AirPod Pro Ear Tip Fit test not working...Not the only one

[mppn]

We've heard about it big time here by numerous users as well as on Reddit. This is my second pair and on both I tested all 3 tips and all 3 gave a good seal initially, then after a week or so my right one fails. I also notice that when I only have one in and let transparency mode kick in my left seems to let in more sound and my right doesn't. And just to confirm it wasn't all in my head I had a coworker test and he could hear the difference as well. It seems like the pressure isn't stabilized in my right one. I also feel like sound quality has gone down slightly and ANC isn't working as good, but those 2 could be my imagination.
[automerge]1576258033[/automerge]


There are plenty of reports on this on Reddit as well...
[automerge]1576258192[/automerge]
I'll also add that if I'm in a quiet room like my bedroom at night I can hear a faint white noise in both ears once the fit test starts failing. I remember hearing that in my first pair and thought it was just in my head and I would've noticed it on a new pair as well and just didn't when I got my first pair. Nope. With my second pair I never heard any white noise and I was looking out for it, yet now after having this second pair for a couple weeks I can hear it.

I'm in the same boat as you are. the description you made here is spot on. My ticket with the "engineers" was closed with "will not investigate further" I sense they did not understand the issue at all. I have an appointment with genius tomorrow. will report back
[automerge]1576258875[/automerge]

If the sound and ANC is consistently good, why would you return them? Because the useless little software gimmick failed? They never should have included this stupid thing.

Just to let you know, it's not because of the fit test. The fit test is simply a byproduct of the issue. The issue is a change in sound. degraded sound happens on the faulty side and after a short while, the ear fit test starts to fail consistently and the audio is simply wrong. There is loudness and earfullness even without ANC or transparency happening only on the failing side. I've tried two pairs and it was night and day, the testy ones from the Apple Store were working flawless, and mine had that bloat in low frequencies as if I was under water or if my ear is pressurized.

My second pair have been perfect for 4 days and when it started happening onthe right side, I knew it would eventually be failling, and surely it started failing 24 hours later and haven't been able toget back the fit to pass neither did I get back the correct sound without ear fulness feeling.

As it's not happening at all on my left side, I think there is something that maybe not every airpods have and also that most people wouldn't notice or care.

 

[vinegarshots]

I also notice that when I only have one in and let transparency mode kick in my left seems to let in more sound and my right doesn't.

Wait...why would you test transparency mode with only one in your ear? I'm confused.

 

[mppn]

Also, just to be clear, I want to keep the sound as it is sounding for the first 5 days, it's perfect!
[automerge]1576259341[/automerge]

Wait...why would you test transparency mode with only one in your ear? I'm confused.

It makes both ears more aware while keeping the audio in one ear only. I sometimes do that when talking with people while keeping my attention on other sounds coming from my other side

 

[vinegarshots]

I'm in the same boat as you are. the description you made here is spot on. My ticket with the "engineers" was closed with "will not investigate further" I sense they did not understand the issue at all. I have an appointment with genius tomorrow. will report back
[automerge]1576258875[/automerge]



Just to let you know, it's not because of the fit test. The fit test is simply a byproduct of the issue. The issue is a change in sound. degraded sound happens on the faulty side and after a short while, the ear fit test starts to fail consistently and the audio is simply wrong. There is loudness and earfullness even without ANC or transparency happening only on the failing side. I've tried two pairs and it was night and day, the testy ones from the Apple Store were working flawless, and mine had that bloat in low frequencies as if I was under water or if my ear is pressurized.

My second pair have been perfect for 4 days and when it started happening onthe right side, I knew it would eventually be failling, and surely it started failing 24 hours later and haven't been able toget back the fit to pass neither did I get back the correct sound without ear fulness feeling.

As it's not happening at all on my left side, I think there is something that maybe not every airpods have and also that most people wouldn't notice or care.

It almost sounds like the noise cancelling mic on yours is dead, which is not the case for most people who are complaining about the fit test not passing (mine still sound great, but don't pass the fit test anymore).

So the question is, do the Airpods use the same mics for noise cancelling as they do for the fit test. Can you try the out-of-ear seal test that I mentioned earlier (I made a video to demonstrate how to do it)? If the AirPods use the mics somehow for the fit test, and yours are dead, then you shouldn't be able to pass the fit test ever, even if you try my method and run it with your finger pressed over the eartip hole. If yours CAN pass the test that way, then the fit test is unrelated to your problems, and the mystery deepens.

