Here's how to pair the AirPods 4 with pretty much anything

I woke up a little worse for wear on New Year's Day, and found myself couch-bound, looking for something to do that didn't require a lot of effort. I decided to restart Breath of the Wild on the Switch, but because my wife was listening to music, I needed to use some headphones.

I grabbed the AirPods 4 with ANC and tried to pair them with Nintendo's portable console, but couldn't get it to work. It was so much easier with previous generations of AirPods with the big obvious setup button on the case.

The AirPods 4 doesn't have that button. And because I used them exclusively with the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max during my review, I hadn't come across this little hurdle before.

Fortunately, it turns out to be really easy to put the AirPods 4 into pairing mode, but you have to know how to do it. That's what this guide is for.

How to connect AirPods 4 to a Nintendo Switch

1. Grab your Switch, head to the settings menu (the Gear icon on the bottom right of the home screen) and select the Bluetooth Audio option at the bottom of the list.
2. Choose Pair Device in the menu.
3. Grab your AirPods 4 and open the lid. Then double-tap just below the light on the front of the case. This puts the AirPods into pairing mode.
4. Your AirPods should now appear on the Switch as an option. Select it and the earbuds should connect automatically.

After you've paired the AirPods to the Switch for the first time, it should be a much easier process in the future. Instead of pairing your earphones, you can just select the AirPods from the saved headphones list, and it should connect automatically.

How to connect AirPods 4 with an Android phone

1. Head to the Bluetooth settings on your Android device. Every model is slightly different in how to get there, but you can usually swipe down from the top of the phone and access Bluetooth from there. You may need to choose to pair a new device.
2. Open the lid of your AirPods 4 and while the light is illuminated, double-tap just below the light on the case. It should start flashing white to indicate it's in pairing mode.
3. Select your AirPods from the list of available devices on your Android phone. A box will pop up asking you to confirm the connection. Select Yes, and then you should be good to go.

Once the Bluetooth connection is made, the AirPods should automatically pair to the Android phone when you put them on in the future. If they don't you should be able to select a manual connection in the phone's Bluetooth settings by selecting them.

How to connect AirPods 4 to an iPhone

One of the beauties of Apple's AirPods is how seamlessly they connect to other Apple devices. There is no navigating to settings to initiate a pairing request, like with the situations listed above.

1. Open your AirPods 4 case next to your unlocked iPhone. A window will appear at the bottom of the screen, with a picture of the AirPods case and a prompt to Connect.
2. Select Connect
3. That's it!

The other benefit of using AirPods with Apple devices is automatic switching between devices, so you can connect to both your iPhone and MacBook, and effortlessly switch between the two.

How to connect AirPods 4 to a Windows Laptop

1. Head to the Bluetooth menu, found it the bottom right of the Start bar, and make sure Bluetooth is switched on.
2. Open the AirPods 4, and double tap the front of the case below the light to put it in pairing mode.
3. On your PC, select your AirPods from the list of available devices in the Bluetooth menu.

Frequently asked questions