Google Pixel Buds A-Series update breaks multi-device pairing
TheGoogle Pixel Buds A-Seriesare among thebest cheap wireless earbudson the market. While the earphones don’t pack as many features as its Pro sibling, their significantly lower price tag makes up for it. To deliver the best user experience possible, Google rolls out new firmware updates for the earbuds every once in a while to fix any lingering bugs. The company is currently rolling out one such minor update (v3.519.0) for the Pixel Buds A-Series that presumably fixes some underlying bugs. But the firmware seems to have broken the earbuds' ability to pair with multiple devices.
Unlike thePixel Buds Pro, the Buds A-Series don’t support multipoint connectivity. This means at any given time, the earbuds can only connect to one device. However, they could always be paired to two devices. For example, you could have the Pixel Buds A-Series paired with an Android smartphone and iPad. While the earbuds won’t simultaneously connect to both devices, you could disconnect them from the phone and then connect to the tablet.
Based onRedditreports from Pixel Buds A-Series users, the v3.519.0 firmware seems to have broken this functionality. Now, the earbuds only connect to the last used paired device. So, if you disconnect the earphones from your Android phone and then try to connect them to your iPad, they won’t do so. You will have to re-pair the Pixel Buds with the iPad. And then, if you switch back to your phone, the earbuds won’t connect to them unless re-paired again. Worse, users report pressing the charging case button for 20 seconds to put the Pixel Buds into pairing mode before they are detected by a previously paired device.
Factory resetting the earbuds does not help, with the issue persisting even after that. It is unclear if this is an accidental bug or an intentional tweak from Google. Whatever the case, the change makes switching between devices with the Pixel Buds A-Series a frustrating experience.
If your Pixel Buds A-Series is used with multiple devices, consider holding out on installing the firmware update until Google resolves this issue.
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