Microsoft Teams and Apple Airpod compatability

It is really a bummer that this still is such a huge problem. Here my experience with it.

A couple of weeks (1-2 months) ago I could not use my AirPods 2nd Gen with MS Teams with my MacBook Pro 2017 model at all. They would just disconnect when I entered any call.

Some updates since then and it kind of works for me now.

I played around with it a lot and made the following observations:

1. Teams uses A LOT of resources, CPU, GPU and Memory. If I have too many stuff running in the background the connection to the Pods will be unstable or not work at all. Also, only hooked up to a USB-C Monitor, the battery will drain instead of charge just by joining a call - just insane!
2. Teams "compresses" sound output. Most obvious when listening to music (or a video) and joining a call, even the music's (source not related to Teams at all) quality will drop significantly
3. Bluetooth connection is becoming very unstable. I used to use the MacBook Pro with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Whenever I would try to join a call with my AirPods the "success" rate was about 30-40%. Connecting my mouse with an USB cable (= one less bluetooth device connected) and the success rate jumped up to about 80%. And now whenever I also disconnect the keyboard from bluetooth it works every time. Reconnecting the keyboard needs some tries to get it working, but works most of the time. There are some hickups though like the connection becoming unstable again, registering a loooonnnnggg press on one button etc. Very annoying!

I have no clue why there would be a list of "supported" devices... Why don't just let the OS handle the in- and outputs?

As said, still a huge inconvenience, hopefully my experience can help someone else.

I thought about whether or not to post this. But in the end I decided to because AirPods, although great headphones, are not an ideal solution for video conferencing or for recording wireless Bluetooth audio. Apple does not even support Bluetooth audio when using their native video app on iPhones and iPads. As I mentioned in my post that we are letting people know there is an alternative as our product is optimized for video. You may not agree with that. But for someone researching AirPods before buying or maybe just want something that works for them we think it is worth letting them know that there is another option. I don't think keeping this a secret is a good idea.

Ok so it's now December 11, 2020. When is the fix ??

Very disappointing issue yetbot solved please try to fix it soon!