A couple weeks ago, I finally bit the bullet and updated my iPhone 15 from iOS 18.7 to 26.1. I've been dealing with a weird intermittent connectivity issue with my second generation Airpods Pro ever since, and was wondering if anyone else was experiencing it as well. In a nutshell, my phone will randomly decide to try sending audio playback through AirPlay instead of my Airpods when I go to put them on after they've been out of my ears for a bit. My phone is practically never connected to an AirPlay device, so sound just ends up coming through the speakers when this happens. I have to go into the Control Center every time and switch the audio output back to my Airpods, which can be super inconvenient if I'm in a setting where VoiceOver's blabbering could be disruptive. Any idea whether this is an iOS 26 quirk, a setting I need to fix somewhere, or maybe just an issue with my 3-year-old Airpods?
Comments
The new continuity setting
Might be worth looking at this article and seeing if playing with the settings helps. A new setting for keeping audio in AirPods when getting into a car, which is kinda the opposite of what you're describing, but I'm wondering if toggling the setting on and off, or vice versa might clear out any issues:
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/ios-keep-airpods-connected-get-in-your-car/