 

[JBGoode]

I'm in the same boat as you are. the description you made here is spot on. My ticket with the "engineers" was closed with "will not investigate further" I sense they did not understand the issue at all. I have an appointment with genius tomorrow. will report back
[automerge]1576258875[/automerge]



Just to let you know, it's not because of the fit test. The fit test is simply a byproduct of the issue. The issue is a change in sound. degraded sound happens on the faulty side and after a short while, the ear fit test starts to fail consistently and the audio is simply wrong. There is loudness and earfullness even without ANC or transparency happening only on the failing side. I've tried two pairs and it was night and day, the testy ones from the Apple Store were working flawless, and mine had that bloat in low frequencies as if I was under water or if my ear is pressurized.

My second pair have been perfect for 4 days and when it started happening onthe right side, I knew it would eventually be failling, and surely it started failing 24 hours later and haven't been able toget back the fit to pass neither did I get back the correct sound without ear fulness feeling.

As it's not happening at all on my left side, I think there is something that maybe not every airpods have and also that most people wouldn't notice or care.

Enhh. My comment was specific to the guy who is having no issues with them other than the stupid fit test and has nothing to do with your situation.

 

[mppn]

I can make it pass by blocking the tip with my fingers... then why is the fit good and passing for the first 4 days and then unable to get the fit back in my ears, no matter how I clean the tips, no matter how I switch the tips between airpods, it's always the same airpod failing...
[automerge]1576261561[/automerge]

Enhh. My comment was specific to the guy who is having no issues with them other than the stupid fit test and has nothing to do with your situation.

Yeah I know, I just wanted to make it clear because there is a tendency, not in you personally, but on forums in general, to flag people as trying to find bugs everywhere that does not affect any functionnality. So I took your comment as an opportunity to clarify that I'm experiencing this but with a functionnality issue too.

 

[vinegarshots]

I can make it pass by blocking the tip with my fingers... then why is the fit good and passing for the first 4 days and then unable to get the fit back in my ears, no matter how I clean the tips, no matter how I switch the tips between airpods, it's always the same airpod failing...

Hmmm, ok, that's interesting. So, if the sound is mismatched between your two AirPods, then something has to have broken. But if the fit test still passes when you seal the tip with your finger, whatever it's using for fit test is not broken.

So either the mismatched sound and the fit test are actually independent unrelated issues, or somehow the mismatched sound is being caused by the AirPod becoming incredibly loose in your ear after a few days for some inexplicable reason (which doesn't seem very likely...).

If you're in an environment with ambient noise and put both AirPods in your ears (with no music or audio playing) and set noise cancellation and transparency mode to OFF, is the background noise perfectly balanced between both ears?

 

[Gathomblipoob]

he has said that he will come back to me and possibly request that I send my AirPods in to Apple for them to have a detailed look at and do some testing and analysis.

I sent mine in to the engineers a few weeks ago.

 

[mppn]

Hmmm, ok, that's interesting. So, if the sound is mismatched between your two AirPods, then something has to have broken. But if the fit test still passes when you seal the tip with your finger, whatever it's using for fit test is not broken.

So either the mismatched sound and the fit test are actually independent unrelated issues, or somehow the mismatched sound is being caused by the AirPod becoming incredibly loose in your ear after a few days for some inexplicable reason (which doesn't seem very likely...).

If you're in an environment with ambient noise and put both AirPods in your ears (with no music or audio playing) and set noise cancellation and transparency mode to OFF, is the background noise perfectly balanced between both ears?

There seems to be a bit more high frequency leakage on the "broken" side, it's subtle but can be heard. just rubbing my fingers at the same time and same distance shows a bit more highs going through on the failing side... this would make you think the seal is bad at the tip level, but replacing the tips doesn't fix anything, only replacing the airpod fixes it, even when using the old silicone tips on the ones having the issue

 

[Otflyer]

If the sound and ANC is consistently good, why would you return them? Because the useless little software gimmick failed? They never should have included this stupid thing.

Totally agree with you on the fit test. I was concerned they will fail after return period ends. Having thought about it since posting here, I do have a warranty and AppleCare so on second thought I will keep them.

 

[mppn]

And when it's in transparency mode, the "leaking" side has less high frequency and more low frequency.

It's not loose or anything like that. may it be the venting system to pressure equilibrate the ear? I think it's related to the small slits on each sides of the tips, in wich case, it's again more mysterious.

 

[JBGoode]

Totally agree with you on the fit test. I was concerned they will fail after return period ends. Having thought about it since posting here, I do have a warranty and AppleCare so on second thought I will keep them.

I haven’t done that stupid test since Day 1. My results were all over the place. Pass. Fail. Pass. Pass. Fail. Etc....and the fit, sound, and ANC was perfect the whole time. It’s ridiculous.

I do have to adjust them occasionally because natural oils, wax, etc. may cause them to shift but that’s normal with any earbud.

