[Updated] Google Pixel Buds Pro audio skipping, stuttering or Bluetooth disconnecting; older models affected too (potential fix inside)

New updates are being added at the bottom of this story…….

Original story (published on October 14, 2022) follows:

Google Pixel Buds Pro is one of the best options if you are looking for noise-canceling earbuds. They are your finest traveling companions, with a battery life of up to 31 hours with a charging case.

While users are highly liking the earbuds, some issues are spoiling the overall experience.

Most of these reports about Google Pixel Buds Pro revolve around the audio skipping, stuttering or Bluetooth disconnecting (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9).

The new Pixel Buds Pro seem affected by an issue where the audio keeps skipping or stuttering every few seconds. Some users also claim that the earbuds make reconnecting sounds over and over again.

This is possible because the Buds are constantly disconnecting and reconnecting to Bluetooth-paired devices.

A quick look around reveals the issue seems to not only affect the new Buds Pro, but also older models that include Pixel Buds A-Series as well as 1st and 2nd-gen Pixel Buds.

All of this seems bizarre to users, who are also curious as to what is causing these issues with the Google Pixel Buds series, including the newest Pixel Buds Pro.

My Pixel 2 Bud stopped working and would randomly disconnect. My left earbud was losing connection and eventually stoped working or would show it was working but after an hour the battery showed at 100%. After contacting support I was told it was not under warranty and there was nothing that could be done. I eventually looked up some schematics and long story short cleaned around the IR sensors on the non-functioning earbud is now perfectly fine.
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Device randomly disconnects, left earbud won’t connect independently. When using just one earbud, the device will just randomly disconnect. Additionally, if I decide to swap from using just a right earbud to a left earbud, the left earbud won’t always connect.
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A Google Diamond Product Expert offered the following explanation for this, suggesting that there could be a hardware problem:

Unfortunately the Buds disconnecting as soon as you remove them from the case typically indicates that the earbud batteries have failed. Particularly since the software-focused troubleshooting you’ve already tried hasn’t helped. I’m afraid you’re looking at a hardware failure here.
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But of course, not every scenario fits this explanation since others are experiencing the same issue even when already listening to music.

Among the reports, there is a possible workaround that can mitigate the issue. It involves forgetting, factory resetting, and setting up the Google Pixel Buds Pro or whichever model you got afresh:

As noted earlier, this may be the first time the issue is showing up on the new models, but certainly not the first time for older Pixel Buds models.

However, the issue was fixed in older models a while back. But with the latest round of reports, it seems a newer firmware update may have triggered the issue once again, this time even affecting the newest Pro models.

That said, we’ll keep track of the situation and post an update if and when there are any further developments regarding the matter.

12:14 pm (IST): December update for Pixel phones includes a fix for the issue where audio skipped while using Bluetooth accessories. So if you are still facing this issue, try installing the latest update and see if it has been resolved.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Google section so be sure to follow them as well.

Featured image source: Google

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