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3C39 AirPods Max Firmware update

Bazooka-joe

Bazooka-joe

macrumors 603
Original poster
Mar 12, 2012
5,347
3,743
Swindon, England
Shadowbech said:
Even if you did got it replaced, it's a possibility that it could do the same thing? Also I don't think you can block a firmware can you?
Click to expand...
No that’s right, you can’t block a firmware upgrade. The peculiar thing is that I did another factory reset last night and then charged them up and checked them this morning and 8 hours they are still at 100%....go figure.
I shall monitor closely again today
 
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doolar

macrumors 6502a
Nov 25, 2019
644
1,128
Mine just updated, connected to my iPad to charge them up, on cellular. It will be interesting to see if they’ve fixed the battery drain. I forgot to plug them in yesterday, and they lost 60% over night.
 
Bazooka-joe

Bazooka-joe

macrumors 603
Original poster
Mar 12, 2012
5,347
3,743
Swindon, England
doolar said:
Mine just updated, connected to my iPad to charge them up, on cellular. It will be interesting to see if they’ve fixed the battery drain. I forgot to plug them in yesterday, and they lost 60% over night.
Click to expand...
Make sure you do a factory reset to ensure that the firmware update has definitely installed properly.
I’m not sure that my factory reset took properly hence the sudden battery drain but since doing the factory reset again and recharging to 100%, 17 hours later, they are still reading at 100%.
 
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Bazooka-joe

Bazooka-joe

macrumors 603
Original poster
Mar 12, 2012
5,347
3,743
Swindon, England
jterp7 said:
this is with bazooka method? or default connection settings?
Click to expand...
I have left my settings as they were. So basically automatic connections to iPhone and iPad switched off. Disconnection as soon as they go in the case. Still reading 100% on standby after 19 hours so all good
 
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kirk.vino

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2017
667
1,013
Seanm87 said:
Don't know why people think the sound quality has changed since the update. They sound exactly the same to me. I highly Apple would change the SQ, why would they?
Click to expand...
Because they did it to the original HomePod multiple times, for instance.
The APM are louder after the update.
 
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LeonPro

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2002
933
510
Seanm87 said:
Don't know why people think the sound quality has changed since the update. They sound exactly the same to me. I highly Apple would change the SQ, why would they?
Click to expand...
Because they do this since their AirPods, Pros, and HomePods. If you can't tell the difference, then good for you.

As someone who owns dozens of headphones and works on audio/video for a living, we can tell.
 
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dandrewk

macrumors 6502a
Apr 20, 2010
673
323
San Rafael, California
Received APMs today. Played around with them for about an hour, then tried the "method" for forcing a firmware update: Plugged APMs into power source, put them on and listened to music for a minute. Took APMs off and left them on the charger. I checked an hour later and firmware has updated to 3C39.
 
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LeonPro

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2002
933
510
artfossil said:
But a change in loudness levels does not equal a change in sound quality.
Click to expand...
That’s correct. I don’t think people are saying sound quality is different due to volume.

Im my previous post I said sub bass is more balanced now. I didn’t comment about sound level.
 
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kirk.vino

macrumors 6502a
Oct 27, 2017
667
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artfossil said:
But a change in loudness levels does not equal a change in sound quality.
Click to expand...
And?

I provided an example of Apple tweaking the sound quality/profile on other products. Meaning, it’s possible, as they’ve done it before. That was the point of my post.
 
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Seanm87

macrumors 68020
Oct 10, 2014
2,208
4,407
LeonPro said:
Because they do this since their AirPods, Pros, and HomePods. If you can't tell the difference, then good for you.

As someone who owns dozens of headphones and works on audio/video for a living, we can tell.
Click to expand...

Are there objective tests of this or are they just subjective?

Not trying to trip you up or anything, I'm just curious because if they have changed then that's interesting and wanted to know if there are charts etc of what they have tweaked.

EDIT: I'm eating my words a bit here but listening to a few songs this morning they do sound slightly different I must admit. Although better in my opinion.
 
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UKapple73

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2014
623
577
Would be interesting to see a frequency response chart before and after the update to see if any frequency ranges have been reduced or increased
 
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Deliro

macrumors 65816
Sep 20, 2011
1,143
1,337
Shadowbech said:
Even if you did got it replaced, it's a possibility that it could do the same thing? Also I don't think you can block a firmware can you?
Click to expand...

Right. I highly doubt it is hardware so replacing them wouldn’t fix anything. The culprit is likely software.

I had the extended drain others had. I’d go from 75% to 1% the next day while they were in the bra. The update seemed to resolve most of the issue. I do get battery drain of up to 5-10% nightly though. Which I feel is a lot. Again, a off feature would likely fix this. With less than 5 days to return the jury is still out.
 
ZeChild

ZeChild

macrumors 6502
May 14, 2012
398
324
Glasgow, UK
Might just be me but I'm running iOs 14.5 Dev beta 4 and on the latest firmware for the APM's 3C39 and twice today the headphones have shut down and restarted for no reason.

I fully expect the response, beta's are flakey so expect issues, and I do been using them for years, just wondering if anyone else on the latest beta's experienced this?
 
klpribula93

klpribula93

macrumors regular
Jan 1, 2021
127
308
My APM space grey upgraded to the 3C39 firmware while in the smart case without charging the APM. I'm not too concerned over the battery issue — right now I'm not travelling anywhere, so I can always just charge it up when I'm at home. I haven't noticed a big of a drop in the battery while in the smart case. I charged up my APM on Friday to 100% and listened to music for about an hour or so and then left it back in its case. Sunday, the battery was about 97%. Then yesterday I listened to music for quite a long time and it dropped to about 75%. Today, it's at 65% at 5:00PM US EST time. I haven't used my APM today (dealing with some seasonal headaches as the weather is changing) but so far I'm impressed with the APM.

I'm Deaf but the APM is my first pair of over the head headphones. I wear bilateral cochlear implants which allows me to hear. I got my APM on Friday last week around noon. So I haven't had a whole lot of time to play around with the APM. But I'm liking them so far!
 
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LeonPro

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2002
933
510
Seanm87 said:
Are there objective tests of this or are they just subjective?

Not trying to trip you up or anything, I'm just curious because if they have changed then that's interesting and wanted to know if there are charts etc of what they have tweaked.

EDIT: I'm eating my words a bit here but listening to a few songs this morning they do sound slightly different I must admit. Although better in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I hear you. I haven't found an updated graph yet with the latest firmware. More to come on this.

Right now you are correct it is subjective. I realize there are placebo effects and I'm definitely not one to quickly judge but having had the APM since release, I personally noticed a slight change in the music I've been listening to and found it more balanced than V-shaped. Again, that's just my own personal experience.
 
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doolar

macrumors 6502a
Nov 25, 2019
644
1,128
Over the last days with the new firmware my pair acts as advertised by Apple. Very satisfied with the update, so far!
 
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