AirPods not working for phone calls? Here’s the solution

April 2, 2023

Apple’s AirPods have connection problems when making calls. The Bluetooth connection drops unexpectedly, even when the AirPods are fully charged. Let’s find out what should you do if your AirPods not working for phone calls.

Get in your ears, get out of your daily routine. Your Apple AirPods deliver carefree music enjoyment. Without tangled cables and without connection problems – at least if everything works well. Because sometimes the little wireless headphones don’t quite do what you want. Then they don’t connect properly or can’t be charged. Unfortunately, a look into the manual won’t help you here either. But before you contact Apple support, you can solve most of the minor problems yourself with our tips.

AirPods not working for phone calls

Apple’s new wireless headphones have a software bug when it comes to phone calls. A number of users are reporting a connection bug on the Apple discussion forum. The AirPods, which are connected to the iPhone via Bluetooth, lose the connection for no apparent reason and completely randomly when users are on a phone call. In contrast, the headphones work flawlessly when users are only listening to music. Follow these solutions below if your AirPods do not working properly during phone calls:

Connect AirPods with iPhone properly

The pairing process between iPhone and AirPods is so simple that you might not figure it out without reading the quick start guide.

Make sure that the iPhone has Bluetooth connectivity enabled.
Then insert both AirPods into the charging case and close the lid.
Then, simply hold the case near your iPhone and open the lid.
Now your iPhone should already recognize the headphones, and you can press the “Connect” button on your iPhone.
The AirPods now connected with your iPhone.

If no image appears and you are unable to connect the AirPods to your iPhone, you should reset the headphones.

Reset your AirPods

You can restart the device in the usual Apple manner. However, this does not work on the headphones themselves. For that, you also need the charging case. Take both parts and proceed as follows:

If your AirPods are still connected to an Apple device, disconnect the AirPods first.
On the iPhone, go to Settings > Bluetooth. Find your AirPods and tap the info icon (i) next to the entry.
In the next window, select Ignore this device. Confirm the message asking if you really want to do this.
Place your AirPods in the charging box.
Make sure that both the headphones and the charging box itself have a battery level of 100%. You can tell by looking at the charging status indicator on the charging box. Simply open the lid of the box.
Now close the lid of the charging box.
After 15 seconds, open the lid of the box again.
Now take a look at the status display. It should flash white. If it doesn’t, press the set-up button on the back of the case until the status indicator flashes white.
To reset your AirPods to factory settings, press the set-up button again. This time for at least 30 seconds.
Only release the button when it flashes yellow several times and then white again. Then the reset has been successful.
Then, you can pair your headphones with your smartphone, Apple Watch, or another device again.

Does reset help if AirPods not working for phone calls?

Maybe yes! A reboot disconnects the existing connection between your AirPods and other devices. Therefore, after a reset, it is necessary to re-establish the connection. This may be time-consuming, but a factory reset will help you with many minor problems with your wireless headphones – for example, the following.

Battery issues

Your AirPods don’t charge evenly and always show different battery levels? That’s actually not a bug at all, but rather the way Apple wants it. Because each of the two headphones has its own battery – after all, you can use both separately. In this case, the second AirPod simply remains switched off in the charging case. This saves energy.

If your AirPods really don’t charge properly, you can first check whether your charging cable is perhaps not inserted correctly in the case or charging station. Or whether the charging case itself has no more power and thus can no longer charge the headphones. If everything is okay here, try the reset. After that, everything usually works as it should.

Pairing with iPhone does not work

Usually, the communication between Apple devices works very well. However, it can happen from time to time that minor errors creep in or the connection itself becomes slow.

For example, you might only hear something on one of the headphones. In this case, a reset usually helps to fix the channel error.

Check the apps you’re using

Sometimes, certain apps can interfere with the connection between your headphones and your iPhone. Namely, if they also access the Bluetooth function of your smartphone. You don’t even have to use the interfering app actively – even if it’s running in the background, it can negatively influence your music enjoyment.

Unfortunately, the only thing that helps here is trial and error: Switch off all apps that have access to the Bluetooth function individually and one after the other. Check if the connection problems with your AirPods have been solved. Usually, only one app is to blame for the malfunctions.

Note: If an app has Bluetooth sharing, it can access the connection even if you are not using the app and have not even opened it. You can check which apps are allowed to use Bluetooth via Settings > Privacy > Bluetooth Sharing and, if necessary, deactivate the sharing via the slider.

Still AirPods not working for phone calls??

Have you reset your AirPods to factory settings and reconnected them properly? Also, tried all the methods above? And still, your AirpPods not working for phone calls? Maybe the error is in another place. Maybe, there is a hardware problem in your AirPods. You can return it to the Apple Store and replace the AirPods.

Making calls with AirPods correctly

There are now four Apple headphones with which you can also make calls. If your AirPods not working for phone calls, you should follow couple of things. Here you can find out how to make calls with your AirPods correctly.

In the following, we will show you how you have to proceed, so that the connection is not interrupted and you can make a call without problems.

How to make calls with AirPods

In 2016, the US company Apple from Cupertino, California, presented the first AirPods generation. The practical Bluetooth headphones are still very popular and attract not only iPhone users. Due to the quite good sound quality and the extensive functionality, they are suitable for various things. You can read about how that works here. This is how you pair your smartphone with the AirPods to make calls:

The first step is to connect your phone to the AirPods via Bluetooth.
Once both are paired, you can start making calls.
To make a call, double-tap one of the headphones and Siri is activated.
To call someone, all you have to do is say who you want to call.
If you want to answer a call, you have to tap twice on one of the headphones to make a call with your AirPods.

Making calls with second-generation AirPods and Pro

You can also make calls with the 2019 models of AirPods (second generation). Basically, the process here is identical to the first-generation AirPods, except that instead of having to “double-tap” to activate them, you can simply say the following: “Hey Siri, call mobile number of XYZ”.

Things are a little different with the AirPods Pro. To say a call, you have to activate Siri with a voice command.
To answer or end a call, you have to press the force sensor. This is not located on the bud, but on the “neck” of the headphones.
If you want to reject or redirect a call, you have to tap the force sensor twice.

What you need to know about the AirPods Max

Apple launched its first over-ear headphones in late 2020. These are the AirPods Max. Again, you can make calls with the AirPods.

To make a call, you need to activate Siri via voice command or hold down the Digital Crown (small control on the headphones).
To answer or end calls, you need to tap the Digital Crown.
And if you don’t want to make a call and want to directly transfer the call to the answering machine, press the Digital Crown twice.