This Free App Makes AirPods Fully Compatible With Android Devices, But There's A Catch

Apple's AirPods Pro 3 are arguably some of the best earbuds on the market right now, but if you're hoping to use them on Android, then you're going to be a bit disappointed. Like most things Apple, the AirPods are more designed to work seamlessly with the iPhone and other Apple products. Sure, you can connect them to your Android phone, but you'll miss out on a lot of the features that truly make them stand out, and without the help of a third-party app, you won't even have basic control of your AirPods.

At least, that used to be the case.

Now, thanks to the power of a new app, you can actually get more of the features that the AirPods offer, including Ear Detection, Noise control settings, and even Conversational Awareness. If the prospect of being able to more seamlessly use AirPods with your Android is exciting, then LibrePods might just be the new app you need to download.

There's just one pesky requirement you'll need to meet to get the full experience. You need a rooted device (via Android Authority).

A big part of the reason you need a rooted device to get the most out of LibrePods is because the app was actually created by reverse engineering the different protocols that Apple uses to make the AirPods work correctly. This means the app actually takes your AirPods and makes them think they are connected to an Apple device like the iPhone 17 instead of an Android phone.

This lets the app tap into the proprietary details that the AirPods provide — like their device status and more. It is this access that helps LibrePods unlock accessibility to all of the features baked right into the AirPods.

Of course, rooting a phone in 2025 is a lot different than it used to be. It's less common now than it was ten years ago, and many even recommend avoiding rooting your phone — though there are still plenty of reasons that people turn to rooting their devices. However, it is important to know that rooting your device does void your manufacturer's warranty, and depending on the device, it can even reportedly affect app functionality and make data stored in secure partitions inaccessible. This latter issue is most common in Samsung devices, which have a security flag that is triggered when the device is rooted.

While rooting might not be the best answer for everyone, the fact that someone has created an app that can unlock many of the AirPods' features on Android is still exciting. There are other apps out there designed to make your AirPods work with an Android phone more easily, like OpenPods, but LibrePods appears to be the one with the most access to the earbuds' various features — excluding heart rate monitoring.