Airpods Audio Problems

[richard371]

The dropouts are becoming unacceptable. Just sitting at home doing nothing last night and this am I got several mini dropouts etc. I had 2 other coworkers pick up a pair last week and they are complaining of the same thing. I know BT can have dropouts but the level its happening with these are twice as much or more then other BT headsets we have tried. My guess is you are feeding 2 headset the signal instead of one so twice as many dropouts are possible. I can't imaging all 3 of us have defective headsets. I really hope Apple can tune this up with a SW update but they are just not ready for prime time IMHO. Hopefully this is not just a limitation of the oversaturated 2.4GHZ frequency range and thus more dropouts due to 2 separate earbuds.

 

[toph2toast]

I came on the forums to see if anyone else had posted about this exact issue. My AirPods were fine the first few weeks I had them. Then last week they seemed to skip every time I was on the treadmill. I only use Apple Music, so that might be the culprit. I haven't had the time to test with any other apps yet.

 

[eagleglen]

I'm having the same problem mostly when I listen to Apple Music on my 7+ (AT&T). Sometimes it's really bad where the audio skips and pauses numerous times throughout a song, but other times it plays flawlessly. My iPad and MBP seems to have less difficulties. I've tried restarting, forgetting, and resetting the AirPods with various degrees of success, but always the issue returns. After much frustration last night, I created a trouble ticket and had Apple Support call me. I had already done all the trouble shooting suggestions, but was still asked a lot of questions that I hope will help Apple track the issue, as it's just as likely a software problem. They made a genus bar appointment for me, but it won't be until Monday. My fear is that, similar to an elusive noise in a car, the problem won't present itself at my appointment. My experience is that they will take my word for it this first time, but only then and future issues will be harder to prove.

 

[geraldem]

As I expected, the new ios 10.2 beta that I just loaded seems to have fixed all of my issues. Will continue to test, but the culprit seemed to be Apple Music. Works good now, but will keep an eye on it. Also, I used my airpods with my S7 Edge for a few days with apple music and google music, worked flawlessly. So things are looking up

 

[ManuCH]

I'm having the same issue with my iPhone 7 Plus (GSM).

Here's what my tests brought up so far:

• I mainly have the audio skipping issue with the Music app (I'm using Apple Music so most of my music is streamed/downloaded on the fly)
• I noticed that the drops are location-dependent. For example, I never have the issue at home or at the office. But I have it very often when I'm at a train station with lots of people around, and indoor LTE antennas (for better coverage)
• If I put the iPhone to airplane mode, then re-enable Wifi and Bluetooth (basically disabling the GSM/LTE radio), I have zero drops. None. Never. This is the case even if I let my Apple Watch (original series) powered on and connected.

My conclusion is that the issue only appears when the LTE radio is transmitting, *and* if there are other interferences going on at the same time (large crowds, and/or indoor LTE repeaters nearby).

My friends owning AirPods have the exact same issues at the exact same locations I do, and are also consistently able to solve them when in airplane mode, then re-enabling Wifi and Bluetooth.

I haven't contacted Apple yet, I have to take the time to do so. But at least I know it's not a hardware issue, as everyone I know who owns AirPods in the area has the exact same issues.

 

[ManuCH]

Another update: the issue goes away if I disable 4G. If I run my iPhone 7 Plus on 3G only, there are 0 drops.

 

[iMacoo7]

I have had dropped calls with my 7 and 7 plus. Tested with a couple of family members IP7's and the same thing... Maybe a firmware update or OTA update can fix this issue...

 

[MrXiro]

The dropouts are becoming unacceptable. Just sitting at home doing nothing last night and this am I got several mini dropouts etc. I had 2 other coworkers pick up a pair last week and they are complaining of the same thing. I know BT can have dropouts but the level its happening with these are twice as much or more then other BT headsets we have tried. My guess is you are feeding 2 headset the signal instead of one so twice as many dropouts are possible. I can't imaging all 3 of us have defective headsets. I really hope Apple can tune this up with a SW update but they are just not ready for prime time IMHO. Hopefully this is not just a limitation of the oversaturated 2.4GHZ frequency range and thus more dropouts due to 2 separate earbuds.

Opposite for me. Best Bluetooth experience I've ever had besides the Solo 3s and I own at least 10 pairs of bluetooth headphones... probably closer to 20 cause I'm an addict.

 

[dancj]

I got my iPhone replaced over the weekend (due to an unrelated battery issue) and the problem seems to be completely gone. 45 minutes of Pokemon Go while listening to music and not a single jump.

I'm not sure if it's the new phone or just restoring from the backup that did it, but either way I'm happy now.

 

[geekiemac]

I got my AirPods a couple of weeks ago. So far, so good, we're still in honeymoon mode no issues, no disconnects, no call dropouts, indeed my contacts on the phone don't even notice I'm using headphones.

But over the last couple of days, I've experienced sporadic dropouts, preceded by some noise/audio crackling. These happen only when I use the AirPods with my iMac 5K, and while playing Diablo III. Never while on any other device (I mostly use them on the iPhone to listen to music locally or on Spotify or Apple Music, sometimes for hours on end when I'm working, with no issues.

I suspect some interference in our "geek war room" at home with its two desktop computers, two laptops, iPads, smartphones and a Wifi extender....

 

[puckhead193]

i was wondering if anyone had any updates to this. When I bought my AirPods in the spring i noticed this issue on my iPhone 6plus and just thought it was my old phone being crappy. When I got my X same thing.

I've noticed if i'm not doing anything. Laying in bed, charging my phone (via cable) on the train, walking around, nothing really specific. The other night i was in bed laying down, phone charging 2 feet away on my nightstand and it paused my music twice. I was on MR browsing in safari when it happened. But it also still randomly hiccups.

Last week apple replaced both AirPods because of these hiccups but its still happening.

 

[dancj]

It hasn’t completely gone for me, but since I updated from an iPhone 6 to an iPhone 7, it’s improved massively for me.