The AirPods wireless headphones are designed for use with other Apple products, but that doesn’t mean you cannot use them on your Windows 10 PC or laptop. However, some users may encounter a problem when Airpods Mic is Not Working on Windows 10. If you are among these users, we will try to help you and tell you a few ways to solve this problem.
Make sure the device is plugged in correctly
Connecting AirPods to your Windows computer is not intuitive and can be difficult because you need to use the charging case that comes with the headphones. To connect AirPods to your laptop or personal computer properly, follow these steps:
- Put the headphones into the charging case and make sure they are charged.
- Open the case without removing the headphones from it.
- Press and hold the round button on the back of the charging case for a few seconds until the LED flashes white.
- Open Bluetooth settings in Windows 10 by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the taskbar or searching for the word “Bluetooth” in the taskbar’s search box. Click the “Bluetooth & Other devices” option when it appears.
- Click on the “Add Bluetooth or another device” option.
- Select the first line on the “Add a device” page.
- Select your wireless headphones from the list of detected devices. After a few seconds, you will see a message notifying you that you have successfully paired and connected your AirPods to your personal computer.
Then take the wireless headphones out of the charging case, put them into your ears, and enjoy the sound. If you get a connection error message, restart your computer and repeat the step-by-step instructions above.
If the connection was successful, but there is no sound on the AirPods, open Settings — System — Sound and ensure the headphones are selected as an input and output device.
Reconnect the AirPods to your computer
If you’ve already done the pairing, the Apple headphones should automatically reconnect to your PC after a few seconds every time you take them out of the case. If they don’t work for some reason, you need to reconnect them:
- Open the Bluetooth settings on your Windows 10 computer.
- Scroll down to the “Audio” section of the “Bluetooth & Other devices” list and click on the AirPods.
- Click “Connect.”
- You’ll hear an audible confirmation, and the Bluetooth settings screen below the Airpods list will indicate “Connected voice, sound.”
If the AirPods are still not connecting, place them in the charging case, restart Windows, and repeat the process described above. If the problem remains, select “Delete” on the third step to unpair the AirPods, and then start a pairing process again, as described at the beginning of the article.
Update your Bluetooth drivers
The problem with a non-functioning microphone can also be solved by updating Bluetooth drivers. Therefore, we will consider this process in more detail. If Bluetooth drivers are absent, move on to the next point.
First, you can try to update them in a standard way. To do this, open the Device Manager (you can press Win+R, type the devmgmt.msc command, and click OK), right-click on the adapter, and select “Update driver.” Then select “Automatically search for drivers” in the next window. This method does not help often, so if you see a message that the latest version of drivers is already installed, go to the next point.
The second way to solve the problem is to download the new driver version from the laptop, adapter, or chipset manufacturer’s website and run its installation (this process is described in the next paragraph). Before updating or downloading new drivers, check the version and development date of the currently installed driver to simplify downloading a new version. The Bluetooth adapter’s properties can show this information on the “Driver” tab.
After downloading the new driver, you can install/update it manually if there is no installation file in the archive or folder. This is the third way to solve the problem. To do this, follow these steps:
- Extract all files from the archive to the folder.
- In Device Manager, right-click on the Bluetooth adapter and select “Update driver.”
- Select “Browse my computer for drivers.”
- Select the folder with the driver and click “Next.”
- It will be installed or updated if the path to the folder is correct and the driver is suitable for the system and hardware.
If the three methods mentioned earlier didn’t help you, the Windows Update Center would probably help you:
- Start — Settings and open the “Update & Security” center.
- You will see “Optional updates available” under the “Windows Update Center” tab. Click on “View all optional updates.”
- Open “Driver updates” and find the driver related to Bluetooth, such as Bluetooth Module. Select it and click on the “Download and install” button.
The Bluetooth problem will be solved after downloading and installing the driver. After that, restart your computer.
Download Bluetooth drivers
The driver for Bluetooth must be downloaded from the website of the manufacturer of your laptop, Bluetooth adapter, or wireless module (board). The official model page of your personal computer or laptop on the manufacturer’s website has all the drivers you need, including Bluetooth drivers.
If you have a USB, PCI, or M2 adapter, then the manufacturer of the adapter or chipset also has a website, and there is a page with the adapter model and the necessary driver. In addition, the official website can always find the latest and the most appropriate driver. Find out the model of your laptop or personal computer, and then you have two options:
- Enter the model of the laptop, adapter, or chipset in the search and go to the official website directly to the page of your device. Find the downloads section and download the Bluetooth driver;
- Go to the official website, find a section with unloads, find your model through the search, and download the needed driver.
