In fairness to Apple, replacing an iPhone and replacing AirPods = apples and oranges. A cell phone is much more critical than AirPods. Also, it sort of makes sense to make people wait for replacements, as later batches are presumably less likely to have quality-control problems.
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Airpods - new owners views, problems and questions
- Thread starter dave2010
- Start date
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I'm sorry but I disagree with the fact of later batches would fix the problem. Sure that would apply to iPhones too??? They've made a conscious decision to change their process for this item. It'd be interesting to find out out what was the cause of the delayed launch. I'd bet it's something along the lines of what's been discussed! They're probably working on the fix, and have been for some time, but they rather hit that holiday buyer!
gemnilocs
macrumors 6502
i didn't think i would be using them in the gym ...i have the Solo beats ( for travel) and powerbeats( for the gym) but i only took the airpods with me to NY and the 2-3 hr flight wasn't bad with the airpods....and great battery life and charging while standing outside waiting for the ball to drop.....i've also been using them as my go to for the gym as well....i do wish they could be slightly louder so i don't have to hear conversations around me in the gym....i love these airpods and they're extremely convenient for my daily use.
dotnet
macrumors 68000
Both my wife's (launch stock from Apple) and mine (purchased yesterday from reseller) have visable join lines in the right bud.
I don't think that returning them will get you a better pair. Does anyone have ones that have flawless joins?
I don't think that returning them will get you a better pair. Does anyone have ones that have flawless joins?
Well, years of history tells us otherwise. I certainly see far fewer reports of problems with new products — iPhone, MBP, whatever — in Month 3 than in Month 1 (or Week 1).
Most of the people here seem quite happy with their AirPods — I know I am — so it hardly seems to be the case that Apple started shipping a shoddy product just to benefit from holiday shopping. (And Dec. 19 is rather late for holiday shopping, anyway.)
Clearly, there are some defective units — and some users with absurdly high expectations for a first-gen product.
trifid
macrumors 68020
I notice it exactly as you mentioned and I've read all 27 pages of this thread to see who else noticed this. It seems no one else is mentioning this. I'd like to know if this is normal and expected of bluetooth headphones or if it's faulty. If this is normal then it's a bummer, it's quite distracting especially when using airpods with a mac.
dotnet
macrumors 68000
I have noticed it, but only once. It was IIRC either when transferring audio from iPhone to Mac or vice versa, or when switching audio on the Mac from iTunes using the AirPods to macOS using the AirPods. Sorry, I don't remember exactly, but it is not a recurring thing for me. I shall keep an ear on it.
thewhitetower
macrumors regular
Mine do it all the time....i.e when pausing/stopping a song or YouTube clip etc....considered it normal
TrueBlou
macrumors 601
I've not had any high pitched noises from mine so far. I do get a very quiet click in them when I first start playing music, sounds a bit like taking a needle off of a record (showing my age there 😀) But not when skipping tracks or anything, only when I first start or resume playing from paused.
Did a test yesterday while sitting at a cafe: phone in airplane mode, Bluetooth enabled. Repeatedly played various saved voicemails in the Phone app. AirPods would randomly disconnect from the phone just like my experience trying to use the on phone calls. Sometimes there is the disconnect / connect sound, but more often no indication they've dropped.
Also on my daily 3 mile walk, AirPods would randomly disconnect causing Podcast app to pause and change volume level to that last used on phone. Who's is different behavior than I get when removing one AirPod (volume stays set).
All I can figure out now is it's either my phone or the AirPods, but given I don't have problems with other Bluetooth audio devices... Going to try to get a replacement set of AirPods, because I love everything else about them: fit, sound, compactness, etc.
Starting to wonder if mine have a poor connection inside or a marginal component.
Also on my daily 3 mile walk, AirPods would randomly disconnect causing Podcast app to pause and change volume level to that last used on phone. Who's is different behavior than I get when removing one AirPod (volume stays set).
All I can figure out now is it's either my phone or the AirPods, but given I don't have problems with other Bluetooth audio devices... Going to try to get a replacement set of AirPods, because I love everything else about them: fit, sound, compactness, etc.
Starting to wonder if mine have a poor connection inside or a marginal component.
TrueBlou
macrumors 601
Certainly doesn't sound normal. Bar one instance with my Mac causing dropout for about 2 seconds, the Bluetooth connection on my AirPods has been rock solid. I've had a couple of brief pauses, but those were Apple Music rather than the AirPods.
In fact as I mentioned in a long and boring review 😀 my AirPods have managed to maintain a solid connection to my iPhone when it was in the office and I was downstairs in the pantry. No other Bluetooth headphones that I have/do own have ever managed that.
So I think your AirPods aren't operating normally and I'd certainly consider replacements.
mous94410
macrumors 6502a
AlliFlowers
macrumors 601
Which phone do you have? The thing that finally made me upgrade to the 7+ from the 6S was the Bluetooth stack.
