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AirPods don't “just work”

philip.design

861–870 of 966 posts

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#861
post #732
post #587

I've given up with AirPods Pro. I had to replace them several times during the warranty period (once was a recall). Even when working correctly they would have annoying connection problems, for several conference calls I had to switch back to an old school wired pair, which just always works. My attempt to have the case (which only showed life while connected to power) resulted in Apple throwing away my working AirPo…

I usually dont buy AppleCare for my products, but I figured since this was a 1st gen AirPods Pro and they were so small AppleCare was justified this time. And boy am I glad I did, I've had my AirPods Pro replaced like five or six times now. Issues I've experienced: - Loud random static noise (usually for about .25 seconds). It's like someone screaming in your ear. I've experienced this now with TWO pairs. - Noise can…

My ex-boyfriend went through 3 or 4 pairs in one year, I could hardly believe he stuck around after the second replacement. Guy didn't even do anything besides sit in his office and type, either, I have no idea what could have caused their repeated failure besides bad QA.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#862
post #678

Earlier quoted context omitted.

unless you were deaf in the other ear, why would you want to use ANC in one ear only?

I use one ear at a time, both for battery purposes, and so I don’t have the two AirPods communicating with each other through my brain. I realize that we think nothing bad happens from the emissions from AirPods, but this may change in the future. Some have pointed out that prior studies involved devices that were not stuck quite so far into our ears. Since I listen to podcasts and books, I have no need to use two si…

The question is that why you want to enable ANC even if you use single bud? Anyway noise is come from non plugged ear.

My answer is that ANC helps reducing playback volume to battle with noise so it still worth.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#863
Wow, annoyance 1 itself would lead me to trash the headphones. Is there no way to avoid that?

I’ve been using these Bose in ear noise canceling head phones for 5 years (actually, this specific piece for a bit more than 4 years…the one I bought was in the first batch and had a known defect where the outer covering would peel off, so Bose replaced it in my 10th or so month of using it…it’s a genuine recall and nobody had to sue them to offer the recall either!).

$300 headphones, working for the past 5 years, and Inhave no complaints whatsoever. There are a couple of random gym equipment I’ve occasionally had trouble connecting it to, but I suspect that it was the gym equipments fault.

Admittedly, the mic could be better, and Bose had a ridiculous issue of tracking the music you played on your phone, which thankfully they’ve ended.

But it’s a trustworthy device which actually “Just Works” and I see no reason it wouldn’t last another couple of years at least (there is no physical damage I can see, despite using it in the gym nearly everyday, and all day long to listen to music).

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#864
post #231

I think most of these annoyances can be taken broadly from the fact that everything about any Bluetooth experience is just absolute trash. Why does it take several tries to pair sometimes? When paired, why does it sometimes auto-connect and sometimes not? Why does it just never pair at all? What's with that pair code that it says to enter, but auto fills (sometimes)? And only sometimes do you have to use that code (w…

Managing device connections with software is always going to result in a subpar user experience, period. When you use wired headphones, you don't have to rely on a UI to tell whether they're connected or not, and to manage that connection. To move from your laptop to your phone, you unplug them from the laptop and plug them into the phone. That simple. Impossible to mess up and works every time.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#865

3.5 mm jack Nasty. Yes ;) I'm sorry but it solves these problems and I think most of us have more prominent issues. Bluetooth - and even overpriced Apple products - are usually working well with one connection only. And the headset profile needs to sacrifice quality for voice input. This is to large degrees a question about priority of the user. If you need good or even excellent quality - opt for a good headset and…

Let's stop to admire the excellent UX of the 3.5mm jack * tactile feedback when connected (it clicks, you hear it & feel it). * "find my device" : just pull on the wire * quickly switch between devices * instant pairing We just need a marketing guru to sell people on the 3.5mm wired headphones

You also forgot about not having one more battery to keep charged.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#866
post #757

I generally enjoy my AirPods. They are occasionally quirky, but most of the time they really do “just work” for me. The annoyances are annoying when they happen, though. The strangest part is that the annoyances aren’t getting any better over time. At first I assumed that they were growing pains of an early product launch. Yet now we’re years into the AirPods experience and they continue to be just as quirky as when…

i don't know if it's limitations of the bluetooth protocol, or necessary optimizations in order to maintain battery life, but in my experience most battery operated bluetooth devices seem to have pairing issues. i suspect that it's probably a combination of three things: 1) reliability is hard when on a power budget. if power was free, they'd just always be looking to renegotiate, but since power is limited, they pro…

I can say I have had all of the issues listed in the post with three different bluetooth headphones. Random disconnections, only left or right speaker working, drivers issue on anything that was not an android phone, having to turn off bluetooth on phone when using on pc, having to deactivate phone and mic to boost bandwidth for audio (night and day difference).

I don't think I will ever buy bluetooth earbuds or headphones again, also because those devices are terrible for the environment.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#867

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even for desk use, wired headphones feel like being leashed to the desk. It's amazing to be in a meeting and then be able to just mute yourself and walk off to have a drink while still listening in.

Until you get just far enough away that they disconnect and your internal computer speakers start blasting the meeting conversation through the room.

The range on airpods is shockingly good.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#868
post #231

I think most of these annoyances can be taken broadly from the fact that everything about any Bluetooth experience is just absolute trash. Why does it take several tries to pair sometimes? When paired, why does it sometimes auto-connect and sometimes not? Why does it just never pair at all? What's with that pair code that it says to enter, but auto fills (sometimes)? And only sometimes do you have to use that code (w…

Managing device connections with software is always going to result in a subpar user experience, period. When you use wired headphones, you don't have to rely on a UI to tell whether they're connected or not, and to manage that connection. To move from your laptop to your phone, you unplug them from the laptop and plug them into the phone. That simple. Impossible to mess up and works every time.

Yeah, but wires are also a subpar user experience, period. Rolling them up to store them, untangling them to use them, getting caught on things, routing them to the device, etc. There's a reason bluetooth headphones are still popular despite the downsides.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#869
Not quite related to airpods, but is Apple's Bluetooth stack awful?

I got three pairs of iClever BTH-02s and they all connect fine to our hand-me-down LG android phones, but they fail to connect to a brand new (but low end model) iPad. It says they connect, but the upper left corner does not show the headset icon and the sound goes through the external speakers.

It's awful.

Re: AirPods don't “just work”

#870

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you elaborate more on this

See my comment here[0]. Apple added application-level support for non-standard features not supported by SMS. When Apple sends message through the Message application, it selects either iMessage or SMS, based on whether there exists an iMessage connection, and whether the recipient has an iMessage account. This includes for things that are not representable by SMS. Reactions in the Message application, sent to a non-…

> Liked "The full text of the thing you just sent them"

Thank you: I was wondering where those inane 'Liked' SMS messages were coming from. The poor iPhone user is unaware of how rude that comes across.

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