When the new Pixel Buds arrived last year, the sales pitch from Google certainly got me. The thought of a pair of true wireless buds with a focus on comfort and appearance in addition to sound and smarts was exactly what I was looking for. In my review, I made it clear that these were the buds I enjoyed the most, at least at the time.
Fast forward to today and the general story of the Pixel Buds doesn’t echo my early impressions and has since turned to an unpleasant one for many. After my review, the Buds landed in the ears of countless others and the reports of issues piled up so quickly that Google had to lay out a multi-month roadmap for updates that would address each and every one.
Google tried to address audio cutouts, hissing sounds, and other connectivity issues through those updates. Whether or not any of that was fixed depends on your pair of Pixel Buds or ears, I think. The Google Support community for the Pixel Buds 2 and the Google Pixel subreddit are filled with folks who continue to have problems with their expensive true wireless buds and/or have discovered what they believe to be fixes for whatever the bug of the day is.
As an example, a month or so ago I ran into an issue where my left Pixel Bud had completely drained and didn’t seem to want to charge. The right bud was fully charged and ready to rock, but nothing, even a factory reset on the Buds, could get the left to work. And then I discovered a thread with hundreds of responses from people experiencing the same issue dating back to May of last year. Their solution? After factory resetting, you had to pair and immediately turn off in-ear detection. If you accomplished that move, the left ear bud would then magically charge again and start working. I’m not kidding. It worked.
In another post I noticed this morning, some Pixel Buds owners were talking about how a long-running audio imbalance issue can be fixed simply by turning off the Adaptive Sound option in the Pixel Buds app. I’m not sure that everyone has found this to fix their problems, but you get the point. People invested $180 into Google’s new Pixel Buds and have run into so many issues since owning them that they’ll try anything.
What started out as a pair of wireless earbuds that ticked every single box has turned into an ongoing headache for those who bought in. I can’t even count the number of comments I’ve read over the months where Pixel Buds owners say they’ve given up hope and talked Google into refunding their purchase.
It’s too bad, man, because the Pixel Buds are still about the most comfortable ear buds I own and have without question the best touchpad and control system of any buds. But when your $180 ear buds are struggling in ways they were a year ago and you attempt to fix them on your own by turning off some of their best features, maybe these aren’t the play.
I’m so glad these were on backorder when I went to buy them. It gave me enough time to reconsider my decision.
Oh wow. You mean google made another sh*tty product that people bought? Half baked, doesn’t work have to fiddlef*ck with it to get it to work correctly? Color me surprised. Idk why people still use google products at this point. I finally switched to Apple after being with android since the og droid. It’s fantastic not worrying if the company you bought the product from is gonna drop support on the flip of a coin and have items that just actually work.
And to mute when in a zoom call you just throw them in the trash and get any other brand of wireless buds since every other brand has an easy access mute function. Want hold to unmute? They have the reverse, you clench them in your fists when you want to talk trash about the other people on the call, then put them back in your ears to unmute (unfortunately, this also mutes incoming audio).
2nd pair- same problems- gave up. worst product ever from google
Too bad none of us scored a pair of the +1 Buds for $1 a few months back! I’m not having any issues with my Pixel Buds that I received for Christmas.
Worst headphones I have ever owned every time I pass a traffic light the Bluetooth drops. Not great in a large city.
*laughs in Apple
Mine has cut outs but rarely or in certain areas but nothing that keeps me from enjoying them. The day I opened the box they were mostly fine.
I lucked-out. Zero issues with my Pixelbuds, 2-3 months in.
I’ve got these and the Airpod Pros and they’re both great, in different ways.
Hello there
Yup, that’s the reason I returned mine and went with the Galaxy Buds+ instead. I actually liked the Pixel Buds better, but boy were they glitchy, couldn’t even manage to keep a stable connection with my phone in my pocket when I turned my head SMH.
Damn near forgot these existed when I finally got my hands on the Jabra Elite 85t’s. They’re not as compact and the continued usage of a hero/sidekick connection is a sore spot, but they sound better, feel better in the ears, have better onboard controls because of customizability, stay connected consistently, and their noise control features work without my left ear getting none of the sound my right ear is. I picked up the foam eartips for the Pixel Buds but it ended up being a waste of $20 since I barely use them in the first place. Big sigh.
I had to return mine because I couldn’t take the audio drop out disconnection issues. It sucks because I really liked them and I don’t know when Google will release the next generation of these buds .
I love mine and use them every day.
In the very beginning, I had connection issues, but then they were fixed with an update. Since then, they’ve been working great for me.
Grab some Sonys and be done with it.
I wonder if Google will even try with Pixel Buds 3 or Pixel Buds Pro.
Glad I didn’t jump on the train from the delayed release to the bugs to the price and to the battery life. I just didn’t see the point.
I recently tweeted about some issues I was having, and after 3 rounds of “reset the device and try this”, they just sent me an email asking if I want a refund.
No…. I want you to fix the problems that shouldn’t exist in a premium set of wireless buds.
So, you didn’t take the refund?
Not yet. I was hoping the recent update would fix a couple things, and it did… for about a week. Then right back to audio cutouts and desyncs.
My Samsung Buds Pro at $19 during the S21 pre-order launch are just fine, thank you very much!
