Why Do My AirPods Keep Pausing My Music? Complete Solutions!

Many users ask, “why do my AirPods keep pausing my music?”.

Considering the wireless connectivity of the AirPods, there are a variety of reasons why your music randomly pauses.

Here you will learn why that is happening and how to solve the problem in a matter of minutes.

The most common issue most customers are facing is when there’s a problem with the built-in proximity sensors. When you disconnect one of the AirPods while listening to music the music will automatically pause. Turning OFF the automatic ear detection should be the first thing to try.

In case the issue is released to something else, down below we’re prepared a full list of ALL possible problems that can cause your AirPods to pause the music.

Why Do My AirPods Keep Stopping My Music?

Randomly pausing music is a well-known issue amongst Apple AirPods users. The origin of the issue might be related to the proximity sensors.

These sensors are responsible for the actual sound you hear from the AirPods and they can be impacted due to the wrong settings.

Here is a summarized list of all issues known to randomly pause music on AirPods:

1. Removing One AirPod

The AirPods would automatically stop the music when you remove or switch one of the AirPods.

2. Physical Damage

If you’ve impacted physical damage to your AirPods then issues related to pausing or entirely stopping the music will translate to a hardware problem.

3. Bluetooth Connection

If there is more than one connected device with Bluetooth your device might send the music to one of the other devices.

4. Smartphone Software Issue

The mobile device might sometimes encounter software issues that could lead to a pause in your music.

5. Inappropriate Settings

Lastly, the wrong settings configuration of your AirPods might cause a variety of issues, including random music pauses.

These are the general issues that we’ll be targeting in this solution post, so keep reading to learn how to solve the problem as soon as possible.

How To Fix Random Music Pauses On AirPods?

The music interruptions/pauses might be happening due to a variety of reasons. In the solutions below, we’ve managed to include ALL possibilities.

In that regard, make sure to apply the fixes in the order that they are listed for best results.

Solution #1 Charge The AirPods

AirPods are well-known to have connectivity issues and pause your music as a warning for low battery.

We suggest placing your AirPods back into the charging case for around half an hour.

We also recommend plugging your charging case in the power as well, until it’s fully charged.

In the meantime, make sure the LED in your AirPods’ case is blinking in yellow or red. If the LED is green, your AirPods are still active, thus, connected to your phone.

Solution #2 Turn Off Automatic Ear Detection

As we’ve mentioned above, your AirPods have automatic ear detection.

Fortunately, you can easily turn the ear detection OFF so it doesn’t bother your experience and cause additional troubles.

To disable the automatic ear detection feature, follow the steps below:

1. Open your iPhone settings.
2. Go to Bluetooth then find your AirPods.
3. Tap “More information”.
4. Switch “Automatic ear detection” to OFF.

Removing AirPods will neither pause your music nor disconnect your AirPods from now on.

Plenty of users prefer keeping this feature off, but you can toggle it anytime going in the same menu. In case your music is still being paused, continue with the next solution.

Solution #3 Disconnect Bluetooth Devices

If you’re still asking the question “why do my AirPods keep pausing my music?”, you should check if there’s more than one device connected to your smartphone’s Bluetooth.

If that’s the case, maybe your phone is sending the music to another device, when you’re near it.

To disconnect ALL other devices connected to your phone’s Bluetooth, follow the steps:

1. Open your smartphone’s Settings.
2. Go to Bluetooth settings and open the tab.
3. Locate active Bluetooth connections.
4. Disconnect ALL devices, except your AirPods.

Now when the other devices are disconnected, the connection with the AirPods should not be interfered with and the issue might be solved. If not, continue with the solutions.

Solution #4 Restart Your Device

Your issue might not always come from your AirPods. Sometimes your device encounters software glitches that can stop or pause your music at random.

In that regard, we suggest restarting your device to reboot the operating system and then checking the AirPods’ performance.

To restart your device follow the steps below:

1. Press and hold the volume button and the power button.
2. Slide/press the power button that appeared on your screen.
3. Wait until your device shuts OFF completely.
4. Hold the power button to turn on your smartphone.

Once your smartphone boots up, connect with your AirPods and determine if the problem is fixed. If not, let’s move on to updating your AirPods’ software.

Solution #5 Update Your AirPods Software

To update your AirPods, you would need an iOS device. You can use iPhone, iPad, iMac, MacMini, and basically any Apple device.

To update your AirPods follow the steps below:

1. Turn ON Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on your iOS device.
2. Pair the AirPods with the device.
3. Get your charging case and put the AirPods in.
4. Keep the case close to the iOS device for about 15 minutes.

The update process with iOS is automatic and all you need to do is keep the case close to the device.

If there is a new software version, it won’t take more than 15 minutes to download and install on your AirPods.

Note: To check the version of your AirPods OS, go to Settings > General Settings > About > AirPods.

You can check online which is the latest firmware and ensure that your AirPods are up to date.

Solution #6 Re-Pair AirPods To Bluetooth

If nothing worked so far, we suggest re-adding the AirPods to your smartphone’s Bluetooth list.

Follow the steps down below to “factory reset” your AirPods’ connection:

1. Go to the Bluetooth tab on your phone.
2. Locate the AirPods and tap the “Info” button.
3. Below “Disconnect AirPods”, tap on “Forget Connection”.
4. Hold the button on the charging case for about 10 seconds.
5. Put the AirPods inside the charging case.
6. Wait for them to re-appear in the Bluetooth list and pair them.
7. For iPhones, there should be a prompt that you can press on your screen.

In case the problem is not solved by now, you should test your AirPods with an iPhone since it’s made to be used this way.

In case the music still pauses, maybe something is wrong with the AirPods connectivity and would need a new pair.

Read Next: Why Is Left Airpod Mic Not Working?

Bottom Line:

To prevent randomly pausing music on Airpods, charge them and turn the automatic ear detection OFF. Update the AirPods to the latest OS version and restart the device they are hooked up to. Make sure to disconnect additional Bluetooth devices from your phone and re-pair them to Bluetooth.

After our solutions, you should no longer ask “why do my AirPods keep pausing my music?”

We hope that our post was helpful to fix the random music pauses on your AirPods.

In case you’re having other issues with your smart home device, make sure to check our blog!