Apple Officially Retires Beats Updater Utility in Favor of Over-the-Air Firmware Updates

Apple has officially retired Beats Updater, the software utility that lets users update the firmware of their Beats Wireless headphones, earphones, and speakers.

beats updater
Beats Updater allows users to plug their Beats product directly into the USB port of their computer to check for firmware updates online, but with Apple's growing tendency to deliver over-the-air updates to wireless products via iOS and iPadOS, the company clearly feels the utility has reached the end of its life.

Beats Updater is still available to download for use with the following products, but Apple says no new versions will be available in future.

  • Beats Solo2 Wireless
  • Beats Studio Wireless
  • Powerbeats 2 Wireless
  • Beats Pill 2.0
  • Powerbeats
  • Powerbeats Pro
  • Powerbeats3 Wireless
  • Solo Pro
  • Beats Solo3 Wireless
  • Beats Studio3 Wireless
  • BeatsX

If you have one of the Beats headphones or earphones listed below, pairing them with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch will update them automatically. If you have an Android device, download the Beats app for Android from the Google Play store to update your firmware.

  • Powerbeats
  • ‌Powerbeats Pro‌
  • Powerbeats3 Wireless
  • Solo Pro
  • Beats Solo3 Wireless
  • Beats Studio3 Wireless
  • BeatsX

Apple recently released over-the-air firmware updates for AirPods (second generation), AirPods Pro, Powerbeats, ‌Powerbeats Pro‌, and Solo Pro. The new firmware adds automatic switching support to these models and requires iOS 14, iPadOS 14, macOS Big Sur, or later. In addition to automatic switching, ‌AirPods Pro‌ also gained a new spatial audio feature.

Tag: Beats

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...

Top Rated Comments

az431 Avatar
50 months ago

Apple getting rid of something that just works...
What a surprise!!!
I must have missed the part of the article where it states that wireless updates usually don't work.


Just like getting rid of iTunes 12.6.5.3.
So, we have to download the same thing over and over if we have multiple products.
This is the way Apple considers "for the environment".
A firmware update doesn't affect the environment any more than your post.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
50 months ago

Great. So now you plug them in and wait for them to update when they feel like it like the AirPods? STUPID
No. They update when paired and not in use. Just like AirPods.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
-DMN- Avatar
50 months ago
Apple getting rid of something that just works...
What a surprise!!!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
50 months ago

Apparently you haven’t been one of many here where this just doesn’t work that way. There are entire threads dedicated to it.
Correct. It always just works for all the AirPods and AirPods Pro in this house. But, then, we aren’t obsessed forum members who demand the update immediately and aren’t willing to wait a day until it updates.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jbachandouris Avatar
50 months ago
Great. So now you plug them in and wait for them to update when they feel like it like the AirPods? STUPID
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Bandaman Avatar
50 months ago

No. They update when paired and not in use. Just like AirPods.
Apparently you haven’t been one of many here where this just doesn’t work that way. There are entire threads dedicated to it.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)