Airpods - new owners views, problems and questions

[Mac 128]

I was surprised to see the iPhone 7 has Bluetooth 4.2.

Having a 6S, I just thought the Bluetooth 5 Airpods would be timed to be released with an iPhone also having Bluetooth 5.

So does this mean if next years iPhone has Bluetooth 5, we can expect even better range & robust signal from phone to Airpods since the jump from Bluetooth 4.2 to 5 is meant to be a significant one?

Not necessarily. I believe that since Apple sits on the board of the BT SIG, and helped develop BT 5, that the W1 chip represents many of the things they intend to implement in BT 5, a draft prototype if you will. And given that it's a custom chip, can be upgraded to BT 5 standards with a firmware upgrade.

However, if I'm wrong, and the AirPods are limited to BT 4x standards, then upgrading the iPhone to 5x won't likely improve the AirPods performance.

Then again, if BT 5 is backward compatible with 4x devices with respect to range, then I don't see why there won't be some increased range, with the phone providing most of the heavy lifting. Certainly to the extent Apple baked in any BT 5 tech into the AirPods, they are more likely to take advantage of any such legacy capability compared to a standard BT 4x device.

It's hard to imagine Apple is releasing something that will be surpassed in a year, and the W1 chip certainly provides hope that the AirPods have a degree of future proofing, but then again it wouldn't be the first time Apple left the first generation of early adopters behind.

 

[Ralfi]

Not necessarily. I believe that since Apple sits on the board of the BT SIG, and helped develop BT 5, that the W1 chip represents many of the things they intend to implement in BT 5, a draft prototype if you will. And given that it's a custom chip, can be upgraded to BT 5 standards with a firmware upgrade.

However, if I'm wrong, and the AirPods are limited to BT 4x standards, then upgrading the iPhone to 5x won't likely improve the AirPods performance.

Then again, if BT 5 is backward compatible with 4x devices with respect to range, then I don't see why there won't be some increased range, with the phone providing most of the heavy lifting. Certainly to the extent Apple baked in any BT 5 tech into the AirPods, they are more likely to take advantage of any such legacy capability compared to a standard BT 4x device.

It's hard to imagine Apple is releasing something that will be surpassed in a year, and the W1 chip certainly provides hope that the AirPods have a degree of future proofing, but then again it wouldn't be the first time Apple left the first generation of early adopters behind.

Oh ok. I was under the impression the Airpods were Bluetooth 5 certified, but reading your post above reminded me of an article stating the W1 chip is roughly the equivalent, though not officially BT5.

Looking up specs yesterday for the Airpods, they didn't go into detail of which version's currently in them - Surprisingly, the Apple site only states 'Bluetooth'......they're treating it like RAM within iPhones...hush hush?

If the Airpods can be upgraded to BT5, then both devices (phone+Airpods) having BT5 should improve things i'd imagine. or even one having BT5 (2017 iPhone) & the other with W1 (Airpods) should see improvements I reckon (hope).

I've been looking forward to the 10th anniversary iPhone...a boost in BT performance may be one of its big features.

 

[Mosco]

Oh ok. I was under the impression the Airpods were Bluetooth 5 certified, but reading your post above reminded me of an article stating the W1 chip is roughly the equivalent, though not officially BT5.

Link to this article? Pretty sure the W1 is just regular bluetooth 4.x w/ AAC codec support, power optimizations, and special software that handles the pairing (like how some headphones use NFC pairing, same idea just through icloud).

 

[Ralfi]

Link to this article? Pretty sure the W1 is just regular bluetooth 4.x w/ AAC codec support, power optimizations, and special software that handles the pairing (like how some headphones use NFC pairing, same idea just through icloud).

https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/12/apple-w1-chip-how-it-works/

Looks like I may've misinterpreted the article. Mac 128 explains it better above & it reflects the speculation within the article.

But it does raise another question - are the Airpods Class 1 or Class 2 Bluetooth?

It seems that to get the very best Bluetooth performance, you want both devices to be Bluetooth Standard 5 & Bluetooth Class 1.

Right now, we may have a hybrid setup, which is encouraging because the range/quality of the audio's impressive as is.

 

[I am Andy]

I got my AirPods today and am really pleased. Th only issue that I'm having is that the audio when talking to Siri seems to be really low quality? Is anyone else experiencing this?

Yes. Exactly my problem.
Apple support was not able to help.

 

[I am Andy]

It's poor quality for me also. Others have mentioned it here also.

I presume transmitting Siri at a lower bandwidth/quality is to save battery life?

I'd hope there was a setting to adjust the quality of Siri as the battery drain surely couldn't be that significant?



I had issues yesterday also....was aiming to show them off at a Christmas lunch, but they didn't want to play

I've searched the whole thread and I think that poor sound quality responses from Siri seem to occur very rarely.
So I suppose it's a defect. The bad Siri sound is so obvious that more people would complain.
I'm going to contact Apple support again.

 

[Puonti]

I've searched the whole thread and I think that poor sound quality responses from Siri seem to occur very rarely.
So I suppose it's a defect. The bad Siri sound is so obvious that more people would complain.
I'm going to contact Apple support again.

