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iPhone 11 Pro - AirPods issue

C

Cyberius11

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Oct 20, 2011
418
369
I have a set of second generation AirPods with the wireless charging case that worked flawlessly with my iPhone X. I set up my new iPhone 11 Pro today, and they don't work worth a **** on the new phone. They connect, but the right one will constantly pop and crackle in my ear. The left AirPod won't connect at all. So, I went into settings, forgot the device, tried (apparently unsuccessfully) to reset them by holding down the button on the case for 15 seconds, but the amber light never flashes. When I try to re-pair them, they connect successfully, but the left AirPod still won't connect, and the right one still crackles.

It amazes me how switching phones just completely borked my AirPods and they are now unusable. Any ideas on how to reset them completely? I've tried the button method found here several times with no success.
 
Great. Apparently I have to visit the genus bar to see what my options are after the tech further reviews them. Should have stayed with my X.
 
They worked fine on my X with 13. I've been running 13 beta for over a month, then the GM once it was released - no audio or AirPods issues. Immediately after moving to the 11 Pro they started malfunctioning, and now the left one is completely dead. It is not recognized in the case (light flashes green, never connects when paired) and the right one crackles. Went through everything with Apple support on the phone, now I get to go in for a Genius Bar appointment.
 
I'm going to return this iPhone 11 Pro. I went to Apple and got a new set of AirPods today. The left one paired this time around, and sounds fine while on a phone call. The right one still crackles - it makes a popping, crackling, "ting" "pop" sound. Brand new AirPods. Everyone I talk to says they can hear echos. I reset network settings, have re-paired them, etc. Oh well.

Oh, and I've dropped about 6-7 calls on this 11 Pro. I haven't dropped that many on the X since I bought it 2 years ago.
 
Just tried the same AirPods on my X. No pops or crackles. Switch back to the 11 pro, immediately I get rice crispies in my ear. This is ridiculous.
 
Because of your troubles I just went to make sure my new 11 Pro Max doesn’t have the same issue and mine seems to be ok.. do you have issues with all Bluetooth connections or just airpods..?
 
nrvna76 said:
Because of your troubles I just went to make sure my new 11 Pro Max doesn’t have the same issue and mine seems to be ok.. do you have issues with all Bluetooth connections or just airpods..?
Click to expand...

So far it only seems to be AirPods. I don’t use many Bluetooth devices though.

Music is fine on my AirPods. But when talking on the phone there are random squeaks, pops, crackles, etc. - it’s weird. I can switch between the X and 11 Pro and the X is fine every time.

Going to have Apple replace the phone tomorrow. Good to hear yours does not have any issues.
 
I did a 15 mile jog yesterday and had some intermittent problems with my pretty new AirPods. It was a bit frustrating, but I’m not too worried at this point. We’ll see what the 3.1 update on the 24th brings.
mathews_thumbsup.gif
 
Cyberius11 said:
So far it only seems to be AirPods. I don’t use many Bluetooth devices though.

Music is fine on my AirPods. But when talking on the phone there are random squeaks, pops, crackles, etc. - it’s weird. I can switch between the X and 11 Pro and the X is fine every time.

Going to have Apple replace the phone tomorrow. Good to hear yours does not have any issues.
Click to expand...

I didn’t try a phone call.. will have to test they next.
 
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nrvna76 said:
I didn’t try a phone call.. will have to test they next.
Click to expand...

Cool, please let me know the outcome if you could. I’ve been using iOS 13 for a month on the X - some bugs but nothing AirPod related. I know the 11 has different hardware obviously so I don’t know if it’s a software bug / driver related or not. I’m waiting for 13.1 to drop to see how that goes pending the outcome of the Apple store visit tomorrow. I am on calls 4+ hours per day and depend heavily on my AirPods.
 
JWGold said:
I’m having the same issue with CarPlay and my new iPhone 11 pro.
Click to expand...

That’s not good. Are you getting intermittent pops, squeaks, crackles, etc?

I went back to Apple today and explained the issue again, then showed them the screen on the 11 Pro that has a yellow tint in comparison to the X (it’s a bit better after changing “increase contrast” to off but still annoying), and was told my best option was to simply return the phone since it “sounded like I wasn’t happy with it.” Great customer service, there.

Maybe it’s a bug that will be fixed in 13.1. Right now my opinion is that it’s not worth the upgrade from the X. I can’t even use my AirPods for a phone call without a symphony of other noises in my ear - from their own headphones
 
This phone is terrible. iOS 13.1, AirPods still crackle and pop constantly.

Took several tries to get a phone call going. They couldn’t hear me, I couldn’t hear them. Dropped calls. Yellow screen. Time to send it back - absolute garbage.
 
Finally got the chance to test mine and it works the same as with my Xs Max, no crackling or popping. OP did you get yours sorted yet?
 
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Nope. It's not sorted out. I swapped the phone at the Genius Bar - brand new 11 Pro. Brand new AirPods. Still get pops and crackles. It drives me insane. Verizon is saying they won't let me return the damn thing now since it's not the original phone that was shipped to me, and apparently once a phone is swapped at the Genius Bar, you can never get your old phone back - even though I was literally sitting there with both in front of me. It's fine in every other way - great battery life, call quality is fine, awesome camera. No pops and crackles using CarPlay, a wired headset (EarPods), or the built in headset.

My AirPods are <pop> not working <blip> well at <snap> all though <crackle>. Only on phone calls too - you know, the most important thing for me. Music is fine.
 
Guess I'm just going to have to go back to the EarPods for now. I just can't take the AirPods and their noise. Maybe I'll buy 3-4 pairs of new ones at Best Buy and test them this weekend to see if any of them have the same problem.
 
