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Comment by maxsilver | Hacker News Reader

I'm pretty sure you have a defective unit somewhere. Bluetooth isn't perfect, but it's definitely not "drop signal from my pocket" bad unless you have some weird specific-to-you problem.

AirPods work reasonably well. My cheap knock-off AirPods ($50 Anker Soundcore) work really well. I can drop my phone and walk into the next room and still have full audio without losing signal. The battery life is basically the same as my wireless headset, despite being a tiny fraction of the size. They sound just as good as any pair of $20 wired earbuds I've ever used.

Yes, they aren't perfect (the dual MacBook + iPhone pairing handoff thing seems sometimes problematic. And they are easy to lose). But they aren't trash. These products sell reasonably well because they work reasonably well.

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I don’t fully agree with parent about all drawbacks for wireless headphones but I do agree with Bluetooth having issues. In particular in Apple hardware. My AirPods will drop out if I cover my iPhone 11 Pro with my hand in my pocket. My Bose NC 700 will either drop out or cause my magic keyboard to lose connection if they are too close to my MacBook Pro. I’ve learned to live with these things as I understand they are minuscule problems to have, but the point still stands. Bluetooth has issues.

I'd love the have a fixed BT or alternative: - multi/broadcasting support - separate device-per channel support - better device management - priorities, user/sensor/audio context into driver (when to do hand-off and when not to) have my BT "stolen" by the wrong device daily - a battle between by local headset/speaker, the car's BT stack, and my headphones...

It's great having a minijack to plug into as a backup -- I use it often in the car or w/headphones if I forget something or of BT is giving me a headache - don't think I'd buy a phone w/o one as long as I have a choice. (At least up to my Galaxy S10 there is still one.)

> My AirPods will drop out if I cover my iPhone 11 Pro with my hand in my pocket. (snip) Bluetooth has issues.

To be perfectly honest, that doesn't sound like a bluetooth problem at all. That sounds like an Apple defect in their product.

I’ve had similar issues across multiple AirPods and iPhones.

Away from my desk I've been using Bluetooth headphones exclusively for over a decade now, and it does happen just as much with non-Apple phones. It's just some configurations of phone antennas and device antennas are unhappy together when they're both on your body.

My anecdotal evidence is that AirPods have really solid Bluetooth reception with my iPhones.

I think that's just physics, I noticed the same behavior with my Jabra headphones. If I have my phone lying somewhere I can walk away quite some distance but if I have it in my left pocket and only the right headphone in while walking outside ( which I usually do this way) the connection becomes somehow spotty. My guess is that in an open space where there is nothing to effectively bounce off the waves the only path left is through my body which is so much water that it dampens the signal to a point where it becomes unreliable

> Bluetooth isn't perfect, but it's definitely not "drop signal from my pocket" bad unless you have some weird specific-to-you problem.

It's not that rare. Other people are mentioning busy environments, but even when I'm in an isolated environment my Aukey wireless earbuds, with the receiver on the left side, often have connection issues if I put my phone in my right pocket.

Bluetooth devices often have problems when you're outside, in large rooms, etc. because there aren't any nearby walls for signals to bounce off of, so they're stuck with the lower SNR option of going straight through your body.

I notice that with my airpods, they drop into a lower quality mode whenever I'm going for a walk. It's too bad, it means they can never be a replacement for wired earbuds for me.

I've been in a motel and had my audio source in my room play music while I head for the vending machine without loss.

I've been on a morning tram and lost connection between my pocket and head with the same device/headphone pair.

Newer versions of Bluetooth have made great improvements to reliablity, but they can't defy physics and interference.

I've noticed issues too when in a crowd, presumably because so many other bluetooth devices are within close proximity.

n=1, but I experienced similar Bluetooth issues with the iPhone XS Max, which would constantly lose connection when compared to the iPhone 7 I’d had previously. The problems disappeared when I tried the iPhone 11 Pro, so I concluded the problem was with the specific XS Max I had, and got it replaced. I also noticed pairing issues in the defective Max with a first-generation Apple Watch. It was working better with the replacement Max, but connected best with the 7 or 11 Pro, all the same. So Bluetooth definitely seems to vary in quality from handset release to handset release, and more than I’d expected. Similarly, I’ve had bad luck with some computers but good luck with others, I’ve yet to pin down why. Generally the best Bluetooth connectivity range (for me, at least) is on the iPad Pro and the worst seems to be tied between watches and other small devices, or Windows computers because the apps aren’t optimized for Bluetooth AAC streaming as much, I think. With AAC streaming, I suspect the song I’m listening to has a larger cache on the headphone to make up for listening range issues, but I could be wrong there...

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