AirPods and Bluetooth Headphones Cutting Out

If a Bluetooth headset cuts out during a Hedy session — AirPods that disconnect mid-meeting, audio that becomes muffled when a call connects, or transcripts that suddenly stop — the underlying cause is almost always the Bluetooth audio profile itself, not Hedy. Hedy attempts to recover automatically when a Bluetooth device reconnects, but recovery isn’t always seamless.

The first thing to do: confirm Bluetooth is the cause by switching to the built-in microphone for one session and seeing if the problem disappears.

Quick Diagnostic: Switch to the Built-In Mic

Open Hedy’s Settings > Sessions > Microphone Settings
Pick the built-in microphone (e.g., “MacBook Pro Microphone” or “iPhone Microphone”) instead of your Bluetooth device
Run a 5-minute test session

No more dropouts → the Bluetooth device is the issue. Continue with the suggestions below.
Same dropouts → not Bluetooth. See the main troubleshooting guide for other causes.

Why Bluetooth Audio Drops

Bluetooth audio quality depends on which profile the headset is currently using:

A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) — high-quality stereo playback, but the microphone on the same headset is unavailable
HFP (Hands-Free Profile) — lower-quality mono audio in both directions, but the headset’s microphone works

Most Bluetooth headsets switch between these profiles automatically based on what apps are doing. When you start a Hedy session, the headset typically switches to HFP so its microphone is available — and on some headsets the switch causes a brief audio dropout, retransmission of buffered audio, or a full reconnection cycle.

Other common Bluetooth dropout causes:

Battery getting low — headsets often degrade audio quality when battery drops below ~20%
Distance from the source device — Bluetooth has a practical range of 10-15 feet with line of sight, much less with walls
2.4 GHz interference — Wi-Fi routers, microwaves, USB 3.0 devices, and other Bluetooth devices all use the same frequency band
Multipoint connections — if your headset is connected to two devices, switching focus between them can drop audio briefly

What Hedy Does Automatically

When a Bluetooth device disconnects or its audio profile changes mid-session:

On Mac: Hedy watches the system’s audio routing and restarts the audio capture stream when the device reconnects. Profile switches (A2DP ↔ HFP) trigger an automatic re-init.
On iPhone and iPad: Hedy’s recording engine subscribes to audio route change notifications and automatically removes and reinstalls the audio tap when devices change.
On Windows: Hedy monitors the default input device and resets the recorder if it stalls for more than 10 seconds.

For most short dropouts, you won’t see anything in the UI — Hedy recovers and the transcript continues with only a brief gap.

For longer dropouts (full disconnections, repeated route changes) where automatic recovery fails, Hedy shows an “Audio Recovery Failed” dialog: “There was an issue recovering audio after an interruption. Please stop and restart your session to continue recording.” The dialog offers End Session and Dismiss options. If you’re on the experimental Parakeet engine (iPhone/Mac), the session pauses on any interruption and you tap Resume from the session screen to continue.

How to Reduce Bluetooth Dropouts

If you’ve confirmed Bluetooth is the cause and want to keep using your headset:

Charge the headset fully before long sessions. Low-battery degradation is the single most common cause of mid-session dropouts.
Stay close to the device running Hedy. 6 feet or less is the sweet spot.
Disconnect multipoint pairings during sessions. Tell the headset to use only the device running Hedy.
Move away from sources of 2.4 GHz interference. Wi-Fi routers, microwaves, USB 3.0 hubs, baby monitors.
Update the headset’s firmware. AirPods, Sony, Bose, and other major brands push firmware updates that fix Bluetooth stability issues. The firmware updates automatically when the headset is paired and the source device has internet.

When to Switch to a Wired Setup

If your Bluetooth dropouts persist after all of the above, the most reliable fix is a wired microphone. Options:

For Mac and PC: A USB headset, a USB microphone, or a 3.5mm-to-jack microphone all work
For iPhone and iPad: A Lightning or USB-C headset works directly; AirPods on a recent iPhone are generally more reliable than third-party Bluetooth headsets
The built-in microphone is also wired (technically) and tends to be more reliable than Bluetooth for transcription, even if the audio quality is slightly worse

For long, important sessions (interviews, multi-hour meetings), a wired mic is the more reliable choice regardless of Bluetooth quality.

Fix Poor Transcription Quality — for accuracy issues that aren’t caused by Bluetooth
Hedy Isn’t Capturing Other Participants in Virtual Meetings — for missing system audio (not microphone) on Mac/Windows
Transcription Stopped Mid-Session — for cutoffs unrelated to audio devices

Still having trouble? Contact us through the chat widget with your headset model and OS version. Some headsets have known compatibility issues we can help work around.