How to Connect AirPods to Laptop
Connect AirPods to a Mac, a Windows 11 laptop, or a Chromebook over Bluetooth. Put your model in pairing mode, pair it, pick it as the sound output, and fix a connection that fails.
You will end up with your AirPods paired to your laptop and playing its sound. AirPods pair with any laptop that has Bluetooth, not only a Mac. On a Windows laptop or a Chromebook they work as a Bluetooth headset. You can listen and talk, but you cannot use Siri.
The steps differ by AirPods model and by operating system. Step 1 puts your model in pairing mode, steps 2 to 4 pair it with a Mac, a Windows 11 laptop, or a Chromebook, step 5 sends the sound to the AirPods, and step 6 fixes a connection that fails.
We checked every step against Apple's, Microsoft's, and Google's support pages for macOS 27, Windows 11, and ChromeOS in October 2026.
AirPods (any model) A laptop with Bluetooth The charging case with both AirPods inside (AirPods Max need no case)
Put your AirPods in pairing mode
Every AirPods model pairs with a laptop over Bluetooth. What differs is how you start pairing mode, so find your model below. Steps 2 to 4 tell you when to start it, after Bluetooth is on at the laptop. For AirPods 1, 2, and 3 and AirPods Pro 1 and 2, put both AirPods in the charging case and open the lid. Press and hold the setup button on the back of the case for about 5 seconds, until the status light flashes white. For AirPods 4 (both models), AirPods 5 (both models), and AirPods Pro 3, put both AirPods in the case and open the lid. Double-tap the front of the case until the status light flashes white. These cases have no setup button. For AirPods Max, take them out of the Smart Case. Press and hold the listening mode button for about 5 seconds, until the status light flashes white. The flashing white light means your AirPods are ready to pair. If the light stops flashing before you connect, start pairing mode again.
Good to know: If you already set up your AirPods with your iPhone and your Mac is signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account, skip pairing mode. Apple says the AirPods should connect to that Mac automatically, and step 2 shows where to select them.
Connect to a Mac laptop
If you set up your AirPods with your iPhone and your Mac is signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account, Apple's page on setting up AirPods with a Mac and other Bluetooth devices says they should connect automatically. Put the AirPods in your ears, click Control Center in the menu bar, click Sound, and choose your AirPods from the list. If your AirPods are not in that list, pair them manually. Choose System Settings from the Apple menu and click Bluetooth. Make sure Bluetooth is on. Put the AirPods in pairing mode (step 1). When they appear in the Nearby Devices list, click Connect next to their name. If they still do not connect, check your version of macOS. The same Apple page lists the minimum for each model, including macOS Sequoia for AirPods 4, macOS Tahoe for AirPods Pro 3, and macOS Golden Gate for AirPods 5.
Connect to a Windows laptop
These steps are for Windows 11. Turn Bluetooth on first. Select Start, then Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, and make sure the Bluetooth switch is on. Put your AirPods in pairing mode (step 1). Then follow Microsoft's steps for pairing a Bluetooth device. Select the Network, Sound, or Battery icon next to the time and date on the taskbar. Select the Manage Bluetooth devices chevron on the Bluetooth quick setting, then select your AirPods under New devices. If you do not see New devices, scroll down past Your devices. Follow any instructions that appear, then select Done. From then on, Microsoft says the two connect automatically whenever they are in range of each other and Bluetooth is on. Windows 11 supports AAC, the Bluetooth codec AirPods use for music, and picks it automatically when your PC's Bluetooth supports it. Sound quality still drops whenever an app uses the AirPods microphone, because Windows switches to a lower-quality calling profile. FAQ 2 and FAQ 5 below explain both.
Good to know: If your AirPods are not in the list, change the discovery setting. Select Start, then Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Devices. Under Device settings, set Bluetooth devices discovery to Advanced, which Microsoft says displays all types of Bluetooth devices.
Connect to a Chromebook
Select the time at the bottom right of the screen, select Bluetooth, and turn it on. Put your AirPods in pairing mode (step 1), then select Pair new device. Select your AirPods in the list and follow the on-screen instructions. These are Google's steps for connecting a Chromebook to Bluetooth devices. To confirm the connection, select the time and then Bluetooth again. Your AirPods are listed under "Currently connected." A Chromebook treats every AirPods model as a Bluetooth headset. FAQ 3 below covers noise cancellation on a laptop that is not a Mac.
