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AirPods won’t connect at the same time

F

felixen2121

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 14, 2011
85
34
Hi all

I am having a weird issue with my AirPods (gen 2 with charging case). I have had them for about 10 months and they have been working perfectly until now.

I can’t get them both to connect at the same time anymore. If I take them out of the case at the same time, only one of the the AirPods will connect. It seems random which one. If I only take one out of the case and put it in my ear, that AirPod will connect. Although it will take longer to connect than usual. If I put the other AirPod in my other ear afterwards, it will not connect. The same thing will happen regardless of which AirPod I start with.

The sound also seem worse than usual, but not the whole time. I was able to have two conversations over the phone with only one AirPod. However, when I tried to listen to music, the sound was distorted every 30 seconds or so, before returning to normal after a few seconds.

I have tried resetting them by holding the button until the LED flashes, tried removing them from my Bluetooth devices, tried toggling Bluetooth off/on on my phone and tried force restarting my iPhone. Nothing seems to help.

I have also tried to use them on my iPad Pro instead. Same result.

I have also tried to clean them. They look very clean to me. No ear wax 😄

Any suggestions?
 
Yes, I wait until the advise pops up, take out from the case, put em on my ears and the issue is there: connecting and disconnecting randomly. I play music and it sounds distorted.
I already tried unpairing and pairing a couple of times and nothing.
thanks anyway!
 
Sounds like you need to call Apple and set up a repair before the warranty expires. From what you describe, the issue should be replicable by a technician. As long as there isn’t obvious damage or signs of water exposure, you’re looking at a valid warranty claim.
 
Does it happen in certain scenarios where maybe you’re moving off one non-IOS Bluetooth connection (say your car) & then trying to connect to your IOS device’ Bluetooth?
 
Thanks guys. I guess I will have to send them back to Apple.

I have never used them with any non-Apple devices btw. The only non-iOS device I have used them with is my MacBook Air, that I use when I work from home. The cannot even connect to my MacBook today. I guess something is wrong with them.
 
I usually see this happen in conjunction with that single Air Pod also not charging in the case. Happened to me infrequently on my Air Pods and for the first time this morning on my Air Pods Pro. Putting the offending unit back into the case to initiate a charge and letting it get up to 25%+ then allows it to connect to the iPhone. Guessing the lack of charge connection also means the pod does not initiate a Bluetooth connection when removed from the case.
 
Same problem here with my iPhone 12 Pro. Worked fine with my iPhone X on same Public beta build.

Edit - I fixed the issue by unpairing, then resetting the AirPods (hold reset button with lid open for at least 15 seconds until light on AirPod case flashes amber, then white, then let go. After this reset, then re-paired with iPhone.
 
Last edited:
I started experiencing the same issue since the Airpod and iOS 14 update. Prior to the update they worked flawless. I had to call into Apple for replacement. Guessing there is more to this than just random.
 
I have the same problem. Only one will connect, and it is random as to which one it is (right or left). The only workaround I've found is to "forget" the Airpods and reset them using my iPhone, which of course is a PITA. This happens with both my watch and phone.
 
I get the same problem and yet when Apple tell me to update the firmware with the steps it still doesn’t work. It just flashes amber all the time and I can only connect one airpod at a dj fake time and not both at the same time just had enough now only had them since April 2021
 
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