Airpods double-tap doesn't work properly: returning.

[NovaTerrus]

Double taps work for me 99% of the time. All that's needed is a very gentle tap. Frankly, I find your observations sound a bit hysterical and vastly exaggerated. You are supposed to tap with your fingers, not a hammer. And there is essentially no way that a tap on the airpods will increase your tinnitus for the day. That not the way tinnitus works.

I think Apple may have an issue with quality control with the AirPods then. I also just received mine and find that Siri activates (without exaggeration) about 10% of the time when I double tap the top part of the earbud. It works more often if I hit it as hard as I can without dislodging it, though the noise it makes does hurt my ears.

 

[jimthing]

I think Apple may have an issue with quality control with the AirPods then. I also just received mine and find that Siri activates (without exaggeration) about 10% of the time when I double tap the top part of the earbud. It works more often if I hit it as hard as I can without dislodging it, though the noise it makes does hurt my ears.

Yes, the apparent 'punching oneself in the ear' issue, I raised at the beginning of this thread, lol!

However, even trying the display copies in Apple Regent Street, they all seem to show the same tap fail issues. So looks like a generic problem.

 

[flashpirate]

Yes, the apparent 'punching oneself in the ear' issue, I raised at the beginning of this thread, lol!

However, even trying the display copies in Apple Regent Street, they all seem to show the same tap fail issues. So looks like a generic problem.

My eardrum hurt and tinnitus flared up after trying to get Siri to work. Then just trying to get play pause to work.

I like that pulling one out of an ear pauses the music, but then if you put it anywhere but back in your ear, you'll either lose it or it will think it's back in your ear and start playing music again. Basically, nice feature, but without a reliable and non-painful way to pause music without having to find my phone, these are much worse than any other bluetooth headset.

They're going back. Too many compromises, too much money. They're not nearly as good as the free ones they ship with the phones, and really not very good overall.

 

[jimthing]

My eardrum hurt and tinnitus flared up after trying to get Siri to work. Then just trying to get play pause to work.

I like that pulling one out of an ear pauses the music, but then if you put it anywhere but back in your ear, you'll either lose it or it will think it's back in your ear and start playing music again. Basically, nice feature, but without a reliable and non-painful way to pause music without having to find my phone, these are much worse than any other bluetooth headset.

They're going back. Too many compromises, too much money. They're not nearly as good as the free ones they ship with the phones, and really not very good overall.

Mine have been returned. I just couldn't justify the price for keeping them, with the tap issues and lack of volume/track control without Siri. Oh well, I'll live.

 

[truth1ness]

I'm having the same problem as OP. This blows, I thought they would have worked out the kinks in the big delay. These are likely going right back. It's more like a 5% success rate for me and my ears hurt from trying. Hopefully a replacement pair works better.

 

[teidon]

You all are tapping it wrong!

Seriously though, there are more than one way to tap them. It hurts your ear if you tap them (deeper) into your ear. But any other direction won't or at least not so much/easily. Try tapping them top to down, front to back or you could even try tapping your ear from behind (works every time).

 

[jimthing]

I'm having the same problem as OP. This blows, I thought they would have worked out the kinks in the big delay. These are likely going right back. It's more like a 5% success rate for me and my ears hurt from trying. Hopefully a replacement pair works better.

Before returning mine, I tried the display pairs in store, but they were exactly the same. Much too annoying. C'est la vie.

 

[truth1ness]

You all are tapping it wrong!

Seriously though, there are more than one way to tap them. It hurts your ear if you tap them (deeper) into your ear. But any other direction won't or at least not so much/easily. Try tapping them top to down, front to back or you could even try tapping your ear from behind (works every time).

Everyone in this forum knows how to freakin double tap. If after 15 minutes of trying every possible tapping variation the responsiveness still sucks it is a design issue, period. Imagine if you had to tap the Macbook trackpad hard and at a certain angle to make it work, it would be a joke and an uproar. That combined with it being directly over your eardrum limiting how bad hard you can tap it makes this a terrible design or execution.

