Your AirPods are really important to you I'm sure, not only because you use them for listening, but also because they had a fairly hefty price tag. Making sure your AirPods are connected to your iCloud account is important not only to enable Find My features but also to let you listen between devices easily.
Here's how to do that.
Adding Your AirPods to iCloud
It's really easy to add your AirPods to your iCloud account. In fact, it's so easy, you don't actually need to do anything!
When you pair your AirPods with a device that's signed in to your iCloud account, they are automatically added to that iCloud account as well. This means you can't, but also don't need to, manually add them to your iCloud account.
Once your AirPods are linked to your iCloud account you can switch between Apple devices quickly, without re-pairing them, as long as those devices are also signed in to the same iCloud account.
How to Switch AirPods Between iCloud Devices
Just moving your AirPods close to a different device and starting to use it will automatically move the Bluetooth connection to that device. This feature was introduced with the iOS 14 and Big Sur releases in 2020. If your AirPods are not switching automatically, we have a guide on how to fix that.
How to Add AirPods to Find My
One thing to bear in mind is that your AirPods do not appear listed under My Devices in iCloud. However, you can use AirPods with Find My, and they'll show up as one of your devices in the Find My app on any device.
This is ideal, because if you were to lose one or both of your AirPods, the Find My app will help you to easily find the headphones. If you're unfamiliar with Find My and how to use it to locate your AirPods, we have a guide on that too.
Another Benefit of the Apple Ecosystem
Being able to switch devices without reconnecting your headphones is a brilliant and convenient feature. It's yet another bonus of the Apple ecosystem. Regardless of whether or not you like this ecosystem, you can't dispute that it's brilliantly executed.