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Apple Investigating Issue With AirPods Randomly Disconnecting During Calls

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Apple is investigating multiple reports from iPhone owners of AirPods randomly disconnecting and reconnecting during calls, MacRumors has learned.

A MacRumors forum thread and a long thread on Apple's Support Communities website have been generated by AirPods users who are regularly experiencing Bluetooth connection dropouts during phone calls, despite the fact that the wireless earphones almost never lose their connection when used to listen to music or anything else. MacRumors forum member protobiont wrote:
I've had this happen on two phone calls today. I am talking and suddenly the audio switches to the phone, I hear the Airpod connect tones and the audio switches back. This will repeat itself a few times, which is quite distracting during a phone call.
Click to expand...
At present, the issue appears to be limited to iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus devices, with several users reporting no such problems after upgrading to an iPhone 7. MacRumors was also unable to replicate the problem on Apple's latest handset.

Initial reports suggested the dropout issue only occurs if users also have an Apple Watch paired to their iPhone, but MacRumors was able to replicate the problem with a Fitbit Blaze, suggesting a more general conflict when other Bluetooth devices are also connected.

Unpairing and then repairing the AirPods does not appear to solve the problem, neither does rebooting nor resetting the iPhone. Until Apple offers a solution, users are advised to use only one AirPod for conducting calls, as the dropouts only seem to occur when both earpieces are in use.

Article Link: Apple Investigating Issue With AirPods Randomly Disconnecting During Calls
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/01/23/apple-airpods-disconnect-during-calls/
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Reactions: Jack Vinson
Having the same problem with my PowerBeats3. Constant Bluetooth issues. Removing the headphone jack and then offering an inferior wireless experience is the latest Apple lapse in quality.
 
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I noticed soon after getting my AirPods that when I would listen to music in a nearby park, I would get frequent drops in connectivity. It wasn't that the AirPods completely disconnected from my iPhone, it was an issue that sounded more like something was intereferring. I contacted AppleCare, and they created a case that got forwarded up to engineering. Someone from there contacted me and gave me a series of steps to try. What we found out was that if I shut off wifi while in the area where I was experiencing the problem, the issue goes away. Perhaps this a good thing to try for these users. One thing to note is I had exactly the same issue with some Power Beats 2 headphones on my iPhone 6. I have an iPhone 7 now. Apple's support communities are great, but I suggest contacting AppleCare. The more cases the engineers have to investigate, the better. I don't mind shutting off wifi when I'm out walking in the park listening to music.
 
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siyah. said:
Having the same problem with my PowerBeats3. Constant Bluetooth issues. Removing the headphone jack and then offering an inferior wireless experience is the latest Apple lapse in quality.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call it "inferior". Maybe something is interfering. Try shutting off wifi and see if that improves the situation. It did for me. I only need to do this in one place. I have had this issue on an iPhone 6 with PowerBeats headphones, so it's clearly not just an AirPod and iPhone 7 problem. Knee jerk reactions don't help anyone.
 
I have the same issue with my JBL Everest headphones and my Plantronics headset. Music plays fine, but calls drop from bluetooth headsets. It's been going on since sometime in the iOS 9 upgrade cycle and happened on both my iPhone 6 and now the 7. I don't think it has to do with the Airpods or the Apple Watch. I think it's a software glitch in the Bluetooth stack/iOS. Never got corrected. But now that the Airpods are experiencing the problem, maybe it will be fixed.
 
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Yes, I've had this problem (w/ iPhone 6s) and have been following the Apple Support forums. Sentiment is leaning toward problems with (a) WiFi, (b) Apple Watch, (c) iPhone 6/6+. But... various posters have experience similar problems NOT with this exact combination.

The problem is not limited to phone calls. When listing to the standard Music app, my AirPods will occasionally disconnect and pause the music. They do not auto reconnect; I have to do that manually. This happens less frequently than the phone call disconnect, but it does definitely happen and other people on the Apple Support forum have reported the same experience.

