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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

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Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#491

Post by wintermutestwin »

toyg wrote: post #177
yoz-y wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, the fact that I no longer snag my earphones on random protrusions, like doorknobs and bus ticket validating machines is a bliss. Cables inside at a desk: sure, why not. Cables outside: hard pass.

I agree, but the awkward "omg an airpod fell off after bumping into something/someone" is also a real thing. They should have an optional cord between the pair.

This cord works (although I found that they helped to pull the airpods out of my ear): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089B5T9L7?psc=1

These hooks are a much better solution: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B089B5T9L7?psc=1 Despite their flimsiness, they have not failed on me once while running, etc.

Both of these "solutions" have the obnoxious problem of needing to be removed to charge the airpod. The Powerbeats Pro has built in hooks that are nice and sturdy, but the case is obnoxiously massive compared to the airpods case.

My problem is that I must have freakishly small ear canals, because neither of these earbuds actually fit into my ears - despite trying nearly every aftermarket replacement eartip.

The Shokz openrun pro doesn't need to go into my ear and kinda works, but the sound quality sucks for music and the head loop protrudes from the back of my head and isn't adjustable.

Over ear headphones don't work with hats or bike helmets, so those are only good sometimes.

My next step is to pay $150(!!) for a custom piece of silicon to attach to the airpods (which will still have to come on and off for charging): https://www.adv-sound.com/products/eartune-fidelity-custom-f...

I guess I could pay $500 for these: https://www.adv-sound.com/products/m5-tws-custom

Or maybe I could get surgery to enlarge my ear canal (haha)

If anyone reading this has any better advice, I'm all ears (hahaha) Sigh -

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#492

Post by duxup »

falcolas wrote: post #410
ashtonkem wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did that until I updated the wifi in my house. There’s a combination wired/wireless wire plate under my desk, but I don’t bother wiring it into my work computer, because the wifi is faster than what the cheap USB C adapter can offer.

Faster and lower latency are not the same things. > the cheap USB C adapter I have to ask, what kind of internet speeds do you have where even a cheap wired adapter can't beat it? That's pretty incredible.

You getting a lot of latency over wifi?

I find wifi almost entirely dies around the time I get wonky latency... but having said that everyone's wifi situation is different depending on network, building / home structure and etc.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#493

Post by skinkestek »

More annoyingly for me they didn't show up in "Where is" or what that feature is called in English, even if they had power and were close to my phone and had been for hours.

I recently wasted an hour or so thinking I must have left them behind at kids soccer training while they were just out of sight next to me.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#494

Post by chris37879 »

rattray wrote: post #261
toyg wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but the awkward "omg an airpod fell off after bumping into something/someone" is also a real thing. They should have an optional cord between the pair.

Aftershokz Aeropex, silly name aside, is a decent product that gets you a Bluetooth device you can wear all day without losing

That's exactly what I use. I have a set of airpod pros I use most of the time, but I can't stand having my ears sealed all day, and having waterproof ones I an wear in the shower is awesome.

My only gripe with them is that the quality is way lower than even fairly cheap normal ear buds, so I mostly use them for podcasts and books.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#496

Post by dont__panic »

INTPenis wrote: post #486

It's nice for someone like me who left the Apple ecosystem many years ago to see that an image for producing fancy gadgets does not mean you can eliminate common software issues. Because this sounds just like any pair of BT headphones I've used in the last 2 years. Since I finally gave in and started using BT headphones All in all I love them, I love being able to clean with headphones on and not snag on anything. I…

Yeah, there's something comforting about a physical connection I can inspect for defects or just unplug, then plug back in if audio isn't working right. Even when I used AirPods/Pro for a while, I never really trusted the headphones. Sometimes I would take them out of the case and they just didn't connect to my phone. Sometimes they didn't seat quite right in the case and didn't charge overnight, and would be totally dead. Sometimes they would connect, play the sound, show up as the audio output on my phone... then refuse to actually play any audio.

I understand that wireless is a nice convenience for a lot of people. But BT makes wireless such a nightmare I just don't think it's worth it. Incredible that nobody has come up with a competing standard.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#498

Post by heleninboodler »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #223
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've got some Sony bluetooth / noise cancelling headphones, I don't like the lag but that's only an issue for videos and it switches to low latency (low quality) for voice calls. But I really appreciate not managing a cable, it's always in the way, or touching my arm or something (some sensory things really annoy me while sitting at a computer). Plus, great battery life. And it Just Works. Although my Mac has a tende…

> And it Just Works. Although my Mac has a tendency to switch back to my speakers (also bluetooth) after ~15 minutes without my input, that's really annoying. So, what you're saying is, it doesn't just work! I promise I’m not trying to be sassy! This is exactly the type of issue I always run into with wireless audio, and basically never experience with wired headphones. I hate these types of little, persistent annoya…

I agree completely. Little gnomes never sneak up on me and switch the wire from one device to another, then demand I go through weird unplug/plug rituals involving four levels of deep-presses to get the thing connected back to the device I want, all while 20 people are waiting for me to start a presentation. The signal doesn't randomly drop out or connect to the car that just pulled in the driveway. The batteries don't go dead.

The point is predictability. Wires have it, bluetooth doesn't. Yes, they predictably snag on things sometimes. In my experience, this annoyance happens far less frequently than any of the many annoyances that bluetooth brings.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#499

Post by projektfu »

cush wrote: post #423
dt2m wrote: post #63

All valid annoyances, but I really think OP should try using another brand of Bluetooth headphones for a week just to get some perspective of how well AirPods "just work" compared to the competition. Manually having to re-pair once in every blue moon, one earbud playing while the other isn't, no automatic device switching without having to go through the Settings app everytime, A/V desync, dodgy mic quality, earbuds…

Bluetooth is such a fussy, unreliable protocol. I’d love to have a new, modern protocol that simply requires some kind of basic, physical connection to pair two devices. That way, I’d always know exactly which two devices are connected and a third couldn’t break it so easily.

Of course I expect that it would lead to something with the unreliability of Bluetooth and the requirement that you physically touch the devices together every time it loses its connection.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#500

Post by minhazm »

darrenf wrote: post #72
hetspookjee wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd be no better off with a Sony Headphone that screams in your ear that a device connected, the device is turned on and the battery is almost empty. The flagship Sony headphone is so bug ridden it's a joke if you ask me.

What bugs are you referring to? > You'd be no better off with a Sony Headphone that screams in your ear that a device connected, the device is turned on and the battery is almost empty. I have the WF-1000XM4s. On the iOS headphones app, visiting System and turning off "Notification & Voice Guide" gets rid of the power on and battery level announcements leaving only the connection/disconnection alerts (although I keep…

I have the same headphones and the main issue I have with it is their multi-device support is pretty much broken for me. If I'm on a zoom call and I get a phone call on my other device it takes over the audio (as expected), but then if I decline the phone call the audio doesn't switch back to my zoom call (computer). I end up having to turn the headphones off and back on for them to reconnect, which actually takes a good 10-15 seconds at least. The Bose QC35 I had before handled multiple devices way better, unfortunately they just didn't sound as good as the Sony.
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