Do the AirPods Pro work reliably for anyone else or is it just me?

[Steve28]

I have the AirPods Pro. I also have a MacBook Pro, iPhone, 2 iPads, and an Apple Watch all on the same iCloud account. I use my AirPods Pro for running while streaming from my Apple Watch. I use them for this exclusively. Never with any other device, never for anything else. I run 5-6x mornings a week, every week and I have had this AirPods Pro since launch day.

Here's what happens in the morning when i take them out of the case to go running:

• 10% of the time: Nothing. They don't activate/pair. No amount of putting them back in the case and taking them out fixes it. Must "forget" and press-n-hold-white-button to re-pair
• 20% of the time: One of the two pairs. Have to put them both back in the case, wait, then back in my ears. Rinse and repeat... each time resulting a 50/50 chance of both pairing. So usually 2-4 times will do it.
• 10% of the time: I get pairing "bong" in both, but the watch can't play through them. I get the screen telling me to select and output device and selecting the airpods results in "There was a problem connecting..." Need to forget-n-pair
• 10% of the time: one or both of them has 0% battery because I have to press/wiggle/jiggle/hope when I put them in the case so they make contact with the charging contacts
• 50% of the time: they work as expected
• BONUS NEW BEHAVIOR with Watch OS7/iOS14: ~10% of the time in addition to one of the above, putting them in my ears causes music to randomly start playing on my iphone or or one of the ipads (not even through the AirPods). This is wonderful when the ipad is on the nightstand and the wife is still sleeping.

It's infuriating that my $40 Anker Buds are 100% reliable. Never failed to connect. Ever. I love Apple stuff (refer to aforementioned list of Apple stuff I own), but this has been a downright miserable experience.

So is this just me?

 

[SC54HI]

The pair I bought in May are garbage. They started malfunctioning 2-3 months ago. Can't even pair them with my iPhone now. They appear to be charging completely, they have been cleaned per Apple recs, and they are useless. I am actually on a chat ATM to try & get them replaced which looks like it will be a goat rope. No available local in-store options so I will have to do a DIY by shipping exchange.

OTOH, if I just wanted to drop $250 for new ones, I could get an in-store appointment today to do so.

Nothing like standing by their products and making things easy & right for the customer! /sarcasm/

 

[zhenya]

No such issues here. I have had them replaced for the clicking issue, however I’m willing to accept that these are a highly complex first generation device. AppleCare is $29 and makes exchanges painless. Not sure what you are concerned about with getting a replacement shipped @SC54HI. Apple will send you a new pair, you’ll have them the next day or maybe two, and you send the old ones back in the same package. You’ll likely get a complete new set of silicone tips included for your troubles. Far simpler than going in to a store.

 

[SC54HI]

No such issues here. I have had them replaced for the clicking issue, however I’m willing to accept that these are a highly complex first generation device. AppleCare is $29 and makes exchanges painless. Not sure what you are concerned about with getting a replacement shipped @SC54HI. Apple will send you a new pair, you’ll have them the next day or maybe two, and you send the old ones back in the same package. You’ll likely get a complete new set of silicone tips included for your troubles. Far simpler than going in to a store.

Was told it will take 7 business days. In the meantime, there's a hold on my credit card till the defective ones are verified as returned.

 

[zhenya]

Was told it will take 7 business days. In the meantime, there's a hold on my credit card till the defective ones are verified as returned.

True, but the hold is there because they send you the new ones first. You won't spend any time without them.

 

[CharlesShaw]

What works best for me is to making sure that no other headphones are paired to the Watch. On the screen that pops up and says “choose where to play audio to” if there’s only Airpods listed they will eventually begin playing. It’s extremely rare that I have to unpair them.

Only very rarely has one not begun playing at the beginning. Putting them back in the case a couple times resolves that. That is more likely to happen to me on other devices than the Watch, for some reason.

That said, a few times last year I had an issue where one would stop playing during a workout when I was trying to play a specific song (from a synced playlist on the Watch). The only resolution required forgetting and repairing.

 

[akash.nu]

I am experiencing similar issues with my AirPods while connected to the iPhone. I think there’s a bug in the Bluetooth stack on the iOS 14 as it never happened to me on iOS 13. Probably the same with the new watchOS.

 

[LeeW]

I find they work most of the time, sometimes when I take them out, knowing they are fully charged it tells me one side is dead, it's not. Also find that when my phone rings and I take them out of the box and put them in before answering they don't actually connect and the caller is still coming through the phone, not the Air Pods.

I like them I really do, but I am very likely to move on and try something different when they come to need to be replaced.

 

[CharlesShaw]

I find they work most of the time, sometimes when I take them out, knowing they are fully charged it tells me one side is dead, it's not. Also find that when my phone rings and I take them out of the box and put them in before answering they don't actually connect and the caller is still coming through the phone, not the Air Pods.

I like them I really do, but I am very likely to move on and try something different when they come to need to be replaced.

Between having Airpods and later, Aipods Pro, I really liked Galaxy Buds.

 

[Steve28]

Features that "work most of the time" are more frustrating to me than features I don't have. At $250 for earbuds, I expect the features they do have to work.

"60% of the time, it works every time" is not Apple.

 

[zhenya]

Features that "work most of the time" are more frustrating to me than features I don't have. At $250 for earbuds, I expect the features they do have to work.

"60% of the time, it works every time" is not Apple.

Your experience is atypical.

Have you called Apple support? I actually have found them very helpful with issues like these. They may be willing to try to replace them if they can’t make them connect to your watch reliably.

