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I own AirPods and I rate them as

  • Excellent

    Votes: 403 70.5%
  • Good, but I've got some problems

    Votes: 134 23.4%
  • No good, I'm returning them to Apple

    Votes: 14 2.4%
  • Tim Cook isn't Steve Jobs and Apple is doomed, etc.

    Votes: 21 3.7%

  • Total voters
    572
I have the same exact problem. My phone is sitting right next to me at work, and the connection drops constantly. Either stuttering or a few seconds of pure silence. The left AirPod actually stopped working for like 5 seconds while the right one was working just fine. It ended up just kicking back in a few seconds later.

I have a second pair of AirPods coming in the mail today. I will test those out to see if they have the same problem.

I'm also having connectivity issues. When I'm at work the phone is sitting on my desk literally right beside me and I'm on LTE connections only. Sound would skip or drop for a few seconds especially when I'm getting an incoming message. I spoke with Apple Care's senior advisor and she said since it's a new product there might be glitches and they are not sure what's causing it, because it sounded more like a firmware issue.
 
What a joke.

The major problem is much worse though. Controlling audio with the AirPods is a frustrating experience.

Since there are limited physical controls on the AirPods, you have to use Siri for everything. For example, if you want to raise the volume, you have to double tap the one of the AirPods. That pauses your music and activates Siri. Then you have to tell Siri to raise or lower the volume. Assuming Siri understands you, the music starts playing again at the adjusted volume. But if the volume isn't what you wanted, you have to go through the process again.

Oh, and Siri needs an internet connection to work. So, yeah, you literally need an internet connection just to adjust the volume or switch tracks using the AirPods. Welcome to 2016.

Nope: you're just missing one more Apple accessory: the Watch. You can do everything you're talking about here on your Watch without invoking Siri or needing an internet connection.

This is slightly tongue-in-cheek... but in an "actual true" kind of way ;-)

I really do have both an Apple Watch and AirPods... and the combination is awesome. They definitely made the two to go together.
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Has anyone tested what happens if you put one of your own AirPod and someone else's AirPod in to same charging case? Will they be paired together or will they keep their original pairs?

I'm interested in this as well: for one thing... I want to know if there's any sort of "theft protection" here. The AirPods are obviously somewhat tied to your iCloud account (because they can move between your devices). It would be great if they were _really_ tied to your iCloud account with something like "Activation Lock"! Would really cut down on theft...
 
Nope: you're just missing one more Apple accessory: the Watch. You can do everything you're talking about here on your Watch without invoking Siri or needing an internet connection.

This is slightly tongue-in-cheek... but in an "actual true" kind of way ;-)

I really do have both an Apple Watch and AirPods... and the combination is awesome. They definitely made the two to go together.
[doublepost=1482353290][/doublepost]

I'm interested in this as well: for one thing... I want to know if there's any sort of "theft protection" here. The AirPods are obviously somewhat tied to your iCloud account (because they can move between your devices). It would be great if they were _really_ tied to your iCloud account with something like "Activation Lock"! Would really cut down on theft...

Agreed. Or, just hit the volume buttons on the iPhone. I'm not sure what labored edge-cases everyone is stressing over where it is a challenge to get to their phone.
 
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Quick question... can you control the basics via Siri - volume control, skipping tracks etc without an internet connection? Presumably Apple have baked a few of the key phrases in to iOS for when you don't have a fast data connection on the go?
 
Agreed. Or, just hit the volume buttons on the iPhone. I'm not sure what labored edge-cases everyone is stressing over where it is a challenge to get to their phone.

Yeah - FWIW I've been using $30 BT headphones for working out for a long time. They technically have volume controls on one of the earbuds but it's too much of a pain to try to use them (they are tiny and I generally dislodge the buds from my ears if I try to use them). I always just adjust the volume using my Watch or phone.

That said, I actually _do_ like adjusting the volume with Siri with the Airpods. I just use the percentages:

"Hey Siri set the volume to 25%"
"Hey Siri set the volume to 75%"

Quick question... can you control the basics via Siri - volume control, skipping tracks etc without an internet connection? Presumably Apple have baked a few of the key phrases in to iOS for when you don't have a fast data connection on the go?

Nope.
 
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Adding a single-tap wouldn't work as it'd be triggered a LOT by accident and it'd be a pain.

Triple-tap probably won't be added as it would slow down the current double-tap as it'd need to wait to see if there is a third tap. A bit like the Home Button speed on iOS, change that to Slow and it feels like the whole OS is twice as slow.
 
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For me: I really think a touch sensitive strip down the whole outside length of the AirPods would be perfect for volume. Just run your finger up or down it to turn the volume up or down.

I'm sure they tried it though.

But: I also don't think it's as critical as with other earphones because the main reason why you want to turn the volume down is to hear other people... and with AirPods you just remove one and it auto-pauses. Super cool.
 
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For me: I really think a touch sensitive strip down the whole outside length of the AirPods would be perfect for volume. Just run your finger up or down it to turn the volume up or down.
The Bragi Dash have a similar feature and it is super unreliable. Granted, the AirPods have the stem, so accuracy should be better, but I feel like sliding your finger down the stem would potentially push the AirPod out of your ear.
 
