The Google Pixel Buds A-Series’ latest firmware update seems to have broken the buds’ ability to pair with multiple devices. Though not an official feature of the A-Series, this had worked in the past without issues until now.
The exact behavior seems to be that if you remove the buds from your Android phone and then try to connect them to another device, they will not work properly in either device. You will need to re-pair the Pixel Buds with the the secondary before continuing. If you then go back to using your phone, the earbuds won’t be able to connect to it unless they are re-paired. To make matters worse, users report that they have to press the charging case button for twenty seconds in order to put the Pixel Buds into pairing mode before they are detected by a device that has already been paired with them.
It is not clear whether this is a bug that was introduced by accident or a deliberate adjustment made by Google. Regardless of the circumstances, the modification makes using the Pixel Buds A-Series with multiple devices a challenging and annoying experience.
The Google Pixel Buds A-Series are among the most impressive wireless earbuds for the money that are currently available on the market. They cost significantly less than the Pro model, and include a solid-enough experience that it’s worth it to sacrifice extra perks such as active noise cancelling and Spatial Audio. Let’s hope Google figures out and pushes out a fix sooner rather than later.