 

[teidon]

Everyone in this forum knows how to freakin double tap. If after 15 minutes of trying every possible tapping variation the responsiveness still sucks it is a design issue, period. Imagine if you had to tap the Macbook trackpad hard and at a certain angle to make it work, it would be a joke and an uproar. That combined with it being directly over your eardrum limiting how bad hard you can tap it makes this a terrible design or execution.

The nice thing about MacBook's trackpad is that there is really only one direction to tap/press it. So it's almost impossible to tap it wrong. Your ear on the other hand (if we restrict our selves to XYZ coordinates) has 5 possible directions. Out of the 5 possible (in the case of AirPods) 1 is slightly painful, 1 is strange (bottom to up) and 3 works great most of the time.

 

[truth1ness]

I definitely tried every direction. It doesn't take a genius to exhaust every tap point on a 1 sq centimeter surface. I'll return these and wait a month or two and hopefully they'll have worked out the hardware issues when I re-order.

 

[predation]

is double tap supposed to work on the right pod only?
im noticing that it only works for my right pod.

***edit. yeah both are supposed to work. Just did a "reset" by placing in case and switching BT profiles. Both sides work.

hoping there is an update to tackle some of the teething issues of the airpods.

For me, by far one of the most convenient BT's for me.

[doublepost=1484000920][/doublepost]

You all are tapping it wrong!

Seriously though, there are more than one way to tap them. It hurts your ear if you tap them (deeper) into your ear. But any other direction won't or at least not so much/easily. Try tapping them top to down, front to back or you could even try tapping your ear from behind (works every time).

the behind the ear. this is LOL. actually works every time.

 

[ericwn]

I really like having no wires at all, but if Apple could make AirPods out of their (isolating) In-Ear headphones, I'd be delighted. I.e., a completely wireless version of these:

That would be lovely!

 

[Jayson A]

I just use the volume buttons on my iPhone or iPad. I can even feel them through my pocket. The only thing I don't like is not being to skip a bad song.
[doublepost=1484243390][/doublepost]

I really like having no wires at all, but if Apple could make AirPods out of their (isolating) In-Ear headphones, I'd be delighted. I.e., a completely wireless version of these:

I never liked those

 

[Alrescha]

1) double tap loads of times, if I'm very lucky it'll work, mostly it doesn't.

I have the exact same experience. My double-tap success rate is around 5%, left or right does not seem to matter. By the time I get it to work I have an earache.

try tapping your ear from behind (works every time).

Actually, this seems to help. Not every time (not even close), but better.

I love my AirPods, but this double-tap business is the pits, and detracts greatly from their functionality.

A.

 

[Robear777]

As per title.

I can't stand having to:

1) double tap loads of times, if I'm very lucky it'll work, mostly it doesn't.

2) when double tapping it makes my eardrum feel like someone had banged the side of my ear. Repeatly doing this increases my tinnitus for the day.

3) volume control via Siri is too painful: double tap several times (see point 1!), audio pauses, ask it to lower volume, it gets it wrong. Repeat until right...60 seconds later, if I'm lucky.

All these are deal breakers for me, I've already had enough of the things after significant testing over last couple of days, to come to the conclusion that they'd drive me mad.

Bye bye Airpods, hello £160 again. Annoying, but that's the way it is.

PS. Yes, sound/fit were fine, tap is what I'm on about in this thread please. So don't come on THIS particular thread talking about anything but the tap issue. Thanks.

