Bluetooth audio stuttering on Sierra

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Hello everybody!
I had this problem as well and now I'm very curious if my somewhat strange solution helps anyone else as well:
I noticed that upon opening system preferences on the bluetooth section the problem is temporarily gone! Even if the preferences panel is minimized.
As soon as I close the panel or even only return to its overview the stuttering is there again.

Anyone else who experiences the same phenomenon?

Good Morning,

I have been following this discussion hoping to find a solution. I am listening now and starting to wonder if this has something to do with the QC 35 Headphones. It definitely seems to be an interference or conflict issue of some sort. I found a position where everything works and no stuttering. As soon as I move the problem reoccurs. I sure wish we could find a fix , it is driving me crazy. Having the Bluetooth preferences open or closed does not seem to help.

I forgot to mention that I just upgraded to Sierra and I am using a Mac Mini 2011, QC 35 Headphones. Also use an Apple Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Keyboard which all seem to be working fine. It is weird how the stuttering problem comes and goes.

FWIW, you could see if it's an interference problem if you have a wired keyboard and mouse handy.

Thought it made a difference initially, but after a short while it was bad again. Not related to specific headphones. I have UE Megaboom speaker and Griffin iTrip Clip. Both work fine with iOS 10 devices but neither with MacBook Pro and iMac. Both worked fine with El Capitan. The problem only happened with the upgrade and has remained ever since. I have sent data as requested to Apple. I suggest any of you having the same issue do the same. See the link in my post about 4 posts up.

I did experience the same problem with El Capitan however not nearly as bad. In fact as long as I was seated at my desktop Mac Mini the audio was great, only an occasional blip now and then. As soon as I moved away a few feet it started stuttering. When I sat back down it stopped.

What is strange is that it seems that the longer you have the headphones connected the better it seems to get.

As an experiment I hooked up a Bluetooth Transmitter adapter that I use on my TV to the headphone jack, paired it with the QC 35 headphones and it had the same stutter problem when hooked up to the Mac Mini headphone jack.

I have same problem and I noticed if I open "Audio MIDI Setup" and change the outs of the bluetooth speaker from 2 channels to 1 channel, the problem gone. Of course then the sound quality is not acceptable.

The same problem also exists on my BootCamp Windows 10. Combining with discoveries from others such as it only happens at certain positions, I think it is caused by low bluetooth data power (or bandwidth?) which is determined by pretty fundamental hardware driver / something.. written in EFI... I'm not sure and now it seems out of my capability...

I've been experiencing this problem too since I upgraded to Sierra from El Cap.

If you are experiencing this problem please ensure you contact Apple Support through the support channels.

The last couple of occasions I've fired up my UE mega boom speaker, got the stuttering and then disconnected one of the 3 bluetooth items I have connected - magic trackpad, magic mouse or keyboard. Each time, the stuttering disappeared, only returning when the item was connected again, then away when removed.

So, maybe I now have a 'fix' while Apple get something more permanent sorted out. Still waiting to hear back from the after sending some files off to them.

I'm having a similar issue but on my bootcamp partition -- Windows 10 Anniversary Edition. My bluetooth headset is stuttering tremendously. I fix it occasionally by uninstalling the bluetooth drivers, restarting the computer, then the bluetooth drivers install on their own when they detect the device after restart. However, after a while, the audio coming out of my bluetooth headset starts to stutter again.

I can confirm this is a problem with my MacBook using Windows. I don't get the same problem when I'm on Sierra, and I don't get the same problem using my Desktop computer that has Windows 10 Anniversary Edition using the same bluetooth headset.

I hope I can get some help. I really want to use this bluetooth headset.

Sincerely, Kareem

I have the same issue. This is exclusive to MacBook Pro, when I use my cell phone even at greater distances I have no problems. 😠

It seems it is an issue with OSX overlooked by Apple that used to be solved by overwritting the Bluetooth audio defaults:

defaults write com.apple.BluetoothAudioAgent "Apple Bitpool Min (editable)" -int 40

having this issue as well. it stutters to the point where the content is forced to lag, kind of like it's playing at half speed. happens 100% of the time with my Bose QC 35, happens less with my backbeat FIT, but still occurs.

I have this issue also, but only with Bluetooth Headphones, two different makes, both with same issue. But problem does seem to be intermittent.