AirPods wireless range

[boston04and07]

Hi all. I recently got my first pair of AirPods after using the beats solo 3 headphones since those headphones had come out. A new pair of glasses made the Solos pretty much impossible to wear, and when I saw that AT&T had AirPods in stock I decided to try them out.

So far I'm mostly loving them - they're way more comfortable than I expected them to be with my glasses and half the time I forget I'm even wearing them. However one thing has been bugging me. With the Solos I was able to walk around my entire house and yard and they never cut out even once. It was actually pretty amazing. I had a pair of Beats X for a while too and they were the same in that regard - the range was just incredible. With the AirPods, the range wayyyy less than the Beats had. The other day I was in my backyard and walked about twenty feet from my iPad, in direct line of sight, and the wireless signal cut out. Inside the house I can't leave the room my device is in without the AirPods cutting out. This happens with the two devices I use with my AirPods, which are an iPad mini 4 and an iPhone 6s, both running the most recent public beta of iOS 10.3.

Is this normal? This is very different than the experience I've had with other W1 devices and really, the range in these is closer to the range I got in my pre-W1 Solo 2 headphones. I'm not sure if it's worth a trip to the Genius Bar. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[RadioGaGa1984]

I find the range fantastic for the size. I've paired to my Apple TV and during commercials go to get something to drink which is leaving my room closing the door going downstairs to the kitchen and they never cut out on me. So maybe an issue with one or both of your pods.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Unfortunately the smaller size of the airpods will require some sacrifice. I think their range is the biggest sacrifice. Occasionally, I will have a cut out with my phone in my pocket when bending over doing yard work. 99% of the time I have no issue (it is specifically they way I am bending over removing my mower bag).

I say, yours are fine, it is just a limitation of the device, and say if you use it with your phone and keep it in your pocket/holster it will be a non issue.