How to track and find lost Beats headphones

Years after its $3 billion takeover deal, Apple now has many, many Beats headphones under its wing. It does reserve some of the best features for AirPods, but if a Beats product uses one of Apple’s W- or H-series chips — like the Beats Fit Pro — it isn’t just easy to set up with an Apple device, but potentially much easier to track if it gets lost or stolen. Here’s how to find and track lost Beats headphones.

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How to find lost Beats

If you have a pair of Beats headphones with a W- or H-series chip — such as the Powerbeats Pro, Studio Pro, Studio Buds +, or Beats Fit Pro — you’re mostly good to go. The only other requirement is the right version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS. The minimums used to be iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5, and macOS 11.3 (Ventura), but listed requirements seem to vary from product to product — the Studio Pro requires iOS 16.5, iPadOS 16.5, or macOS 13.4, for example.

If you can update to the latest OS version on your device, you should be fine.

With that taken care of, you can use Apple’s Find My app to locate your Beats just as you would AirPods, AirTags, or other Apple devices linked to your Apple ID. You can also use the iCloud Find My interface on the web.

Using an iPhone or an iPad

Using Find My to locate Powerbeats on an iPhone. — Apple

Follow the steps below :

Make sure your Beats headphones have already been paired with your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. This will link them to your Apple ID.
Open the Find My app — it’s pre-installed, so if it isn’t on your homescreen, it should be in the App Library.
Select the Devices tab at the bottom.
Tap on your Beats. If you can’t see them, swipe up from the bottom to reveal the full list of devices.
If they can be located, your headphones should appear in the app’s map view.
Use the Play Sound or Directions buttons. The first is useful if you’re within hearing range, while the second can guide you if you’re at a completely different address.

Bear in mind that Beats products don’t have GPS or any other real-time location technology. Instead, you’ll get a location based on when something was last pinged by an Apple device you own — so a position could be out-of-date, or simply non-existent if the headphones have been powered down for seven days or more.

Using a Mac

Apple

Assuming your Beats have already been paired with an Apple device:

Open the Find My app.
Click on the Devices tab.
Select your Beats from the list that appears.
If the info is available, you’ll see your headphones’ last known position on a map, along with a timestamp.
Use the Play Sound or Directions buttons, depending on how close you are.

Using iCloud on the web

This option is usually less convenient, but it’s an important fallback in the event one of your primary Apple devices is lost or stolen.

Go to icloud.com/find in a web browser.
Sign in with your Apple ID. You may be prompted to enter a verification code on one of your devices. If you’re missing that device, just click Find Devices.
From the list that appears, select your Beats.
You’ll see its location appear if available, and relevant options, such as Play Sound. You won’t see navigation directions, since Apple Maps doesn’t support them on the web.

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FAQ

Q: How to do I find lost Beats headphones without Find My?

If Find My isn’t an option for whatever reason, you may have luck if you can find the serial number of your Beats and contact Apple Support. The serial number should be on the original box or receipt.

Don’t get your hopes up, however. There isn’t some sort of secret tracking network only visible to Apple — the most the company can (probably) do is alert you if it sees your serial number pop up again, say because your Beats were stolen and re-paired.

Q: Will Beats replace lost headphones?

Not for free. With Beats earbuds, you can pay a reduced fee if you’ve lost a single bud or the charging case, but that’ll still cost you somewhere between $79 and $99 in the US, regardless of whether you have AppleCare+. If you lose everything, or a set of over-the-ear headphones, you’re out of luck — you’ll have to pay full price for a replacement.