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Loud crack + disconnect on AirPods Max (3E756)

crymimefireworks

crymimefireworks

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 19, 2014
314
369
[I read through rattlegate briefly, and searched for "disconnect", but didn't see anything familiar.]

My new AirPod Maxes just disconnected with a super sharp crackle. Super loud, ow. It's enough to make me not want to wear them anymore.

At the same time, they disconnected and reconnected to Bluetooth within a second afterwards. Anyone else had this issue? I would normally just wait and assume it won't happen again, but it was so loud my ears hurt afterwards. Hesitant to put them back on.

They're on the new firmware 3E756 and were at 99% battery capacity. I was testing out Apple's Dolby Atmos sample tracks before all this, and was in the middle of watching a YouTube video about binaural audio.
 
I am on the new firmware since yesterday but I didn’t experience this issue. Try to hard reboot the APM, and listen to music at 30-40% volume, to be sure there’s no problem. If the issue strike again, contact Apple.
 
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crymimefireworks said:
[I read through rattlegate briefly, and searched for "disconnect", but didn't see anything familiar.]

My new AirPod Maxes just disconnected with a super sharp crackle. Super loud, ow. It's enough to make me not want to wear them anymore.

At the same time, they disconnected and reconnected to Bluetooth within a second afterwards. Anyone else had this issue? I would normally just wait and assume it won't happen again, but it was so loud my ears hurt afterwards. Hesitant to put them back on.

They're on the new firmware 3E756 and were at 99% battery capacity. I was testing out Apple's Dolby Atmos sample tracks before all this, and was in the middle of watching a YouTube video about binaural audio.
Click to expand...

you could try doing a reset, it is an easy process, and listen if that helps.
 
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I've had that happen with my Air Pods and Air Pod Pros. Like a loud pulse of static, almost too loud, and then nothing, no sound. They don't tend to want to be paired again after that.

I've rebooted my iPhone, and it picks right up where it left off. That symptom seems to be spread over all of their Air Pod products. Some times when it's happened, the 'crack' sound has been really very loud, and my iPhone has been within feet of the pods...
 
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I’ve had the same issue, not with my original AirPods Max, but with the pair Apple Care sent back to me after I got an exchange.

In fact, I had had them frequently crash - yes, it seems the connection between the right and the left earcup is somehow crashing, resulting in a sudden crackling sound (usually in the left earcup), followed by ANC being off, the AirPods Max having trouble to reconnect.

Usually, I get them to eventually reboot and then re-connect.

As for the pair I got from AppleCare after I sent in my original pair for service, they crashed so often that one night when I was using them, I tried rebooting them, and they would never turn on again.
I got an orange / green charging light and all, but they remained silent, would not go into pairing mode, would not react to the reboot/reset button press anymore……

So that is why by now I have my third pair of AirPods Max.
The AppleCare diagnositcs said something about charging issues and a broken connection between the two aircups.

Now, as I am writing this, I am using my third pair of AirPods Max. They have been working nicely for the most time for me,
but today, I had a few of those cracking sounds followed by the AirPods Max failing to continue working as usual.
Luckily, until now, I was always able to reboot them. But I have a slightly uncomfortable feeling about this. o_O
 
Mine keeps making the scratching/static noise. My AirPod Max's aren't disconnecting, but it's causing the song that I am streaming to stop and switch to the next. I've unpaired, reset the AirPods more than I can count. Going to chat with Apple right now to see if they can replace them. This is my second pair as the first pair would have one earcup stay on transparency mode and the other go to noise-canceling mode.
 
LbSigman said:
Mine keeps making the scratching/static noise. My AirPod Max's aren't disconnecting, but it's causing the song that I am streaming to stop and switch to the next. I've unpaired, reset the AirPods more than I can count. Going to chat with Apple right now to see if they can replace them. This is my second pair as the first pair would have one earcup stay on transparency mode and the other go to noise-canceling mode.
Click to expand...
I had that one-sided transparency mode on my original pair, too, once.
Got rid of that misbehaviour after a reboot.

Just FYI:

• Hold both buttons for 15 seconds until you see the amber light flashing and release to get a reboot
• Hold both buttons for 15 seconds until you see the amber light flashing and keep holding until the light flashes white to get a reset.

Just thought I’d let everyone know about that difference, in case you have been resetting your AirPods Max all the time, like I have been doing at first (before I know about the reboot method).
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
I've had that happen with my Air Pods and Air Pod Pros. Like a loud pulse of static, almost too loud, and then nothing, no sound. They don't tend to want to be paired again after that.

I've rebooted my iPhone, and it picks right up where it left off. That symptom seems to be spread over all of their Air Pod products. Some times when it's happened, the 'crack' sound has been really very loud, and my iPhone has been within feet of the pods...
Click to expand...
I've had the same problem! I think it might be related to Apple Music's Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio settings, as I've noticed the distortion and random disconnects (sometimes happening together) ever since I turned those on. Do you have either of those settings turned on? Have you had this issue outside of Apple Music?
 
jarrodldavis said:
I've had the same problem! I think it might be related to Apple Music's Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio settings, as I've noticed the distortion and random disconnects (sometimes happening together) ever since I turned those on. Do you have either of those settings turned on? Have you had this issue outside of Apple Music?
Click to expand...