My Airpods were some of the first shipped by Apple and I received them from my wife on Christmas day. I use them in the house to listen to podcasts, music and sometimes video so the sound doesn't disturb my son while he is studying. I also use them for at least an hour each day while I walk my dogs. For the first couple of weeks that I owned them they worked flawlessly. I could double tap on them and call a friend or family member while I was outside on my walks. I could double tap on them and pause my music, turn up/down the volume or set it to a particular level (I.E. "set volume 70 percent"). I've made phone calls in both quiet and loud environments and the people I've talked to are always impressed that the call quality is amazing (rarely hearing background noise even in noisy environments). Apparently, Apple uses some tricks to deliver audio only when you're actually talking; if you don't believe me then try telling Siri to do something while the TV's volume is turned up (the only words she'll catch are the ones you say).

I was a software engineer for over 20 years (retired now) and I got pretty used to testing for both quality and defects so when I say that I'm currently experiencing the same issue as jim you should understand that I've read every thing posted to this thread and tried everything recommended here before replying to jim's post.

IMHO, there is indeed an issue with the Airpods but I'm not sure if it is a hardware issue (a faulty accelerometer) or a software issue... Apple loves to send out iOS updates and some times their changes cause problems; unfortunately, that is the nature of software.

Things that I've tried include:
1) Cleaning my Airpods thoroughly with a microfiber cloth to make sure that there isn't an issue with ear wax or skin oil... FYI, I keep my ears pretty darn clean but all skin has a certain amount of oil on it.
2) Using an air jet designed for cleaning a camera's lens to gently blow out the cracks and crevices of the air pod... Siri once stopped working on my iPhone and gently blowing out the ear piece actually fixed the problem. If I hadn't thought of doing that I was going to drive to my Apple store to get a replacement because I read on this forum that many had a similar problem and they got their phones replaced
3) Changing the angle of the Airpods. Personally I like the stems of my Airpods to point slightly forward. When double-tap was working the angle always was slightly forward. Several here are convinced they need to be pointed down towards the ground so I've tried that and it doesn't help.
4) Softly tapping
5) Firmly tapping
6) 4&5 at Apple's recommended location, near the top, a little from the top, center, a little below center and near the bottom of the Airpods... (Even tapping downward "like I'm clicking a pen")
7) 6 on both the left and right ear
8) 7 at every possible angle (that makes sense) within my ears
9) Most of the above but tapping on the sides of the stem
10) Triple taps in various varieties of the above
11) Quadruple taps in various varieties of the above
12) Enabling options that allow extended Siri capabilities while the phone is locked (required if you want to have Siri read recent text messages to you)
13) Most of the above while altering the speed of my taps
14) Most of the above with more of a touch instead of a tap
15) Tapping with the headphones set at low, intermediate and high volumes
16) Strong taps
17) Tapping with the tip of my fingernail instead of my finger
18) All varieties of taps right on the spot that the picture posted by Arran shows
19) Tapping (double touch) from above in various varieties
20) Rebooting my phone and trying all of the above
21) Deleting and recreating the bluetooth connection and trying all of the above
22) Removing and re inserting the Airpods and trying all of the above
23) Tapping ear from behind

I also came up with a new technique that works some of the time... I slide my finger towards the top of the AirPod until I hear the audio mute a little then I lift my finger and double tap. The first few times that I tried that it worked flawlessly for both ear pieces... Unfortunately, it's no longer working, go figure!

Regarding the idea of switching the double tap to pause/play instead of siri... I love that when things are working right I can ask for anything and get it. After a double tap I can say: "call my wife", "read new text messages", "read new email", "pause", "play", "set volume to 50%", "what time is it", "create note...", "set alarm...", "add event...", "what's the current score in the Sharks versus Jets game" and of course "pause" or "play". I haven't used Siri for home automation, but I have an Echo and it works pretty darn well for that.

Regarding the idea of controlling the Airpods with an Apple watch... I think that the Apple Watch is a beautiful device and I'd love to own one but "one expensive new toy at a time". Instead of a watch I've bought an inexpensive key fob bluetooth phone controller that does some of the basics (volume up/down, skip forward/back, snap a pic).

