Airpods connect to iPhone perfectly but disconnect from MacBook after a few seconds Wanted to share as none of the usual troubleshooting tips helped me. Basically, my Airpods worked fine with my iPhone, but when I tried to connect them to my MacBook, they would connect (Bluetooth icon shows a device connected, Airpods play the connect sound), then disconnect a few seconds later (also playing the disconnect sound). In those few seconds they never showed up under output/input audio devices.

I tried without success:


Re-pairing Airpods with the MacBook
Un-pair and factory reset the Airpods (hold button until amber light flashes)
Delete the Bluetooth plist file on the MacBook


What to try next?
The fact that the Airpods connect to Bluetooth but never show up in Sound output/input devices indicate an issue with macOS system audio. Open a terminal and run:

sudo killall coreaudiod


Now try to connect the Airpods via Bluetooth. That should work. If not, try restarting the MacBook and connecting again.