There are many popular brands of earbuds out on the market today. AirPods and Beats, both owned by Apple, seem to be at the top of the heap. Sadly, the Beats Studio Buds don’t seem usable without the Smart Case charging case fully charged and nearby. 

If the case dies and the headphones still have a charge, the Beats Studio Buds should still be able to connect to your device, but that is not the case. The case is required for the headphones to connect to your device. If the headphones die, you can use fast charging to get over an hour of play time in five minutes of charge time. But not the opposite.

Options if You Lose Your Beats Studio Buds Case

If you lose the case to your Beats Studio Buds, it’s not the end of the world. It might be a momentary press pause on the audio world, but there are still options. First, the case is absolutely required to connect to your device. It seems like a misstep on Apple’s part, but that is what they chose to do. 

  • Use Apple’s Find My app to locate your missing Beats Studio Buds caseUse Beats App on Android to find the missing Beats Studio Buds caseContact Apple with Beats Studio Buds serial number

The good news is they made some ways to find your case quickly using their Find My device app if you are iOS and the Beats if you are on Android. One important note is, hopefully, that you set up the Find My app or Beats app before you lose your Beats Studio Buds case. It may already be too late if you are coming here after the fact.

Once you find your Beats Studio Buds case, keep it in a protective case and attach it to something, so you can’t lose it.

Before freaking out, you should also check the last few places you used your Beats Studio Buds. They can be connected to many devices, such as a Windows PC.

Use Apple’s Find My App to Locate Your Missing Beats Studio Buds Case

The most important aspect of these instructions is that the Find My app must have been set up before these instructions can work. If you didn’t set up the Find My app, you might have to resort to contacting Apple and using your device’s serial number to get them to locate your device. Instructions will be given later in this post on finding your Beats Studio Buds’ serial number.

  • Make sure your Beats Studio Buds have already been set up with your iPhone, iPad, or iOS device.Open the Apple Find My app – The App is a gray background with a large green circle that looks like a RADAR with a small blue circle inside of itPress Devices tab at the bottom of the screenSwipe up from the bottom to reveal a list of your devicesYour Beats Studio Buds should appear in this listTap on the Beats Studio Buds you lost

By using the Find My App, you will now be able to see your Beats Studio Buds:

  • Last known locationHave them play a sound so you can locate themGet directions to their last known location

Use Beats App on Android to Find Missing Beats Studio Buds Case

While Android doesn’t have the Find My app, Android users can still attempt to locate their Beats Studio Buds using the Beats app they used to set up their headphones. Each time the headphones are connected to your Android device, their location is recorded. If you have lost your case, you can see the last place it connected to your Android device.

As with the previous instructions and Apple’s Find My app, it is imperative that the beats were added to the Beats app before they are lost. Otherwise, there isn’t much the Beats app can do for you after the fact. 

  • Open the Beats appPress Locate My BeatsChoose your Beats Studio Buds from the listA map showing the last known connection to your Android device should pop up.

Contact Apple and Find Your Beats Studio Buds Serial Number

Unfortunately, we are trying to find the Smart Case and not the earbuds themselves for this post. In their infinite wisdom, Apple decided the best and only place they would print the serial number on the Beats Studio Buds would be the inside lid of the Smart Case. At least, that is the case on the headphones themselves.

If you still have your headphones’ packaging, the serial number will be printed near the UPC code on the back of the package. Otherwise, the headphones must be connected to see the serial number from within the phone. An oversight, to be sure.

For iOS Users:

If you find the serial number on the packaging, however, you can contact Apple, and they can relay the last known location to you once you prove you are who you say you are. You will also probably need to know the Apple ID login and password information for the Apple ID associated with the Beats Studio Buds that have the missing case.

For Android Users:

Android users can also find the serial number for their device without their device needing to be connected by:

  • Open the Beats appFind Under the Hood: Serial NumberContact Apple with that serial number and get the last known location of your charging case.

Conclusion

It is an oversight for the earbuds to not be usable without the charging case. I can’t see many instances where most people using them aren’t just carrying them around in the case anyway. Since that is the only way to charge the Beats Studio Buds, they don’t have a very long shelf life without the Smart Case. It is best to find or replace it.