Apple not only affected the smartphone industry by removing the headphone jack, but it even improved the same by introducing the Apple AirPods. Thanks to the same, you can find completely wireless earphones even on a tight budget. However, if you don’t have any budget restrictions and want the best possible wireless earphone experience with your iPhone or even Android devices, then the Apple Airpods are still a great pick. In fact, with the newer Apple Airpods 3 and Apple Airpods Pro 2, you get a much better experience.
Unfortunately, even the Apple Airpods are not perfect, and you can face issues while using the same. One such issue happens to be the Airpods keep pausing which can be quite frustrating. Thus, we are here with a detailed guide on how to fix the Airpods keep pausing issue in iPhone and Android with all related details given below:
Reasons for Airpods Keeps Pausing?
If you have recently noticed that your Apple AirPods keep pausing the music that you are listening to or the movie that you are watching, then you might be wondering about the root cause of the same. While you may first think that you have faulty Apple Airpods, the reality is much different. Since the Apple AirPods offer a wide range of features for ease of use, these same features can also cause trouble if not used properly. As a result, you may have your Airpods keep pausing the music because of the following reasons:
1. Low Battery
Since the Apple Airpods are truly wireless earphones, they have their own inbuilt battery which allows the earphones to be powered without needing any wires at all. However, this also means that if your Apple AirPods are out of battery or charge, then they will not play music continuously. And since you keep getting a low battery warning in such a case, Airpods will keep pausing your music again and again.
2. Unstable Connection
Apart from having a low battery charge, your AirPods may also pause the music if the connection with your phone is unstable or not working properly. Therefore, make sure that your Apple Airpods are properly connected to your iPhone or Android device. You can ensure the same by reconnecting your Apple Airpods and seeing if that improves the connection.
3. Ear Detection Sensor
One of the most unique features of the Apple Airpods is that as soon as you remove the AirPods from your ear, the music stops playing so that you can talk to people around and listen to your surroundings. And when you put the Apple AirPods back in your ear, the music will start playing again. As you would expect, this is definitely quite handy. However, if the ear detection sensor of your Apple Airpods is either dirty or faulty, it may send a signal that you have removed your Apple Airpods even when you are using them. Due to this signal, your Apple Airpods may keep pausing the music even when you are using your Apple Airpods.
4. Multiple Connections
Another handy and highly useful feature of modern wireless earphones like the Apple Airpods is that they can be connected to multiple devices at once. While this is certainly great for listening to music on your iPhone and watching a movie on your iPad, the reality is much different. This is due to the reason that despite being connected to multiple devices at once, the Apple Airpods can only play music from a single device at once.
As a result, if you are playing music on your iPhone and if you play any audio on your other devices while it is connected to the Apple Airpods, the music will be paused so that you can listen to the other device in which you have just played any other sound. This means that you might be facing Airpods pausing the music because they are connected to another device which is trying to play something else.
5. Notification Interruptions
Similar to a secondary device playing audio queues, there is also a probability that your primary iPhone itself is playing back notification sounds for the messages and texts that you are getting. In order to make sure that you are able to hear the notification sound properly, the Apple AirPods may pause the music. Hence, if you want the best music listening experience with your Apple Airpods and your iPhone, you should keep your iPhone on DND mode so that you can listen to the music and nothing else without having any pauses.
6. Audio Source Issues
While it is quite common to have notification interruptions pausing your music while using Apple Airpods, there is also a possibility that there are other issues with your audio source. This can include issues like firmware issues, hardware issues, connectivity issues, and much more. Hence, whatever device you are using with your Apple Airpods, make sure to update it to the latest firmware to get rid of any potential issues which may cause interference with your Apple Airpods and pause the music.
7. Outdated Airpods Firmware
As mentioned earlier, it is highly important to have the latest firmware on the music source device that you are using along with your Apple AirPods. However, if you want the smoothest possible experience without any interruptions, then you should also update the firmware on your Apple AirPods. To ensure that there are no bugs related to your Apple AirPods themselves, Apple offers a new firmware update every few months for your AirPods themselves. Hence, make sure to install the same.
8. Hardware Defects
While we have already covered all of the possible software-related issues because of which your AirPods keep pausing the music, there is also the possibility that you might be facing this issue due to hardware defects. This can include things like a broken driver in your Airpods, damaged connection antennas and hardware, non-functional charging hardware, and other similar hardware defects which can pause your music and ruin the music-listening experience with your Apple Airpods.
How to Fix AirPods keep Pausing Issue in iPhone and Android?
By now, we have covered pretty much all of the possible causes and reasons why the Apple AirPods keep pausing the music and interrupting your jamming sessions. Thankfully, whether you are using your Apple Airpods along with an iPhone or an Android device, you can easily fix this music-pausing issue of Airpods by simply trying out the following fixes one by one:
1. Disable Automatic Ear Detection
When the Apple AirPods were first announced, one of the most unique features offered by them was automatic ear detection. However, as mentioned earlier, this feature sometimes starts malfunctioning especially if the proximity sensors are either damaged or not clean. Thus, you should try disabling the automatic ear detection of your Apple AirPods. You can simply go to the Airpods settings in the Settings app of your iPhone or iPad. In heart, simply click on the information icon next to the Airpods and disable the Ear Detection feature.
2. Check Connectivity Range
Similar to most other wireless devices out there, the Apple AirPods also use Bluetooth for connecting to your devices. While this does make the Airpods quite versatile and easy to use, this does mean that Airpods also have the limitation of Bluetooth. And one such limitation happens to be the maximum range of the Apple AirPods. If you are using your Apple Airpods with an iPhone, then the range will be around 30 to 60 feet. And when using an Android device, it gets even lower at 30 to 40 feet. So, if you are facing music pausing issues while using Apple Airpods, it is highly important to ensure that your smartphone is within this range of your Apple Airpods so that you are not facing any wireless interference.
