How to Check if Airpods are Fake

Like with most expensive tech, many Apple products are being copied and sold as originals. This includes Airpods, probably the best wireless earbuds in the world. Because of their massive popularity, there are people who manufacture counterfeit Airpods and sell them as originals.

Be sure to take good care before you purchase any Airpods or Airpods 2. If you don’t buy them directly from Apple you could get scammed. Even Amazon isn’t the safest place to get Airpods anymore, because some resellers are scammers themselves.

Keep reading our guide for checking if your Airpods are fake or real.

Indicators of Fake Airpods

If you bought your Airpods from Apple or an official reseller, you’ve got nothing to worry about. However, if you got them from a third-party reseller on Amazon, eBay or another online marketplace, you might have cause for concern.

These resellers don’t necessarily sell fakes, but you should test the authenticity of your Airpods just to be sure. This you can do yourself, taking a very close look at the following:

The Serial Number on the Case

If you doubt the authenticity of your Airpods, make sure to check their serial number first. Use the official Apple website, where you can obtain a thorough history of your Airpods, if they’re genuine.

You can see the valid purchase date, the repairs and service coverage, as well as the telephone number for technical support. None of that info will be available if your serial number doesn’t check out.

The serial number can be found under the lid of the charger. But the format of this writing is tiny. If you can’t see anything, there’s an alternative way of checking the serial number.

Connect the Airpods to your iOS device (iPad or iPhone) and go to Settings, General, About, and finally Airpods. This is the best way to check if Airpods are fake. That said, some smart scammers will replace only the Airpods with fakes while leaving a branded case.

However, you can identify a fake case as well. Use the official Apple site and compare your case with the one displayed there. If you notice a difference, it’s likely you’ve got a fake case, along with fake Airpods.

Other Indicators

The serial number is the best indicator of an original product. However, if you can’t check the serial number for any reason, here are some other possible indicators that will tell you if the Airpods you have are fake.

The connection between the original AIrpods and an iOS device is seamless. They should connect immediately, unlike fakes that make you use a manual Bluetooth connection.

The size is often an easy giveaway since clones are often larger than the originals. The Airpods are always white, so if your Airpods are colored differently, you’ve got a fake.

The audio quality and battery life are both much worse with counterfeit Airpods. Also, a wireless charging case is unique to the Airpods 2. If you have this version, be sure to keep that in mind.

You can also check for oddities, both in physical characteristics and the packaging of your Airpods. Any unusual buttons or additional parts on your device can be a giveaway. Foreign letters on the packaging or text not related to Apple or Airpods can also be proof of a copy.

Any weird lighting can also serve as a pointer that you have a fake. Additional lights or LED lights can prove it too. Some fakes also have magnets inside the case that hold them in place.

Finally, you should think of the price of your Airpods. It’s reasonable for the price to drop if you’re buying a used pair, but be cautious. Any absurd prices (e.g. $30 dollars) may indicate that a product is fake and not an original.

Check the official Apple website for current prices of Airpods and Airpods 2. Compare them to the price you paid, or you’re about to pay. If you still haven’t made the purchase, it’s better not to because you can’t get original Airpods for a low price.

Be Careful and Avoid Fakes

One final word of advice: be on the lookout when purchasing Airpods. The high price isn’t just a show of status, but reflects the cost of high-end parts that work great. You’ll notice the difference instantly if you’ve used an original pair of Airpods before.

They have a much better battery life, connectivity, and other features than a fake. Only buy Airpods from Apple and official resellers to ensure that you don’t get scammed. If you have any additional comments, post them in the comments section below.