iPhone Freezing When Connecting AirPods In iOS 16 (Fix?)

iPhone freezing when AirPods connect?

iPhone Freezing When Connecting AirPods

This issue has been reported by jared&ema:

“iPhone freezes when connecting Airpods pro 2! It becomes responsive after a couple of seconds… but it feels like a long and annoying wait. Anyone else?”

We couldn’t replicate the issue but have found similar reports on Reddit:

“14 Pro Max goes unresponsive for 10s or so when I put in airpods into my ear.”

The issue isn’t isolated to the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro models! It’s also confirmed on iPhone 13 Pro Max. Both AirPods Pro and AirPods Pro 2 seem to trigger it.

If you’re experiencing it too please share it in the comments. Do mention iPhone and AirPods model as well as any other details that could help us better describe the issue in an official feedback report to Apple.

Tip: When the issue occurs, you can browse to Settings -> Privacy and Security -> Analytics and Improvements -> Analytics Data and check for logs that have been timestamped when the AirPods cause iPhone to become unresponsive.

Let us know if there’s any specific app that’s logged as the culprit!

How To Fix iPhone Unresponsive When Connecting AirPods

Thankfully the issue is temporary. If you wait it out about 10 seconds you will be able to resume normal usage.

However, it can be very annoying to wait it out, especially when it happens too often.

Until, Apple issues a software update to fix it, apply the following workaround:
Make sure that iPhone is unlocked before connecting AirPods. Reports confirm that the freezing happens only when iPhone is locked and wireless earbuds are connected!

Have you managed to fix iPhone freezing when connecting AirPods? Do you have a better solution or other issues? Share your feedback in the comments. We’re here to help.

Related: AirPods Pro keep disconnecting? Stop working unexpectedly in iOS 16? Here is what to do!