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jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
3,236
594
After resisting for a year I finally broke down and bought a set of AirPods a week ago.

I also have an iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 2, several ATV 4s, iMac, etc., but I have only ever used the AirPods to play music from my iPhone.

For the first few days they seemed to work great. Then I had some problems where they wouldn't play the tone for ear recognition and I could not get them to play music either.

After messing around with them for 15 minutes (restarting my phone, turning off my Apple Watch in case it was "interfering" with them, etc.) I just removed them from my phone and did the full 30 second reset on them.

I've now had to do that four times in the last few days. This has happened in my office, at home, pretty much everywhere.

It's getting really frustrating. This is the fourth BT earbuds I have purchased but the first Apple ones and I have spent more time troubleshooting them and dealing with problems than I have listening to them!

Are there any other options? I understand maybe they are defective but I've seen ample threads from others experiencing the same thing... is this just how it is?
 

Brookzy

macrumors 601
May 30, 2010
4,985
5,577
UK
To double check you're resetting them properly - after resetting, when you open the case to re-pair them, is the indicator light white?

Also, some useful troubleshooting tips I've found if things start going haywire:
  • Try using them with another device for a few seconds, and then switch back to the iPhone.
  • Try using Siri with them (this will engage the telephone audio profile, and then return to the high-def audio profile, which seems to fix stuttering audio for me occasionally).
(Ah, the state of Apple software today.)
 

Ralfi

macrumors 601
Dec 22, 2016
4,373
3,101
Australia
Are there any other options? I understand maybe they are defective but I've seen ample threads from others experiencing the same thing... is this just how it is?

That shouldn't be how it is. I've had mine for 13 months & haven't had such issues.

Where are the threads you're referring to? Keep in mind that Airpods issues like these mentioned online are by the minority. For most people, they connect & work normally.

I'd give them another chance & swap them over for another pair. If they fit your ears & you don't mind the sound quality, they're worth at least 3 chances imo, as they're that good when working as they should.
 

sparksd

macrumors G3
Jun 7, 2015
9,989
34,247
Seattle WA
Mine paired right off with my iPad Pro and Android phone and another Android tablet and have not had any connectivity issues with any of them. Same with my wife and her AirPods with her Air 2 iPad and an Android phone. Sounds like you got a bad set.
 

steve knight

macrumors 68030
Jan 28, 2009
2,735
7,180
I had to make my phone a new phone to get bluetooth to work well. I had problems with everything but my watch. airbuds were a problem too.
 

jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
3,236
594
Phone was set up as a new phone when I got it just less than two months ago. Other BT stuff works fine, I use my Jaybird X3 headphones and BT stream to my BMW all the time and never have problems... only problems are with AirPods.

I talked to Apple and they said it was worth exchanging them, so I'll try another pair and see if they work any better.
 
Last edited:

steve knight

macrumors 68030
Jan 28, 2009
2,735
7,180
Phone was set up as a new phone when I got it just less than two months ago. Other BT stuff works fine, I use my Jaybird X3 headphones and BT stream to my BMW all the time and never have problems... only problems are with AirPods.

I talked to Apple and they said it was worth exchanging them, so I'll try another pair and see if they work any better.
that pretty much eliminates the last thing. mine still will have trouble sometimes starting again when I pause music. they are not perfect for sure. but I wonder how much of it is the phone?
 

jmpage2

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Sep 14, 2007
3,236
594
that pretty much eliminates the last thing. mine still will have trouble sometimes starting again when I pause music. they are not perfect for sure. but I wonder how much of it is the phone?

Well I have a new pair as of earlier today so guess we'll find out.

I'll try to update this thread in a week or two with the results.
 
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