 

[vinegarshots]

Found this image finally:

That's where the inward facing microphone is. You can actually barely see it if you pop off the eartip and look really closely with light at just the right angle. And while I was perusing, I found confirmation that it uses this mic to adjust the sound characteristics to suit your ear canal, and also uses it to run the fit test (the audio coming from the speaker goes into your ear, bounces back, and the inward mic listens to see if it sounds right according to its algorithms).

It looks like it's held in place suspended above the speaker with some clips. One guy said he could hear some rattling in his. Possible the inward facing mic isn't clipped into place properly in some of these and comes loose....(however, if airpods can pass fit test at any point, including putting finger over eartip or jamming into ears during test, then mic has to be connected, but not necessarily functioning properly)

 

[mppn]

Btw, I totally agree that the test is useless, it's easy to feel when it works or not, like when using the SE215 or any IEM with single walled eartips that don't have this test. It's when the sound is not working out or is distorted between left and right that there is an issue.

 

[mppn]

Found this image finally:

That's where the inward facing microphone is. You can actually barely see it if you pop off the eartip and look really closely with light at just the right angle. And while I was perusing, I found confirmation that it uses this mic to adjust the sound characteristics to suit your ear canal, and also uses it to run the fit test (the audio coming from the speaker goes into your ear, bounces back, and the inward mic listens to see if it sounds right according to its algorithms).

It looks like it's held in place suspended above the speaker with some clips. One guy said he could hear some rattling in his. Possible the inward facing mic isn't clipped into place properly in some of these and comes loose....(however, if airpods can pass fit test at any point, including putting finger over eartip or jamming into ears during test, then mic has to be connected, but not necessarily functioning properly)

Don't think it's loose or not working in my case... I'm still searching on my end. I'm going tonight at the Apple store. I'll let you know about the outcome

 

[jbryant705]

Wait...why would you test transparency mode with only one in your ear? I'm confused.

It does that automatically and I often walk around my office with only one in.

 

[whsbuss]

I haven’t done that stupid test since Day 1. My results were all over the place. Pass. Fail. Pass. Pass. Fail. Etc....and the fit, sound, and ANC was perfect the whole time. It’s ridiculous.

I do have to adjust them occasionally because natural oils, wax, etc. may cause them to shift but that’s normal with any earbud.

Yes that's my experience exactly. And now with the large tip in the right bud, it works well.

 

[jbryant705]

Just left the Apple store. They were going to order replacements for each airpod but we’re having trouble so they just gave me a brand new set in box. Didn’t even care about the spare tips and USB-C to lightning cable. Hopefully this pair doesn’t have the same issue. I could immediately tell ANC is better on the new pair and transparency mode passes more through.

And of course the fit test works and didn’t before.

 

[vinegarshots]

I could immediately tell ANC is better on the new pair and transparency mode passes more through.

And of course the fit test works and didn’t before.

This is so odd, because transparency mode is dependent upon the outer beam forming mic (the black part on the outer stem), and ANC uses that mic and the one on the opposite side. But fit test doesn’t use either of those and only uses that small mic inside by the ear tip in the diagram I posted. So is every mic failing on these at the same time? Lots of individual systems in these things !

 

[mppn]

Just got back from the Apple Store and they replaced everything. The issue is gone. Let’s see for how long, I hope it will not come back, but I fear it.

they escalated it to hardware engineering as it’s an uncommon problem (at least here in Montreal, Canada) we’ll see if I hear back from them or not.

 

[jbryant705]

You know I just had a thought. Aren’t these supposed to learn and adapt over time to improve sound quality for your ears? Or am I just making that up?

Anyone think maybe the learning is causing these issues? I tend to think it’s a hardware flaw, but it’s a thought I just had.

 

[morsecp]

You know I just had a thought. Aren’t these supposed to learn and adapt over time to improve sound quality for your ears? Or am I just making that up?

Anyone think maybe the learning is causing these issues? I tend to think it’s a hardware flaw, but it’s a thought I just had.

Sorry to disappoint but no, they are not learning over time.

 

[hesoba]

in 3 months from now we have people here like

"Im now on my 56th pair of APP and will check if after a week the same problem occurs"

 

[Otflyer]

in 3 months from now we have people here like

"Im now on my 56th pair of APP and will check if after a week the same problem occurs"

Yeah. Comes a point when after a few replacements I would say well, I guess Airpods Pro are not for me.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

in 3 months from now we have people here like

"Im now on my 56th pair of APP and will check if after a week the same problem occurs"

Yep mine are working fine after 2 days but I will be calling Apple next week for a 6th set when mine fail ?