Using them since Monday - noonish- and they've been pretty much what I expected. Which is a cool little piece of tech and they have, so far, replaced my earpods.
I haven't run into any type of battery issue yet, probably because I don't use them 5+ hours a day unless I am traveling, even then there are down times where I can most likely get them back in the case to charge and never have a completely depleted battery.
I don't mind having to increase the volume from the phone, I don't think I'll use Siri for that.
I would like a single tap function and maybe a triple tap function. Maybe even just double to play/pause, triple for Siri. I like both options but not having to choose between the two. I use Siri quite a lot and would also like tap to pause as well. This isn't a deal breaker but I would still like that option.

I have not had an issue with them slipping out or becoming loose in my ears, I didn't with earpods either.

Sound quality to me sounds better and louder than the Earpods.
 
I don't mind having to increase the volume from the phone, I don't think I'll use Siri for that.
I would like a single tap function and maybe a triple tap function. Maybe even just double to play/pause, triple for Siri. I like both options but not having to choose between the two. I use Siri quite a lot and would also like tap to pause as well. This isn't a deal breaker but I would still like that option.

I really think that once we all get used to pulling them out/putting them in for pause/play this will be less of an issue.
 
I've been playing with mine some more today, and even with some connectivity issues on older devices, I think they really are fantastic. The first truly wireless headphones I've used, and whilst I'm sure they don't get close to audiophile standards, for listening to music/radio/podcasts on the go they sound pretty good. Having used Earpods for quite some time, the design is brilliant. Simply replicating something so many are already familiar with, but without any physical connection to each other or the phone.

Fair play Apple, a great way to end what was a pretty poor year at times :apple:
 
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I've found the pause feature to be buggy at times. I take out one AirPod and sometimes the music begins playing in the other one while the AirPod is still in my hand.
 
Yeah - FWIW I've been using $30 BT headphones for working out for a long time. They technically have volume controls on one of the earbuds but it's too much of a pain to try to use them (they are tiny and I generally dislodge the buds from my ears if I try to use them). I always just adjust the volume using my Watch or phone.

That said, I actually _do_ like adjusting the volume with Siri with the Airpods. I just use the percentages:

"Hey Siri set the volume to 25%"
"Hey Siri set the volume to 75%"



Nope.

Thanks for posting this. I was going crazy trying to figure out why I was only able to get Siri volume to work once or twice. I was saying "volume 70%" but the minimum command is "set volume 70%".
 
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Ruh Roh.

Anyone who is familiar with my presence in other pre order threads will be probably know that I seem to have terrible luck with new malfunctioning/DOA devices.

Well the AirPods have continued this trend.

IMG_4174.jpg

Done all I can. They're dead.

Fortunately in anticipation of this I ordered two. So using my backup pair for now! :p

IMG_4176.jpg
 
Hello all, I have not yet read though the 9 pages that is this thread but I will do so by the end of this evening.
As of now I just wanted to drop in and ask: has anyone noticed that when the AirPods are connected and playing audio from the Mac if you open an app that is supporting handoff on the iPhone (Mail does it every time for me) the audio drops out on the pods? Could this mean that the airpods are somehow using handoff protocol to switch devices?
 
Thanks for posting this. I was going crazy trying to figure out why I was only able to get Siri volume to work once or twice. I was saying "volume 70%" but the minimum command is "set volume 70%".

Heh - yeah. I'm used to it from extensive use of Homekit... which is similar. A conversational sentence is generally better for Siri.
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I've found the pause feature to be buggy at times. I take out one AirPod and sometimes the music begins playing in the other one while the AirPod is still in my hand.

How are you holding the one you take out of your ear? Is it possible your hand/fingers are triggering the IR sensors? I take it out and hold it by the stem and I haven't had it do what you're describing yet.

In summary: you're holding it wrong ;-)
 
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I was lucky to score a pair from the Apple Store today (my online order shipping estimate was 6 weeks). As I walked out of the store I opened up the box and flipped open the charging case to look inside. My phone immediately popped up a message asking if I wanted to connect to the AirPods and just as I confirmed the connection my phone happened to ring. I quickly popped in the pods and answered. So within less than a minute of opening the box I was walking through noisy midtown Manhattan having a crystal clear conversation. I'm utterly impressed by the thought that has gone into making the pairing process so simple and automatic. The pods themselves are so comfortable I could easily forget I was wearing them. And though I'm no audiophile, I found the sound quality to be excellent. Plus, the case is so tiny! I'm a happy happy camper.
 
I'm also having connectivity issues. When I'm at work the phone is sitting on my desk literally right beside me and I'm on LTE connections only. Sound would skip or drop for a few seconds especially when I'm getting an incoming message. I spoke with Apple Care's senior advisor and she said since it's a new product there might be glitches and they are not sure what's causing it, because it sounded more like a firmware issue.
You know I'm sure they would like to hear about such issues. Is there a way to trend issues we experience to them? I'm on the iOS beta but I get skips and hitches occasionally on all the devices I've used these on.
 
Random question: anyone else's charging case lid make any "snapping" sounds when you push it left or right (lateral to the bottom part) when it's closed?
 
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