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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

#161

Post by naravara »

freshhawk wrote: post #132
hombre_fatal wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's also the problem of wireless tech UX being difficult in general. For example, people want the experience of turning on their devices and auto-pairing with their other devices. But headphones, for example, don't have much of a UI to manage this. There's the hellish scenario of everyone in your car hearing the conversation you thought you were having on your back patio in private just because you walked too clo…

Imagine if you connected this way: 1. turn on peripheral, 2. choose it from a UI on the device and get connected. That is easy, it is the auto-pairing bullshit that forces the software to guess using a heuristic, which guarantees it will get it wrong a non-zero amount of the time. Now that we all have N devices it will get it right 1 out of N times. This is just terrible UX, the choice reality gave us was between aut…

There is that one Logitech keyboard that does this. It has a selector dial on the left where you pick which one of 3 possible devices to connect it to.

There is still the design problem there however. You kind of have to guess which one 1, 2, or 3 is. And you need the recipient device to actually be on and maintain the connection when you make the switch. So it's not just 1 UI interaction. Depending on your situation, there can be at least 3 and they're spread across multiple devices.

Ideally we'd have a standardized overlay or display on any bluetooth device to indicate its connection status and what it's paired to. But that would be its own headache and would seriously constrain how devices can look or be shaped. How much UI can you really fit on a pair of headphones that are meant to be small?

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

#162

Post by mjtsai »

zbuttram wrote: post #40
floatingatoll wrote: post #29

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!)

I have Toothfairy and it is amazing as a quicker way to connect my AirPods to my Mac, but I've tried that option for disabling input and it didn't seem to work for me unfortunately. Still absolutely worth the $3 for the other features though.

The only time I’ve seen the input switching not work is if there’s another app that keeps forcibly changing the input back to the AirPods. Some games and virtual environments do that. If you contact toothfairy@c-command.com, I can look into what the issue might be on your Mac.

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

#163

Post by robocat »

robk wrote: post #138
ebrewste wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was wiring in a charge only USB port in my car today and found out that cutting the data lines limits the charge rate to a uselessly low rate. You need to tie the data lines together to put it in usb bc1.2 mode. Or 2.7 v on each line for 2.4 a iPhone charge or other modes. It isn’t simple. Simpler than Bluetooth, but not “hook up ground and 5v” simple.

There's a fast charge dongle for this. Portapow makes one.

Looks like there is a StarTech one too with a button to change modes - search for USB2CHADP (although currently out of stock at Amazon).

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

#164

Post by joecool1029 »

Nexxxeh wrote: post #148
joecool1029 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a 2012 VW Golf TDI. Before VW bought it back for making asthma great again, it had bluetooth issues. Out of the factory it would only play mono, the right channel specifically. VW issued a TSB for it and the radio firmware could be updated by the dealership but it was a 3 hour process. I did it, dealership went in thinking it was 1 hour billable and were pissed that I only agreed to pay 1 hour!

Wait, the dealership gets to charge you for fixing a bug in the stock firmware? Or are they billing VW?

They got to charge me because it's labor and I had the car over a year (trim warranty).

They did not get to charge me when the DPF cracked a few thousand miles out of federal emissions warranty because dieselgate scandal already broke and I said "If you can program it to cheat, you can program it to fail"

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

#165

Post by pfranz »

puzzle wrote: post #107
pfranz wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't be surprised, but my frustration is a poor implementation or unintuitive implementation. Quite a few cars go into USB-mode as soon as you attach a phone--almost 100% of the time they just want to charge their phone and already have things set up via Bluetooth or the radio. iPhones won't let you play through the phone if you have an attached audio device. Some cars seem to be able to do album art and track…

A few weeks ago, I asked for a compact rental car, but was given a 2018 or 2019 Chevrolet Equinox. It had an USB-A as well as an USB-C port. I already had Android Auto on my Pixel, so I was up and running in a few instants. I did NOT miss setting up Bluetooth or Ford's Sync thingie. Maybe there's hope at the end of the tunnel.

