How to pair, charge, and control Beats Powerbeats Pro – 9to5Mac

Are you new to powerbeats pro or planning to buy the new totally wireless beats? The newest Beats headphones are brand new, offering Apple AirPods features and improvements on the original Beats PowerBeats design. Read on to learn how to master the new Powerbeats Pro fully wireless earphones.

how to charge powerbeats pro

load case

Your powerbeats pro earphones will hopefully arrive charged, but eventually you’ll need to recharge them. The charging case charges using the included Lightning cable and the charging port on the back of the case, but you’ll need to supply your own charging brick or charge from a USB port on a computer.

this is the same charging cable that comes with the iphones, so the same charger is compatible. unlike the new iphone and airpods, there is no wireless charging option for the charging case.

headphones

Each earbud is charged by the magnetic connector inside the charging case (as long as the charging case is charged). the left earbud charges on the left side and the right earbud charges on the right side with the ‘b’ logo facing out on each side. each earbud should magnetically snap into place. Unlike wireless Powerbeats, there is no charging port on the actual earphones; you’ll need the charging case to power it on.

You can check the charging status on iPhone or iPad by opening the case cover and placing the charging case within a couple of centimeters. The charging case also has an LED status light that will turn white for a few seconds when charging begins. The light on the charging case will turn red when the battery in the case drops to 40%, which means you won’t be able to fully charge both earbuds until it’s recharged.

battery life + charging time

powerbeats pro are rated for up to 9 hours of playback or up to 6 hours of talk time between charges with up to 24 hours of playback using the charging case on a single charge.

beats says its fast fuel feature gives each earbud up to 1.5 hours of playback after five minutes of charging or up to 4.5 hours of playback after fifteen minutes of charging. each earbud can be fully charged in about 90 minutes, and the charging case with the earbuds inside should take about 2.5 hours to charge.

how to pair powerbeats pro

ios

beats powerbeats pro pairs with iphones and ipads as easily as airpods and other beats headphones with apple’s w1 and h1 chips. Keep both earbuds in the charging case with the lid open, then place them near your iPhone or iPad running the latest iOS version. touch the connection option on your screen, then you are all set.

icloud

Another benefit of Apple’s W1 and H1 chips working is automatic pairing with other iCloud devices. Pair Powerbeats Pro with your iPhone and they will automatically link with your iPad, Mac and Apple Watch under the same iCloud account. this also works in the other direction when unpaired.

android + other

if your powerbeats pro are already paired with a device or you want to pair them with any other device, press and hold the system button inside the case for a few seconds until the status light flashes white while both earbuds are inside with the cover open. You can now manually pair powerbeats pro with other devices from your device’s bluetooth menu.

android users can also download the beats app to manage firmware updates and more. beats for android is available here.

unlink

you can unpair the powerbeats pro from the bluetooth menu of your device. if you unpair an icloud device, powerbeats pro will forget every icloud device with the same account.

how to control powerbeats pro

Now you’re ready to really master your new wireless powerbeats pro. each earbud has a dedicated action button (the ‘beats logo b’ button or mfb button), a volume rocker, magnetic charging connectors, a microphone, an adjustable ear hook and interchangeable ear tips. it is not necessary to assign some tasks to one side and other tasks to the other side.

change tips

beats includes four interchangeable ear tips with powerbeats pro. we’ll call them small, medium, large, and extra large. the medium tip is on by default, but you can remove it and replace it with a larger or smaller tip to improve your fit.

Each prong removes and slides onto the speaker stem. The earhook is flexible so it easily bends up or down and fits around your ear without applying pressure.

activate siri + other voice assistants

Powerbeats Pro works with voice-activated Siri just like 2nd generation AirPods when paired with an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac. If “hey siri” is on, you can summon the voice assistant by simply saying “hey siri” while using powerbeats pro.

You can also activate siri (or voice assistants on other platforms) by holding down the action button “b” for a few seconds. Powerbeats Pro buttons are reflected in location and functionality; you can’t assign different actions to different sides, but you can access the same action from either headset.

play/pause

do you want to start or stop the audio playback? click the ‘b’ button to toggle play and pause. Powerbeats Pro will also automatically pause audio when either earbud is removed and automatically resume audio when either earbud is put back on, just like AirPods. audio is played in stereo when using both earphones or in mono when using earphones individually.

skip forward/back

Powerbeats Pro have the same wireless benefits as AirPods, but the physical buttons retain the classic audio controls of wired headphones. for example, you can double-click the ‘b’ button on either headset to skip to the next track when playing audio, or triple-click either ‘b’ button to play the previous track.

search forward/back

You can also move the current track forward or backward with the controls on Powerbeats Pro. double click and hold the ‘b’ button to seek forward, or triple click and hold either ‘b’ to seek backward in the current track. (AirPods can map play/pause, skip forward, and skip back with double-tap gestures on individual earbuds, but seek forward and seek backward require voice commands and aren’t possible with physical control.)

answer/end call

want to answer or hang up a phone call while using powerbeats pro? Click the ‘B’ button on either earbud once to answer an incoming call or end an active call. From the bluetooth menu on your device, you can choose to use the left or right microphone by default, or automatically use either microphone by default. phone calls also support the use of both headsets or individual headsets

change volume

You can increase or decrease the current volume from any of the powerbeats pro earphones. Each earbud has a single volume rocker at the top that feels like a single button, but is actually a two-sided button for volume up and volume down. click forward on either earbud to increase volume, or click backward on either earbud to decrease volume. (change volume with airpods requires voice control).

turn on/off

just like airpods, powerbeats pro earphones don’t have power buttons. Powerbeats Pro turns on when you take them out of the charging case and Powerbeats Pro turns off when they’re returned to the case. however, powerbeats pro will conserve battery by using sleep mode when their sensors determine they are idle.

beats powerbeats pro retailing for $249.95 at apple.com, best buy and amazon.

related stories:

• powerbeats pro review: beats brawn meets airpods brains in the ultimate sports earphones
• hands-on and first impressions with beats powerbeats pro totally wireless earphones
• guide by powerbeats 9to5mac

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