Apple Explains iPhone's New Alert Shown When Fake AirPods Are Connected

[MacRumors]

Starting with iOS 16, users may see a "Cannot Verify AirPods" alert on their iPhone if they try to connect fake AirPods to the device. Apple shared more information about this alert today in a new support document spotted by developer Steve Moser.

The support document indicates that unverified AirPods can still be connected to an iPhone, but may not perform as expected.

Apple's alert features a prominent "Don't Connect" button, but users can tap on the smaller "Connect in Bluetooth Settings" link to proceed with connecting the unverified AirPods if they choose to. Twitter user "Tommy Boi" shared a video of the alert in action a few days ago after connecting fake AirPods to their iPhone (NSFW warning: the video's background music contains profanity and viewer discretion is advised).

The alert was first discovered in code for the iOS 16 Release Candidate last week.

Article Link: Apple Explains iPhone's New Alert Shown When Fake AirPods Are Connected

 

[zilchfox]

Good way to validate you’re buying genuine AirPods from Craigslist and the like. Also good that you can still use them anyways.

 

[Sammy in SoCal]

A person would have to be really desperate to use fake AirPods

 

[russell_314]

A person would have to be really desperate to use fake AirPods

There’s actually a market for them. Some people just don’t want to pay full price

 

[sorgo †]

That song… My innocence just evaporated!

 

[killramos]

My AirPods the Apple Store replaced 2 months ago are flagged as fake lol. Seems like the feature works super well

 

[nathansz]

A person would have to be really desperate to use fake AirPods

I've had a few pairs of fake air pods

they aren't much worse sounding than real ones. if you like the form factor but don't care about owning apple everything they can be a decent buy

only issue I've had with some pairs is that the batteries sometimes crap out pretty quickly

 

[visualseed]

A person would have to be really desperate to use fake AirPods

A lot of people think they are buying real AirPods at a good but still reasonable price. Since real AirPods are often being sold at steep discounts, it's hard to even warn people about deals that seem to good to be true.

 

[madebybela]

its hilarious that they were even able to be recognized as legitimate for this long to begin with.

 

[omihek]

Lol that guy chose the perfect song for his fake Airpods.

 

[CapitalIdea]

I've had a few pairs of fake air pods

they aren't much worse sounding than real ones. if you like the form factor but don't care about owning apple everything they can be a decent buy

only issue I've had with some pairs is that the batteries sometimes crap out pretty quickly

But this isn’t about just liking the form factor. This is about devices that falsely report that they are legitimate apple products instead of scammy trash.

 

[incoherent_1]

A lot of people think they are buying real AirPods at a good but still reasonable price. Since real AirPods are often being sold at steep discounts, it's hard to even warn people about deals that seem to good to be true.

Exactly. Came here to say this. Although there are some bad actors in the US (i.e. shady sellers on Amazon or eBay), it's relatively reliable. In Asia, there are online marketplaces filled with listings, many of which are counterfeit.

 

[ian87w]

A person would have to be really desperate to use fake AirPods

In some markets, they are readily available spread around in various e-commerce. People who buys them may not necessarily know they are fake. And these fakes are really really good, complete with replica box and everything, including the connected pop up box on older iOS.

 

[msackey]

A person would have to be really desperate to use fake AirPods

Hmm that seems odd. There are lots of fake AirPods out there

 

[StoneJack]

Well some people want to show off AirPods but can’t pay the price. Bingo u have fake AirPods which are literally indistinguishable at least from exterior, but much much cheaper. They don’t sound that bad though but sometimes use micro usb or usbc for charging. Price is a major factor so some vendors in Asia have both original and fake airpods, fakes are much cheaper and u can specify which ones u want, original or copy. Same thing as fake designer goods

 

[tony1984]

My AirPods the Apple Store replaced 2 months ago are flagged as fake lol. Seems like the feature works super well

Yeah same thing happened to me, I bought a pair from Best Buy months ago and today out of the blue I’m being they are fake 🤣

 

[deathcab]

My AirPods the Apple Store replaced 2 months ago are flagged as fake lol. Seems like the feature works super well

Yeah same thing happened to me, I bought a pair from Best Buy months ago and today out of the blue I’m being they are fake 🤣

I had the same issue. Unpair them and re-pair them and the error should go away (and they’ll show up as genuine with the full graphics / data displayed on the BT menu).

 

[_Spinn_]

Good. Hopefully this helps keep people from being scammed.

 

[stannc]

There’s actually a market for them. Some people just don’t want to pay full price

But then those people bring them to the Genius Bar for replacement when they don’t work. I watched it unfold last year when the Genius found that the AirPods had a cloned serial number and someone was turned away a number of times already. The person went through “I bought them here”, “I bought them at Best Buy”, and “My friend gave them to me” after he was told that his only option was to buy a new pair.

 

[svish]

Should make it really easy now to detect a fake one.

 

[nathansz]

But this isn’t about just liking the form factor. This is about devices that falsely report that they are legitimate apple products instead of scammy trash.

I suppose I assume most people are intelligent enough to know when they are buying knock off of anything

 

[mxrider88]

Lol also the original ones aren’t performing as expected, go figure it out!!

 

[Shanghaichica]

Both my AirPods Pro and AirPods Max confirmed as real. AirPods Pro bought at Argos (UK third party retailer) and AirPods Max from Amazon uk.

 

[Eldaerenth Faexidor]

“Cannot Verify AirPods!

These headphones could not be verified. Please be warned! Step back from this device immediately as it is about to explode!”

 

[dz5b609]

(NSFW warning: the video's background music contains profanity and viewer discretion is advised).

Is this a joke? I've now listened 5 times to the video and have yet to hear any profanity.