Airpods Pro official - buyers and owners thread (1 Viewer)

[DaveF]

My initial reaction was they fit terribly and I might have to return them. Then I discovered I had them reversed left-right. I'm cautiously optimistic they'll stay in while jogging, which I'll try out tomorrow.

 

[DaveF]

Can I use my Airpod Pro with my Watch, without my iphone? When I walk away from the iPhone, the airpods pro stop playing audio, even though I'm playing from my Watch.

I can't figure out how to make them work with just the Watch, like my Bose bluetooth earpods did.

At the moment, these are a disaster. Very flaky and hard to understand.

 

[DaveF]

Wow. The Airpods really suck. Or they're broken on arrival. Have to try and get hold of apple tech support to get these replaced or something.

Start playing audio on my watch, and they cut out after ten seconds. No such problem with standard bluetooth earphones.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Can I use my Airpod Pro with my Watch, without my iphone? When I walk away from the iPhone, the airpods pro stop playing audio, even though I'm playing from my Watch.

I can't figure out how to make them work with just the Watch, like my Bose bluetooth earpods did.

At the moment, these are a disaster. Very flaky and hard to understand.

To use them with just the watch would mean you’d have to have music loaded on the watch. Can that be done. I’ve not tried it.

 

[DaveF]

After fighting with them for an hour -- they first conked out as I'd started my jog, about a 100 yards from my house -- I finally figured out how to upair them from the watch (which took several) tries. Then I fought for a bit to figure out to re-pair them to the watch. Finally I found they were also unpaired from the iPhone (from unpairing the Watch). I reconnected to the phone, which reconnected to the Watch. And then they worked as they should.

So I guess the initial pairing had some partial failure that let them work kinda but drop audio after a bit?

Now I'm trying to figure out the fit. My right ear was coming out the whole time, I was constantly adjusting and mushing it back into my ear while exercising. Which also meant the noise canceling wasn't working. The Bose earphones have a flange that helps keep them secure in the ear, and I'm seeing how important it was in its absence.

I'm trying the larger and smaller tips. We'll see how it works with some use around the house and then when I'm out jogging again later this week.

I really want these to work well -- not the least of which is they're $250. But the fit might not be adequate for my needs.

 

[DaveF]

Looking at options.

How to Keep Your Apple AirPods From Slipping Out of Your Ears

Do Apple's AirPods fall out of your ears or hurt after you wear them? Don't give up. Here are a few DIY fixes and third-party solutions to get Cupertino's true wireless earbuds to stay in your ears.

www.pcmag.com

 

[Johnny Angell]

My wife’s AirPods are working for her. She’s using the tips that were installed. She doesn’t exercise with them but in puttering about the house they’ve never fallen off. When he got them, she didn’t have an Apple Watch so they’ve never been paired to her watch.

What is the advantage of paring to the watch?

 

[Ted Todorov]

To use them with just the watch would mean you’d have to have music loaded on the watch. Can that be done. I’ve not tried it.

You don't need to load any music on the Apple Watch if you have the cellular version, it will play Apple Music just like a HomePod would. Tell Siri to play "playlist A" or "album b" or "artist C" and it will. There is some short playlist of your favorites as determined by Apple that will get magically loaded on all Apple Watches, cellular or not.

Also the Apple Watch app of Overcast can be set up to download to the watch the latest versions of your podcast subscriptions from you iPhone Overcast app. I tried it for a while but decided it wasn't worth it, because I subscribe to too many podcasts and liked the watchOS software better for stoping/starting/ +-30 seconds/volume control for my AirPods when listening to the podcast while walking our dogs. (The podcast transfer to my watch was also kind of pointless, because unless I forgot my iPhone, it was always in my pocket anyway)

 

[DaveF]

What is the advantage of paring to the watch?

Jogging without carrying a giant 8+ strapped to my arm

 

[DaveF]

You can sync media to the Watch, without requiring data connection / cell plan. I've been syncing podcasts with the Overcast app for several months now. You can also sync audiobooks and music to the Watch.

