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AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

jeffgeerling.com

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Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#21

Post by geerlingguy »

zbuttram wrote: post #13

Yep, happens any time the AirPods mic is activated on MacOS, has been that way since launch as far as I know. Doesn't happen on iOS. I can only assume it has something to do with the Bluetooth hardware or they would have fixed it by now.

But it usually goes back once the mic is no longer being used. And I've had it happen a few times where I take a 'continuity phone call' from my iPhone on my Mac. The AirPods switch to the low-quality call mode, I have my conversation, I hang up, and the audio quality still stays switched until I do the Audio MIDI workaround or reboot.

Most of the time that doesn't happen, though—when I hang up the audio goes back to normal mode (48 kHz). So it seems to be a weird bug with the switching that I've only ever seen on the Mac (works perfect on iOS).

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#22

Post by saagarjha »

zbuttram wrote: post #18
saagarjha wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, this seems to happen whenever AirPods convinces itself that it needs to use its microphone, which seems to necessitate degrading the audio quality.

Doesn't happen on iOS though, which leads me to think it must be a limitation of the Bluetooth hardware in Macs but not in iPhones and iPads?

I have seen this happen when using Siri or calling people on iOS.

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#23

Post by zbuttram »

saagarjha wrote: post #8

I figured I’d ask this here: my AirPods have never been what I’d call “perfect”, and I’m trying to figure out whether these are fundamental issues with AirPods or if I have a bad pair. Is it normal for AirPods to ignore double taps on them 50% of the time (it’s worse if I try to use Siri, which almost never works, and better if I try to play/pause but still not great)? My AirPods also take up to thirty seconds to swi…

I do have trouble switching between devices occasionally, but none of the other symptoms.

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#24

Post by saagarjha »

heavymark wrote: post #12
saagarjha wrote: post #8

I figured I’d ask this here: my AirPods have never been what I’d call “perfect”, and I’m trying to figure out whether these are fundamental issues with AirPods or if I have a bad pair. Is it normal for AirPods to ignore double taps on them 50% of the time (it’s worse if I try to use Siri, which almost never works, and better if I try to play/pause but still not great)? My AirPods also take up to thirty seconds to swi…

No none of that is normal. If it were, no one would buy them or write the rave reviews you've read. What happened when you reached out to Apple Support about those issues?

I talked to a Genius in passing and was told that I need to triple tap to get it to “register correctly”, which did not help. I think I’ll actually take an appointment and complain some more and see if they can look at it with more scrutiny.

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#25

Post by zbuttram »

saagarjha wrote: post #22
zbuttram wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't happen on iOS though, which leads me to think it must be a limitation of the Bluetooth hardware in Macs but not in iPhones and iPads?

I have seen this happen when using Siri or calling people on iOS.

All of my iOS devices are rather new, perhaps it depends on which one. I've used Siri, made calls, and spoke in channels on Discord without having it happen on my iPhones 7 and XS, and 2018 iPad. In comparison, my Macs are a 2013 Macbook Pro (running Mojave) and a Hackintosh desktop (still on High Sierra).

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#26

Post by saagarjha »

geerlingguy wrote: post #14
heavymark wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No none of that is normal. If it were, no one would buy them or write the rave reviews you've read. What happened when you reached out to Apple Support about those issues?

Agreed with the above; my first pair (I wrote about them on my blog [1]) had terrible issues with reliability on one of my Macs. I found that the left AirPod was actually bad, and got a free replacement left earbud. Since then, they've been great. [1] https://www.jeffgeerling.com/blog/2017/how-i-discovered-my-l...

Hmm, I will try this with my pair and see if I can find the issue. Thanks!

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#27

Post by darawk »

userbinator wrote: post #19

I have tried to read the BlueTooth specs a few times, never really getting anywhere, and am amazed that it all (mostly) works given the immense complexity in those standards[1]. Thus I'm not surprised that bugs like this can occur. [1] The BT5 core spec is freely downloadable. It is a 25MB PDF with over 2800 pages. That's just the core, there are other specifications that layer on top of it.

I'm curious, to people here who are technically familiar with the standard, do you think this complexity is justified, or is it a case of an over-engineered protocol?

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#28

Post by saagarjha »

zbuttram wrote: post #25
saagarjha wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have seen this happen when using Siri or calling people on iOS.

All of my iOS devices are rather new, perhaps it depends on which one. I've used Siri, made calls, and spoke in channels on Discord without having it happen on my iPhones 7 and XS, and 2018 iPad. In comparison, my Macs are a 2013 Macbook Pro (running Mojave) and a Hackintosh desktop (still on High Sierra).

I’m using an iPhone SE, so it might be that it doesn’t have the necessary features to support this?

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#29

Post by floatingatoll »

You may find value in this Mac app that disables the microphone input channel on AirPods as part of pairing them, which should in theory permanently resolve your issue:

https://c-command.com/toothfairy/

(Note that I neither know how they’re doing it nor have I tried to reverse engineer it. Works well for me in non-VMWare scenarios!)

Re: AirPods get stuck in low-quality 16 kHz audio mode when starting a VM

#30

Post by reificator »

zbuttram wrote: post #18
saagarjha wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, this seems to happen whenever AirPods convinces itself that it needs to use its microphone, which seems to necessitate degrading the audio quality.

Doesn't happen on iOS though, which leads me to think it must be a limitation of the Bluetooth hardware in Macs but not in iPhones and iPads?

I encounter this issue with a different headset (Steelseries something or other) and both a MacBook Pro and a Lenovo something or other.

As soon as the headset is told to turn on the mic, quality drops significantly.

I figured it was by design, and using a better codec/more bandwidth whenever it could afford to, but dropping down to half that in order to run the mic channel side by side.

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