To my knowledge, those are recent features. The experiences I've had happened last year, and once or twice this year.
 
Just an update, I have had no further issues since. Love how smoothly these connect, and how easily the switch between idevices. Haven't touched my XM3s since.
 
I've had this occur a fair few times today. I got a feeling it might be todo with on-ear detection. Guessing that you and few others have had it, it seems to be a software issue hopefully (Reddit users are also reporting it) What did you do to fix it?
 
I did the hard restart (believe it's hold both buttons) + remove device and re-add it. Sorry to hear it's happening often, that's unacceptable.
 
Ah fair, I've done that and no luck sadly - I still think it's software as it only becomes a problem if I itch my ear - If I shake my head or anything it doesn't cause it

I've disconnected both my cups from the headband and gave the connectors a clean with a lint-free cloth and that seems to have resolved it.
 
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captain cadet said:
Ah fair, I've done that and no luck sadly - I still think it's software as it only becomes a problem if I itch my ear - If I shake my head or anything it doesn't cause it

I've disconnected both my cups from the headband and gave the connectors a clean with a lint-free cloth and that seems to have resolved it.
Click to expand...

So is this a different angle on the 'butterfly keyboard' issue? Apple comes up with a 'gift for humanity', and it goes sideways, and we are stuck with it until they realize that everyone realizes it sucks, and someone in Apple's high atmosphere management level realizes the jig is up, and it is replaced by something that 'hopefully' works better?

Hey, the H1 chip isn't working like it was designed? (Insert steve jobs comment on MobileMe here?)

*shrug*
 
I'm pretty experienced with hardware and software from my current job. I'm pretty certain its a software problem from looking at the iFixit because:
  • it only occurs on triggering the proximity sensor - the crash happens after the pause (as in my phone will pause first before a pop) suggesting that it did as part of a sequence. it also sounds with pop more of a "panic" instead of a loss of power
  • it doesn't break with intense shaking gestures, suggesting all joints are good
  • Both h1 chips have an interface of 2 leads instead of 4, therefore sharing with earth and neutral - this means they are more susceptible to noise in the circuit.
  • It also seems to only occur when the proximity sensor doesn't detect information for a split second and then does, which can happen if half your ear is in the cup while sharking your ear.

Don't get me wrong it should be fixed, it is not a gift for society but when I'm saying I'm not going to bother going to apple for a hardware replacement yet doesn't mean I'm not gonna do anything - I will report this.

It's a hunch I've got from working with electronics for years - it might be wrong, and if it is I will update, but more often than not that hunch is right
 
captain cadet said:
I'm pretty experienced with hardware and software from my current job. I'm pretty certain its a software problem from looking at the iFixit because:
  • it only occurs on triggering the proximity sensor - the crash happens after the pause (as in my phone will pause first before a pop) suggesting that it did as part of a sequence. it also sounds with pop more of a "panic" instead of a loss of power
  • it doesn't break with intense shaking gestures, suggesting all joints are good
  • Both h1 chips have an interface of 2 leads instead of 4, therefore sharing with earth and neutral - this means they are more susceptible to noise in the circuit.
  • It also seems to only occur when the proximity sensor doesn't detect information for a split second and then does, which can happen if half your ear is in the cup while sharking your ear.

Don't get me wrong it should be fixed, it is not a gift for society but when I'm saying I'm not going to bother going to apple for a hardware replacement yet doesn't mean I'm not gonna do anything - I will report this.

It's a hunch I've got from working with electronics for years - it might be wrong, and if it is I will update, but more often than not that hunch is right
Click to expand...

Yeah, but I got burned with the butterfly keyboard replacement program. If you have a problem with an Apple product, complaining about it isn't worth it. If you have a problem, get a replacement as soon as you can, and keep getting it replaced until you get a good one. Seriously.
 
PinkyMacGodess said:
Yeah, but I got burned with the butterfly keyboard replacement program. If you have a problem with an Apple product, complaining about it isn't worth it. If you have a problem, get a replacement as soon as you can, and keep getting it replaced until you get a good one. Seriously.
Click to expand...
These are working fine since I did the steps above. The butterfly keyboard was an inherited design flaw with a lack of testing.

I still have 18 months warranty on these things but spending 5 minutes fixing, it's saved me possibly 5 days without headphones. Most people I would not recommend doing it as its a bit of a difficult task, but if your confident, then sure go ahead
 
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Bit of an update - the problem seems completely resolved and not had a single issue with my AirPods max since this - generally, the stability of the device seems to have increased as a result to
 
Same ******** happened to me with the M1 iPad Pro + AirPods Max.

Funny, my Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose NC 700 never did this type of crap and they are not designed to work with Apple products.
 
UBS28 said:
Same ******** happened to me with the M1 iPad Pro + AirPods Max.

Funny, my Sony WH-1000XM3 and Bose NC 700 never did this type of crap and they are not designed to work with Apple products.
Click to expand...
Does this just happen with your m1 ipad?

UBS28 said:
How was it fixed?
Click to expand...
insert a small pin into the hole just about the driver ans clean the contacts

NB: my headphones did die a week or so later so consider that
 
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