I'm also confused by Apple's supply, when both Verizon and AT&T have so many that you can get them second day delivery.
I still get dropouts esp when my phone is in lte and I'm doing stuff. it's not always. My other bt earphones do this also maybe a little less but it still happens so I'm not convinced they are defective just yet since so many have this.
I read your review - well done! Agree on the surprising range. My other Bluetooth headphones will start cutting out with the phone is in my back pocket even. 2.4 doesn't go through our mostly water body composition. Don't know how Apple managed to get around that. Hmm. Maybe the AAC files buffer onto the AirPods so they keep playing smoothly even when the connection goes marginal. Could explain pauses and disconnects on phone calls and podcasts. I'll have to try some other sources.
I do get occasional blurps in the music. It cuts out for perhaps 50 ms slightly staggered with overlap between left and right, so it sounds like an echo drop. Yesterday the AirPods were out of synch for about 10 seconds making my podcast sound like a stadium reverb between ears. It eventually corrected itself.
6S. Was planning to upgrade to 7+, but the excitement wore off and figured might as well wait. Interesting thought. Do you have any technical details on the 7 BT stack improvements? I assume you mean new radio, not just the software itself.
Haven't had these problems listening paired to Apple TV (4th gen). Will try one of my Android test phones today.
My Jaybird Freedom buds and an MPOW receiver don't exhibit problems other than typical 10m range and signal blocking by my own body. Curious.
Mac 128
macrumors 603
Clearly Apple had trouble even getting these AirPods shipped. I'd be curious to know if the maximum volume is lacking, or whether it's the sound isolation. My guess is it's the latter, as one developer said they were capable of reproducing a sound loud enough to aurally locate them for a find my AirPods app he was developing. So once Apple gets the manufacturing issues solved, and the BeatsX and a better idea of what customers are going to buy, I bet we'll see AirPods with noise isolating features like Apples in-ear buds, which should make them more practical for noisy environments. I wouldn't be surprised to see noise cancellation tech included in the future, which can be switched on an off from the iPhone.
I don't think Apple tried to take advantage of the holiday season at all. In fact if that was their motive, then they would have had a huge campaign announcing their pre-order, rather than slipping them out under the radar. In fact I'd say the very people who bought them, didn't do so as Christmas gifts (unless they originally anticipated doing so), with the majority of those buying them as a primary purchase which they would have done no matter when Apple released them. Did they pick up an additional pair as an add-on Christmas gift because they could? Maybe. Nevertheless, most of them were sold to the people reading the tech blogs and had been anticipating the release since they were announced, and not the typical shopper ticking off their Christmas list. Apple could have released them in January, and they would have sold out just as quickly given their manufacturing issues.
Now, did it help Apple to get m out before the end of the year? Yes, because now they can report that income in their 1st quarter report in January, which ey may need help with. But, they also got them out as soon as they were ready for their loyal customers patiently waiting for them, even if they also shafted a few in the process by not giving them an official heads up.
Knowimagination
macrumors 68020
Anyone else experience play in the lid of the case? The lid of my case has enough play that it clicks back and forth side to side when closed. Probably not a huge deal just wondering if anyone else notices this in their case.
Ahhz
macrumors newbie
nicegoogly
macrumors regular
Sometimes my pair will be wonky connecting to my phone when I had my iPad connected to it. During the first day I had disconnects during phone calls, three times in one phone call. This seems to have resolved itself and has not happened. Otherwise, I love them. Audio sync watching Netflix on my iPad pro does not seem to be an issue. At least none that I could notice. They stay in my ears well, sound great but not nearly perfect. Having an apple watch to help with volume controls, etc. helps considerably, but still a little in terms of on the fly audio controls.
JNGold
macrumors 6502a
On my second day of ownership. So far no disconnects. However I did find a couple instances of successfully triggering Siri with a double tap but no audio was being sent via the mics to the iPhone. It wasn't Siri because when I initiated Siri from the iPhone without a BT connection, it worked fine. I'll be putting the Airpods thru my commute and walk thru Manhattan.
Took mine on a hike today so I could enjoy some contemplative background music. Even with technical terrain, sweat, and light trail running, not once did I feel they might drop out of my ears. Love how light they are, and the sound quality is surprisingly detailed.
Connectivity problems persist with my 6S. I had to engage airplane mode to cut down on the incessant pausing of my music (locally downloaded). Even with airplane mode, the music paused several times over the two hour hike, but better than every few minutes.
Will be talking to Apple this week.
Connectivity problems persist with my 6S. I had to engage airplane mode to cut down on the incessant pausing of my music (locally downloaded). Even with airplane mode, the music paused several times over the two hour hike, but better than every few minutes.
Will be talking to Apple this week.