10.14.4 Update screws up BTLE sound to AirPods

[haralds]

I was happy to use BTLE with AirPods on previous releases. Mojave seemed to have fixed the previous BTLE sound issues with any device.
Just tried my AirPods with 10.14.4 and we are back to crackling and interrupted sound.

Dose anybody know whether 10.14.5 attempts to fix that? I am normally off the beta treadmill, but this would be worth it.

BTW, this is only on my cMPRO, not my MacBook Pro.

 

[bookemdano]

Are you positive it's not potentially a range/interference issue? Even small positional differences can really impact BT signal with the cMP because its BT antenna is such trash.

I have a pair of AirPods at home but my cMP is at work. I'll try to remember to bring them to work tomorrow and test them (I'm on 10.14.4) and will report back.

 

[haralds]

I am right next he machine in the same position. The AirPods connect. I am working form the same seat.

I have an updated card with an extension to the antenna in the case.

 

[bookemdano]

Try putting in just one of the airpods and see if you get the same dropouts and artifacts (try both ears individually). I'll test mine tomorrow.

 

[bookemdano]

I am right next he machine in the same position. The AirPods connect. I am working form the same seat.

I have an updated card with an extension to the antenna in the case.

Wanted to report back to you that I am not seeing any dropouts, static or other audio abnormalities on my AirPods connected to my cMP running 10.14.4. I've been listening to music via iTunes for the last 20 minutes and it's been perfect.

I too installed an updated Airport card (BCM943602CD 802.11ac BTLE 4.2) a couple years ago. I don't routinely use my AirPods with this machine, so I can't say if maybe there could have been audio artifacts on previous versions of macOS (Mojave or otherwise). But I haven't seen any complaints about it here or elsewhere either, which makes me think that the problem you're seeing has something to do with your setup. Could be software, hardware or (IMHO most likely) a problem with signal strength or SNR. Perhaps one difference in our setups is that I used one of my cMP's WiFi antennas for BT (based on a helpful tip I think I read here way back when). The built-in BT antenna is located on the back panel of the cMP, near the PCI cards--pretty terrible location.

So you might want to experiment a bit. First try re-orienting your cMP so that the back of the machine is facing you to see if you notice any difference in the audio. If it drastically improves then you're going to want to address the antenna situation.

I should add one more variable highly likely to have an effect--do you have a USB 3.0 card and/or any USB 3.x peripherals operating nearby your cMP? If so, then step one is to unplug them. Personally I have experienced a lot of 2.4GHz interference from various USB 3.0 stuff (not just on my cMP but on other Macs too). It can *really* mess with Bluetooth, so check that out too.

Good luck.

 

[haralds]

Wanted to report back to you that I am not seeing any dropouts, static or other audio abnormalities on my AirPods connected to my cMP running 10.14.4. I've been listening to music via iTunes for the last 20 minutes and it's been perfect.

I too installed an updated Airport card (BCM943602CD 802.11ac BTLE 4.2) a couple years ago. I don't routinely use my AirPods with this machine, so I can't say if maybe there could have been audio artifacts on previous versions of macOS (Mojave or otherwise). But I haven't seen any complaints about it here or elsewhere either, which makes me think that the problem you're seeing has something to do with your setup. Could be software, hardware or (IMHO most likely) a problem with signal strength or SNR. Perhaps one difference in our setups is that I used one of my cMP's WiFi antennas for BT (based on a helpful tip I think I read here way back when). The built-in BT antenna is located on the back panel of the cMP, near the PCI cards--pretty terrible location.

So you might want to experiment a bit. First try re-orienting your cMP so that the back of the machine is facing you to see if you notice any difference in the audio. If it drastically improves then you're going to want to address the antenna situation.

I should add one more variable highly likely to have an effect--do you have a USB 3.0 card and/or any USB 3.x peripherals operating nearby your cMP? If so, then step one is to unplug them. Personally I have experienced a lot of 2.4GHz interference from various USB 3.0 stuff (not just on my cMP but on other Macs too). It can *really* mess with Bluetooth, so check that out too.

Good luck.

Are these the new versions with BLE 5 or gen 1?

 

[bookemdano]

Are these the new versions with BLE 5 or gen 1?

Original AirPods I bought in January 2017.

 

[haralds]

Just tested and my Gen 1's seem to do the same.

 

[bookemdano]

Just tested and my Gen 1's seem to do the same.

Do the same as what? Are you saying you have both Gen1 and Gen2 AirPods and you're having the same audio issue on both?

If so, that doesn't surprise me at all. The problem isn't the AirPods. It's most likely your cMP's Bluetooth signal strength and/or quality.