iPad Pro USB C to 3.5 headphone adapter sometimes doesn’t work

[nixx]

I have an iPad Pro 4th gen 12.9“ on iPadOS 14.4 and have a genuine apple usb-c to 3.5mm headphone adapter. I am using genuine apple earpods with the adapter. Sometimes the iPad will not recognise that I have plugged them in and audio will only play using iPad speakers. I have to hard reboot to get the adapter to work again. Happens quite frequently. Does this happen to anybody else? Is it a known bug?

 

[phrehdd]

"Genuine" Apple accessories sadly don't mean much these days. In fact, their adaptors to HDMI and others lag way behind 3rd party products. I can only ask, have you disconnected the adaptor from the iPad and then put it back in to see if you can then manually select it for output? Btw, soon I'll be in the same mix as you where audio is concerned. I may end up bypassing Apple's audio altogether in favour of an external solution (usb DAC to wired earphones).

 

[AutomaticApple]

In fact, their adaptors to HDMI and others lag way behind 3rd party products.

How ironic. You'd think that 3rd party adapters would work worse, but Apple's quality control mustve gotten worse in recent years.

 

[nixx]

have you disconnected the adaptor from the iPad and then put it back in to see if you can then manually select it for output?

Yes, I’ve disconnected and reconnected and it does not solve the issue. The iPad basically ignores the fact that the adapter and headphones have been plugged in. I can’t find any audio output selector in iPadOS. It’s not Bluetooth so does not show I’m the control panel.

This behaviour has happened since day one with my iPad since I bought it new in June, 2020. I had hoped it was a software glitch that would be fixed in iPadOS.

 

[NastyMatt]

Have you tried other adapter / headphone? Does it recognise other USB C devices plugged in?

Unlikely to be OS - only because it would be a widely known issue. Also, when you reboot it works makes me question whether it actually is hardware. Could be a background app causing the issue. Try closing down all apps and reinserting.

 

[ericwn]

Highly annoying problem for sure. I would contact Apple and report it as an issue while also potentially trying other adapters too just to exclude the chance of a hardware problem.