What happens when AirPods 4th Gen is lost and lost mode is enabled?

My brand new airpod 4’s are missing and I’m scared someone might have stolen it. If they paired it to their phone right before I enabled lost mode, what happens on their end? Do they get a notification that lost mode has been enabled? Does it show my contact info for them to contact me? Does the Find My location still update for me? Can they reset the airpods?



[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Airpod 4 Lost Mode

Posted on Dec 3, 2025 5:19 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 3, 2025 7:57 PM

If someone paired your AirPods 4 before you enabled Lost Mode:

  • Lost Mode still activates on the AirPods as soon as they next connect to the internet.
  • The person does NOT receive a notification, but:
    • They cannot pair the AirPods to a different Apple ID.
    • They may see a message saying the AirPods are linked to another Apple ID.

Your contact information (if you provided it when enabling Lost Mode) can appear on the connected device or in the Find My app when the AirPods are found.

Location updates:

  • AirPods 4 support Precision Finding and Find My network, so the location continues updating when they’re near any Apple device connected to the network.

Resetting AirPods:

  • They cannot be reset successfully by someone else while Lost Mode is active — the Apple ID lock prevents it.

In short: Lost Mode protects your AirPods with an Apple ID lock, keeps location tracking active, and makes it very difficult for someone else to use or keep them.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 3, 2025 7:57 PM in response to notacone

If someone paired your AirPods 4 before you enabled Lost Mode:

  • Lost Mode still activates on the AirPods as soon as they next connect to the internet.
  • The person does NOT receive a notification, but:
    • They cannot pair the AirPods to a different Apple ID.
    • They may see a message saying the AirPods are linked to another Apple ID.

Your contact information (if you provided it when enabling Lost Mode) can appear on the connected device or in the Find My app when the AirPods are found.

Location updates:

  • AirPods 4 support Precision Finding and Find My network, so the location continues updating when they’re near any Apple device connected to the network.

Resetting AirPods:

  • They cannot be reset successfully by someone else while Lost Mode is active — the Apple ID lock prevents it.

In short: Lost Mode protects your AirPods with an Apple ID lock, keeps location tracking active, and makes it very difficult for someone else to use or keep them.

What happens when AirPods 4th Gen is lost and lost mode is enabled?

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