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This guide mostly covers AirPods, with the Sony and Samsung reset steps at the end. We did not research JBL, Bose or Sennheiser. Refurbished earbuds carry two risks you cannot see in the listing. They can be a copy with a valid serial number, or they can still be tied to the previous owner's Apple account. Check both as soon as they arrive, and if withdrawal applies to your online purchase, use that period to test them calmly.

The AirPods checklist

  1. Ask for the serial number and the model number before paying.
  2. When they arrive, compare the serial printed under the case lid with the one your iPhone shows in Settings > Bluetooth, using the info button next to the AirPods.
  3. Compare the model number, which starts with A and sits on the bottom of each AirPod, with Apple's list by generation.
  4. Look up the serial in Apple's Check Coverage tool, knowing that a valid result does not prove they are genuine.
  5. Pair them with your iPhone. If Find My says they are linked to another account, the seller has to remove them from theirs.
  6. Reset them with the method for your model.
  7. Use them for several days on calls and music, and watch for disconnections or failing noise cancellation on the models that have it.
  8. Clean the tips and meshes as Apple describes.
  9. Get the warranty in writing and keep the box, case, receipt and photos until the withdrawal period ends.

Serial and model number

AirPods and AirPods Pro have the same serial number as their charging case, printed on the bottom of the lid. Your iPhone shows it in Settings > Bluetooth. From AirPods 2 onward, and on AirPods Pro 1 and 2, each AirPod also has its own engraved serial, but for service Apple uses the one on the case lid. On AirPods Max, the serial is under the left magnetic ear cushion and on the original packaging. Checking that the case serial matches the one in Settings is reasonable, although Apple does not present it as proof of authenticity.

The model number starts with A and is on the bottom of each AirPod. Apple publishes the list by generation. For example, AirPods 4 with noise cancellation are A3056, A3055 or A3057, and AirPods Pro 2 with the MagSafe USB-C case are A3047, A3048 or A3049.

A valid serial does not prove they are genuine

Apple has the Check Coverage tool, where you enter the serial and solve a CAPTCHA. It is a coverage tool, not an authenticity tool. In September 2023, Xataka published the case of a Wallapop buyer in Spain whose fake AirPods Pro had a serial that Apple's page confirmed as genuine and under warranty. The pairing animation was identical and the iPhone recognised them as AirPods Pro. Afterwards he could not add them to the Find My network or pair them with his Apple Watch, the sound was loud and spatial audio did not work, and an official service centre confirmed they were fake. It is a Spanish press testimony nobody verified separately, and we did not find a page from Apple or SERNAC explaining how to spot fake AirPods.

What you can do is compare the price with what shops that give a written warranty ask. A price far below theirs is a warning, not proof. There are more general signs in original or fake.

The Find My lock

A device on the Find My network, such as AirPods, can be linked to only one Apple account at a time. If they are still on the previous owner's account, the Find My app says so and you will not be able to link them to yours. Apple says it cannot remove that lock for you. The previous owner has to remove them from their account, in Find My > Devices > Remove This Device, or at icloud.com/find. Make them do it before you pay, or buy where you can still withdraw if they did not.

Resetting

A reset does not remove the Find My lock. Apple mentions it as what you must do when you cannot remove the device from the previous account, and says you still will not be able to link it to yours. It is for starting from scratch once the previous account has released them.

On AirPods 1, 2 and 3 and AirPods Pro 1 and 2, put the AirPods in the case, close the lid and wait 30 seconds. Open the lid and hold the setup button on the back of the case for about 15 seconds, until the status light flashes amber and then white. On AirPods 4, AirPods 5 and AirPods Pro 3, double-tap the front of the case while the light is on, double-tap again when it flashes white, and double-tap a third time when it flashes faster. Apple has a separate page for AirPods Max that we did not read.

The battery

Apple does not show a battery health percentage for AirPods on the pages we checked. Your iPhone shows the charge of each AirPod. If a listing promises a health percentage, ask where it comes from.

Mercado Libre Chile requires more than 80% battery capacity in all three grades of its refurbished items, but we did not confirm how that rule applies to earbuds. Apple says Optimised Battery Charging reduces battery wear on AirPods Pro and AirPods 3 or later.

Cleaning

For AirPods Pro 2 and 3, Apple says to remove the ear tips before cleaning. The meshes are cleaned with a soft-bristle children's toothbrush, micellar water that contains PEG-6 caprylic/capric glycerides (Apple names Bioderma and Neutrogena) and distilled water to rinse, and the AirPods must dry completely, at least two hours, before you use them or put them in the case. The ear tips come off separately. Apple does not say when to replace tips another person used. For AirPods and AirPods Max it has separate pages that we did not read.

Sony and Samsung

On the Sony WF-1000XM5, Sony's guide separates two things. A restart keeps the pairing information and other settings. An initialisation returns the earbuds to factory settings. To erase what the previous owner left, a restart is not enough. We did not read Sony's initialisation page, so we do not give its steps.

On Galaxy Buds, Samsung's US page says the reset is done from the app, under Earbud settings or About earbuds depending on the model, with Reset or Reset earbuds and then Reset again to confirm. That page is in English and the Spanish names may differ.

Your rights in Chile

Ley 19.496 sets six months from receipt to exercise the options in articles 19 and 20 when they apply (article 21). Article 14 may exclude those options for goods disclosed before purchase as used or refaccionado (repaired), without removing a warranty offered by the shop. The law does not use the word "reacondicionado" (refurbished), so whether that exception reaches your earbuds depends on how the shop disclosed and sold them. Ask for the warranty in writing. Every Reacondi offer shows the warranty the shop states. We did not read a warranty policy specific to earbuds at the Chilean shops, so confirm that the term on the offer applies to them.

For an online purchase, article 3 bis letter b) may give you 10 days from receipt to withdraw without giving a reason, subject to exceptions. The period may extend to 90 days if the shop did not send you the written confirmation of the contract (article 12 A). You must return the original packaging elements in good condition, and before payment the shop must warn you, using the words "derecho a retracto", if it excludes this right. Mercado Libre Chile requires every refurbished listing to state a warranty, but we did not confirm the minimum.

If the shop does not answer, complain to SERNAC online, at an office or on 800 700 100. The detail and the law quotes are in your rights when buying refurbished, and the photo routine for opening the package is in what to check when it arrives.

Sources

The Apple, Sony and Samsung steps were read on 1 October 2026 and can change. The fake AirPods case is a 2023 press testimony, not verified in Chile. Nothing here replaces advice from a lawyer.