Planning to buy new AirPods? By these signs you can distinguish fake headphones from real ones

If you are not sure that you are dealing with real Apple headphones, it is worth checking them to avoid a scam. Here you will find clues that will help you identify a fake.

Apple headphones are one of those products that especially attract manufacturers of counterfeit gadgets, and fakes have filled the whole world. Usually, when you are offered you a fake, it costs much less than the original ones, and you understand that these are not real AirPods. But what hurts is that scammers can pass off fakes as original ones and sell them at the price of real ones. And we can assume that they earn decent money from this!

It's a shame to pay $129 for a fake, which is exactly how much AirPods 2nd gen cost. This is because recently well-made fakes have begun to appear, and they are very difficult to distinguish from real AirPods. Well-made fake AirPods seem original in many ways: animation works while connecting, the sound seems to be good, and they are packaged in a beautiful, branded box...

If you buy headphones in an Apple store or at an official retailer, for example, on Amazon, then you do not risk being deceived. But we often buy used gadgets, or use small stores. And here you need to keep your ears open. At the time of purchasing a new gadget, you may not have much time to check it, and thus you may get hooked. Bitter disappointment will come when the headphones break after a few months. In order not to be deceived, it is important to take enough time to make sure that the headphones are real. We will explain how a well-made fake differs from the original. 

These tips apply primarily to 1st and 2nd generation of AirPods, but they will also help you when testing Pro and 3rd generation headphones.

Here are ways to check your AirPods for authenticity

• If you have the opportunity to open the box without commitment of buying the headphones, take the headphones out of it and first of all pay attention to the inscriptions on the headphones (usually they are located under the button that is needed to connect the headphones to the iPhone). On real AirPods it should be light gray, but on fake ones it is often dark gray and the letters are slightly flattened.
• Pick up the charging case and examine the button on its back panel; look at the button on the back of the headphone charging case: the original has a flat button, but the fake may have a convex button.
• Check if all sensors are inserted into the headphones. If instead of sensors there is an empty small hole, then it is a fake.
• Fake headphones can also be identified by the welcome sound that is heard when they are synchronized with the iPhone. The copy has a very short sound, while the original has a melody of several notes.
• Check the protective membrane of the speakers. On real headphones, the mesh is thin and translucent, and you can easily see the two speakers inside through it.

• Check if all sensors are inserted into the headphones. If instead of sensors there is an empty small hole, then it is a fake.
• You can also look at the instruction booklet and evaluate its printing quality as well as the quality of the paper. In the original headphones, the instructions are printed in gray letters, not black, and on white paper without shading, rather than on grayish paper.

There are even more accurate ways to detect counterfeits, but they require a little more time and effort.

• Check your headphones by IMEI number. After a visual check, it's worth checking AirPods using the IMEI identifiсation number. It is indicated on the inside of the headphones charging case lid. Open your browser and go to Apple's device verification site. If the IMEI number you entered does not exist, the Apple website will give you an error. So these headphones are not real.
• But there is an even better way - you can find the serial number in the headphones Settings on your iPhone:

Open the Settings app.
Go to the Bluetooth section.
Click the (i) button next to the AirPods name.
Copy the number and paste it into the verification line on the Apple website.

Can my iPhone detect fake AirPods on its own?

Yes, it can, but only the latest generations of iPhone have this function, and their OS must be updated to iOS 17. As soon as you connect the fake headphones to your smartphone, your gadget will immediately warn you with the message: "These headphones could not be verified as genuine AirPods and may not behave as expected."