Gen 1 AirPods Disconnecting

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Paul1977

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#270407 7-May-2020 22:42

I have a pair of gen 1 AirPods which I use with my iPhone X.

Recently one of the AirPods will disconnect and not reconnect until I put it back in the case and close it for 15 seconds. I can then take it back out and it reconnects again.

I have tried forgetting them from the phone and resetting them from the case then repairing, to no effect.

I’ve also tried forgetting all other Bluetooth devices from the phone and resetting all network settings.

I have tried disabling automatic ear detection, to no effect.

This happens when both AirPods have plenty of battery charge left.

When I have the microphone set to automatic it is always the left AirPod that disconnects. If I set the microphone to always be the right AirPod it is always the left that disconnects. If I set the microphone to always use be the left AirPod it’s always the right that disconnects.

So it would seem whatever AirPod is not set as the microphone is the one that disconnects (based on the assumption that it uses the right when set to automatic).

I’ve googled this and haven’t come across anything I haven’t already tried.

I’m thinking of biting the bullet and replacing them with some AirPods Pro, but am worried that the problem might be my phone rather than the AirPods - and I don’t want to shell out $450 on new ones to find I have the same problem.

Have others experienced this issue, if if so did you resolve them?

Thanks

Paul

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lxsw20

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#2478987 7-May-2020 23:57

Have you gone through support with Apple?

Handsomedan

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#2479046 8-May-2020 09:04

I'd contact Apple Support and run them through everything you've mentioned here.

They may not be able to help, but experience says they are more likely to give you some solid advice or even a discount on new ones if you are out of warranty and they determine that these are faulty.

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Paul1977

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#2479070 8-May-2020 10:11

Thanks guys.

They’re well out of warranty so I figured Apple support would be much use, but I’ll give it a try.

Been doing some more testing and the microphone thing might have been coincidence.

Something I just noticed was that when one cuts out the battery widget on the phone shows it at less than 4% for that one AirPod and over 80% for the one that keeps working. But as soon as I put it back in the case (close and reopen) it shows it back up to around the same charge as the other one.

Obviously something isn’t right with that as an AirPod can’t charge from 4% to 80% in 15 seconds!

I’m going to try to run both AirPods and the case through two full charge and discharge cycles to see if that recalibrates things.

After that it will be onto Apple support as you suggested.

alasta

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#2479146 8-May-2020 10:58

How long have you had them, and after a full charge how long do they usually work before one of them cuts out?

The batteries in Airpods are known to significantly degrade after a couple of years of regular use, so I'm wondering if your battery capacity is depleted to a point where it's affecting the accuracy of the battery metering.

Paul1977

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#2479169 8-May-2020 11:28

alasta:

How long have you had them, and after a full charge how long do they usually work before one of them cuts out?

The batteries in Airpods are known to significantly degrade after a couple of years of regular use, so I'm wondering if your battery capacity is depleted to a point where it's affecting the accuracy of the battery metering.

I suspect that's the issue the more i investigate. I've had them since the original launch, but they have actually had very little use. Just experimenting this morning I have watched the left airpod battery drop over 10% in a matter of minutes (even with no sound being played). The right one appears steady.

In the 3+ years I've had them I've probably used them less than a lot of people would use them in a couple of months.

I'm chatting with Apple support now. Have done through all the questions and am now trying to invoke CGA.

Paul1977

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#2479456 8-May-2020 18:03

Well, it’s been a mission but they’ve now collected diagnostic data for the engineers to determine if it’s a hardware or software problem.

During test both AirPods drained incredibly quickly, so the have all the logs of that happening.

I had to get escalated since I’m going the CGA route, but they’ve been very helpful. If the come to the party he said it may be an option to get a credit towards the new model or the Pros, but couldn’t make any promises at this stage.

Will hear back from them early next week.