Level 1

52 points

Powerbeats Pro Connection problems

I have a problem automatically connecting one of the Powerbeats Pro headphones. Sometimes its left one sometimes its the right one. I have iPhone Xs Max so i open powebeats pro case remove left headphone put it on and nothing happens. I remove the right one and put it on and it connects but the left one doesn't. The only way to connect it remove it put it back into the case. Sometimes i need to put back both left and right back to the case and after that it connects. Sometimes i have the problem with the right one. I did a reset but still the problem exist. Anyone has the same problem? looks like its a firmware problem but not sure if there is an update for that.

Posted on Jun 15, 2019 9:31 AM

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de00304

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Jan 20, 2020 8:39 AM

I have this same problem, and I think I figured it out. The issue is that the earphone is intermittently not charging in the case. Here is how I figured t out. I read these comments and thought I should try and update my firmware. I went to the beats page to do that, but it wouldn't move past the page where it asks you to connect the case with both earphones inside. However I did have both earphones inside the case. This was the first clue.

I then started to suspect power, so I unplugged the case and opened my iPhone to the first page where the battery levels are displayed. I normally would see three battery levels: one for the case, one for the left earphone and one for the right earphone. However, I only saw two - the case and the right earphone.

My theory was that the reason I couldn't get the left to connect wasn't a connection issue per se, but instead it was the fact that the left earphone had 0% battery, and was dead. I tested this by carefully placing the left in the case and left it for 30 mn or so, and then checked the phone battery levels again. This time the left showed with 3% charge. I lifted it out of the case and placed it in my ear and it connected. It then gave a weird tone and shut down again, likely because the battery level was so low. I then left it for 8+ hours and when I came back, it showed on the iPhone at 100% battery and connected fine after that.

I have two use cases:

1) it won't connect initially, but when I put it back into the case and remove it again, it then connects fine. My theory for this use case is that it still has a charge, but when placed in the case the last time I used it, it didnt connect to the case and therefore "timed out" somehow or lost sync with the right earphone. This can be tested by taking both out and listening to them, then only place one back in and leave it that way for a while. When you come back I will bet that the one you left out of the case will not initially connect, but will connect when placed back into the case and removed again as that causes the earphone to sync up with the other one again.

2) It wont connect at all. In this use case, my theory is that the earphone did not connect to the case properly when it was last placed in there, and enough time has passed from the last time I used it that the battery has drained completely so it wont connect at all. Leaving it then in the case for "30 minutes" or so might give it enough charge to work again after that, as some posters in this thread have experienced.

I am having these replaced and hopefully that will clear it. I am not sure if it is a problem with the left earphone itself not connecting to the case for power, or if it is the case itself that has the connectivity issue. Hopefully replacing both will solve it. I certainly will be paying close attention to the battery meter in the iPhone to determine if I am getting a good earphone/case connection going forward...

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152 replies

Jul 24, 2019 8:45 AM in response to nikony13

I called Apple support today. I spent 45 minutes being handed from front line to 2nd level and then was put on hold (15+ minutes) for a Beats Senior person. I ran out of time as I had to go into a meeting and asked that I be called back in an hour. I was promised this would happen but no call came.

Case: 100862649561

nikony13 Author

Level 1

52 points

Jul 29, 2019 8:17 AM in response to TszChun.Anson

Yes, recently i have this problem as well, also sometimes its even flashes back and forth between red mark and normal charge. I just recently updated to 12.4. Going to use it for a few days to see if connection problem still exist.

kingja2

Level 1

4 points

Aug 4, 2019 10:14 AM in response to nikony13

Same thing here. I just decided to return them. I must say that I also had a similar problem with my first generation AirPods but I was hoping the technology would have advanced some more in the last couple of years.

Well lets hope for the Powerbeats pro 3 soon.

Aug 5, 2019 5:29 AM in response to Hobbes4Pres

The issue happened again after updating firmware and iOS. My Powerbeats Pro were paired to both my iPhone and my iPad, but they were only actively connected to my iPad while I watched Netflix. The clamshell was around 90% charged and earbuds were close to 100%. Note I also have a pair of Powerbeats 3 that were paired to just my iPhone, but they were powered off at the time.

While I was watching Netflix on my iPad, I also had my iPhone on and was actively doing e-mail. I only had one Powerbeats Pro earbud in (right ear) at the time. For whatever reason, I had the clamshell open right next to my iPad, with the left earbud still in the case. The iPad, iPhone, and clamshell were all within close proximity of each other. My Powerbeats played their disconnect tune and no longer were listed as a known Bluetooth device on my iPad. I looked at my iPhone and both the Powerbeats Pro and the Powerbeats 3 devices were no longer known Bluetooth devices. I looked at the clamshell, which was still open next to my iPad, and its front LED was now blinking white like it was trying to pair to a device.

My wife was nearby with her iPad and the Powerbeats Pro showed up on her screen ready to connect. I put my right earbud back in the clamshell, closed the lid, opened it, and proceeded to pair again to my iPad.

I will contact support again.

