Has anyone been able to use the AirPods Max connected by cable to an airplane's audio output channel, or any other way?

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Level 1

14 points

Has anyone been able to use the AirPods Max connected by cable to an airplane's audio output channel, or any other way?

When I got the AirPods Max, I wondered how I was going to connect it to an airplane's audio output to watch a movie with AirPods Max phenomenal noise cancellation. I needed a cable with a 3.5 mm audio connector going to a Lightning connector. I bought one from Amazon, but it didn't work. Then I saw that Apple says I needed their bidirectional cable. I got it for $35. It's supposed to have a chip that converts audio to digital and digital to audio in both directions. My cable works in the direction of Lightning to audio (eg iPhone to speaker), but it did not work audio to Lightning which would be necessary to use it on a plane. I tried connecting the cable between my television and the AirPods Max. No good. I tried connecting between an old iPad audio output to the AirPods Max, and that didn't work. Both sources had proven audio signal at the audio jack. I called Apple support (who graciously answered very quickly), and they said the audio source had to be compatible with the most recent iOS upgrades, but that doesn't make sense. Do the Apple engineers expect the entire airline industry to upgrade all of their audio output sources to be compatible with the latest iOS specs? Besides, the latest Apple devices have ditched the 3.5 audio output jack, so how does that make the cable compatible with more than a very few devices? So, how are Apple's engineers going to make it possible for me to use my AirPods Max on an airplane? Unless of course the cable I was sent is broken and a new one will (or may) work just fine.

Posted on Aug 22, 2022 2:18 PM

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Answer 1

kamote0628

Community Specialist

Aug 23, 2022 12:28 PM in response to gcrobmd

Hi gcrobmd, We appreciate you reaching out to us. We understand that you are looking to use the AirPods Max with the entertainment system on a plane.

As mentioned in the technical specifications page for the AirPods Max, the AirPods Max uses Bluetooth 5.0 for connectivity.

AirPods Max

This information is also supported on the article for using the AirPods Max with a non-Apple device.

As mentioned in the article below, "You can use AirPods Max as a Bluetooth headset with a non-Apple device."

Set up AirPods Max with your Mac and other Bluetooth devices

If the entertainment system on the plane is able to use Bluetooth 5.0, it may be possible to use your AirPods Max as an audio out.

For most countries and regions, you have 14 calendar days to return an item from the date you received the device if purchased from an Apple Store or the Apple Online Store.

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can look into this option if you qualify.

Take care!

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Answer 2

gcrobmd Author

Level 1

14 points

Aug 23, 2022 8:30 PM in response to kamote0628

Thank you for the courtesy of an answer. But, I wonder if there is an expert at Apple who can authoritatively respond about what Apple's bidirectional 3.5 audio to Lightning connecter is supposed to do? I also wonder if there is an expert on the AirPods Max and what it is designed to connect to. The AirPods Max can be wired for sound. I can connect my 12.9 inch iPad Pro (5th generation) with a USB C cable to Lightning connecter, into my AirPods Max and hear music that stops when I disconnect the cable and starts when I plug it in again, and with the iPad BlueTooth off, so it's not secretly connecting by BlueTooth. I admit, I had to reset the AirPods Max to get it to connect. The cable is advertised as bidirectional, which means both ways, but it clearly only works one way unless it's broken. However, if what you say is true, then Apple has made an egregious mistake to make wonderful, expensive headphones that have phenomenal noise canceling ability (think how nice that would be an a noisy jet), but which cannot connect to an airplane's audio system!!!! Unless you bring your own audio to BlueTooth adapter. How many airlines have you seen with BlueTooth capable audio systems? Apple has made such wonderful phones, iPads, Macs and software to make them all one cohesive whole, but how could they do so poorly with headphones? Maybe you need to let your engineers out once in a while to take an airplane ride. I wish I could return the headphones, but it has been more than 14 days. I will break down and buy a BlueTooth adapter for audio. I hope your headphones are compatible with anti-latency systems. Is it possible this could be communicated to your engineers. I am not the only one with this problem. I reviewed probably hundreds of similar comments on the Apple support community over the last year. Why hasn't this problem been fixed?

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Has anyone been able to use the AirPods Max connected by cable to an airplane's audio output channel, or any other way?

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