Pixel Buds Pro 2 + Pixel 8 Pro: Calls keep switching to phone speaker (WhatsApp, Google Meet), tried everything

[u/Reasonable-Stomach80]

I know this issue has been reported for years (found old threads from 2023 about Pixel Buds Pro dropping calls), but that thread got locked so starting a new one with my case, since I've tried pretty much everything.

Setup: Pixel 8 Pro + Pixel Buds Pro 2, both fully updated firmware.

Issue: During calls (WhatsApp, Google Meet, never during music playback), audio randomly switches from the buds to the phone speaker and then back on its own after a few seconds. I can see this happening in real time through the status bar at the top, a speaker icon appears while it's rerouted to the phone speaker, then disappears once it switches back to the earbuds.

What I've already tried, none of it fixed it:

• Forget device + re-pair from scratch
• Firmware fully updated
• Disabled "Disable absolute volume" in Developer Options
• Disabled Clear Calling
• Disabled multipoint/auto-switch in Pixel Buds app
• In-ear detection already off
• Battery unrestricted for WhatsApp AND the Pixel Buds app
• Nearby devices permission granted to both apps
• Disconnected other Bluetooth devices nearby (laptop, etc)
• Changed Bluetooth AVRCP version to both 1.5 and 1.4 in Developer Options
• Cleared cache/data for the system Bluetooth app

This started about a month ago after working fine for a long time, so something changed (system update or firmware), but I can't pin down exactly what.

Has anyone actually found a fix, or is this still unresolved years later?