I suspect Siri and calls are simply being piped through a different codec than music and video. It's likely SBC, which offers lower latency vs. the higher quality AAC.

 

[I am Andy]

I suspect Siri and calls are simply being piped through a different codec than music and video. It's likely SBC, which offers lower latency vs. the higher quality AAC.

Might be. But nearly nobody complains about the low Siri sound quality. So I suppose that I'm more or less alone.

 

[FunkyTang]

This is apologist ********. If the port is changing, change the port on everything. Ship a USB-C power brick with the iPhone 7, with the AirPods, with everything going forward and include the cable as well.

This half step ******** prolongs the pain of a transition.

The usb-c to usb-a cable is $9. I have one and I don't even have a even have a MacBook that uses USB-c yet.
[doublepost=1482850414][/doublepost]Does anyone know what the button on the back of the charging case exactly does? Seems like it resets.

 

[I am Andy]

Does anyone know what the button on the back of the charging case exactly does? Seems like it resets

You can use it for e.g. linking your AirPods to normal BT device. Like the appleTV.

 

[IXDoubleDXI]

The usb-c to usb-a cable is $9. I have one and I don't even have a even have a MacBook that uses USB-c yet.
[doublepost=1482850414][/doublepost]Does anyone know what the button on the back of the charging case exactly does? Seems like it resets.

I had to use this to sync them with my rMB yesterday.

 

[TurboPGT!]

[doublepost=1482850414][/doublepost]Does anyone know what the button on the back of the charging case exactly does? Seems like it resets.

Its for pairing with non-iPhone, iPad, Mac devices.
[doublepost=1482854767][/doublepost]

It's poor quality for me also. Others have mentioned it here also.

I presume transmitting Siri at a lower bandwidth/quality is to save battery life?

I'd hope there was a setting to adjust the quality of Siri as the battery drain surely couldn't be that significant?



I had issues yesterday also....was aiming to show them off at a Christmas lunch, but they didn't want to play

None of these issues here. Sounds like you're doing it wrong. If Siri is not coming across at normal quality, then they are behaving like most other Bluetooth headphones do (read: terribly). This isn't supposed to be the case, and is NOT the case for my AirPods.

Are you devices even up to date? They should be on the absolute latest iOS update available.

 

[yanksfan114]

https://9to5mac.com/2016/09/12/apple-w1-chip-how-it-works/

Looks like I may've misinterpreted the article. Mac 128 explains it better above & it reflects the speculation within the article.

But it does raise another question - are the Airpods Class 1 or Class 2 Bluetooth?

It seems that to get the very best Bluetooth performance, you want both devices to be Bluetooth Standard 5 & Bluetooth Class 1.

Right now, we may have a hybrid setup, which is encouraging because the range/quality of the audio's impressive as is.

I believe I've read that they are a class 1 BT device.

 

[tivoboy]

Picked up two more sets of AirPods today for gifts.

Checked their serials on CoconutID and it shows they were manufactured in mid October! How bizarre. The labels on the boxes still say 12/16 though which I assume means December 2016. I hope I haven't got dodgy/out of sync ones that slipped through the net.

My ones were made in mid December and my friend's late November to early December but I was surprised to see October.

Maybe CoconutID is just wrong.

Anyone interested can check theirs using the CoconutID app and using the custom tab.

it could just mean that batteries were done then, not the airpods

 

[Brookzy]

it could just mean that batteries were done then, not the airpods

Apple battery serials normally have a different format and are much longer. The serial on the box should be assigned based on its final assembly time. Considering the original launch was meant to be late October, I have little doubt that these really were made back then.

 

[ortiz3m]

So been using my AirPods since 12/19 and overall experience has been mixed....based on all these great reviews I wonder if I have a faulty set. Here's my setup:

iPhone 7 w/ Smart Battery Case iOS 10.2(latest build)
iPad Pro 9.7" iOS 10.2(latest build)
ApplePencil
Apple Watch Series 0 Sport with WatchOS 3.1.1
AppleTV 4 64GB w TvOS 10.1
Mid 2014 rMBP w/ MacOS 10.12.2
MagicMouse 2
MagicTrackpad 2
Thunderbolt Display

AirPods to iPhone:
Music good, phone calls have issues with calling a person and rings sound really horrible and then I can't hear them once call goes through - I usually have to hang up and call again, handoff to iPhone has been good, sound quality kind of spotty - I feel like if I raise it a little bit it can jump to a louder sound

AirPods to iPad: over quality been good used it for watching videos and quality has sounded good handoff to iPad has worked properly

AirPods to Apple Watch: for music and sounds really good, occasional problem with handoff to device won't take control and get connection failed.

AirPods to AppleTV: bluetooth setup was really great and sounds of video and music is really good too. I didn't notice any lag between the video and the audio of things I'm watching. In the past sometime bluetooth you will see the mouth movement doesn't match the audio, no problems with AirPods No problems taking control of the device when choosing to connect and its connected to another device.

