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Shirasaki

macrumors P6
Original poster
May 16, 2015
16,263
11,764
Ever since iOS 15 and macOS Monterey, using AirPods Pro becomes more and more frustrating than ever. Randomly getting disconnected from the device that is playing music/audio is just a start. Connecting time comes from previous iOS 13/14 seconds to now 10s, 20s, 30s, or even a minute, assuming it connects at all without me going into the control center to toggle it. Sometimes left got connected and the right one join after a few more seconds. Audio is fine, but spatial audio keeps bugging out randomly for no reason, which admittedly, is a rather minor issue.

In contrast, a pair of generic Bluetooth headphones that costs about half as much as AirPods Pro, connects every time, without issue. Signal stability is also great, or rather BT5.0 on AirPods Pro doesn't provide any huge boost to coverage, connection stability improvements, etc that advertised. It really makes me wonder where does Apple's AirPods division millions of dollars go.

Connection issue becomes much more chaotic when I sit around my iPhone iPad and MacBook Pro. Sometimes this one connects, cutting off the signal on the other. Sometimes that one connects, cutting off an ongoing phone call, forcing me to reconnect or use the speaker. Audio transition works decently when I play music, but pretty much not for everything else.

Before you start ranting, I am using the latest software on AirPods Pro, MacBook Pro, iPad, and iPhone. Contacted Apple Support at least 3 times to no avail, every time they tell me to "reset, re-pair" and that sort of stuff, which doesn't resolve the issue. Oh, and left AirPod sometimes don't recharge properly and need reseating.

Are those AirPods users only using them with their iPhone and maybe their Apple Watch, but not with iPad, with MacBook, or maybe other devices that support it? Why does a generic pair using standard Bluetooth protocol connect more reliably than AirPods Pro which uses Apple's proprietary API and connection protocols? I am so pissed off at this point.

AirPods Pro 2 is on the horizon, but I have lost confidence that one would "solve" my connection issue. Or, am I digging myself into an expensive hardware subscription now? I mean, ANC is great for its size, and the audio isn't bad. But connectivity......

This is after about 2 years of using this pair. Ugh...... and even now, it disconnects itself from iPad which I am playing video on, while other devices are not playing video or any audio at all.
 
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PaladinGuy

macrumors 68000
Sep 22, 2014
1,698
1,096
I have had AirPods Pro since the beginning of this year. I find them better than the normal AirPods but they’re not the best sounding earbuds on the market. When the connectivity works correctly, it’s great. They have had plenty of glitches over the years. I really wish there was a way that my MacBook Air didn’t ask me if I want to connect with it every time I touch it while using listening to something on my iPad or iPhone.
 

BugeyeSTI

macrumors 604
Aug 19, 2017
7,237
9,083
Arizona/Illinois
I've had some issues with only one Airpod connecting and then the other after 10-15 seconds later. Doesn't happen consistently but every once and awhile it pops up.. Never had the problem on iOS14
 

UBS28

macrumors 68030
Oct 2, 2012
2,893
2,340
Coming from the Sony WF-1000XM3 at the time, the AirPods Pro were at the time the best earbuds on the market for me. Because I could use it also for sports and was water resistant.

The Sony WF-1000XM3 sounds better than the AirPods Pro, but you couldn't use it for sports at all. And it was also more uncomfortable.

I don't know what the situation is in 2021 as I have not been looking for new earbuds in a while. If Sony addressed all the issues with the WF-1000XM4, it could be a winner. But I haven't tested that one.
 

Taco1933

macrumors 6502a
Aug 14, 2014
715
438
It isn’t too often that I’m using multiple apple devices at once while also using headphones. But I did have it switch from my phone (playing music) to my computer so it could give me a new mail ding. If that was a regular occurrence, it’d be infuriating. You can get cheaper headphones that sound better. The ease of connectivity is why you buy the AirPods. Take that away…
 
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