Why do my AirPods keep pausing? [How to Fix]

AirPods are a great companion, especially in the gym! But when they start to take a life on their own and pause continually, your listening pleasure can go south in no time. Lucky for you, quick DIY fixes can remedy the issue in a heartbeat. 

AirPods pausing music can occur due to faulty Bluetooth connection, multiple audio sources, Automatic Ear Detection, and low battery levels. You can fix this issue by factory resetting, recharging, and updating your AirPods.

In this post, we’ll answer your question thoroughly so you’ll better understand why the issue happens–and how you can prevent it. More importantly, we’ve included six easy troubleshooting tricks to fix your AirPods’ pausing problem within the hour! 

Why do my AirPods keep pausing? 

Understand that AirPods need Bluetooth to be operational and receive audio signals. Check out the list below of the most common causes of why such a signal is weakened, and the device acts up and pauses.

1. Problematic Bluetooth Connection

A good Bluetooth connection is a must when using AirPods because it’s the only way to connect to the source device and receive its audio signals. A problematic or faulty Bluetooth connection can cause the playback to stop or pause uncharacteristically. 

This problem can occur during use because of various factors, such as physical obstructions and signal interference. Since Bluetooth devices are more prevalent nowadays, it’s not uncommon to have many of them in a single room or household.

Unfortunately, having various Bluetooth devices emitting signals simultaneously can cause interference and mess up your AirPods’ connection. 

Even WiFi devices that use a 2.4GHz band frequency can interfere with Bluetooth signals and cause problems. In the long run, it will sabotage AirPods’ ability to process nearby signals. 

After all, Bluetooth devices also use the same 2.4GHz frequency to send signals to nearby devices. Plus, Bluetooth technology is prone to various errors during use, which results in many issues happening randomly and for no apparent reason.

Physical obstructions such as walls or other people can also block the Bluetooth signal and cause its connection to fail. Also, consider the range of Bluetooth since it’s a short-range connection technology that can only operate well over short distances.

If your AirPods pause when you move, consider that physical obstructions and limited range are possible culprits. 

2. Multiple Audio Sources

Aside from signal interference, simply having multiple Bluetooth devices nearby can cause your AirPods to pause or stop playback. If your AirPods are paired to multiple devices, they might switch between audio sources and pause without your consent.

In such cases, your AirPods will continue switching between all available devices unless some are turned off or moved outside the Bluetooth range.

3. Automatic Ear Detection

The Automatic Ear Detection feature of your AirPods uses built-in proximity sensors to recognize when a user is wearing them. As such, this feature allows your AirPods to automatically pause the playback for you if you decide to take them off for a moment.

From there, Automatic Ear Detection will know if you’re wearing your AirPods again so they can resume the playback. So far, everything about this feature doesn’t sound problem-inducing, which begs the question, “Why do my AirPods keep pausing?”

Well, the problem with Automatic Ear Detection is it sometimes won’t recognize your ears if the AirPods are worn improperly. It can even happen when the AirPods move through a bit of force, which then causes the playback to pause or stop.

Plus, you can damage your AirPods’ proximity sensors due to mishandling and prevent them from working like normal. It can be due to physical impact from being dropped on the floor or water damage from being in contact with sweat or moisture.

4. Low Battery Level

Running low on juice can result in your AirPods pausing or even stopping the playback altogether. Like most electronic devices, your AirPods need enough power to function as intended and prevent any power-related issues that can occur during use.

To prevent this, always check your AirPods’ battery level whenever you can, so you can recharge them as needed.

What can you do if the AirPods keep on pausing?

Many troubleshooting techniques can be used to stop and prevent your AirPods from pausing their playback during use. Here are some fixes you can do to help resolve this issue:

FIX 1. Reset your AirPods.

Difficulty	Easy ●●○○○
Number of Steps	12
Time to Perform Fix	50 seconds
Things Needed	An iPhoneAn AirPods charging case

One effective method of fixing various AirPods issues, such as sudden pauses while listening to music, is to perform a factory reset. Resetting your AirPods to factory defaults will remove their saved Bluetooth connection and pairing with your iPhone.