 

[mashinhead]

They work most of the time for me. They have their sketchy moments for sure, but not at the rate you're claiming. That seems unusal.

 

[Steve28]

I called apple and they are replacing the buds (not the case). So I will see... I don’t think the sometimes not charging is an issue with the buds though. I think that’s an issue with tolerances in the case. The warranty expires on 10/30, so I’m running out of time

 

[OrtonSocket]

I've been getting random disconnects followed by reconnects after I upgraded to iOS 14 and the latest firmware. But the problem doesn't occur when connected to my Mac.

 

[SC54HI]

Updates:

Received replacement airpods pro which are said to be new. They are completely charged & iPhone 11 is updated to iOS 14.1. Airpods firmware needs updating but there is, of course, no way to update it manually that I can discover. Trying to see if the firmware will update by putting connected airpods in their charging case next to the iPhone.

Furthermore, although the replacement airpods are both allegedly connected to bluetooth on the iPhone only the left one works. The right one is dead. Have already done "forget this device" a couple of times. No luck.

Verdict: still think that Airpods Pro are garbage. I would not advise purchasing Airpods Pro but if you do, get Applecare so that you can replace them and perhaps, eventually, get a pair that works. Hope I can get them to work sometime but am not holding my breath.

 

[akash.nu]

Updates:

Received replacement airpods pro which are said to be new. They are completely charged & iPhone 11 is updated to iOS 14.1. Airpods firmware needs updating but there is, of course, no way to update it manually that I can discover. Trying to see if the firmware will update by putting connected airpods in their charging case next to the iPhone.

Furthermore, although the replacement airpods are both allegedly connected to bluetooth on the iPhone only the left one works. The right one is dead. Have already done "forget this device" a couple of times. No luck.

Verdict: still think that Airpods Pro are garbage. I would not advise purchasing Airpods Pro but if you do, get Applecare so that you can replace them and perhaps, eventually, get a pair that works. Hope I can get them to work sometime but am not holding my breath.

The issue you’re seeing is not down to AirPods. It’s a software problem. I’m having similar issues since updating to iOS 14.

 

[robjulo]

I like them when they work right, which is most of the time, but they can be very glitchy. Pop one in my ear....says “connected”.....call comes in....sound won’t come through the APP. This has been mostly since iOS 14.

I’ve also replaced them twice having some of the issues others have had with the popping and static noises. (My wife’s had to be replaced as well as hers totally quit working).

Great when they work, but given the long threads of some of the issues, the quality isn’t up to par IMO.

 

[CWallace]

So far my APP have been more reliable than my AP - none of the issues I see on AP (single connections, only one charges, one discharges far faster, etc.) has happened with my APP. Both work all the time, every time and both take and hold a similar charge level and discharge at a similar rate.

 

[akash.nu]

So far my APP have been more reliable than my AP - none of the issues I see on AP (single connections, only one charges, one discharges far faster, etc.) has happened with my APP. Both work all the time, every time and both take and hold a similar charge level and discharge at a similar rate.

How long have you had them for?

 

[CWallace]

How long have you had them for?

Just crossed 60 days. I use them every day for 5+ hours a day.

 

[JT2002TJ]

Your experience is atypical.

Have you called Apple support? I actually have found them very helpful with issues like these. They may be willing to try to replace them if they can’t make them connect to your watch reliably.

I have and my Airpod Pro's since launch first week, my brother has had his since much later (so not like it was an early batch). I would say about 3-4 times out of 10 I have to do the put it back in the case to get the to connect during a call answered initially on the phone.

If I connect them prior to the call, or us them for music, I would say I only have to play that game < 1 time out of 10.

My brother and I share the same experience and frustration.

 

[JT2002TJ]

I like them when they work right, which is most of the time, but they can be very glitchy. Pop one in my ear....says “connected”.....call comes in....sound won’t come through the APP. This has been mostly since iOS 14.

My brother and I experience the exact same thing, although we had it with iOS13, it has gotten worse with 14.

 

[SC54HI]

The issue you’re seeing is not down to AirPods. It’s a software problem. I’m having similar issues since updating to iOS 14.

Doubt it. Sad to say, the AirPods Pro are a garbage product, with major design flaws, and not backed up by Apple.

Will agree that when they work, the sound is nice and they are reasonably comfortable for in-ear audio. Just don't count on them working reliably or regularly, being able to fix things when they don't work, or getting help from Apple when they don't work.

 

[yegon]

A new issue for me, along with random connect problems, is that now it appears to lose my settings. I have left as Siri, right as NC and NC off. I disable transparency in settings.

However, now after not using them for a few hours they go back to default. I can live without Siri being enabled but I find Transparency absolutely awful, and it’s very annoying now that it comes on if I don’t remember to change settings each time.

The user experience really has got worse over time, I had similar experiences with the og Airpods. When the batteries on these are exhausted I think I’m done with the Airpods line. I’ve no faith in Apple to deliver the experience they promise with these or future products in the line.

I’ve tried all the usual tricks, resetting, putting same settings on all device, but alas.

 

[perezr10]

There are 6 people in my household and we have 3 sets of AirPod Pros and 3 sets of 2nd gen Airpods.

All of us with Airpod Pros have intermittent charging issues. They work 90-95% of the time but there is that day or 2 per month where one bud is not charged or pairing well.

All the members with the 2nd gen AirPods have rock solid reliability. No charging issues ever and rarely every pairing issues.