Set your AirPods as the audio output
If sound still plays from the laptop's speakers after pairing, select the AirPods as the output. On a Mac, click Control Center in the menu bar, click Sound, and make sure your AirPods are selected as the output device. On Windows 11, select the Speakers icon on the taskbar. Select the arrow to the right of the volume slider, which shows the tooltip Select a sound output, and choose your AirPods. On a Chromebook, select the time at the bottom right, then select Audio settings next to the volume slider. Under Output, select your AirPods. The device in use shows a green check. For video calls, also check the microphone and speaker settings inside the calling app.
Fix common connection problems
If your AirPods do not show up in your laptop's Bluetooth list, start with Apple's steps for AirPods that will not connect. Put both AirPods back in the charging case, make sure both are charging, and close the lid. Wait 15 seconds, open the lid, and start pairing mode again (step 1). If they paired before but will not reconnect, remove them and pair again. On a Mac, open System Settings, click Bluetooth, Control-click the AirPods, and click Forget. On Windows 11, select Start, then Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Devices. Select More options next to the AirPods, then Remove device. On Windows 11, run the Bluetooth troubleshooter next. Select Start, then Settings, then System, then Troubleshoot, then Other troubleshooters, and select Run next to Bluetooth. If that does not fix it, update the driver. Open Device Manager, select Bluetooth, right-click the Bluetooth adapter, and select Update driver, then Search automatically for updated driver software. Microsoft calls an outdated or incompatible driver one of the most common causes of Bluetooth connection problems. On a Chromebook, turn Bluetooth off and back on, and move the AirPods closer to the Chromebook. Those are Google's fixes for a Bluetooth device that will not connect or keeps dropping. If none of that works, reset your AirPods to factory settings and pair again. Apple gives the reset as the last step, and it erases the AirPods' pairing information.
Heads up: If your AirPods keep switching to your iPhone or iPad while you use them with your laptop, turn off automatic switching on that device. With the AirPods in your ears and connected to the iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap Bluetooth, and tap the More Info button next to your AirPods. Tap Connect to This iPhone (or iPad), then tap When Last Connected to This iPhone (or iPad).
If the AirPods connect but the laptop stays silent, go back to step 5 and select them as the output. If music sounds flat on Windows while a call or recording app is open, the microphone is the cause, and FAQ 5 below explains it. If the AirPods stop connecting to a laptop they were paired with, remove them and pair again as in step 6. To switch between Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency while you work, our guide on how to use noise cancellation on AirPods covers the modes and the controls on each model. The controls on the AirPods work with a Windows laptop or a Chromebook too, as FAQ 3 below explains.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
No. You listen to one device at a time, and you switch between the laptops you have paired. On a Windows laptop or a Chromebook, select the AirPods in the Bluetooth list of the laptop you want to use. Between Apple devices signed in to the same Apple Account, Apple says AirPods 2 and later, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max switch automatically, for example from music on your Mac to a phone call on your iPhone.
AirPods are designed to use the AAC Bluetooth codec. Microsoft documents AAC support in every version of Windows 11, chosen automatically when both your PC and your AirPods support it. Windows 10 does not support AAC, so AirPods use another codec there, such as SBC, which every Bluetooth audio device has to support. On Windows 11, sound gets worse when an app uses the AirPods microphone, because Windows switches to the calling profile that FAQ 5 below explains.
Yes for Active Noise Cancellation and Transparency mode, because you switch them on the AirPods themselves and not on the laptop. On AirPods Max, press the listening mode button. Apple's AirPods Max page confirms that both modes work with a non-Apple device. On the other models that have Active Noise Cancellation, press and hold the stem until a chime plays. Apple's pages for those models do not mention non-Apple devices either way. What you lose is Siri, which Apple says you cannot use on a non-Apple device, and the settings that live on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, such as choosing which modes the press cycles between.
No. Pairing mode is for the first connection to a new device. After that, Microsoft says a paired Bluetooth device and a Windows PC connect automatically whenever they are in range of each other with Bluetooth on. On a Mac, select the AirPods under Sound in Control Center (step 2). If a laptop stops connecting to AirPods it has paired with before, remove them from its Bluetooth list and pair again (step 6).
Yes. AirPods work as a Bluetooth headset, so you can listen and talk on any laptop. On Windows, the sound quality drops while the microphone is in use, and Microsoft's Bluetooth audio documentation gives the reason. The high-quality stereo profile, A2DP, only carries sound from the PC to the headphones. To use the microphone, Windows has to switch to the Hands-Free Profile, HFP, which carries mono sound in both directions. That applies to any headset that uses classic Bluetooth audio, not only to AirPods.
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