Often in cars (especially when traveling and there's no dock) I get a poor wired connection. I suspect it's just lint caught in the connector, but it makes wired CarPlay or USB audio very frustrating because if anyone bumps the wire the connection stops and you have to wait for the handshake to continue. It's much less of an issue with charging.

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

#166

Post by pfranz »

briandear wrote: post #85
pfranz wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't be surprised, but my frustration is a poor implementation or unintuitive implementation. Quite a few cars go into USB-mode as soon as you attach a phone--almost 100% of the time they just want to charge their phone and already have things set up via Bluetooth or the radio. iPhones won't let you play through the phone if you have an attached audio device. Some cars seem to be able to do album art and track…

My Audi has two USB ports in the driver center console: one connects to the car, the other is charge only. It’s pretty great.

I had hoped that was the case in the car I was borrowing, but all of them were data connectors (not sure what happens if you attached multiple devices).

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

#167

Post by pfranz »

cptskippy wrote: post #92
pfranz wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't be surprised, but my frustration is a poor implementation or unintuitive implementation. Quite a few cars go into USB-mode as soon as you attach a phone--almost 100% of the time they just want to charge their phone and already have things set up via Bluetooth or the radio. iPhones won't let you play through the phone if you have an attached audio device. Some cars seem to be able to do album art and track…

> I'm constantly surprised by how terrible it is even in high price ranges. Car makers don't really care. They want features on a list to check off and don't care how well they work. You can't return. The car easily after a month of frustration and realization that the car is the problem not you or your phone trying to interface with them.

That's odd because you know they spend a lot of time/money on interiors. I remember a 2001 German car I owned had terrible cupholders that broke easily(I noticed that is a lower priority for foreign cars). The next model year changed to a more sturdy design. But on the flip side, I've greatly preferred the tactile buttons on the low-end over the touch screens and menus on the high-end.

I'm confident most people care a lot about the infotainment systems. Even 10 years ago, the Millennials cared about getting their iPods to work. I had modded so many friend's cars or upgraded their head units. Their parents, boomers, just assume it's too complicated (which it is) for audio and navigation. I feel like after literally a decade they've all just given up on everything except basic Bluetooth audio (when it works out of the box).

I've ended up renting, borrowing, and test-driving (and buying) a surprising number of cars over the past 5 years and it's pretty uniformly terrible. I remember being sheepish a couple years ago when the most important thing in a new car was phone compatibility. I would have happily preached and bought something that just worked well.

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

#168

Post by cptskippy »

pfranz wrote: post #167
cptskippy wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm constantly surprised by how terrible it is even in high price ranges. Car makers don't really care. They want features on a list to check off and don't care how well they work. You can't return. The car easily after a month of frustration and realization that the car is the problem not you or your phone trying to interface with them.

That's odd because you know they spend a lot of time/money on interiors. I remember a 2001 German car I owned had terrible cupholders that broke easily(I noticed that is a lower priority for foreign cars). The next model year changed to a more sturdy design. But on the flip side, I've greatly preferred the tactile buttons on the low-end over the touch screens and menus on the high-end. I'm confident most people care…

> I remember a 2001 German car I owned had terrible cupholders that broke easily(I noticed that is a lower priority for foreign cars). The next model year changed to a more sturdy design.

Volkswagen Jetta?

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

#169

Post by pfranz »

cptskippy wrote: post #168
pfranz wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's odd because you know they spend a lot of time/money on interiors. I remember a 2001 German car I owned had terrible cupholders that broke easily(I noticed that is a lower priority for foreign cars). The next model year changed to a more sturdy design. But on the flip side, I've greatly preferred the tactile buttons on the low-end over the touch screens and menus on the high-end. I'm confident most people care…

> I remember a 2001 German car I owned had terrible cupholders that broke easily(I noticed that is a lower priority for foreign cars). The next model year changed to a more sturdy design. Volkswagen Jetta?

Yep! A plastic coke bottle was just big enough to fit. When the bottle warmed and expanded, it was slightly too big and would break the flimsy cup holder. After replacing it once and having it break twice I gave up. I remember later seeing a different model year (I'm pretty sure with the same body style) where they had replaced it with a more normal cup holder.

I would also have the mirror adjustment knob on the door snag on my clothes and snap off.

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