- The Washington Times - Thursday, April 7, 2022

Buyers of refurbished AirPods are having issues as some pairs of Apple’s wireless headphones are staying linked to the original owner’s iCloud account, even after a factory reset, Business Insider reported Wednesday.

Some affected units are reportedly displaying “AirPod Mismatch” rather than “(new owner’s AirPods)” in Apple’s Find My app, which tracks the location of all devices connected to a user’s account.

A message saying the headphones are connected to a different Apple ID has popped up when new owners attempt to link the headphones to their phones.

The issue affects about eight out of 10 sets returned to large retailers such as Walmart, according to goTRG, the company that handles Walmart returns, The Sun reported. The company’s facilities have been forced to stockpile 30,000 pairs that should’ve already been resold.

“It is a big concern,” said David Malka, chief sales officer of goTRG, according to The Sun. “We’ve tested it in the facilities. We’ve been testing it every day.”

Business Insider calls the issue the latest example of Apple failing to give their products an “end-of-life plan,” noting that they aren’t easy to recycle or return.

“It shows an underlying strategy at Apple, which is to lock down and control every aspect of the experience,” said Kyle Wiens, CEO of gadget-repair website iFixit, The Sun reported.

Apple has not responded to The Washington Times for comment.

• Peter Santo can be reached at psanto@washingtontimes.com.

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