Apple told me AirPods won’t work if I’m using a VPN

VPN
1

In what I think is the most bizarre response from Apple support ever.

I had a live chat because my new AirPods Pro 2022 kept disconnecting.

They asked if I was using a VPN then said this - “Well, that is the reason Vpn blocked the connection between the devices. So basically when you use it should disconnect or not pair. I recommend you that if is a vpn for company reports it with them”

Apart from the broken English, does this make any sense to anyone? I think it’s the most bizarre response ever.

2

There is a known disconnecting problem with AirPods Pro 2. It has nothing to do with VPN:

3

That make zero sense.

4

I had serious disconnection issues with my AirPods Max. Finally I changed my 2GHz wifi channel to something different, and it all stopped.

5

What vpn are you using? I can test it out on my phone

Vpn profiles/mdm can stop certain behaviours of computers but I’ve never had a need to try with an iPhone. I can play around with it as I have access to a few different fws.

6

I use a VPN and have never experienced an issue like that with my AirPods

7

Apple’s live chat is so bad it’s laughable. The people working seem to be rude and extremely under skilled. Also the terrible English doesn’t help. I use it because it’s convenient but they do just ridiculous things. Phone support seems to be the way to go.

8

Hey dude I have the weirdest suggestion because I had a similar problem… by any chance do you have an Apple TV?

9

It’s not true for all VPNs, but certain corporate VPN and MDM solutions block certain kinds of traffic. They often use a whitelist instead of a blacklist — i.e. they block everything by default unless included on a whitelist. This approach can block the ports needed by AirPods for enhanced operations like authentication or fast switching. In such cases, AirPods behave more like traditional Bluetooth devices.

10

I noticed that my CarPlay no longer works if I have the VPN on.

11

Is it just messing with Handoff? Does Handoff use the local wifi network to determine if your devices are together? Conceivably having a VPN connected could make it not realize your Macbook and iPhone are actually in the same building.

12

They told me MagSafe battery pack can’t be updated, and in any way you can increase the charge speed from 5w to 7.5w…

13

I had an issue with my old homepod and using a vpn on my laptop. That is over wifi though. God Apple’s ecosystem is a fucking mess sometimes.

14

I’ve noticed Apple Support in the past year has gone from 5 star to 3 star.

I had to talk to 3 different people over the course of an hour in attempt to edit a shipping address error that should have already been updated in the Apple Store iOS app. No one was able to help or offer advice. Terrible transferring where I had to explain the situation each time despite being given a case number. All anyone had to tell me was that you need to wait until the order goes from “Received” to “Processing” to be able to edit the address (and that itself is annoying to have to wait and catch before its ships)

15

I have my whole house running through a VPN. Airpods and everything else work fine.

16

“You are using it wrong”

17

Foreign support drone saying whatever it takes to get rid of you…

18

If the speed limit is under 30mph my headlights won’t work.

19

doesn’t happen with me lmao, vpns wont attract bluetooth at all

20

No, I use VPN all the time and never had any issue with airpods.

VPN affects some features for Apple devices like sidecar for ipad, but airpods shouldn’t be affected.