Regarding comments about ear shapes... My Airpods worked fine for all of December and didn't start having problems until recently. My ears have not gone through any perceivable changes during this time period nor have I had surgeries to change the shape of my ears... Double tapping my Airpods used to work and they stopped working... IMHO, it's either a hardware or a software problem and not an earlobe issue.

Regarding Siri being too slow... I agree that it's a bit slow when you're asking for iPod control (volume up/down, skip fwd/bk, etc.) but I don't mind Siri's speed for 90% of the things I use Siri for. If you're just using the taps as an iPod remote control then I highly recommend you get a bluetooth key fob remote... Under $20 in most online market places.

Regarding using these in a City environment... There are great because you can hear your surrounding and your music; it's important to hear your surroundings in that type of environment. FYI, what really impresses me is that when I call people they often can't tell that I'm calling from a noisy environment... Pretty cool if you need to make an important call.

I'm hoping that Apple will release a software update to my phone and that things will magically start working correctly again... Of course, if I'm one of the few now having the exact same problem as Jim then it is probably a hardware problem... It would be interesting to know which phone everyone is using. My phone is an iPhone 7 Plus and I'm using the most recent iOS (including this week's security patch).

 

[brian719]

I can't stand having to:
1) double tap loads of times, if I'm very lucky it'll work, mostly it doesn't.

2) when double tapping it makes my eardrum feel like someone had banged the side of my ear. Repeatly doing this increases my tinnitus for the day..

I have had my airpods for about a month and I still can not figure out how to double tap consistently. I need it to answer a phone call. I can say "hey siri call my wife" and the phone or watch figure that out. But I can't say "Hey siri answer the phone" so what is the best place and the best timing to make the double tap work without damaging my ears???
[doublepost=1485973053][/doublepost]

Things that I've tried include:
7) on both the left and right ear.

Thanks for taking the time to write all this out! I tried all these and while it's kinda stupid, double tapping on both simultaneously seems to be the most consistent for me. i think i'm spacing my taps about a half second apart. Boom Boom! And I'm not hitting super hard so it's not painful, just stupid looking, kinda like the airpods

 

[doronbond]

This will be a bit of a stupid question, but how hard to do tap them? I've found that you actually need to tap them pretty firmly for it to register. Firmer than you may think!

Not a stupid question at all. Your post is the 2nd to confirm that tapping them more firmly activates play/pause, *along with answering and disconnecting phone calls

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/7794545?start=0&tstart=0

*my personal discovery, haven't seen anyone confirm via article/blog

 

[truth1ness]

Hey all, I returned my initial airpods and just received my second pair after waiting a few weeks. These are definitely ~80% better. If you're having issues with yours you should probably return them and get a new pair. Maybe they have ironed out sensitivity issues more now. It's still not perfect and I have to tap harder than I like on my eardrum but it's something I can calibrate to unlike before which was just ridiculously unreliable.

 

[Makoto1650]

As per title.

I can't stand having to:

1) double tap loads of times, if I'm very lucky it'll work, mostly it doesn't.

2) when double tapping it makes my eardrum feel like someone had banged the side of my ear. Repeatly doing this increases my tinnitus for the day.

3) volume control via Siri is too painful: double tap several times (see point 1!), audio pauses, ask it to lower volume, it gets it wrong. Repeat until right...60 seconds later, if I'm lucky.

All these are deal breakers for me, I've already had enough of the things after significant testing over last couple of days, to come to the conclusion that they'd drive me mad.

Bye bye Airpods, hello £160 again. Annoying, but that's the way it is.

PS. Yes, sound/fit were fine, tap is what I'm on about in this thread please. So don't come on THIS particular thread talking about anything but the tap issue. Thanks.

I was having the same issue, then I realized I was tapping too high and I wasn't waiting for it to pause, it takes a second or three.

 

[Lesact]

You all are tapping it wrong!

Seriously though, there are more than one way to tap them. It hurts your ear if you tap them (deeper) into your ear. But any other direction won't or at least not so much/easily. Try tapping them top to down, front to back or you could even try tapping your ear from behind (works every time).

