AirPods are connected but cannot hear for phone calls.

I've had an ongoing exchange with Apple engineering on this issue for about a month. I think the problem is between the AirPods, Apple Watch and other Bluetooth devices (in my case, specifically Tiles) the number of simultaneous Bluetooth connections supported by iPhone hardware is being exceeded. My reasoning is thus:

• AirPod earpieces are separate, so each one needs its own connection - thus, 2 connections
• Phone calls (and Siri, BTW) use a different Bluetooth profile - 2 more connections
• Tile app uses 1 connection for each Tile in range - In my case, in some locations, 5 connections
• Apple Watch uses 1 control connection plus the audio connections for AirPods - 3 more connections
• Fitbit ONE uses a connection - 1 more connection

You can see how this adds up.

If I delete the Tile app the problem resolves. Likewise, if I put the watch into Airplane mode it resolves. Both of these actions reduce the number of BT connections. In addition to Apple engineering, I also spoke to Tile's support centre. They were the ones who first suggested this.

If I move away from my cluster of Tiles, the problem seems to go away.

Update to this! I'm guessing you no longer have the question, but if you have an Apple Watch, you have to make sure to "forget the device on your Apple Watch, RESET your watch, as it will remember it anyway. Given that Apple Watch works with the phone via bluetooth, the AirPods wants to be connected to both at the same time...and they will....but it does not work with phone calls. I finally did the above (made sure to never connect the air pods to the watch) and it works fine with phone calls (via the phone). I spent a ton of time with a Genius...was not happy to hear they "never heard of this problem." But after a ton of troubleshooting with them, and more when I got home, I did the above and have not had an issue...other than I can't pair the things with my Watch!

I'm guessing you no longer have the question, but if you have an Apple Watch, you have to make sure to "forget the device on your Apple Watch, RESET your watch, as it will remember it anyway. Given that Apple Watch works with the phone via bluetooth, the AirPods wants to be connected to both at the same time...and they will....but it does not work with phone calls. I finally did the above (made sure to never connect the air pods to the watch) and it works fine with phone calls (via the phone).

I bet that you have a recording program turned on (voice memos, Olympus, or something like that) in the background.

Mine always does that if such a program is running in the background, but as soon as I turn it off, Siri, phone calls, etc. work through the AirPods once again.

LT

At the moment there is appears to be a conflict between AirPods, Apple Watch and Tiles. One thing that helps, but doesn't fix it, is to go into the Tile app, Settings and turn off Show Phone in Tile List.

After that, it seems to be related to the number of tiles in range of the phone. If it's only one or two it works most of the time.

I don’t use Tiles but I have TrackR and I experience the same problem. If I have the TrackR Show History in and my iPhone 7 is connected then my AirPods don’t work for calls. Disconnect the TrackR and it works.

Very annoying.

The simplest solution is to go to the Tile app and turn off Bluetooth. If you need to find a Tile just turn it back on. By leaving it off you will reduce battery drain (the Tile app is a heavy user of power when connected to multiple Tiles). The downside is the crowdsourcing feature that lets you track other Tile user's devices won't work.

Hello Lawrence,

I have the same issue and your analysis makes complete sense. However, how come it does works for music and other apps that use audio such as YouTube, but not for calls? I also have Tiles and from time to time audio from phone calls are mute on the AirPods. Restarting the iPhone solves the issue... temporarily. Putting the Apple Watch on airplane mode also restores audio to phone calls on the Airpods.

I found this on the chipolo's web site:

Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus as of right now can only handle 6 Chipolos (no other Bluetooth devices connected) at once...

https://support.chipolo.net/hc/en-us/articles/212718449-Bluetooth-limitation-iPh one-7-iPhone-7-Plus

So, I guess that, if we have 1 Apple Watch, 2 AirPods (1 pair) and 4 Tiles/Chipolos we would already exceed the limit.

It seems that the solution is to either disconnect one of the Tiles/Chipolos (if you have 4) or connect them to another iDevice such as the iPad.

Has anyone found another solution or workaround?

celio-likes-apples wrote:

Hello Lawrence,

I have the same issue and your analysis makes complete sense. However, how come it does works for music and other apps that use audio such as YouTube, but not for calls?

Music and other audio uses a music Bluetooth profile. Siri and phone audio uses a hands-free profile. Each requires a separate connection. So taking a phone call opens an additional pair of connections from the phone to the AirPods.

Airpods use 2 connections for audio, and an additional connection for Siri/Phone calls (possibly 2; I'm not sure). Your watch may use 1 or 2; I'm not familiar with that specific watch. You can try turning off Bluetooth in the watch; if that lets you use Siri or make a phone call it's probably 2.

ahhh Thank you for posting this! I also couldn't figure it out and turns out I have 4 tiles that were connected to my phone via bluetooth. As soon as I turned them off my AirPods worked again!

1. Make sure that your AirPods are charged.
2. Close the lid, wait 15 seconds, then open the lid. The status light should flash white.
3. If the status light doesn't flash white, press and hold the setup button on the back of the case until you see the status light flash white.
4. Still can't set up your AirPods? Press and hold the setup button for at least 15 seconds, until you see the status light flash amber a few times and then flash white.

If you have an updated version of the Tile app, you can go to the settings, and under options there is a switch for Use Bluetooth. By switching it off, it turns off bluetooth connections to all your tiles only. Connections to your other bluetooth devices will remain connected. I tend to leave this setting off. When I need to find a Tile item, I just switch it back on and it will instantly connect to all tiles within distance. This is a good alternative to putting your watch in airplane mode.

The problem seems to have been fixed with the TileApp update, v. 2.23.5 (2511) of mid-December. I had a lot of trouble with lack of sound when making calls before, but now everything works without issues.

I have the same Issue. I do own a 6 tiles. It makes sense that the iPhone and Apple Watch just can't handle all the sources. But you would think apple could prioritize things like the air pods. I can play music fine, it is connected but I can't answer a call. But when I turn off the tiles and the Apple Watch. Everything works.