AirPods Max keep disconnecting and having trouble reconnecting

I had the same issue - it seems there may some issue with handing off between mobile devices. I did a hard reset on the airpods max, rebooted both iphone and iPad but nothing worked. In the end I plugged them directly into my MacBook Pro, left them in the case for around 10 minutes then took them out, removed the charging cable and they were paired. They also connected to both my iPhone and iPad and could successfully hand off between all 3 devices. Not sure if this is a permanent fix or not?

FWIW: Apple may have quietly found a cure... I experienced this problem early on and Apple sent me a brand new replacement. Like the first pair, they worked for about a week and then started deteriorating with the same intermittent behaviors. Frustrated, I kept resetting and rebooting until finally they could no longer be reset and my iOS devices no longer even saw them, much less connected to them. The same was true of another generic BT transmitter. I returned them again, expecting a new pair. Instead, they returned the same serial # the same day they received them.

This speed seems to indicate that they knew exactly what was wrong with them, and knew precisely how to fix it. Otherwise, one would expect them to take at least a day or two to make sure that they had actually done so. So far, they are working fine! I wish I knew what they replaced inside, and whether I can now expect them to continue to work reliably. I notice that the version is still 3C16, so I would suspect hardware. Time will tell... and, if not, so will I. 😉 ◄Dave►

At this point, I wouldn't worry too much about return period. I suspect Apple wants happy customers more than they want to keep your $500. They will do whatever it takes to keep us happy, don't you think? 😇 ◄Dave►

I was just on the phone to them, they offered me to send in for repair or to go into a store for repair. I could replace them under apple care but then I'd have to pay, and i'm not doing that.

The problems are sporadic, happen through out the day. So going into store will be pot luck. If I send them away, they will send them back saying they are OK.

The lady put me on hold to see if her manager could do something else, and then the line disconnected :(

Really, the experience with apple support for me has been terrible, but all I ever hear are people saying its great.

Hmmm... My experience with Apple support has been very good overall, which probably explains why I have been so patient (so far) with these dodgy MaxPods. Keep trying... eventually, they will tire of the complaints and want to make you go away. 😉 ◄Dave►

Lots of good feedback here, thank you. Again, has anybody else experienced my issue - or is my issue not really an issue. To explain it again - when I'm wearing the headphones, I can slide the left ear pad slightly to adjust it without any interruption in sound. However, if I move the right ear pad at all, just slight back or forward - I'm not lifting it off my ear, just adjusting it, my headphones go off and take a few seconds to connect again. This sensitivity in movement is way too much, understanding that when you remove one ear they are supposed to go into pause mode. But that is not happening, I'm just adjusting it - and if this is supposed to be the way they operate, then why doesn't it happen with the left ear pad?

I am having this same exact issue I am on the brink of returning mine, all of my recent Apple purchases have missed the Mark on quality, the standard you wish to purchase an Apple product, and the customer support has gotten worse. To make matters worse it is impossible to even shop in the store in person with the new appointment scheduling. Apple in 2021 is equal to windows with the amounts of issues of recent and just current expectations of their products.

It would certainly help if they at least acknowledged the widespread defect and told us exactly what they are doing to correct it. I know they are well aware of it, because the tech I spoke to before returning the second pair admitted it. At that point, they were having difficulty getting them to fail in the lab so they could troubleshoot it. That is why I suspected they had quietly found a cure when they returned my second pair the same day they received it.

FWIW: my repaired pair are still working flawlessly for me at this point... six days straight... no resets required... 🤷‍♂️ ◄Dave►

Update:

Well, they lasted 10 days this time. As before, they now won't connect with anything and cannot be reset. Apple once again offered to send me a new replacement pair; but I have no reason to think they wouldn't also fail. I have been patient enough and am weary of the hassle, so I just want a refund. My request has been kicked up to "Senior" management and I am awaiting their resolution. Stay tuned... 🙄 ◄Dave►

My mic is now playing up too. It sounds like static/alien whilst recording!

i can’t believe how bad these are , and all im

offered is to send them in , where they will run diagnostics and not find anything and ship them back 😞

Hello, Dave, As I had advised you, since I bought Airpods MAX in December 2020, I faced this problem (I cannot reset Airpods MAX by pressing both digital crown and noise cancelation button and lost the connection with iOS devices and/or Matintosh which runs Mac OS 11.2.x) 3 times, and requested Apple Support in Japan to exchange the bad one with the new one, 3 times so far. I am currently using the 4th alternative Airpods MAX since 15th March 2021, and it is working fine so far. This trouble occurred every 3 weeks, to date. (Exactly every 3 weeks! I, however, recognize that you got the same trouble after 10 days when you received the alternative one.. ) I hope that this alternative will be working fine for at least one year...

Both Apple Japan support and Apple Store in Japan told me every time that they have never heard of this miserable story from other users, but, I could recognize that the same problem frequently occurred in U.S..

I am afraid that Apple hides this trouble happening on Airpods MAX from their customers. I cannot trust Apple support any more for this product.

Apple must clarify the root cause of this trouble after their intensive examination and let us know about it.

Agreed! You are more patient than me. I too got my original pair in December; but I am giving up after only three complete failures. Once they can't be reset, they advance from being incredibly frustrating to totally useless. Now, I just want a refund. Perhaps, once I hear that they have definitely resolved the mystery flaw, I might try again; but in the meantime I may try the Sony's. 😒 ◄Dave►

Omg three weeks for me too!! Except I brought mine on 18th Feb. That can’t be a coincidence.... I managed a hard reset of AirPods Max at the same time I updated iPhone to IOS 14.4.1, headphones working sublime... might report back in three weeks ay :-)

Sony WH-1000XM4 is really fine, except the call quality. I was using it before puchasing Airpods MAX, but, I stopped using WH-1000XM4, because Airpods MAX met every requirement around 90%. I, therefore, am sticking to Airpods MAX, though I faced the same trouble 3 times every 3 weeks, so far. Good luck for your using Sony headphones.

Thanks for that. My rather infrequent calls are not all that important to me anyway, so I will try them. I do love the MAXpods when functioning properly... Perhaps they should give us Apple die-hards a spare pair, so we would have a working one available to use while awaiting the next replacement! 😉 ◄Dave►