I have iPhone 12 Pro Max iOS 15 when I use Spatial Audio on AirPods Pro it works fine but when I lock my phone it’s as if it turns off I can’t prove it but I can feel it, when I unlock my phone it automatically starts working again. Is there something I can change in settings or is this some sort of a bug?
iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 15
Hello Moe Habash.
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand that Spatial Audio for your AirPods Pro turns off when the screen of your iPhone 12 Pro Max locks, and only turns on when the screen is unlocked. Being able to enjoy Spatial Audio without interruption is important, and we will be glad to help.
Your post shows you're coming to the Communities from the following article:
Listen with spatial audio for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max
Let's try turn Spatial Audio off then on, and restart your iPhone 12 Pro Max to see if that helps: Restart your iPhone
If the issue persists, reset your AirPods Pro next:
How to reset your AirPods and AirPods Pro
Hope this helps.
Cheers.
Yes, I noticed this too when specifically listening to an audio book. When the phone is unlocked the spatial audio reacts with one's head movement but when it locks (automatically or on purpose) the sound instantly "centers" and doesn't react to head movement anymore. However, this only happens occasionally when listening to music when the music is using the "Spatialize Stereo" function (when it is playing a Dolby Atmos specific format track, it is always on). When you lock the phone and put it in your pocket while listening to music, it still uses spatialized audio. It makes no sense to me why Apple did this for music but not for audio books (or other media?).
I'm hoping a future update will give the option to keep spatialized audio on or off while the phone is locked or not. In the meantime, I have to turn my autolock to "never" if I want to listen to spatialized audio books, which just drains the battery. Booo!
Hi Moe.
Thanks for trying those steps and following up. Next, we would recommend contacting Apple Support. Contact Apple for support and service
Take care.
Hi Bailier,
I followed the instructions above step by step and tried both methods to troubleshoot it but it didn’t work. Any other suggestion? Am I the only one having this problem?
Hi,
I feel apple
have disabled this feature when the phone is locked as they assume you are not looking at the screen and therefore don’t need directional audio. For example, if it carried on when your phone was locked and you put your phone in your pocket, it would sound like all audio was coming from whatever side you put your phone in. Id find this annoying and so in a bid to please everyone imagine they disable the feature when locked
Spatial Audio not working when phone is locked