LMAO
Kudos though to DL for that post with the discounted wireless buds not too long ago. While I didn’t get the exact pair you listed, I found another set from the same company that happened to have a 50% off coupon. I’m not a big fan of wireless headphones of any kind. Buds, wireless or not, are typically uncomfortable AF but these aren’t bad. If they last me a year it’ll be one of the best $15 I spent. So, thanks.
It’s crazy how experiences vary. I have a day one pair and they have literally worked perfectly since I opened the box. On a pixel 4 xl
This is why my P3 is probably the last google device ill pay for. They do OK at discounted devices (which is what I got my P3 with, a heavy Fi discount). When it finally dies that will probably be it for me on Google Fi (I actually like it) and Android. Google just seems to think they can get away with charging the same as everyone else to mine information and poorly support their buggy products.
At least apple products seem to get support and hold their value. I dont like the OS as much but google has been limiting android as well so they are getting more and more similar.
Maybe I just got lucky with mine because my Buds don’t display any of the problems that I’ve heard others having.
I’ve only had a minor issue once where the left bud would show full charge but would not turn on when taken out of the charger… found a fix to get it back to normal and have been fine otherwise.
That was my bug!
I’m super lucky to have never had any major issues. When these buds work as advertised they are amazing. Great fit, incredible sound, great controls, and IMO the best looking earbuds on the market. I absolutely love them. And they work great for sports! It’s a pity Google can’t get consistent results. Why do they work totally fine for me, but have so many issues for so many others?
Yeah, my Pixelbuds have had zero issues, 2-3 months in.
Just lucky I guess – and I’m grateful!
Because google has no such thing as quality control. See any pixel phone release. The only things that seem to not have major issues are nest products but that’s not really made by google. Give them time and they’ll eventually f*ck nest up like the do with every other company they buy. Fitbit is next on googles kill list
Just LOL if you can’t admit how great AirPods are.
… until they aren’t. Let’s just say I have many hours of up-close firsthand experience with a LOT of AirPod owners that are equally frustrated.
Weird thing is, Pixel Buds 2 get called out for being “crappy” but AirPod Pro’s are maybe just as “crappy”, and hardly anyone talking about it as much.
Just Google doing Googly things.
Big promises, then semi vaper-ware/hardware. Then EOL.
They remember how to dream big but they forgot how to follow through
I’m still rocking my Pixel USB C wired earbuds and they are great! No issues for the last three years. KISS
My 3.5mm wired buds and cans have worked FLAWLESSLY FOREVER. P4a FTW
Has anyone been able to take calls at a normal volume?
Not sure, but that is one of the issues in general with Pixel Buds is low volumes.
Well that problem solved itself. Damn thing popped out of my ear doing 20 mph on a bicycle just now.
This is just like the Xbox controllers on Windows. To me, they’re the best build, most comfortable gamepads money can buy, but they are plagued with connectivity issues. Crazy short bluetooth range of less than 2 feet. Reddit full of people with the same problems. No recall, no actual fix despite numerous firmware updates. I feel your pain, PixelBud users…
I use the dongle after encountering the BT issues and it’s been perfect. Once in a while the controller w/dongle will go on sale and be the same price as the controller w/out dongle.
Pro tip! Nice! I haven’t seen the bundle anywhere. I actually just ordered the newest controller with the different looking dpad. If the range is still bad I’ll return it and consider the single instead.
I bought the XBox Series X controller solely as a bluetooth controller for Mac and my Chromecast with Google TV.
So far, it’s not working great. Is that because of poor inbuilt bluetooth?
I got the red xbox controller, which just came out a couple weeks ago. I understand it to be a series X controller, but it has the D pad which isn’t the typical 4 direction version, it’s more rounded. I tested this controller, again at the same time as my series S and the range is multiplied several times over. I was actually able to leave the room and it still worked consistently. Looks like they changed something!
I bought them early when it was just white and returned within a month or whatever due to numerous issues. I then gave them another try when the mint color came out, and also tried out the Buds+ and Buds Live. I returned both Samsung buds and still use my Pixel Buds daily. I’m one of the admitted few who has had minimal issues; my biggest recurring issue is that sometimes if I’m on a phone call for a long time, out of the blue the Pixel Buds will drop for like a millisecond and then come back much louder and with a very slight sync imbalance resulting in a small echo. Other than that they comfortable AF, they sound awesome, and I’m thankful to be one of the few who got lucky.
Yea I consider switching to my cheap knockoffs with way better battery life and not audio cut outs or disconnects
Pretty happy I never pulled the trigger on these. I wanted to, because I enjoy having a Google ecosystem (Pixel 5, Pixel Stand, a few Google/Nest Minis, etc.). If anyone is looking for an alternative, I’ve been using the Hyphen (and now Hyphen 2) wireless earbuds by Rolling Square and they’ve served me pretty well overall!
Same…couldn’t get the left one to work. Factory reset and now the left one works great. The right one doesn’t work now. I can get my phone paired to both in the case, but as soon as I remove the right bud from the case the Bluetooth connection drops. I’m going to get another pair of Airpods to use with my Note 20 ultra…..how silly is this.
Sounds like my issue. Did you try turning off in-ear detection?
This is exactly why I didn’t buy these. I wanted to, but update after update showed people still having the same issues. They have a lot of work to do on 3rd gen
I hope they are working on a new pair too, because these had a lot of good ideas going. Problem is, they are probably on a multi-year cycle, so it could be a while before we see new ones.
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