Powerbeats Pro buttons stop working on airplane

[shaun3000]

I travel frequently for a living. I use my Powerbeats Pro almost exclusively on while flying on airliners. Recently, I noticed that the left button had stopped working, almost like it was gunked up or stuck. I decided to get ahold of Apple, today, to see about a repair. As I was on hold I Googled the issue and it turns out lots of people have the same problem but only when on an airplane. Sure enough, both of my buttons are working just fine here on terra firma. The issue seems to be related to the lower ambient pressure inside the cabin at altitude.

When a rep finally answered, they were stumped by the issue. According to my rep, Apple has no other reports of this issue. The only options he gave me was to either send it in for repair or bring it to an Apple store. (where they will probably send it in for repair) He said if they can’t reproduce the problem they will send it back to me. I asked if they have a vacuum chamber at their testing facility, he said he didn’t know. I’m going out on a limb and assuming they don’t and will be unable to reproduce the issue.

Has anyone else had this problem? It seems, to me, like a manufacturing defect. I’d like to make someone in a position of power aware of the issue so we can get it properly addressed.

Here are some Reddit threads about the issue I’m having:
https://www.reddit.com/r/powerbeatspro/comments/c2ele3 https://www.reddit.com/r/beatsbydre/comments/c1oycy https://www.reddit.com/r/beatsbydre/comments/bxjjkl

 

[finlaycraig]

@shaun3000 thanks for pulling these links together! I booked a Genius Bar appointment earlier today because my Powerbeats Pro keep triggering Siri in-flight. Great timing!

 

[Tdosthp]

@shaun3000 thanks for pulling these links together! I booked a Genius Bar appointment earlier today because my Powerbeats Pro keep triggering Siri in-flight. Great timing!

No problems with my buttons yet, but have had the Siri issue. Didn’t think much of it until I read your post.

 

[shaun3000]

They want me to send them in for diagnostics. Anyone else have any luck?

 

[UniqueName2]

Just got exectly the same issue after the flight (left one). Button remains blocked and volume control doesn't work.

 

[finlaycraig]

Apple offered a full refund or for me to pay the difference on the AirPod Pros - I went for the Pros and they are amazing.

 

[UniqueName2]

3 days after the flight, I woke up in the morning and found my headphones working, like nothing happened.
Black magic.

 

[neilp9]

Same issue and same resolution. Left headphone play button was stuck and and volume button went unresponsive during a 15 hour internaltional flight in which phone was in airplane mode throughout and I used my headphones for 4-5 hours. About 60 hours after my flight landed, using headphones occasionally and keeping them in charging case otherwise, play button became unstuck and volume control started working again on its own. Strange. Seems like the hardware needs to depresurize? I feel normal use and charging post flight somehow nudged them to start working again.

I want to thank the hosts of this forum and all of you folks that posted about this obscure issue which I thought I was on my own to resolve. It was a huge relief to find this thread and it saved me a lot of stress and time trying to troubleshoot this issue on my own. This is the Internet at its best!

 

[Biocow]

I took a flight from Seattle to Sacramento today and on the flight my right Power Beats Pro ear bud, the pause/play button stopped working as did the volume buttons. The pause/play button felt like it was glued in place. There was no movement what so ever when trying to press it. The volume buttons you could feel move but they did not change the volume. I had to use the left controls the entire flight.

The problem persisted on the ground. I landed around 8pm and right after tried to answer a call but couldn't. Just checked again, now 7 hours after I landed, and it seems to be working fine again.

Thank you for collecting these issues all in one place. Hope someone is able to get Apple to look into this.

 

[SlowFatDog]

Same problem. My flight from Cabo San Lucas to SNA was two hours. In flight, my right side pause button was completely stuck like it was glued to the frame. The left side pause button as well as all volume buttons on both side were working fine. I thought I had defective product as I only purchased it six months ago. Two hours after I got home, I went online and found this thread. Lo and behold, I went to check my Powerbeats pro, everything was back to normal like nothing ever happened! I was able to push the pause button on the right side and it was able to bounce up and down. With so many others having this peculiar problem, I believe this is a design defect.

 

[tech312]

Mine is definitely triggered by flying--most likely pressure change at altitude. Every time I fly, my right side play/pause button stops working. So far it has always returned to normal shortly after landing. My main concern is if the problem gets worse and eventually becomes permanent. My left earbud works fine the whole time.

I have not found a fix. I saw someone's hypothesis that it may be caused by expansion/contraction due to altitude. I wondered if the Beats Pros use haptic buttons? I haven't investigated, but Apple might be able to release a patch if it is haptic. If it is physical (e.g. expansion), we are likely out of luck. I love my Beats Pros and am afraid of returning them because Apple may replace them with a refurbished set in which neither bud works at altitude.

Please post if you find a fix.