 

[DaveF]

Ugh. Airpods again are disconnecting from Apple Watch after a few seconds of playing. No idea what's going on. I'd recommend strong caution to anyone considering buying them for use with a watch. Terrible experience so far.

 

[DaveF]

Here's where I'm at

• Airpods connection to watch becomes damaged after a day or so. Today I had to power cycle the watch and phone to get a stable re-connection
• Airpods fall out of my ears while jogging
• Airpods loosen up and NC isn't great due to that
• No volume control on the earphones is a nuisance and impediment when exercising -- anyone saying "just spin the watch dial" isn't working out with their airpods, because the fitness app is front and center and you have two swipe and click and find the audio app and click and tap and swipe to get to the volume section which is hard to do when you're running.

Amazon had a price drop two days after I ordered my pair, so I initiated a return of the current pair and ordered a new pair (the only way to "price match" on Amazon and what the service rep told me to do). So I've got a new pair arriving in a day or two. And I've got a pair of silicone wraps to maybe help the grip. I'll try the grips. If those work on the current pair, I might open up the new pair and see if the connection to my watch is stable. Otherwise, I'll return everything and start a new search of earphones.

Sigh. I liked it better when Apple hardware "just worked".

 

[DaveF]

Anyone have the PowerBeats Pro? Wondering if they'd work better for me?

Powerbeats Pro True Wireless Earbuds Lava Red - Apple

Apple Store Search Results

www.apple.com

 

[Johnny Angell]

I’m using Aftershokz. These are the bone conducting type and first ones of that type I’ve ever owned. The don’t go in the ear and have a band that holds them in place. They are very comfortable and won’t fall off. They sound great and I can answer my iphone with them.

Bought them at Sams for $80. Never any trouble using them with my iphone. Highly recommended.

 

[DaveF]

I bought some $12 silicone covers, and went for a jog today. They stayed in adequately. And after several days and multiple device reboots and multiple re-pairings, they seem to finally stay paired with the Watch without failing after 4 seconds of play.

The lack of volume control remains a nuisance. Siri doesn't work -- Siri requires a data connection which I obviously don't have out jogging. But I found the Watch's "Now Playing" app and put it in the center ring of the app beehive, so it's down to two pushes of the knob and a tap on the screen so I can change volume.

So...AirPods Pro seem to be the best of available compromises for me. At least without buying and trying and dealing with open-box returns of a number of earphones.

 

[Johnny Angell]

My Aftershokz have buttons for up/down volume.

 

[DaveF]

Right airpod has failed. 30 minutes into using them today, it started blasting out a full volume high-pitch tone! I pull it out of my ear, and put in my pocket for a few minutes. It would then play normal for a minute, and then start blasting the tone. At this point, when you pull it out of the case, it blasts the tone, audible across the room.

On hold, waiting for Apple Service, hoping to get a quick replacement. I got them on sale so I don't especially want to return to Amazon to re-buy at a higher price.

 

[DaveF]

Did a reset and the tone has gone away. But I don't trust it now and want a replacement. Apple tells me I have to pay for warranty replacement.

They checked and replacement cost is just a credit card hold until they receive the unit. So I can give it a week at least and see if this repeats are really was a random glitch this morning.

Still...I'm thinking about returning to Amazon as defective and requesting a replacement. These are the same ones that had the pairing problems with my Watch. So I'm still unsure if these are a bad pair or what.

It's kinda like this issue, but the tone is full volume when it happens.

 

[Johnny Angell]

@DaveF You’ve had quite a frustrating experience. Sorry ‘bout that.

 

[DaveF]

Thanks. If I hadn’t read the many glowing reviews and seen them become ubiquitous at the gym and on airplanes the last three years, and talked with friends who love them ... I’d think they were the worst product Apple ever made. I’ve close to hating them.

But when they’re working, they’re good.

I’ll be using them again Monday for a (hopefully) long run. If they act weird again, I’ll ... do something.

I’m still tempted to exchange them with Amazon as defective. This pair has been problematic from the start. And they're two weeks old. Makes me worried what will happen in a year.