AirPods to rMBP: sound quality awful choppy sounds between left and right AirPod sounds like echoing, tried resetting bluetooth didn't work, problems with handoff to device not work all the time - sometimes have to try 2-3 times or reboot my box

Overall I'd give these guys a 6/10 rating. I really want to love them and on paper it sounds like Apple is going the right way but I'm just not getting the same experience like a lot of other reviews on here.

 

[I am Andy]

Its for pairing with non-iPhone, iPad, Mac devices.
[doublepost=1482854767][/doublepost]

None of these issues here. Sounds like you're doing it wrong. If Siri is not coming across at normal quality, then they are behaving like most other Bluetooth headphones do (read: terribly). This isn't supposed to be the case, and is NOT the case for my AirPods.

Are you devices even up to date? They should be on the absolute latest iOS update available.

Mine are on latest iOS version.
The problem is if you double tap to e.g. ask Siri for the time. The response is I low quality.
You can compare by changing the voice in preferences. Siri will tell you who hype/she is in good quality.
If you then ask for the time, you will notice the difference.
If there's still no difference, it's time for me to meet the apple guys...

 

[TurboPGT!]

Mine are on latest iOS version.
The problem is if you double tap to e.g. ask Siri for the time. The response is I low quality.
You can compare by changing the voice in preferences. Siri will tell you who hype/she is in good quality.
If you then ask for the time, you will notice the difference.
If there's still no difference, it's time for me to meet the apple guys...

Yes I know exactly what you're talking about because the experience is exactly the same with old crappy A2DP headphones...music good, Siri bad.

So, it sounds to me like you probably did something wrong. You probably "paired" them like they were some other bluetooth accessory which is 1000% exactly what you're not supposed to do.

 

[I am Andy]

Yes I know exactly what you're talking about because the experience is exactly the same with old crappy A2DP headphones...music good, Siri bad.

So, it sounds to me like you probably did something wrong. You probably "paired" them like they were some other bluetooth accessory which is 1000% exactly what you're not supposed to do.

Thanks for your immediate response.
No. I've paired them correctly. Music and Video sound quality is good. Only responses are affected. I might be a macrumors forum newbie, but not an Apple newbie. ;-)

 

[jettie1767]

I received mine today and I love them! Love the simplicity.

 

[Puonti]

Yes I know exactly what you're talking about because the experience is exactly the same with old crappy A2DP headphones...music good, Siri bad.

So, it sounds to me like you probably did something wrong. You probably "paired" them like they were some other bluetooth accessory which is 1000% exactly what you're not supposed to do.

I've also paired the AirPods correctly and experience the same strange low-quality Siri as I am Andy. Testing Siri voices under Settings / Siri comes through in high quality, but actual Siri interaction is in low quality.

Please let us know if you figure out how the situation can be rectified.

 

[TurboPGT!]

I've also paired the AirPods correctly and experience the same strange low-quality Siri as I am Andy. Testing Siri voices under Settings / Siri comes through in high quality, but actual Siri interaction is in low quality.

Please let us know if you figure out how the situation can be rectified.

I find it very strange. Particularly because this so common with crappy bluetooth headsets..this exact behavior.

I'll certainly report back if I experience it. So far only high quality Siri here.

 

[0970373]

So after a week with these and the initial love has worn down a little, I am not sure if I am going to keep these. Over the past couple of days while listening to music from my iPhone at my desk, the music stops playing randomly and more often than before. I'm literally sitting at my desk reading or typing things on the computer. I'm not touching the phone or moving around potentially dislodging the AirPods out of place, etc.

has anyone else been experiencing this? Everything is charged, plenty of battery. There's nothing new to interfere with any signals between my iPhone and AirPods, as far as I can tell. They just stop playing music. So I hit play on the iPhone or double tap the AirPods to begin playing again. Very odd that it's happening more than it was just a few days ago.

 

[GalaDaliGirl]

The genius at Apple thought it was dirt too, but it's that one piece is higher than the other so it creates a small gap. We used a piece of paper to confirm it was a gap and it went right through. Going to another Apple Store tomorrow, hopefully they have replacement parts.

Apparently this is a big problem.

#seperationgate ---- officially commenced.

 

[jk73]

So after a week with these and the initial love has worn down a little, I am not sure if I am going to keep these. Over the past couple of days while listening to music from my iPhone at my desk, the music stops playing randomly and more often than before. I'm literally sitting at my desk reading or typing things on the computer. I'm not touching the phone or moving around potentially dislodging the AirPods out of place, etc.

has anyone else been experiencing this? Everything is charged, plenty of battery. There's nothing new to interfere with any signals between my iPhone and AirPods, as far as I can tell. They just stop playing music. So I hit play on the iPhone or double tap the AirPods to begin playing again. Very odd that it's happening more than it was just a few days ago.

We're literally in the first week of these things. If you "loved" them initially, I wouldn't give up on them so quickly. Apple, no doubt, is getting a lot of feedback and will make updates and improvements via software or firmware as needed.

Also, I posted this elsewhere, but just as a general reminder, people with AirPods issues should make sure to also send feedback to Apple at:

apple.com/feedback

There's no AirPods page/section as of a few moments ago, but I assume feedback sent via the MBP, iPhone, or Watch pages would get routed accordingly.