Thus, you restore your AirPods to their initial state that doesn’t yet suffer from an audio or connectivity issue. 

Step 1: Place the AirPods inside their charging case.

Step 2: Close the lid of your AirPods’ charging case for about 30 seconds.

Step 3: Open the lid of your AirPods’ charging case and take them out.

Step 4: Wear your AirPods on your ears.

Step 5: Move your attention to your iPhone and go to Settings.

Step 6: Click on Bluetooth to open the Bluetooth menu of your iPhone.

Step 7: Identify your AirPods from the Bluetooth devices list and click the “more info” icon (i) beside it to continue.

Step 8: Click on Forget This Device to remove your AirPods as a paired device on your iPhone. Note: Depending on the iOS version of your iPhone, the Forget This Device button can be found at the top or bottom of the more info menu.

Step 9: Click Forget Device to confirm.

Step 10: Place the AirPods inside their charging case while the lid is open.

Step 11: Press and hold the setup button of your AirPods’ charging case for about 15 seconds and wait as its indicator light blinks orange and turns white. Note: The indicator light on the AirPods’ charging case might be located at the front or inside, depending on the model.

Step 12: Put the iPhone and your AirPods’ charging case next to each other and click Connect on the display screen to pair both devices.

FIX 2. Reset your Bluetooth.

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	10 seconds
Things Needed	An iPhone

Since Bluetooth connection issues can cause your AirPods to pause or stop playback, you can address the problematic connection on your AirPods by resetting Bluetooth.

Here’s how to reset your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings:

Step 1: Move your attention to your iPhone and go to Settings.

Step 2: Click on Bluetooth to open the Bluetooth menu of your iPhone.

Step 3: Click the Bluetooth switch on the side to toggle it off.

Step 4: Click the Bluetooth switch on the side again to toggle it back on.

FIX 3. Move or turn off nearby devices.

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	1
Time to Perform Fix	30 to 60 seconds
Things Needed	Nearby Bluetooth and wireless devices

As we mentioned earlier, Bluetooth devices use a 2.4GHz frequency signal to communicate with each other. As such, having multiple Bluetooth devices around can cause interference in the connection between your AirPods and iPhone.

When this happens, your AirPods might get disconnected from your iPhone, which will pause and stop the playback. Address this problem by turning off or moving any nearby Bluetooth devices in the same room as your AirPods and iPhone.

If you don’t want to turn them off, keep these devices out of Bluetooth’s 30 feet range. It’s a must. You need to do the same to the other nearby wireless devices connected to your WiFi network since most modems and routers also use a 2.4GHz signal frequency.

You don’t have to do this if your WiFi network has a 5.0GHz frequency band instead. After all, 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz signals don’t interfere with each other.

FIX 4. Toggle Automatic Ear Detection off.

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	5
Time to Perform Fix	10 seconds
Things Needed	An iPhoneAn AirPod charging case

Automatic Ear Detection is a very convenient feature to have on your AirPods since you don’t have to press any button to pause or play your playback. Plus, enabling this feature won’t cause issues when playing music with your AirPods in most cases.

Unfortunately, there are also situations where Automatic Ear Detection will pause your playback for no apparent reason. In such cases, we recommend turning off Automatic Ear Detection from your iPhone since it’s causing you more harm than good.

Please note that Automatic Ear Detection isn’t necessarily the culprit since the proximity sensors can also suffer from physical or water damage. Consider this possibility if you’ve dropped your AirPods on the floor or the water before.

Step 1:  Place the AirPods inside their charging case while the lid is open.

Step 2: Move your attention to your iPhone and go to Settings.

Step 3: Click on Bluetooth to open the Bluetooth menu of your iPhone.

Step 4: Identify your AirPods from the Bluetooth devices list and click the “more info” icon (i) beside it to continue.

Step 5: Click the Automatic Ear Detection switch on the side to turn it off.

FIX 5. Recharge your AirPods.

