topic Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues in Portable Audio

MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

kasmond0 — Sun, 20 Oct 2019 16:22:02 GMT

Hi all,

I have update the iPhone 6s and the MacBook Air (MBA) (Early 2015) to Catalina.

If I am connecting to either devices (not both at the same time), what I am observing the WM-1000XM3 is disconnecting after a while. What is wierd when I go into bluetooth settings it shows the XM3 are connected. What happens when it disconnects no voice is coming out of the XM3 and all of it now coming out of the speakers of the device (iPhone or MBA). It is quite funny, but not so funny when on the train full of commuters whilst I listen to dance music or at home or shopping...

What I do to remedy this is I reconnect by disconnecting and reconnecting again the XM3 on the iPhone (or MBA).

It is annoying as the frequency of disconnection happens sporadically and not consistent.

I have reset the Bluetooth driver on the iPhone and MBA back to factory defaults. No improvements.

I have been into the Apple Store and spoken online to Apple, they have pointed me back to Sony.

Anyone else experiencing this?

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

AskAgain — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 11:36:07 GMT

Hi. I'm glad you posted this. I have the same issue with my WH-1000MX2 headphones.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

qexpres — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 12:56:02 GMT

Yes! I am experiencing this problem on my MacBook Pro. Deleting the Bluetooth plist file and resetting NVRAM/PRAM on my MacBook Pro didn't help. I'm not entirely sure whether this a Sony or Apple problem; I just bought my headphone. Also, my Apple keyboard sometimes disconnects and my colleague recently disconnected with his AirPods from his MacBook. Both incidents don't happen as often as the issue with my Sony headphone, though.

I didn't experience this problem on my phone yet, but I also use it less frequently for listening to music.

Headphone: WH-1000XM3
OS: macOS Catalina (10.15)

Computer: MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2016, Two Tunderbolt 3 ports)

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

rooobb — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 13:37:00 GMT

You may check via the app if they are configured to turn off automatically

https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/hpc/v1/en/contents/TP0001970071.html

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

qexpres — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 13:57:27 GMT

Turning off didn't work. It's like kasmond0 said: it happens sporadically. Also the headphone won't turn off when it happens and the connected device (MacBook Pro in my case) acts like it is still connected to the headphone. However, the audio can't be heard from the headphone anymore and the "connected" device will start playing audio from its own speakers instead.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

joej03x — Sun, 10 Nov 2019 11:05:39 GMT

Same here: It happens randomly, worked fine with High Sierra and occurred after the update to Catalina.

Probably some sort of driver or firmware issue...

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

Rocky_Raccoon — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 17:40:00 GMT

I was having this same exact problem when connecting to my early 2015 macbook pro catalina v10.15.1

I recently updated my headphones to v4.2.2 and Ive stopped having the issue

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

daniel.petrovaliev — Fri, 17 Jan 2020 11:10:48 GMT

I followed this guide and it fixed my problem with changing output device.

https://www.ikream.com/how-to-fix-problems-with-bluetooth-on-macos-catalina-36499

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

kasmond0 — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 20:46:57 GMT

No - that does not solve the issue.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

sdfsdfsdaasdfgasdfa — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 17:07:09 GMT

I contacted support after trying all the obvious ways and got this reply

"We are sorry to inform you that the device you are using is not compatible with the headphone, hence you may encounter any issues while using the product as we can only guarantee functionality of compatible devices."

