Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

How is it that FAKE AirPods can connect SEAMLESSLY to ALL my iOS & Mac Devices?

HappyDude20

HappyDude20

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 13, 2008
3,688
1,479
Los Angeles, Ca
Hi everyone,

so I got my wife AirPods for her birthday last week from the Apple store and she loves them.

I’ve been using the standard lightning EarPods for years now but the more I see my wife with the AirPods on the more i kinda want them.

About 6 days ago I went on the Wish app and purchased two different AirPods, which are obviously fake. They look and feel real but the sound isn’t as perfect as my wife’s AirPods. One if the AirPods Pro and the other just AirPods. I purchased both from the Wish app at $16 and $32.What boggles my mind is that when I flip the lid open on either to reveal the AirPods, they connect seamlessly to any iOS or MacOS device associated with my Apple ID.

im wondering how this could be. They look 99% identical to the Apple ones but the only discrepancy being they feel just a tad bit lighter and the sound isn’t as perfect.

Are Chinese knockoffs that good? I get the same connectivity pane when I open them, just as my wife does when she uses hers.
 
hmm...
For that price - and that you accept that the sound isn't perfect - I would be most concerned about the physical challenges. Do those airpods stay in your ear securely enough for you? And, do the "airpod pros" have the same "feel" for a good ear seal to give anything like the noise reduction of the real thing? Even if they sound fine, you get the pros for that extra feature of noise reduction. Otherwise, it would be pointless to even spend the extra over standard airpods.
So, the question would be - What extra audio feature do you actually get, even for that relatively small amount of $32 over the standard $16 airpods.
 
DeltaMac said:
hmm...
For that price - and that you accept that the sound isn't perfect - I would be most concerned about the physical challenges. Do those airpods stay in your ear securely enough for you? And, do the "airpod pros" have the same "feel" for a good ear seal to give anything like the noise reduction of the real thing? Even if they sound fine, you get the pros for that extra feature of noise reduction. Otherwise, it would be pointless to even spend the extra over standard airpods.
So, the question would be - What extra audio feature do you actually get, even for that relatively small amount of $32 over the standard $16 airpods.
Click to expand...
For me, again as someone that’s used wired lightning connected EarPods since the iPod Nano days, it’s the wireless component.
I hate having the wire jam against a doorknob while walking or drawer or having a wire between my phone and dirty dishes when doing laundry. I don’t care about the sound and whatnot. I just really enjoy the lack of wires. But the main question I’m curious about is why and how these fake AirPods connect in exactly the same manner as real AirPods. I get the same options for me to configure for my left and right ear and can do all the same Siri things.
 
MacNut said:
Bluetooth is the same no matter what device.
Click to expand...

Including displaying thecurrent battery status of each AirPod and case? I thought that would be Apple only.
 

Attachments

  • E624547A-FB54-44BF-B5A4-56698190CFC5.jpeg
    E624547A-FB54-44BF-B5A4-56698190CFC5.jpeg
    37.4 KB · Views: 1,137
  • F8795AFF-54DA-42F7-84FB-FCDF1152E12B.jpeg
    F8795AFF-54DA-42F7-84FB-FCDF1152E12B.jpeg
    39.4 KB · Views: 2,103
MacNut said:
Bluetooth is the same no matter what device.
Click to expand...

Not really, Apple uses an H1 chip to connect their BT earphones to all devices signed into your Apple ID, even if you only pair them up with one of them - that is an extra feature that clones have begun to copy/pirate. Only AirPods and Beats are supposed to have these chips, exclusive to Apple. (used to be a W1 chip in 2017 when it came out, H1 is in the Powerbeats Pro and AirPods 2 and AirPods Pro.)

I paired my AirPods and Powerbeats Pro to my iPhone Xs Max, but they are available on my 15" MacBook Pro, iPad Mini 5, and iPhone 7+ as well - without pairing them to any other device but the one.
[automerge]1574050880[/automerge]
MacNut said:
If they are true knockoffs they will look just like the real thing. They don't care about copyright infringement.
Click to expand...