Aug 5, 2019 2:36 PM in response to nikony13

I also have a connecting problem. It start with one hearpod (powerbeats pro) that indicate 0% batterie level (the right one). This morning I update the powerbeats pro firmware. And now there is NO connection at all. Not even with my iPhone, my iPad, my Macbook pro, and my apple TV. NOTHING. I tried every thing, more than twice. NOTHING work !!! All my device are uptodate !!!

skilbert

Level 1

4 points

Aug 14, 2019 11:25 AM in response to nikony13

Adding my voice so hopefully Apple will see this is real. Love my PBP headset, but customers say I cut in and out during call. Seems to be related to being in same room as phone and MacBook Pro. Can not turn Bluetooth off on MacBook due to BT keyboard and BT touchpad. Don’t have issue when taking calls away from office (when no other BT devices are present)

Aug 14, 2019 12:43 PM in response to skilbert

Thanks for sharing that. I am now getting the same feedback from others on calls. It was working fine before. It just started since last week, which does correspond to when I updated the firmware. Perhaps related, perhaps not.

Silesasi

Level 1

4 points

Aug 21, 2019 7:16 AM in response to Hobbes4Pres

Had the same exact experience unfortunately

the shipping process of the device from you and to you back is very good and fast but they don’t really check the issues based on our feedback. Very disappointed

Jbryant

Level 1

4 points

Aug 22, 2019 9:09 AM in response to nikony13

Have had my Beats for about a month now and without any warning connection problems have started to randomly occur. This is very frustrating as I use them daily and for $350 they should perform without issue. I have started to check the card after placing them in the charging case. Last night, placed them in the case...checked to ensure they were charging and this morning went to use them and the right one was not charged. These are completely random occurrences and needs to be resolved.

samtast

Level 1

4 points

Aug 26, 2019 3:43 AM in response to nikony13

I am having this issue also, one not charging and now I went to my phone and pressed forget power beats pro and I can't get them to reconnect? The light won't flash red when I hold down the button on the case. I have only had them 3 weeks and barley used them!

Aug 29, 2019 1:49 AM in response to Hobbes4Pres

Adding my fault to the thread so hopefully apple takes notice.

My PBP right headphone charges and then gradually discharges in the case. So if I come back to them after a couple of days the left headphone is 100% charged and the right 0% charged.

If if I use my headphones I have to take the right headphone out of the case and put it back in again, wait 10-15mins for a decent charge and then use them.

Very frustrating and annoying.

Sep 3, 2019 7:37 AM in response to nikony13

I have the same problem as others in this thread. Sometimes, when I have one side in my ear, the thing will play a tune, randomly disconnect, and disappear from the list of paired BT devices. This has happened multiple times on the evening I opened a fresh package, and on both my iPhone XR and iPad Air 2 (on iOS/iPadOS 13 beta releases).

Sep 18, 2019 5:29 AM in response to nikony13

this suck. 8days old and this. $250 piece of junk. Did everything, except throw overboard. Since i work on a ship and is traveling overseas, i have to wait for months after i finish my contract, to bring this to apple service and hope that they wont scam me for the fix. This is the last time. 👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻

swaser

Level 1

13 points

Sep 18, 2019 12:34 PM in response to Hobbes4Pres

Has this solved the issue?

I had same problem, swapped them and still have the problem. On my MacBook I can’t even update firmware and it tells me to call support immediately. Going to try another computer.

BobLo

Level 1

12 points

Sep 27, 2019 9:06 AM in response to nikony13

I have a similar problem.

In my case the PowerBeats Pro connected to my Mac just fine. I then disconnected them and connected them to my iPhone. SO far so good. I then wanted to go back to using them on my Mac. Assuming that they are like other Bluetooth devices that can only connect to one drive at a time (afterwards I read somewhere that they can connect to two drives and stay paired with them, but I have not gotten that to work for me) I unpaired it from my iPhone and tried to pair it back to my Mac.

No matter what I do it will not pair back to my Mac, even though I had paired them successfully an hour before.

I see them show up in my Bluetooth panel, and I see the connect button but each time I click on the connect button I get an error message that says connection-rejected.

And they will not pair with my Apple Watch Series 4 at all. I don't know if there is a different procedure for that.

I did do the firmware update yesterday (it is a slow process, the progress bar barely looks like it was moving but eventually it did complete the firmware update but it did not fix the problem.

https://www.beatsbydre.com/support/how-to/firmware-updates-beats-updater

I tried to reset them but that made no difference.

I then found a post online that showed how to delete the preference files, which I did and I rebooted my Mac and the PowerBeats Pro still have an issue.

In my case I suspect that the problem is a preference file that is noting that the Beats were uninstalled and somehow it remembers that and tries to not connect to them again. My suspicion is that the file is corrupted and that is the problem that many of us or all of us are experiencing, but I have deleted all the Bluetooth preference files I could find on my Mac and that has not change the symptoms at all.

I posted all this information on the support page for Beats but there is nowhere to put your email address so there was no way for them to get back to me with a fix.

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Powerbeats Pro Connection problems