iPhone XR Headphones- Solutions for Cold Temps?
January 12, 2019 6:01 PM Subscribe
I have a new iPhone XR and can’t figure out what is causing the headphones to not function in the cold. Any ideas for troubleshooting?
When I go outside in the cold, I keep my phone inside several layers so it stays relatively warm and close to my body. However, after some amount of time (less than 10 minutes) inevitably the sound from my headphones cuts out. If I take the phone out of my layers, the screen looks as though I pushed pause.
Then, I will push play, and the sound will come out the speakers even though the headphones are plugged into the lightning port. If I take them out and put them back in, sound will restart through them, but the problem will recur within a few minutes.
Some notes, for Science:
1) At first I thought there might just be a bad wire in the headphones that came with the phone, but when I tried it with another set of headphones I had the exact same issue.
2) I haven’t used the headphones much inside, but on the rare occasions I have this problem has not happened.
3) The phone itself is functioning fine in the cold when used sparingly- it was taking pictures like a champ in 2 degrees F this afternoon for 5 minutes before I shoved it back inside my jackets.
4) I have used headphones a lot in very cold temperatures, and this never happened with my old iPhone 6 (RIP) when paired with regular headphones with the standard jack. I did have battery drain problems with the phone itself in extreme temperatures, but that’s par for the course.
5) The only truly exposed element of my setup is about 6” of wire from the hat-covered earbud to where it disappears inside the neck of my jacket. That section does include a mic on both sets of headphones, if that might matter.
I realize the ultimate solution if it’s just a “this is not possible with this setup” deal is probably to buy AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones, but I just had to pay for a new phone and really don’t know if I can remember to reliably charge headphones. If anyone has some ideas for solving or further troubleshooting this with a wired setup I’d love to hear them.
When I go outside in the cold, I keep my phone inside several layers so it stays relatively warm and close to my body. However, after some amount of time (less than 10 minutes) inevitably the sound from my headphones cuts out. If I take the phone out of my layers, the screen looks as though I pushed pause.
Then, I will push play, and the sound will come out the speakers even though the headphones are plugged into the lightning port. If I take them out and put them back in, sound will restart through them, but the problem will recur within a few minutes.
Some notes, for Science:
1) At first I thought there might just be a bad wire in the headphones that came with the phone, but when I tried it with another set of headphones I had the exact same issue.
2) I haven’t used the headphones much inside, but on the rare occasions I have this problem has not happened.
3) The phone itself is functioning fine in the cold when used sparingly- it was taking pictures like a champ in 2 degrees F this afternoon for 5 minutes before I shoved it back inside my jackets.
4) I have used headphones a lot in very cold temperatures, and this never happened with my old iPhone 6 (RIP) when paired with regular headphones with the standard jack. I did have battery drain problems with the phone itself in extreme temperatures, but that’s par for the course.
5) The only truly exposed element of my setup is about 6” of wire from the hat-covered earbud to where it disappears inside the neck of my jacket. That section does include a mic on both sets of headphones, if that might matter.
I realize the ultimate solution if it’s just a “this is not possible with this setup” deal is probably to buy AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones, but I just had to pay for a new phone and really don’t know if I can remember to reliably charge headphones. If anyone has some ideas for solving or further troubleshooting this with a wired setup I’d love to hear them.
I doubt the cold is causing this directly, but cool, dry weather causes more static electricity. When I had a crappy Google Pixel with a defective audio chip, the tiniest jolt of static electricity (usually caused by movements like putting the phone into a jacket pocket) would cause an audio pop and then the chip would be dead until I rebooted. I assume most cellphones get that kind of static, but handle it more gracefully. Do other iPhone XR users report similar issues?
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:35 PM on January 12, 2019
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 8:35 PM on January 12, 2019
Response by poster: Ooh, strangecargo, maybe? The tap to wake feature is new to me. I’m biking on a pretty bumpy surface so the phone is bouncing around in the pocket a bunch. I will try both ways on my bike today, it’s a balmy 22 so if it’s a SUPER cold problem it won’t diagnose, but if it’s a bounce/jacket/tap to wake issue it will.
posted by charmedimsure at 12:34 PM on January 13, 2019
posted by charmedimsure at 12:34 PM on January 13, 2019
Response by poster: Yay! I think we solved it. Replicated the problem once with wake to tap on- didn’t happen again when I turned it off. Thanks so much.
posted by charmedimsure at 4:44 PM on January 13, 2019
posted by charmedimsure at 4:44 PM on January 13, 2019
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posted by strangecargo at 7:29 PM on January 12, 2019