Are all bluetooth headphones so unreliable?

[chad.petree]

After being fed up with having to carry the dongle all the time and having forgotten it on a flight I decided to give in and get some bluetooth headphones , but I wasn't going to spend 150 euros for the airpods, which also happen to be pretty much the design as the apple earphones which I happen to HATE.

Long story short, I got a pair of anker bluetooh headphones ( which are supposed to be one of the best budget options ) and while I was pleasently surprised with the quality ( I thought they would sound like 128 kbps mp3 files) . I'm baffled to see how they act very erratic sometimes, the music skips , jumps , goes back for no reason sometimes and very often when I'm in a place with a lot of people , while waiting for a traffic light is a very good example, which is really a bummer, my boyfriend has another pair ( I don't remember the brand , and he pretty much says he experienced the same thing, that's why he went back to regular earphones), are all bluetooth headphones like this ? Even the airpods ? Will bluetooth 5 solve this?

 

[First Post G]

No. If you buy budget headphones they likely won’t work well. Airports work amazing.

 

[BillyBobT]

After being fed up with having to carry the dongle all the time and having forgotten it on a flight I decided to give in and get some bluetooth headphones , but I wasn't supossed to spend 150 euros for the airpods which also happen to be pretty much the design as the apple earphones which I happen to HATE, so long story short I got a pair of anker bluetooh headphones ( which are supposed to be one of the best budget options ) and while I was pleasently surprised with the quality ( I thought they would sound like 128 kbps mp3 files) . I'm baffled to see how they act very erratic sometimes, the music skips , jumps , goes back for no reason sometimes and very often where I'm in a place with a lot of people , while waiting for a traffic light is a very good example, which is really a bummer, my boyfriend has another pair ( I don't remember the brand , and he pretty much says he experienced the same thing, that's he went back to regular earphones), are all bluetooth headphones like this ? Even the airpods ? Will bluetooth 5 solve this?

Jaybirds x3 enough said

 

[Givmeabrek]

The only ones that work reliably are the AirPods. Every other one I have tried have had some problem with connection, reliability, etc.

 

[Gathomblipoob]

The only ones that work reliably are the AirPods. Every other one I have tried have had some problem with connection, reliability, etc.

I have a set of Airpods, but my old Jawbone Icon HD works well with my 8 Plus, too.

 

[Shauns]

I have found my Beats X to be extremely reliable. No skipping or loss of connection. Plus the battery life is excellent and I'm happy with the sound quality. However, they are only slightly cheaper than AirPods.

 

[yadmonkey]

I have wanted a reliable BT headset for so freaking long but ended up with disappointment after disappointment... until the AirPods. They're brilliant.

 

[Roadstar]

The only ones that work reliably are the AirPods. Every other one I have tried have had some problem with connection, reliability, etc.

I haven’t had reliability issues with my other Bluetooth headsets either. In addition to the AirPods I have Plantronics BackBeat Fit and Sony SBH70. If you have connectivity issues, have you checked whether there’s a newer firmware available for the headset?

 

[DblHelix]

May be because of the w1 chip but neither my solo3 nor AirPods have much in terms of issues. Very seldom skip (like once in an hour commute)

 

[Patriks7]

I have a pair of Anker bluetooth headphones (I think they were like 18€?), and I have yet to experience any of these issues. I use them for running, workouts and just walking around and never once have I had connection problems. Only issue I have with them is that the fit doesn't seem to work well with my ears. Planning on upgrading them to AirPods this Christmas.

 

[Jawnathin]

I use Beats X and they’re awesome. I can go about 70-80 feet away before it starts to cut out. Within range they’re very reliable. I got them on sale a few months back, it was well worth it.

 

[Vermifuge]

After being fed up with having to carry the dongle all the time and having forgotten it on a flight I decided to give in and get some bluetooth headphones , but I wasn't supossed to spend 150 euros for the airpods which also happen to be pretty much the design as the apple earphones which I happen to HATE, so long story short I got a pair of anker bluetooh headphones ( which are supposed to be one of the best budget options ) and while I was pleasently surprised with the quality ( I thought they would sound like 128 kbps mp3 files) . I'm baffled to see how they act very erratic sometimes, the music skips , jumps , goes back for no reason sometimes and very often where I'm in a place with a lot of people , while waiting for a traffic light is a very good example, which is really a bummer, my boyfriend has another pair ( I don't remember the brand , and he pretty much says he experienced the same thing, that's he went back to regular earphones), are all bluetooth headphones like this ? Even the airpods ? Will bluetooth 5 solve this?

