £550!
No, I think it's just been worded badly/confusingly.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Franjelisco Avatar
43 months ago

Wait - so you can remove them from your iCloud account (removing activation lock) just by pressing the buttons on the headset, without entering your iCloud password at any point? That's not great for something that costs £550!
There is no activation lock in Airpods. You can use stolen Airpods just fine.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
43 months ago

No, I think it's just been worded badly/confusingly.
Yeah, looks like its been edited. Phew, that would have made them a thief magnet! Mind you, the case might
make thieves too embarrassed to be seen with them. People might think the thief's stolen somebody's bra which I think has a substantially harsher punishment.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
iPhone 15 General Feature Green

Apple Says These New iOS Features Are Coming Later This Year

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:45 am PDT by
Apple has previously announced three new iOS features that it said are coming to the iPhone later this year, as outlined below. The new features include the ability to install iPhone apps on the web in the EU, RCS support in the Messages app, and next-generation CarPlay. Web Distribution Apple recently announced that eligible developers will soon be able to distribute their iOS apps to ...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue Face ID Single Camera Hole

Seven Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 17

Tuesday March 19, 2024 5:20 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models concurrently, which is why we sometimes get rumored feature leaks so far ahead of launch. The iPhone 17 series is no different, and already we have some idea of what to expect from Apple's 2025 smartphone lineup. If you plan to skip...
maxresdefault

iOS 18 Rumored to Feature 'More Customizable' Home Screen

Sunday March 24, 2024 7:10 am PDT by
iOS 18 will feature a revamped Home Screen that is "more customizable," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He revealed this information in his Power On newsletter today, but he did not provide any specific details. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple will announce iOS 18 at its annual developers conference WWDC in June. Other features and changes rumored for...
combine images

Top Stories: iOS 18's Generative AI Features to Rely on Google?, Latest on New iPads, and More

Saturday March 23, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
We're getting closer to the launch of new iPad Pro and iPad Air models, while rumors about iOS 18 are continuing to ramp up with this week's surprise revelation that Apple has been talking to Google and others about potentially helping power the generative AI features expected to be a major part of this year's update. Other news this week saw the release of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1...