If the sound from your wireless headphones cuts out or is distorted

If the sound from your Bluetooth headphones, including AirPods and wireless Beats headphones, cuts in and out or is distorted, learn what to do.

Improve your Bluetooth connection

Your headphones communicate using Bluetooth, and a Bluetooth signal can be interfered with or weakened in some situations.

Your headphones might lose their connection more often with streaming audio than with content that is stored on your device.* With your device within a few feet of you, try to listen to music or other audio content that is stored on your device—not streamed—with your headphones. On your iOS or Android device, open the Music app. On a Mac with macOS Catalina, open the Music app. On a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, or on a PC, open iTunes. Then play a song that does not have the Download button   next to it. Or tap the Download button   to download the song.

If your headphones maintain their connection without distortion during this test, then here are a couple of things that can help in other situations:

• Keep your iPhone or other device close to you, so that no obstructions, like walls or floors, are between you and your device.
• If possible, move to a different place—in particular, move away from places with many people or a lot of Wi-Fi activity, poorly shielded cables, microwave ovens, and wireless speakers (or turn off the oven or speaker).

If your headphones keep disconnecting

If you tested your headphones as described in the previous section and audio keeps disconnecting or cutting in and out, unpair your headphones and then pair them again.

Unpair your headphones

Unpair from an iPhone:

1. Tap Settings > Bluetooth.
2. Find the device that you want to unpair and tap the Info button  .
3. Tap Forget This Device.
4. Restart your iPhone.

Unpair from a non-Apple device:

1. On your non-Apple device, go to the settings for Bluetooth and make sure that Bluetooth is on. For example, on an Android device, go to Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Bluetooth.
2. Unpair—or forget—your headphones.
3. Restart your non-Apple device.

Pair your headphones again

Pair—or connect—your headphones again. Find instructions for your headphones and the device that you want to pair them with:

• AirPods and an iOS device
• AirPods and a Mac, Android phone, or other device
• Beats headphones and an iOS device, Mac, or other device
• Other Bluetooth headphones and an iOS device

If your headphones continue to disconnect, contact Apple Support.

• Your audio source, such as an iPhone, a Mac or Windows computer, or an Android mobile phone

Published Date: April 12, 2021

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