For example, if you have an Acer laptop, follow these steps (they are the same for other models):
- Go to the Acer website. Find the section with downloads.
- Please search for your model or choose it in the menu by category, series, or model.
- The page of your model will open. Select your Windows version and open the “Drivers” category.
- Open the driver for Bluetooth and download it on your computer.
If there are several drivers for Bluetooth on the website, they are for different vendors (manufacturers) of the module. If you don’t know the manufacturer of your wireless module, you can try downloading and installing both drivers. This is usually not recommended, but nothing bad should happen. The wrong driver will not be installed. An error will appear during the installation process, saying that the device is not found or is disabled.
To install the downloaded driver, do the following:
- Open the archive with the driver and run the installation file (it is usually called setup.exe).
- Next, you must follow the program instructions (just click “Next” several times). After the successful installation, you will see the “Bluetooth” section with the adapter in Device Manager.
After that, settings of this function in Windows and a blue icon in the tray will appear.
If you have an older laptop model with Windows 10 installed, it may happen that the manufacturer’s website does not have a driver for Bluetooth for your version of Windows. In such a situation, it is better to install the version of Windows that has drivers on the manufacturer’s website to make Bluetooth and other features work correctly. You need to search for drivers on third-party websites if it is impossible. You can use a hardware ID search or special programs.
Install Windows updates
Problems with the microphone in AirPods can occur in outdated versions of Windows. As a rule, updating the system solves these problems. Most Windows 10 updates are installed automatically, but you can check for updates yourself at any time:
- Click the Start button (with the operating system logo). It is used to enter the main menu and is located in the lower-left corner of the display.
- Navigate to the operating system settings by clicking on the gear button.
- Scroll through the system settings window to “Updates and Security.” The name of the settings section has the “Windows updates” explanation. Its icon is two arrows that form a broken circle. Open it.
- Select the “Check for updates” option.
If updates are available for your computer, they will be downloaded automatically. The progress of the process will be shown on the screen. Please don’t close this window, as it will tell you when to restart your personal computer or laptop after the new software components have been installed.
If there is a problem with the Windows 10 update process, do the following:
- Make sure your computer is connected to the Internet;
- Restart your device;
- Re-run the system update tool.
If you don’t see the desired result, click the “Troubleshooting” item in the current system settings section, then follow the instructions on your PC’s screen.
It is worth noting that the Windows update system has settings that can make your life easier without forcing you to install updates manually from time to time or wait for updates to be installed on your computer at the most inappropriate moment. The Windows Update Center in Windows 10 has moved to the standard settings app, and you can access it via a link from the Start menu. It is located among other system subsections on the main program screen and is called “Update & Security.”
The following features can be configured:
- Enabling/disabling PC restart when installing patches. If you want to avoid a sudden computer shutdown, you should change these settings so that you are notified before the system restarts.
- Enabling/disabling updates for other Microsoft programs installed on your personal computer. You should disable this option if you don’t want to receive maintenance for various company products.
- Postponing updates. This option allows you to postpone system updates. Nevertheless, patches concerning system security will continue to update.
Moreover, the basic functionality of the operating system allows you to disable the download and installation of drivers. This function can make your life easier but also interfere if you do not have unlimited Internet. To disable the installation of drivers, do the following:
- Open the “Run” dialog box using the Win + R key combination on your keyboard.
- Enter the following text in the window and click Enter: Rundll32 newdev.dll,DeviceInternetSettingUi.
- In the window that appears, select “No, let me choose what to do,” and then click on “Never install driver software from Windows Update.”
- Save the changes.
This sequence of actions allows you to prohibit the system from searching for drivers on the Internet. It will install them exclusively from the memory of your personal computer.
Use a Bluetooth adapter
A Bluetooth adapter allows you to connect wireless devices to your personal computer or laptop. In most cases, this is a mouse or keyboard, but it can also output sound to Bluetooth headphones, speakers, or a headset. If none of the methods described above helped you to solve the microphone problem, a Bluetooth adapter could fix this situation.
When choosing a Bluetooth adapter, focus on the following parameters:
- Hardware version;
- Connection interface;
- Class;
- Support for profiles.
This information is enough to choose the correct and suitable Bluetooth adapter for your personal computer or laptop. But don’t rush to buy a random adapter. First, read the reviews and study the characteristics of the adapter you want to purchase. We don’t recommend you buy cheap adapters, especially if you need an adapter to connect good Bluetooth headphones, transfer files, connect a joystick, etc. They may be low-quality and outdated. Of course, they are much cheaper than high-quality adapters, but you may just throw them away or return them to the store.