My AirPods Pro 2 suddenly stopped connecting to my iPhone 16, which is running iOS 27.0.1. They worked normally until a few days ago, but after unpairing them to troubleshoot, I haven't been able to pair them again. I've tried multiple resets and fully charging them without success.
The AirPods connect normally to my friend's phone and to my iPad mini 4 running iPadOS 15.8.4. I can also pair other brands of wireless earbuds with my iPhone, but neither my AirPods nor a friend's pair will connect. The phone is only two or three months old, and everything worked fine about a week ago. Could this be related to iOS 27 or my Apple Account settings?
2 Answers
Since both your AirPods and another pair fail to connect while non-Apple earbuds work, the problem may be related to the phone’s Apple Account or AirPods pairing process rather than the earbuds themselves. Try pairing another set of AirPods on a different device signed into the same account and check whether iCloud services are syncing normally. Also make sure the phone is actually on iOS 27.0.1, not a different version.
This sounds like a compatibility or Bluetooth issue introduced with iOS 27. Other people have reported AirPods getting stuck on “Connecting” after updating, while the same earbuds pair normally with phones on older software. If the issue started immediately after the update, installing a newer update when available—or reporting it to Apple—may be necessary.

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