What Do the Blue and Red Lights on AirPods Mean?

Understanding the AirPods LED Light Indicators

AirPods have three possible colors: white, amber, and green. Amber kind of looks like orange, but you may mistake it for red depending on the lighting. The AirPods lights could either be steady or flashing. The color, as well as whether the light is flashing or steady, indicates the meaning.

Note that genuine AirPods do NOT flash blue. If your AirPods have a blue light, you probably have counterfeit AirPods.

What Does a Red and Blue Blinking Light on AirPods Mean?

What Do the Blue and Red Lights on AirPods Mean? 2 — What Does a Red and Blue Blinking Light on AirPods Mean?

If you have a blue blinking light on your AirPods, you have fake AirPods. Genuine AirPods do not flash blue. Since it’s not genuine AirPods, we can’t tell you for sure what the meaning is, as it depends on the manufacturer – it could mean anything. Similarly, genuine AirPods usually flash amber, not red, although some people may confuse the two colors.

It’s also important to note that genuine AIirPods don’t have flashing lights on the AirPods themselves. Instead, the light is on the case, not the actual AirPods. If your AirPods have red, blue, or other lights on the AirPods themselves, they’re probably fake.

The light on the AirPods case is on the front of the case on most models. On Lightning Charging Cases for AirPods 1 and 2, it is inside the case between the two AirPods; open the lid to see it.

What Does a Flashing Amber Light on AirPods Case Mean?

If your AirPods case is flashing amber, it usually means your AirPods have encountered an error. This could be a firmware error or some other sort of issue that is preventing your AirPods from pairing or functioning properly.

In that case, you’ll want to reset your AirPods. Follow these steps:

Put your AirPods in their case.
Wait at least 30 seconds.
Open the lid of the case but leave the AirPods inside.
Do the following:
1. On most AirPods, press and hold the setup button on the back of the case for 15 seconds until the status light flashes amber and then white.
2. On AirPods 4, which doesn’t have a setup button, double-tap the front of the case three times. The first time, it will flash white. The second time, it will flash faster. The third time, it will flash amber and then white.
Reconnect your AirPods.

On the other hand, if your AirPods case is flashing white, it usually means your AirPods are ready to pair with a device.

What Does a Green or Amber Light on AirPods Indicate?

A green light indicates a full charge, while an amber light indicates a less than full charge.

If your AirPods are inside the case, the status light refers to the battery level of your AirPods. If the AirPods are outside the case, it refers to the battery level of the case itself. In either instance, green indicates a fully charged, while amber indicates there is less than a full charge.

How to Fix AirPods Not Charging Properly

If your AirPods are not charging properly, try the following tips.

Reset AirPods: Reset your AirPods using the instructions mentioned earlier.
Check the charging cable and port: Make sure you are using an Apple certified charger. Try a different cable or charger or outlet.
Clean the charging case and AirPods: Use a soft cloth to clean the case and AirPods.

How to Identify Fake AirPods Using LED Light Colors

It’s not always possible to identify fake AirPods using the LED light colors alone. However, it’s important to remember the genuine AirPods have only amber, white, and green lights on the case and no lights on the AirPods themselves. A blue light, for example, indicates the AirPods are genuine.

On the other hand, fake AirPods may also have amber, green, and white lights, so the fact that the lights are those colors also doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a genuine pair of AirPods.

However, there are other ways to verify the authenticity of a pair of AirPods, such as entering the serial number on checkcoverage.apple.com.

Conclusion

We hope this clears up any confusion about what the lights on your AirPods mean. To summarize, green means fully charged, steady amber means less than fully charged, flashing white means ready to pair, and flashing amber means an error. If there’s a blue light, it’s probably a fake.