3. Fix Poor Bluetooth Connection
Speaking of wireless interference, there are also other factors which may cause issues with the wireless connection of your Apple AirPods. For starters, you should disconnect all other devices connected to your iPhone or Android as they can affect the Bluetooth performance of your smartphone. Other than that, you can also try reconnecting or even repairing your Apple Airpods with your phone to see if that fixes any poor Bluetooth connectivity issues.
4. Change Double Tap Action
Apart from the highly useful and handy ear detection feature of the Apple Airpods, they also come with a large touch surface on the outside. Since this touch area is placed on the stems of the Apple AirPods, you can easily perform functions using tap, double tap, and swiping gestures. By default, double tap allows you to pause and play music as needed. While this does make the Apple Airpods quite handy and practical, it does result in an issue of adjusting your Apple Airpods. If you are using your Airpods for sports activities or even while walking, then you will want to adjust your Airpods again and again for a perfect fit. Since this can accidentally pause your music, you should disable the double tap action from Airpods settings using the same method as needed to disable automatic ear detection.
5. Charge your Airpods
While it may seem quite obvious, you need to ensure that your Apple Airpods are fully charged if you don’t want to face any issues with them. Thus, charge your AirPods as well as the charging case to 100% battery level before seeing if the Airpods still pause the music or cause any other issues.
6. Switch to a better Internet Connection
Apart from using truly wireless earphones, you might also be using a streaming app on your iPhone for listening to music. While this is perfect for listening to a large music library without filling up your phone with music files, you do need a high speed and a stable internet connection for using such music streaming apps. Hence, if your music is pausing while using apps like Apple Music or Spotify, then it is possible that you may have a poor internet connection. Thus, you should try switching to a better and faster internet connection.
7. Reconnect your Airpods
As mentioned earlier, the wireless connection of your Apple AirPods might not be working properly at all times. And to fix this, you simply need to reconnect your AirPods to your iPhone. For the same, turn off and then turn back on the Bluetooth of your iPhone. Other than this, insert your Airpods in the charging case, close the case, and then only take out the Airpods after 30 seconds or so before reconnecting them to your iPhone to ensure a stable and working wireless connection.
8. Disconnect Additional Devices from Airpods
While your Apple AirPods might be connected correctly to your primary device, they might not be connected well to your secondary ones. Not only can you face connection issues in this way, but your secondary devices may even play audio queues which can pause the music on your primary device. Hence, make sure to turn off Bluetooth on all of your secondary devices to ensure that your AirPods are not facing interference and pausing the music as a result.
9. Reset your Airpods
Even though all of the various methods of fixing the Airpods given above should work, there is a possibility that you have changed a few settings of your Airpods which is causing this issue. Therefore, you should try resetting your AirPods to ensure that there are no such issues. You can simply do the same from the Apple AirPods settings present in the Settings app of your iPhone or iPad.
AirPods Keeps Pausing – FAQs
Ans: As stated earlier in this guide, there is a wide range of possible causes and reasons for why your AirPods keep pausing the music. However, some of the common reasons include issues with the ear detection sensor or the proximity sensor of your Apple AirPods. If this sensor is not working properly, then it may pause your music unexpectedly. Other than this, the notifications on your phone can also pause your music if you are using the ringer mode.
Ans: While the ear detection sensor or the proximity sensor of the Apple AirPods is definitely quite handy, it can also cause issues. Because of this, you might be wondering about disabling the ear detection sensor to get rid of this issue. In that case, you are in luck since Apple thankfully allows you to disable this feature in Apple AirPods settings found in the Settings app of your Apple iPhone or Apple iPad.
Ans: Just like any other earphones available in the market, you may also have to adjust your Apple AirPods inside your ear for a secure fit. This becomes more of a regular activity when you are using your Apple AirPods for sports and fitness activities. However, unlike standard wired earphones, the Apple AirPods have a touch surface on the outside which is used for gestures and functions. And even though Apple has offered accidental touch detection for the same, it can still sometimes detect inputs when you are adjusting your Airpods inside your ear which can cause interruptions while adjusting your Apple Airpods.
Ans: Even though some of you may see this as an issue, the Apple Airpods pausing the music while placing a phone call is actually a feature. The Apple Airpods pause the music when you are placing a call so that you can easily talk to everyone on the call without being disturbed by the music. Once you end the call, the Apple Airpods will also resume the music once you are done with the call.
Ans: A great feature of the Apple Airpods is that they can easily connect to multiple devices at once so that you can watch videos on any of your devices without needing to connect or disconnect your AirPods from any of your devices. However, as you switch between these devices, the Apple AirPods will pause the music for once. This is due to the reason that if the Apple Airpods don’t pause the music, the music will then start playing out of the speakers which might be an issue depending on your surroundings and what you’re playing or watching on your devices.
Conclusion
Even though the Apple Airpods are considered as one of the best wireless earphones out there both in terms of the audio quality as well as the software features especially when you are looking for earphones for iPhones, even the Apple Airpods are not perfect. This is due to the reason that depending on your usage, you may face issues like the Apple AirPods keep pausing music and other similar issues. That being said, fixing such an issue should be quite easy. In fact, we have already given a complete tutorial on why Airpods keep pausing the music and how you can easily fix the Airpods keep pausing the music issue. If this guide has helped you with the same, make sure to leave your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section down below.