Good suggestion, but its hard to do this if you have ears that lie flat against your head. At least Obama won't have any problems LOL
[doublepost=1492712499][/doublepost]I dont have Tinnitus, thankfully, but i do think the firmness of tap required, is too much. And its not a habit I want to get into.

Can we just rewind 10 years? Then Apple brought out the iphone, and we were seduced by the subtlety of the capacitative screen compared to the resistive screen. Now, pressing on a screen to communicate with it, actually seems vulgar. But with the airpods, we are tapping hard, and on our ears to boot! What happened? Somebody please resurrect Steve Jobs.

 

[Chrisb0020]

As per title.

I can't stand having to:

1) double tap loads of times, if I'm very lucky it'll work, mostly it doesn't.

2) when double tapping it makes my eardrum feel like someone had banged the side of my ear. Repeatly doing this increases my tinnitus for the day.

3) volume control via Siri is too painful: double tap several times (see point 1!), audio pauses, ask it to lower volume, it gets it wrong. Repeat until right...60 seconds later, if I'm lucky.

All these are deal breakers for me, I've already had enough of the things after significant testing over last couple of days, to come to the conclusion that they'd drive me mad.

Bye bye Airpods, hello £160 again. Annoying, but that's the way it is.

PS. Yes, sound/fit were fine, tap is what I'm on about in this thread please. So don't come on THIS particular thread talking about anything but the tap issue. Thanks.

I find I just have to lightly double tap the AirPods. And if you want almost max volume tell Siri 85%. If you want limited sound day 20%. I have mine with the latest firmware and I love them. And the microphone for talking on the phone is the best I’ve ever had. Windows all open in the car at 65 MPH and my caller can hear me fine and I don’t have to scream. And I don’t have to beat myself upon the skull to get a response from Siri or to start or stop a track.

 

[Happysam]

As per title.

I can't stand having to:

1) double tap loads of times, if I'm very lucky it'll work, mostly it doesn't.

2) when double tapping it makes my eardrum feel like someone had banged the side of my ear. Repeatly doing this increases my tinnitus for the day.

3) volume control via Siri is too painful: double tap several times (see point 1!), audio pauses, ask it to lower volume, it gets it wrong. Repeat until right...60 seconds later, if I'm lucky.

All these are deal breakers for me, I've already had enough of the things after significant testing over last couple of days, to come to the conclusion that they'd drive me mad.

Bye bye Airpods, hello £160 again. Annoying, but that's the way it is.

PS. Yes, sound/fit were fine, tap is what I'm on about in this thread please. So don't come on THIS particular thread talking about anything but the tap issue. Thanks.

[doublepost=1506522002][/doublepost]Had the same proble,. Worked 1/10 taps maybe.

Now have them working reliably. I now tap the little lobe which holds the AirPod in place. I tap it on the junction from that lobe and the side of my face, the side burn area. Tapping in the direction of the AirPod (never touching it). 100% now, both ears.

 

[jimthing]

[doublepost=1506522002][/doublepost]Had the same proble,. Worked 1/10 taps maybe.

Now have them working reliably. I now tap the little lobe which holds the AirPod in place. I tap it on the junction from that lobe and the side of my face, the side burn area. Tapping in the direction of the AirPod (never touching it). 100% now, both ears.

Interesting. But I'd wait now until new version(s) are released, perhaps with others having a new chip or something.

Also, there's the current issue with this new wireless charging case. No doubt in January, Apple will release the charging case alone for ~£69, then up the price of the whole set (earphones+charging case) to ~£199 for new purchasers. ;-|

 

[CodeSpyder]

I assume that you know that you can set up the double tap in Settings / Bluetooth.

 

[jimthing]

I assume that you know that you can set up the double tap in Settings / Bluetooth.

Yes. And recently they have the ability to have the left and right taps do different things.

But its moot, as I don't like the tapping in the first place, regardless of what function is set.