I have used a few over the years. Starting with the Jabra Halo and many more to follow. most of them had connectivity issues. I could never use them n the city they would just disconnect. The AirPods on the other hand are amazing.

 

[stormchasejg]

My Powerbeats 2 Wireless are great never had any problems with them and they have a long range

 

[Aibocyrus]

My beats and my AirPods both work great with no issues and great clarity. Also both are very comfortable

 

[Roadstar]

The first thing to check when there are connectivity or reliability issues is to see if a newer firmware is available for the headphones. If there’s a companion app available for the headphones, there’s usually a software update option available as well.

 

[Mr.C]

I have the Beats Solo 3 and the AirPods and both work fine with no issues.

 

[ABC5S]

My wireless Bose headset works just fine.

 

[ascender]

They can all be a bit hit and miss - cost isn't any guarantee of reliability - Soundpeats do some nice cheap ones which I use for running and they never fail to connect first time and never drop.

 

[nickchallis92]

Are iOS products still not supporting the aptx codec?

 

[DaveyVigs]

I have found my Beats X to be extremely reliable. No skipping or loss of connection. Plus the battery life is excellent and I'm happy with the sound quality. However, they are only slightly cheaper than AirPods.

if OP is near a Best Buy some of the beatsX color options are still at the $109.99 price point (was like that for a week now) and at least the white version is 109.99 on Amazon. Cheap enough to try and return if unsatisfied. I am not sure of Best Buy’s return policy on open products but Amazon’s is good just lose shipping if not prime customer.

I have wanted a reliable BT headset for so freaking long but ended up with disappointment after disappointment... until the AirPods. They're brilliant.

I tried so many and will probably be buying some AirPods today. I hated he design of the EarPods (actually use the Apple EarBuds -they have silicone tips, I got a few years ago as my daily headphones but wires and need adapter and can’t use with Watch. Eh)

 

[x-evil-x]

never had a problem with jaybirds.
I've had the blubud x for a year and a half. the x2's for a year and the freedoms for the past year and a few months. I love them all

 

[bambooshots]

My AirPods have been amazing so far.

 

[joeblow7777]

I bought a set of wireless earbuds for $25 CDN off of amazon. Haven't ever had a problem using them with my iPhone or iPad, though they do seem to have trouble connecting to my Windows laptop.

That being said, I wish Apple never removed the headphone jack, and I'll probably never be convinced that it was in anyone's best interest besides Apple.

 

[yadmonkey]

In the past even reliable (in terms of connectivity) BT headphones I've used had issues - most notably complaints from the person I was talking to about sound quality or background noise. I've been told with the AirPods that it sounds like I'm right next the person.

I was on a call the other day with a friend who was charging his AirPods and had me on speaker. It was hot and he had fans on. Sounded like a wind tunnel. Then he put his AirPods in and the fan noise almost completely disappeared. The noise reduction is stellar. The connectivity is flawless. The only issue I have is that they're not wonderful for music, but that was expected going in. I use them almost exclusively for talk and podcasts, so not a big issue.

 

[chad.petree]

No. If you buy budget headphones they likely won’t work well. Airports work amazing.

That's the thing , I don't want to spend 100-150 euros for a pair of earbuds , you can buy a couple of monoprice earphones for 15 euros and they sound amazing!

I use Beats X and they’re awesome. I can go about 70-80 feet away before it starts to cut out. Within range they’re very reliable. I got them on sale a few months back, it was well worth it.

My conexion does not cut off, that's the one problem I don't have at least!

The first thing to check when there are connectivity or reliability issues is to see if a newer firmware is available for the headphones. If there’s a companion app available for the headphones, there’s usually a software update option available as well.

Nope, no companion app and no firmware updates are available