Yea, I honestly have no idea what could be causing that for you. The only thing would be your Apple ID carrying something over...
 
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I'm not sure what could be causing it either. The folks at Apple seem to be indifferent. I've been through multiple phone calls, chats, Genius Bar visits. I was told someone from "engineering" would call me to collect more information. The only call I received was some clueless support tech. Both sets of hardware have been swapped - if it was hardware, I'd think a swap would have fixed it.

I wish I could find a way to get a decent recording of what's coming through the AirPods. It's like audio cuts out and it's a digital sounding "blip" or static / crackling sound that cuts off words. So, so frustrating to be stuck with a phone that costs $1,260 after tax and AirPods that cost $220, and I can't even have a clear phone call.

I'm beyond pissed at this point - but hey, I've got the good old EarPods with the dangling cord that gets caught on everything going for me, so at least there's that.
 
Upgraded to 13.1.2. The popping issue persists.

The serial number still shows as “1” and the AirPods icon doesn’t show when changing the volume like it’s supposed to.

This is so cool.

02652351d4f9a218155ec186f2dd5683.jpg


8b00818d9907419763bf194350565b7c.jpg
 
Hey guys! Just to let you know that I am also suffering from the same problem.. I have the AirPods 2 and the iPhone 11 Pro and everything works fine except the phone calls' audio when using the AirPods. The sound has interference and I cannot clearly understand what the other people is saying.. I hope Apple fix this in a future (and quick) update..
 
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First generation AirPods. iPhone 11 Pro Max. No connection issues with iPhone X or Apple TV, other devices.

Upon connecting to iPhone 11 Pro Max, get the "Signs" movie sounds, crackling-like sounds in both AirPods. After about 2 minutes of talking with them connected it slowly self-corrects. How bizarre is that?! However, it comes back. Almost seems like interference from another signal in the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Just really weird.

NOTE: Playback of music or videos or Podcasts? NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER. Just phone calls... Seems something may be wrong with shielding inside the iPhone itself - again - and interference issue with the RF chipset perhaps?...
 
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Randy Ellis said:
First generation AirPods. iPhone 11 Pro Max. No connection issues with iPhone X or Apple TV, other devices.

Upon connecting to iPhone 11 Pro Max, get the "Signs" movie sounds, crackling-like sounds in both AirPods. After about 2 minutes of talking with them connected it slowly self-corrects. How bizarre is that?! However, it comes back. Almost seems like interference from another signal in the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Just really weird.

NOTE: Playback of music or videos or Podcasts? NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER. Just phone calls... Seems something may be wrong with shielding inside the iPhone itself - again - and interference issue with the RF chipset perhaps?...
Click to expand...

You got it. This is exactly what I have happen. 11 Pro.

I have spent 6+ hours at the Apple store over the last two weeks. I worked with the store manager and another tech - they all verified they heard the sounds.

They connected a set of Powerbeats Pro headphones to my 11 Pro. Those did it, too. First gen AirPods - known good - also did it. Second gen - multiple sets - same issue. They went in the back and pulled out a brand new 11 Pro - connected all the same devices - all crackled - so it’s the phone and/or firmware. We connected a Bluetooth speaker with mic - no issues. It does not crackle over Bluetooth in my car, either. We determined it is anything with a W1 or H1 chip. They swapped my SIM into another iPhone (an 8 I think) and the same AirPods and Powerbeats Pro did not crackle on that phone.

The case has been escalated multiple times. The last trip out, the manager told me they have had other reports of similar issues with CarPlay and AirPods.

I was transferred to a senior advisor via Apple phone support and they ran a sysdiagnose and are analyzing logs with the engineers.

On top of these issues, my phone drops calls constantly. It breaks up, drops calls, calls also go silent periodically and I can’t hear and they can’t hear me (but no drop). My X had maybe 2-3 dropped calls in 2 years.

This phone is an absolute dumpster fire. I can’t make phone calls but hey, I have a sweet new digital camera, so at least I have that going for me.
 
Last edited:
Cyberius11 said:
You got it. This is exactly what I have happen. 11 Pro.

I have spent 6+ hours at the Apple store over the last two weeks. I worked with the store manager and another tech - they all verified they heard the sounds.

They connected a set of Powerbeats Pro headphones to my 11 Pro. Those did it, too. First gen AirPods - known good - also did it. Second gen - multiple sets - same issue. They went in the back and pulled out a brand new 11 Pro - connected all the same devices - all crackled - so it’s the phone and/or firmware. We connected a Bluetooth speaker with mic - no issues. It does not crackle over Bluetooth in my car, either. We determined it is anything with a W1 or H1 chip. They swapped my SIM into another iPhone (an 8 I think) and the same AirPods and Powerbeats Pro did not crackle on that phone.

The case has been escalated multiple times. The last trip out, the manager told me they have had other reports of similar issues with CarPlay and AirPods.

I was transferred to a senior advisor via Apple phone support and they ran a sysdiagnose and are analyzing logs with the engineers.

On top of these issues, my phone drops calls constantly. It breaks up, drops calls, calls also go silent periodically and I can’t hear and they can’t hear me (but no drop). My X had maybe 2-3 dropped calls in 2 years.

This phone is an absolute dumpster fire. I can’t make phone calls but hey, I have a sweet new digital camera, so at least I have that going for me.
Click to expand...

I've loved the iPhone 11 Pro Max itself. I would isolate "dumpster fire" to me, only with the bluetooth connection to AirPods. That is a brick indeed. iOS 13.1.3 just released and I just installed. Let's see if Apple engineering was able to tackle this via SW or if they have an unavoidable problem with AirPods and if so, I'm thinking they need to replace my 1st gens with ones that work - if any do?...
 
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