Airbpods not longer working in Windows VM on MacOS 27

ArthurH5

Bit poster
Hi

when updating the MacOS from 26 to 27 the Airpods stopped working in the Windows VM. Speakers and built in mic are working
I'm using Parallels 26.4.1.
 
Same exact issue as described above, however the AirPods still persists after upgrading Parallels to 27.0.0. Anyone else experiencing this problem?

Even new installations of guest VM operating systems and Parallels Tools does not fix the audio issue.
 
Same problem here with macOS 27 (latest Beta) and Parallels 27 - AirPods and 3rd party Headphones no longer working having any sound in Win11 Pro. Working fine with MacBook speakers as well as speakers connected through headphone jack.
 
Same problem here with macOS 27 (latest Beta) and Parallels 27 - AirPods and 3rd party Headphones no longer working having any sound in Win11 Pro. Working fine with MacBook speakers as well as speakers connected through headphone jack.
Yes, the issue has persisted across updates to the latest public betas of macOS 27. The VM operating system does not seem to matter, as I have noticed the same problem across Windows 11 and various Linux distros.

Just an educated guess, but it may have something to do with Parallels Guest drivers/tools interface with the host OS? Hopefully this little issue gets figured out by the time macOS 27 ships in the coming weeks.
 
Hi everyone,

I'm opening this thread to report an issue with Bluetooth audio after updating to macOS 27 Golden Gate.

  • Host OS: macOS 27 Golden Gate
  • Guest OS: Windows 11 Pro
  • Parallels Desktop version: 27.0.1
  • Devices impacted: AirPods and 3rd-party Bluetooth headphones
Issue:There is no sound output in the Windows VM when using any Bluetooth audio device.

What works:

  • MacBook internal speakers
  • Wired headphones connected via the 3.5mm headphone jack
It seems this issue is affecting several users running macOS 27. Has anyone found a working workaround, or is a hotfix from the Parallels team required?

Thanks for any insights!
 
Quick follow-up after further testing: you can set it to 16 bit, 88200 Hz.

The bit depth doesn't affect the fix — only the 88.2 kHz sample rate is required. Switching to 16-bit reduces system load and bandwidth usage, which helps prevent audio stutters or drops!
 
Quick follow-up after further testing: you can set it to 16 bit, 88200 Hz.

The bit depth doesn't affect the fix — only the 88.2 kHz sample rate is required. Switching to 16-bit reduces system load and bandwidth usage, which helps prevent audio stutters or drops!
I just tried your workaround in a Windows guest VM, and dropping to 16-bit audio output fixes the sound coming through the Bluetooth headphones. Good catch!

That said, I still think there needs to be a bug request for the Parallels team to resolve the issue across the board with all guest operating systems. Things like audio should just work out of the box without having to go into each OS and fiddle with audio settings for sound over Bluetooth headphones. It just worked fine prior to this version, so the user experience should be consistent for a newer release of macOS and Parallels.
 
Last edited:
I just tried your workaround in a Windows guest VM, and dropping to 16-bit audio output fixes the sound coming through the Bluetooth headphones. Good catch!

That said, I still think there needs to be a bug request for the Parallels team to resolve the issue across the board with all guest operating systems. Things like audio should just work out of the box without having to go into each OS and fiddle with audio settings for sound over Bluetooth headphones. It just worked fine prior to this version, so the user experience should be consistent for a newer release of macOS and Parallels.
I've submitted a ticket to Parallels support regarding the issue. I requested a fix and provided them with our workaround in the meantime.
 
Back
Top