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.

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Anonymous
2022-01-17T19:57:00+00:00

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

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-11-11T12:27:20+00:00

    I agree to your suggestion using the BT headsets as Audio channel only and use a different Mic (if required).

    And also I did have the same effect with other BT headsets, including the cool Nuraloop in ears (among others) ... which makes this issue even more worse for Microsoft.

    I was planning to get myself a set of Sony ANC Over Ear Headsets to be used with TEAMS sessions on my pc. But due to this issue I will stick with my current Plantronics set (4 years old) which works flawless due to it's own BT dongle and drivers.

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  2. Anonymous
    2020-11-11T13:00:43+00:00

    I agree to your suggestion using the BT headsets as Audio channel only and use a different Mic (if required).

    And also I did have the same effect with other BT headsets, including the cool Nuraloop in ears (among others) ... which makes this issue even more worse for Microsoft.

    I was planning to get myself a set of Sony ANC Over Ear Headsets to be used with TEAMS sessions on my pc. But due to this issue I will stick with my current Plantronics set (4 years old) which works flawless due to it's own BT dongle and drivers.

    I've been doing that...using my Bluetooth headset in headphone mode and using my web cam's mic for voip and Teams. it's not ideal but it's better than the bulky 2.5GHz headset I was using

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-11-11T13:36:07+00:00

    I just saw on the PC of a colleague that the Mic setting of his Sony WH-1000XM3 showed "1 channel 16 bit, 16000khz..." quality... and his voice was significantly better than with my AirPods.

    So it seems that for some BT headsets the Mic quality can be better.

    Anyone with an idea why?

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  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

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