AirPods disconnect after Catalina update

I just updated to 10.15.3 and still have the issues. The update itself did not resolve my issues. Have yet to run through PRAM, SMC, audio/bluetooth preferences yet to see if we still get the temporary fix or if it sticks [after this update].

I've updated, and whilst things don't work as they're supposed to. I have managed to get the AirPods to play for a little while, so that was better than before.

Looking at console logs whilst trying to play Music to the AirPods there are SO many errors being shown—none of them I'm able to interpret.

renatogpires wrote:

Yes, the issue still exists :/

So, did yours end up disconnecting after all? I noticed you said you'd had them connected for over 5 hours.

I just updated last night, and my AirPods have stayed connected now for over 30 minutes, which is much longer than before the update when they would disconnect anytime between 30 seconds and 5 minutes at the most. After I updated, I did delete the plist and reset the PRAM before connecting the AirPods. I'm hopeful that they stay connected, but seeing other people say it isn't working for them makes me cautiously optimistic.

kaycee18 wrote:

So, did yours end up disconnecting after all? I noticed you said you'd had them connected for over 5 hours.

I just updated last night, and my AirPods have stayed connected now for over 30 minutes, which is much longer than before the update when they would disconnect anytime between 30 seconds and 5 minutes at the most. After I updated, I did delete the plist and reset the PRAM before connecting the AirPods. I'm hopeful that they stay connected, but seeing other people say it isn't working for them makes me cautiously optimistic.

Yes, after about 7 hours they disconnected ... but it was the only time so far. In total, 11 hours have passed with just one disconnection.

I had the same problem when I upgraded to Catalina 10.15.2. Bluetooth was dropping in Netflix and official Zoom it was intolerable. After suffering for a while I read somewhere that they released a fix for this in 10.15.3. Upgrading to Catalina 10.15.3 solved this for me.

Today I "herited" my wife's MBA (the old one, with the problem, was sold) and the airpods worked well. Her MBA is a version of early 2017, a 13-inch screen and 8 GB of RAM.

It is not the ideal solution, but I am relieved to get rid of that problem, to be honest.

No, unfortunately, it is not. Initially, I thought about it and did some tests just with Apple Music open and the problem still happened ...

I also saw some cases where Macs Pro had the same behavior, and they were newer models – with more RAM – than my macbook. So, I still believe it is an OS problem.

Same here. MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2019), AirPods Pro on MacOS 10.15.3 (19D76). Intermittent audio drops 5-15 mins into an album on Apple Music, with the audio defaulting back to the MBP internal speakers.

Selecting the AirPods Pro from the Bluetooth menu on the menu bar doesn't work - the system attempts to connect to them for ~15 seconds, then defaults back to internal speakers.

I managed to get the AirPods to reconnect by resetting the MBP's Bluetooth module by holding Shift-Option, clicking the Bluetooth icon on the menu bar and clicking Debug -> Reset the Bluetooth module

Now hoping this alleviates the disconnections (if not fixes them) however I fear this might need to be patch in a future AirPods firmware update or MacOS update.

One more configuration that doesn’t work.   MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2015, AirPods on MacOS 10.15.3). Intermittent audio drops 5-15 mins into an album on Apple Music, with the audio defaulting back to the MBP internal speakers. 

Selecting the AirPods from the Bluetooth menu on the menu bar doesn't work - the system attempts to connect to them for ~15 seconds, then defaults back to internal speakers.

Problem much worse when trying to make a WiFi call (via FaceTime) from the Mac.  Never hear the ringing and when the caller answers there is usually no sound for 5-6 seconds and then the disconnect with the audio and microphone reverting back to the internal speakers, or in my case, the attached Thunderbolt Display.

Same here Macbook Air 2014 on 10.15.3

This is some outrageous nonsense. Ridiculous that we have spent such an amount on wireless earbuds and they don't work on a such a huge device for use. The fact that the issues have been consistently going on since October is not good enough.

Come on Apple, bring out a patch that works. Not good.

I only upgraded recently and hit the same problem. I fixed it by repairing them again. You just need to open Bluetooth settings, click X to forget the existing airpods, then pair them again by securing both pods in the case, long press the button on the case until it turns white, then it should shortly appear in the bluetooth settings screen.

I just bought the new MacBook Air 2020. My Son have an account in the same computer as my self, when he connected his AirPods under his account mine AirPods can't be add it to my account under the same computer.

I followed the instructions to reset the PRAM. First, I turned Bluetooth off on my MacBook Air (2014), and left it off. Some instructions I read said to turn it off then back on right away, but I just left it off. Then I deleted the Bluetooth plist. After that, I reset the PRAM. First time I did that, the problem came back, but I realized I hadn’t reset the PRAM properly. I had only heard the startup sound once. Next time, I made sure to hear the startup sound twice. No problems since. I’m running the latest version of Catalina. You can find the instructions for deleting the plist and resetting the PRAM earlier in this thread.

I don't seem to be having the same problem as most. AirPods stay connected on Music, TV, etc. with no issue. The problem occurs when trying to make a WiFi call (Verizon) thru FaceTime. AirPods will not connect to the call and often cause the call to be dropped. Running Catalina 10.15.4 on a MacBook Pro, early 2015 model. This problem seems to have started with Catalina and has not improved with the subsequent releases.

MacOS 10.15.4 (19E287) for me. The most recent 10.15.4 update seems to have to resolved the issue - however I did perform an SMC and NVRAM reset, a factory reset of the Bluetooth module and a factory reset of the Airpod Pros too - not sure there's much else I could've done except for a clean Catalina install....which seems like overkill.