Airpods Pro: very bad quality in Headset mode on Windows 10

Anonymous
2020-04-02T12:50:11+00:00

Dear all,

I've got my new Airpods Pro, they work well with my iPhone.

Also on Windows 10 via bluetooth, sound quality is good when using the "Airpods stereo" mode.

However, in the headset mode ("Airpods Hands-Free AG Audio") sound and especially microphone quality is extremely bad. I tried to change the default format (see screenshot, it's only 8000Hz), but I cannot change it as it's grey. Any advice to get a better microphone quality?

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Devices and drivers

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2022-01-17T19:57:00+00:00

According to this post it should be fixed already in Insiders Build (currently Dev Channel only).

Was this answer helpful?

10 people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

147 additional answers

Sort by: Newest
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2020-12-09T14:18:47+00:00

    Fully appreciate this won't help everyone, however I've been following this thread for several months and having finally taken the plunge and purchased some AirPods Pro I've been able to have a play.

    My main use case is Teams calls / meetings and Zoom meetings. I'm pleased to say in both apps I'm able to alter the settings so the audio is routed to "Headphones" (different to "Headset" as noted in #By-Morphys post) and the Microphone is the Mic array (Realtek) built in to my Surface Pro. So this would work with any Windows laptop's built in webcam mic, or a standalone webcam.

    With this combination, the audio I'm hearing is excellent, and I can still be heard clearly by other participants in the meeting using the webcam mic.

    As I say, appreciate that won't help everyone as you'd need a webcam with a mic, but it's done the trick for my use.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2020-12-09T13:13:56+00:00

    Agreed, it's silly that AirPods and frankly any Bluetooth headsets fail to work on Windows. 

    From what I've seen, it's been up to the product manufacturer to build their own driver. Which Apple should do.... Still, MS should find some sort of way to make the myriad of products work in a reasonable fashion.

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2020-12-08T11:59:07+00:00

    Hi By-Morphys

    this might be a technical explanation, but it does not make any sense to me to reduce audio quality for hands-free usage. 

    Let the user decide which kind of quality he/she wants for hands-free operation.

    And with Sony and Plantronics Voyager bluetooth headsets it works fine...near to perfect audio quality even in hands-free mode.

    Was this answer helpful?

    2 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2020-12-08T10:49:39+00:00

    IT'S NOT A BUG, IT'S A FEATURE

    As conclusion to my research: this is not a bug, it’s feature.

    When you get shown two options:

    (A) Headphone (xxx Airpods Pro Stereo) and

    (B) Headset (xxx Airpods Pro Hands-Free)

    ... you NEED to decide which “functionality” you want to use. 

    Hint: You get the second, if the Airpods was connected to your mobile device, like iPhone and then switch to Windows.

    Here we dive depth, "Why this behavior is at it is?":

    This is explained better here, but basically,

    • use Stereo when you're listening to music,
    • Hands-free if you're using your laptop for calls.

    Hope this help’s out.

    BR

    Was this answer helpful?

    3 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments