How to Find Lost Soundcore Earbuds

To find lost Soundcore earbuds, go back to where you last used them, open the soundcore app and use its find feature to make the missing earbud beep. Soundcore’s instructions are to connect the earbuds to the app, tap the settings icon in the top right and select Find Device (soundcore). It only works while the earbud is connected to your phone (same source), so you need to be close by and the earbud needs battery. When the beep is too quiet or the app can’t connect, follow the earbuds’ Bluetooth signal while they’re switched on and nearby.

Make them beep with the soundcore app

Soundcore calls the feature by different names on different product pages. The Life P3 page says to activate “Find My Headset” in the soundcore app, and that the lost earbud will then make a loud noise (soundcore). The P20i page calls it “Find My Earbuds” and says a lost earbud can emit noise to help you locate it (soundcore). The Liberty 5 Pro, whose charging case has a touch screen, lists finding your device among the controls on that case (soundcore).

The Life P3 FAQ gives the steps (soundcore):

1. Make sure the missing earbud is connected to your phone. Soundcore says the feature can only be used when it is.
2. Open the soundcore app with the earbuds connected.
3. Tap the settings icon in the top right and select Find Device.
4. Listen for the beep and walk toward it.

Soundcore adds one warning: don’t wear the earbuds while the feature is playing, to protect your hearing (same source). If you find one earbud and are still looking for the other, take the first one out of your ear before you play the sound again.

Not every product page mentions a find feature. The Space A40, P40i and Liberty 4 NC pages, for example, don’t describe one (soundcore, soundcore, soundcore). Open your earbuds’ settings in the app to see whether Find Device is there for your model.

If the app can’t see your earbuds

The app can only ring earbuds it’s connected to. Soundcore’s troubleshooting steps (soundcore):

• Connect the earbuds to your phone over Bluetooth first.
• In the app, scroll to the bottom of your device list and tap Add Devices, then choose headphones.
• If no pop-up appears, tap Set Up Manually and pick your series and model from the list.

Soundcore also notes that the app asks for location permission the first time you open it, and that the app doesn’t support computers, so use a phone (soundcore).

What about Find My or Find Hub?

None of the Soundcore earbud pages checked for this guide mention Apple’s Find My or Google’s Find Hub. The Liberty 5 page does list Google Fast Pair, which it says adds auto-connection (soundcore), and the Liberty 4 NC page lists Fast Pair as well (soundcore).

Fast Pair on its own doesn’t mean the earbuds are in Find Hub. Google says that when you pair supported headphones with Fast Pair, your Android phone prompts you to add them to Find Hub. If you missed the prompt, you can add them under Settings, Connected devices, your headphones, Find when disconnected. If the accessory is within Bluetooth range, Find Hub can ring it or help you find it nearby (Google). If you don’t see that option for your Soundcore earbuds, the soundcore app’s find feature is the one you have. To ring headphones through Find Hub, Google says they must be turned on and earbuds must be outside the case (Google).

Follow the signal for the last few meters

When the beep is faint, muffled by a couch cushion, or your model has no find feature, you can follow the earbuds’ Bluetooth signal while they’re switched on and close by.

Phones find nearby Bluetooth devices by listening for the short “advertising” packets those devices send, and receiving them is a sign the device is present (Bluetooth SIG). Signal strength, shown as RSSI, indicates how much of that signal reaches your phone, and a higher number means a stronger signal. Watch which way it moves: if the number climbs as you walk, you’re getting closer, and if it drops, you’re moving away (Bluetooth SIG).

Expect the reading to wobble:

• Radio signals are heavily affected by their surroundings, so the number moves even when nothing does. RSSI is also a relative scale that each chip maker sets, so compare readings with each other rather than reading too much into one number (Bluetooth SIG).
• Obstacles between the earbuds and your phone weaken the signal, and how much depends on what they’re made of (Bluetooth SIG).
• Apple rates metal as having very high interference potential, plaster and concrete high, and water and bricks medium. Microwave ovens, cordless phones and fluorescent lights can interfere too (Apple).

Move slowly and stop for a few seconds at each spot so the number can settle. When it starts to fall, turn around. Check the low, closed-in places where earbuds end up: bag pockets, jacket pockets, car door pockets, under seats, between cushions and in gym bags.

If the earbuds are still connected to your phone but your model has no Find Device option, the Earbud Sound Finder can play a loud chirp in just the left or right earbud.

When there’s nothing to detect

A scanner can only pick up a device that is powered on and sending advertising packets (Bluetooth SIG). If the earbuds are off or the battery is dead, there’s no signal for your phone to hear, and the soundcore app can’t ring them because the feature needs the earbud connected to your phone (soundcore). Earbuds closed in their case may also be silent. Google, for example, says earbuds must be outside the case to play a sound through Find Hub (Google).

In that case, think back to the last place you had them connected and search there by hand. For a step-by-step plan, see how to find earbuds that are off or dead.