Few things are as frustrating as when you’re enjoying listening to music and it stops playing for no reason. This can happen when you use AirPods and they randomly pause out of nowhere. Sometimes the audio will resume playing after a few seconds, but sometimes it doesn’t come back on at all. If you’re reading this article, you probably understand the frustration.
There are a few reasons why this can happen. If you understand why AirPods randomly pause, it’s easier to troubleshoot the issue and find the best fix. So, let’s look into these different reasons, how to figure out which one is affecting your AirPods, and what you can do to solve the problem without needing to resort to a technician.
Why Do AirPods Randomly Pause Out of Nowhere?
Your AirPods can pause out of nowhere because of connection issues or malfunctioning sensors in the buds. Maybe your Bluetooth connection isn’t working as it should. In this case, you’ll need to reset it. However, it might be a problem with the Automatic Ear Detection, the designated double-tap actions, or even the battery power.
Any of these reasons can make your listening experience less enjoyable. We’re going to take a look into each one and suggest some solutions. Let’s start with the Bluetooth connection before moving on to the sensors and battery.
Bad Connection
Wireless connections are an amazing technological advancement, but they’re never perfect. There will be times when you will need to reset the connection between any two paired devices. The issue may come from an error in the Bluetooth connection between your iPhone (or another device) and your AirPods.
When the connection isn’t functioning correctly, there can be intermittent pauses between the paired devices. This means your music won’t play as seamlessly as you want it to. If you want to test this out, you can try playing music from your phone on another device using Bluetooth. If the second device doesn’t play audio correctly, it could be an issue with the Bluetooth settings on your phone. However, if it works well, then the issue is the connection to your AirPods.
Just follow these steps to reset the pairing between your phone or tablet and your AirPods.
- Open the Settings page.
- Go to the Bluetooth settings.
- Look on the My Devices list to find your AirPods.
- Click the 🛈 button for more info.
- Select Forget This Device.
These steps will disconnect the AirPods from the other device. Next, you’ll need to reconnect them.
- Make sure Bluetooth is turned on.
- Hold your AirPods case close to the phone or tablet.
- Open the AirPods case. You don’t need to remove the buds.
- The Connect option will appear on your screen. Click it.
Once you’ve gone through these steps, try listening to some music on your AirPods. If it plays without any random pauses, you know you’ve found the issue and solved it. If it happens again in the future, you already know what to do.
In the case that your AirPods are still pausing without any apparent reason, you can take a look into the following issue.
Proximity Sensor
There are times when we forget how wireless connections work, and we go for a wander. When you get too far from the audio-playing device, the proximity sensor will register this, and the connection will fail, stopping the audio in the process.
Another way that this works (or doesn’t) is because of the materials between your AirPods and your phone. If you live in a house with thick stone walls, the connection can drop between one room and another, despite the distance not being too far. The same can happen because of electronic devices like refrigerators. Wireless signals like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can have trouble passing through kitchens because of these appliances.
So, if your audio pauses when you walk around your house, it might be caused by the distance from you to your phone. The easiest way to solve this issue is by keeping your phone or tablet closer to you so that the AirPods are within a reasonable distance from it.
Automatic Ear Detection
Automatic Ear Detection is a fantastic feature that Apple has incorporated into their AirPods. It allows the pods to connect automatically once they register that they’ve been placed in your ears. However, despite the ingenuity of this feature, it doesn’t mean it will always function perfectly.
You can have the Automatic Ear Detection turned on without even realizing it. If so, audio will pause on your AirPods every time you remove one or both of them from your ears. The same thing will happen if the pods fall out of your ears.
You should confirm if this feature is activated before searching for any more extreme solutions from a technician. You can do this with the following process:
- Open the Settings page.
- Go to the Bluetooth settings.
- Look on the My Devices list to find your AirPods.
- Click the 🛈 button for more info.
- Find Automatic Ear Detection.
If the slider is green, then this option is enabled. So, if your audio only pauses when you remove an AirPod from your ear, you know this feature causes it. If you feel this isn’t a useful option, you can turn it off using the slider we mentioned before.
Automatic Ear Detection can be useful for listening to podcasts, audiobooks, or other long-form audio content. You can always keep it switched off and enable it for these forms of audio.
Double-Tap Actions
Another great feature of AirPods is the double-tap actions. Each bud can be assigned a function when you double-tap it. For example, you can tap the left to open Siri and the right to skip to the next track. Unfortunately, only some users know this, which can be the cause of random pauses in your listening.
If you’re unaware of this function, you may pause the audio by tapping the sensor without realizing it. The good thing about this issue is that it’s really easy to solve. The double-tap actions can be modified in your AirPods’ settings. Following these steps can help you figure out what actions you have enabled and if this is where the issue is rooted:
- Open the Settings page.
- Go to the Bluetooth settings.
- Look on the My Devices list to find your AirPods.
- Click the 🛈 button for more info.
- Find Double-Tap Airpod.
In this section of the settings, you will see what each of the earbuds’ actions is set to. If either the left or right AirPod is enabled as Play/Pause, this can be the cause of the problem. Try changing it to another action or turning it off and playing some audio for a while. If it doesn’t pause, you’ll know that the issue started with this feature. You can then choose to enable it and be more attentive to how you touch your ears or keep it disabled.
Low Battery
The level of power available on your AirPods can be another cause of random pausing. It’s not as likely, as your case should automatically charge your buds once placed inside. However, if your case hasn’t been charged in a while, your pods will continue losing energy.
Confirm that your case is charged and that the lightning cable is functioning correctly. There can also be a build-up of lint or dust inside the case, obstructing the connection needed for charging.
So, if you notice that your AirPods pause by themselves more often when their power is low, you can try charging them back to full energy.
What Other Issues Can Cause AirPods to Pause Randomly?
We’ve looked into some direct causes for your AirPods to pause for no reason. There are a few more that aren’t caused by the AirPods themselves or the connection between them and the device playing the audio.
For example, if you’re listening to music on the internet, there might be connectivity issues between your router and your tablet or phone. Just like with the Bluetooth case we studied before, the lack of a strong connection can cause the audio to pause intermittently or stop altogether.
Once again, you can reset the link between your device and the router or even reset the router itself. If you’re having problems with your Wi-Fi on other devices, then this would be the best bet.
The same goes for using your mobile data. If the connection is low, then the audio can pause unexpectedly. Ensure you’re in a place with good reception so the link doesn’t cut out.
There’s also the possibility of a glitch with the app you want to listen to on your AirPods. Applications like Spotify, Netflix, Audible, and more can have their own problems connecting to the internet or streaming over wireless signals. You can try shutting them down and restarting them.
Conclusion
AirPods can be influenced by many different things: their own functionalities, their connection to other devices, and even the connections they’re not directly linked to, like between an audio-playing phone and a router. If you notice that your AirPods pause randomly, you can look into all these possibilities to find the culprit.
Resetting connections can be a great way to get them functioning properly again. This goes for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and more. If the issue is physical, like using the double-tap actions without noticing or the AirPods’ Automatic Ear Detection, you can disable the functionalities to discover if they are causing the problem. There’s even the chance that the pausing doesn’t have to do with the AirPods themselves. It might be a glitch in your phone or your applications.
No matter what the issue is, you can discover the cause using these troubleshooting techniques, implement a solution, and get back to enjoying your audio content.
Irish-Portuguese writer and musician. Experience in producing, recording, and mixing, as well as writing reviews and how-tos on plugins, gear, and software.