Difficulty	Very Easy ●○○○○
Number of Steps	4
Time to Perform Fix	15 seconds
Things Needed	An iPhoneAirPods charging caseLighting cableA working power outlet

For AirPods issues caused by a low battery level, the quick and easy solution is to return them to their charging case. Doing so should recharge the battery of your AirPods so you can continue using them without any issues.

You’ll know that your AirPods have a full battery if the indicator light on their charging case turns from orange to green while recharging. Alternatively, you can move your AirPods and charging case next to your iPhone to view their battery information.

It’s the quickest and easiest way of monitoring the remaining battery level of your AirPods. You can do this by following the instructions below:

Step 1: Place the AirPods inside their charging case while the lid is open.

Step 2: Move your AirPods’ charging case and the iPhone closer to each other.

Step 3: Check the small pop-up window on your iPhone’s display screen to see the current battery levels of your AirPods.

Step 4: Keep your AirPods inside the charging case to recharge them if they’re running low on battery. Note: You can also connect a Lightning cable to your AirPods’ charging case to recharge everything at once.

FIX 6. Update your AirPods.

Difficulty	Easy ●●○○○
Number of Steps	5
Time to Perform Fix	10 minutes
Things Needed	AirPods charging caseAn iPhoneA working internet connection

If none of the troubleshooting tricks above worked, you can also update the firmware version installed on your AirPods and charging case. You can only do this while your AirPods and charging case are connected to your iPhone via Bluetooth.

After all, AirPods don’t have a means of connecting to the internet through a WiFi network. As such, your AirPods and charging case need to connect to an iPhone that will connect them to the internet instead.

With this, your AirPods and charging case can download and install the latest firmware version released. Doing so should equip both devices with new upgrades that will make them perform better than before.

Firmware updates are also effective in fixing software-related issues on your AirPods and charging case, which might be causing them to pause your playback. 

Also, we recommend plugging a Lightning cable to avoid power loss during the update process. This should make the process more seamless. 

Step 1: Place the AirPods inside their charging case while the lid is open. Note: You must plug a Lightning cable into your AirPods’ charging case to prevent power loss during the firmware update process.

Step 2: Move your attention to your iPhone and go to Settings.

Step 3: Select your AirPods.

Step 4: Scroll down to open the Version option and see the firmware version of your AirPods.

Step 5: Keep your AirPods and iPhone close to each other while connected to allow the firmware update process to progress automatically. Note: Your iPhone must be connected to the internet through a Wi-Fi network or cellular data so your AirPods can download the update.

FAQs About AirPods That Keep Pausing

Why do my AirPods keep pausing the video I’m playing?

Various reasons can cause your AirPods to keep pausing the video you’re playing. It includes issues, such as: 

• faulty Bluetooth connection
• signal interference
• Automatic Ear Detection
• low battery level 
• and multiple audio sources.

If you’re playing a video from the internet, your WiFi connectivity can also be the root cause of the issue. Your internet connection might be problematic or your data plan is simply too slow.

What causes my AirPods to pause the music from Spotify?

Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity issues are the main reasons for your AirPods to pause your music from Spotify. If the AirPods have trouble connecting via Bluetooth, the music will be paused or stopped, as a result.

The same thing will happen if the device your AirPods are connected to has a terrible WiFi connection, which can’t connect to Spotify servers reliably.

What do I do if my iPhone pauses the music instead?

Reset your iPhone if it’s the one pausing the music that you’re playing instead of your AirPods. Doing so will shut down all of your iPhone’s apps and programs so that its system memory can be refreshed, enhancing its performance after it reboots.

You also need to keep your iPhone updated to the latest software version to keep it compatible with your AirPods. Installing the latest software update should help prevent further issues between your iPhone and AirPods.

Can dirt buildup cause my AirPods to pause the music I’m playing?

Dirt buildup isn’t a known cause of the pausing issue on AirPods. However, you must always keep your AirPods clean since dirt buildup can cause various other issues that will affect your music listening experience on your AirPods.

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