It not just looks anymore - they act like Apple devices too, since they pirated the H1 chip inside. Apple BT devices now pair with your Apple ID, not just each device.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JDnLex and BigMcGuire
I think there is no "magic" in it. These things are replicating device informations which force IOS to replicate it with iCloud. On the the other hand: Apple can do the iCloud-Sync with all BT-Devices, if they want.
 
Source? They "cloned" the device information only. This is comparatively easy.
 
It's not a clone or copy exactly....Basically the "H1" chip in these knockoffs trick the iDevice into thinking it is the H1 chip.

I too have a pair of these along with an authentic pair. The only gripe I have is the tacky flashing lights on the "AirPods"
 
I bought a used pair from OfferUp that wasn't working great. Had some weird buzzing noise in the right bud and wireless charging didn't work well. I ended up sending it into Apple for a warranty replacement. Now I'm crossing my fingers they weren't counterfeit and they charge me full price for a replacement.
 
  • Wow
Reactions: ModusOperandi
I think it sounds like they replicated the pairing process (they must have reverse-engineered the pairing process, they don't have to duplicate the chip itself but rather what the chip does), and all they need to do is do the same steps as the Airpods do and that's it. As long as Apple doesn't build a new pairing process (unlikely unless they want to break compatibility), it will still work.
 
I am pretty sure they are not knockoff then.
Does a serial number show on your iPhone when your AirPods are connected under Settings > General > AirPods ?
 
Petrophas said:
I bought a used pair from OfferUp that wasn't working great. Had some weird buzzing noise in the right bud and wireless charging didn't work well. I ended up sending it into Apple for a warranty replacement. Now I'm crossing my fingers they weren't counterfeit and they charge me full price for a replacement.
Click to expand...

You can honestly easily tell if one is authentic or not in hand (if you have the legit ones on hand.) I have the AirPods 2 and also the latest knockoffs (TWS i12s) and the latest knockoffs are lighter and also have tacky LED lights on the AirPods. If you never saw or held authentic ones in hand, it might fool you - but if you know Apple products, you should know if you have the legit ones or fakes immediately and wont be a question.
 
Costino1 said:
It's not a clone or copy exactly....Basically the "H1" chip in these knockoffs trick the iDevice into thinking it is the H1 chip.

I too have a pair of these along with an authentic pair. The only gripe I have is the tacky flashing lights on the "AirPods"
Click to expand...

Can they also show up in Find My if they can trick the iPhone into thinking it has an authentic H1 chip?
 
  • Like
Reactions: perezr10
Costino1 said:
Nope. Find my iPhone does not work since they will not register to your Apple Account.
Click to expand...

I have pros who’s serial number comes up as “replaced” that register with Find My. But it does not sync with my other Apple devices like my Beats does.
 
I had a fake AirPods i9000 TWS that replicate the Airpods first one. In terms of price and specifications, they are the best TWS Airpods out there. I had no issues for 2 years but now I got an original pro one.


HappyDude20 said:
Hi everyone,

so I got my wife AirPods for her birthday last week from the Apple store and she loves them.

I’ve been using the standard lightning EarPods for years now but the more I see my wife with the AirPods on the more i kinda want them.

About 6 days ago I went on the Wish app and purchased two different AirPods, which are obviously fake. They look and feel real but the sound isn’t as perfect as my wife’s AirPods. One if the AirPods Pro and the other just AirPods. I purchased both from the Wish app at $16 and $32.What boggles my mind is that when I flip the lid open on either to reveal the AirPods, they connect seamlessly to any iOS or MacOS device associated with my Apple ID.

im wondering how this could be. They look 99% identical to the Apple ones but the only discrepancy being they feel just a tad bit lighter and the sound isn’t as perfect.

Are Chinese knockoffs that good? I get the same connectivity pane when I open them, just as my wife does when she uses hers.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back