If this is true then it is absolutely ridiculous. I don't know whose fault it is Sony's, Apple's or both but you expect a £300 pair of headphones to work with the latest version of a major operating system.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

kasmond0 — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 22:31:56 GMT

I don't buy that for this reason. The 1000XM3 was working 100% before Catalina was installed on the MBA and before the update on the iPhone. So this implies the headphone is compatible with the device. Once Apple went 64bit with Catalina, the 1000XM3 (and other Sony headphones) started to throw a wobbler. Now, Sony have a legal right under law to make sure the product is "working" as it is was not faulty before Apple upgraded. Since the hardware is still intact this implies that Sony software is incompatible with the new Apple OS. Since Apple have given ample warning to all Vendors (which include Sony) they have demonstrated (through all these faults on the forums) they have not provided the software (firmware) updates to make sure compatibility is maintained and the devices is working as before. Sony has not provided the appropriate "duty of care". With regards to the guarantee, if the product is still under guarantee, then Sony must honour it. Since there was no indication on the packaging (or the website or anywhere else) the 1000XM3 was not compatible with 64bit OS, in specifically the MacOS, then on purchasing how would Consumers (and Suppliers) know this product is not compatible with certain devices running specific OS's.

The bottom line, Sony have shown utter contempt and inability to fix the problem with their headphones connected to Apple devices/64bit OS. They have demonstrated they want to shift the blame back to the Consumer and expect them to turn a blind eye to a very expensive headphone without any reimbursement of monies. The fact remains, Sony are accountable and responsible.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

rooobb — Tue, 28 Jan 2020 22:34:48 GMT

Be' aware that technically you don't know what you are talking about. How many bit the Os is managing does not have anything to do with a device connected via an interface (bluetooth in this case) moreover since the driver in the os is written by apple itself

Just for you to get better information if you want to go legal

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

kasmond0 — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 04:04:49 GMT

Clearly you have misunderstood the argument and gone off a tangent you troll. The argument is from a higher point given the context of the reply from Sony. I could of gone into the technicalities but given the hundreds of posts on this problem we are not here to do that, we are here to post a problem, Sony are to find the solution.

Since I "don't know what I am talking about" which implies that you do, why don't you find the solution to our problem or do one and go to those sites that offer lonely people like you help.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

samdofe — Tue, 11 Feb 2020 08:50:25 GMT

Hi everyone,

I was not able to connect my WH-1000XM3 with Catalina OS, but after factory reseting my headphones, they successfully paired, no problems and are working fine since then.

I followed this instructions :

https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm3/v1/en/contents/TP0001703081.html

Hope it helps!!

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

aleprieto — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 17:25:42 GMT

I think the solution is to upgrade to version 4.2.2 like Rocky_Raccoon said... is working without disconnection until now 😅

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

erajarayan — Fri, 06 Mar 2020 17:00:30 GMT

Thank you for this link, I followed the steps and solved my issue.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

mra032 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 14:35:09 GMT

Hi bro, I've the same problem with my Mac and headphones WH-1000XM3. The problem appeared after updating my Catalina OS to 10.15.4.

I think it is a Mac problem.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

mra032 — Thu, 02 Apr 2020 14:46:48 GMT

Thanks bro, I followed the instructions to reset my headphones and it worked successfully.

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

tommyb27 — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 19:32:04 GMT

I know this was posted quite a while ago but i just came across the solution now.

The issue is that more modern versions of macOS ship with aptX (the specific bluetooth codec used to communicate with these headphones) disabled.

This means that your bluetooth will work with other bluetooth devices and even other headsets (there are other bluetooth audio codecs that other headphones use), but not the WH-1000XM3.

Type this into terminal and then hit enter (make sure you get the capital letters correct)

sudo defaults write bluetoothaudiod "Enable AptX codec" -bool true

It will ask for your password, type it in (I will look like you're not typing anything) then hit enter

Repeat this with the code below

sudo defaults write bluetoothaudiod "Enable AAC codec" -bool true

Now try repairing your headphones - should hopefully work!

Re: MacOS (Catalina) and WH-1000XM3 Connection Issues

kittmatt1 — Tue, 07 Jul 2020 17:47:41 GMT

I have the same problem with a different version of sony earbuds. I've had them for a year and they work great with my PC and android, but the MacBook my company sent disconnects them every 30 seconds. It's making me want to pull my hair out whenever I try to join google meetings. It's definitely a Mac issue.