I visited my local Apple store and they agreed to give me a replacement pair... when they become available. Frankly I don't expect that replacement to fix the problem because I think the flaw is in the DESIGN, not in the manufacturing of my specific pair. Hopefully Apple will be able to distribute a fix through software or firmware, not requiring a hardware replacement for anyone experiencing this problem.
 
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So lets see you can't use the airpods while on wifi, so you can eat up your data allocation, you can't charge and use headphones at the same time. Gee what courageous new innovations will Apple give us. Let's see you can't use the phone while the screen is lit up.
 
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I have a similar experience with a Plantronics BT headset and an iPhone 6. These issues only happen at certain spots in Amsterdam, where (I assume) there is lots of RF pollution. I've always wondered how Wifi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, remote controls, drones etc. all use the same ISM band (2.45 GHz). Sooner or later intereference will become too much for error correction.
Having said that, Bluetooth does make a difference between music (A2DP) and voice calls. Maybe the latter has less available error correction, or an issue in the software-/driver stack? Anyway, the AirPods aren't the only headset with these issues.
 
I am located in Australia. iPhone 6S. Apple Watch. I experience this issue of calls dropping from AirPod to phone often. I also get interference/small glitches when listening to music.

I also have experienced this on two separate occasions. While running and listening to music, a phone call comes in. The green AirPod icon lights up on my watch. I press to answer but it does not answer the call. The call rings out. When the caller hangs up, the music does not resume. I then cannot get the music to play though the AirPods again. Quite frustrating while running.
 
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I ran into this two weeks ago and got a new pair, with the same problem, so I returned my AirPods. Back to PlanTronics for now.
 
Oh! Glad to know this isn't just me! This has happened with every phone call over around 5 minutes I've made with the AirPods. I have a 6s+ and an  Watch so I'm interested to find out what the cause of the issue is.
 
Afee said:
Having said that, Bluetooth does make a difference between music (A2DP) and voice calls. Maybe the latter has less available error correction, or an issue in the software-/driver stack? Anyway, the AirPods aren't the only headset with these issues.
Click to expand...

Maybe playing music has some kind of buffering while phone calls do not?
 
HowieIsaacks said:
I noticed soon after getting my AirPods that when I would listen to music in a nearby park, I would get frequent drops in connectivity. It wasn't that the AirPods completely disconnected from my iPhone, it was an issue that sounded more like something was intereferring. I contacted AppleCare, and they created a case that got forwarded up to engineering. Someone from there contacted me and gave me a series of steps to try. What we found out was that if I shut off wifi while in the area where I was experiencing the problem, the issue goes away. Perhaps this a good thing to try for these users. One thing to note is I had exactly the same issue with some Power Beats 2 headphones on my iPhone 6. I have an iPhone 7 now. Apple's support communities are great, but I suggest contacting AppleCare. The more cases the engineers have to investigate, the better. I don't mind shutting off wifi when I'm out walking in the park listening to music.
Click to expand...

But it's a bit ridiculous to have to do that. This should be automatically managed, without disrupting settings, by the "just works" genie.

Ever since trading my 4s for a 6 then 6s, and despite many calls to apple, I've noticed when on FaceTime and 3/4G and returning home, my phone doesn't reliably auto switch back to my time capsule. I have toggle airplane mode to get this to happen. (Sometimes, in my place, the wifi drops and the phone connects to 4G. I have both wifi calling and wifi assist turned off). The genie is also sleeping here.

Im of the opinion that Apple's antenna chip or s/w has a flaw that Apple can't find after 3 years of being aware of issue.
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ak37 said:
I am located in Australia. iPhone 6S. Apple Watch. I experience this issue of calls dropping from AirPod to phone often. I also get interference/small glitches when listening to music.

I also have experienced this on two separate occasions. While running and listening to music, a phone call comes in. The green AirPod icon lights up on my watch. I press to answer but it does not answer the call. The call rings out. When the caller hangs up, the music does not resume. I then cannot get the music to play though the AirPods again. Quite frustrating while running.
Click to expand...
You are clearly running wrong.
 
I've been using mine for many hours per day with many devices without issue.

However, that doesn't mean there can't be issues with some. I wonder how widespread this issue is.
 
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