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

[sft109]

Apple acknowledging that clogged vents can cause bass loss and decreased ANC performance per support doc https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211147

I honestly think almost everyone that has been complaining about ANC being messed with firmware is actually experiencing this instead. So I agree people make rash unfactual statements but also pretty sad that a lot of people in these forums complain that these were just made up issues. Basically this is poor design. I don’t want to carry Blu tack with me when I travel with my AirPods.

They should just rename the fit test to "do I have clogged vents test" because that's what it's basically telling you

 

[CyberGene]

I used to pass the test consistently when I bought mine. I’ve been running it from time to time and it would sometimes fail on one side or another, and I would have to twist the earbud a little (usually in a direction where the stick goes forward) and the test would pass. I haven’t ran the test in months though.

So, I read about the newest firmware today and I was on the old one, so I installed it by charging them and keeping the phone nearby and confirmed the new version appeared. Decided to run the test and it won’t pass anymore. I cleaned them with alcohol, changed various tips, cleaned thoroughly my ears but alas I can only make them pass by painfully pushing them with fingers. But the sound doesn’t appear to have been worsened and I’m wondering if they introduced a bug in the test?

 

[vinegarshots]

I used to pass the test consistently when I bought mine. I’ve been running it from time to time and it would sometimes fail on one side or another, and I would have to twist the earbud a little (usually in a direction where the stick goes forward) and the test would pass. I haven’t ran the test in months though.

So, I read about the newest firmware today and I was on the old one, so I installed it by charging them and keeping the phone nearby and confirmed the new version appeared. Decided to run the test and it won’t pass anymore. I cleaned them with alcohol, changed various tips, cleaned thoroughly my ears but alas I can only make them pass by painfully pushing them with fingers. But the sound doesn’t appear to have been worsened and I’m wondering if they introduced a bug in the test?

Dont clean with alcohol. Changing ear tips won't help. Cleaning your ears won't help. If hardware isn't faulty, a very thorough cleaning of the inner vent grilles with BluTak putty will fix it.

I've said this a million times in this thread, but might as well keep it up. lol

 

[CyberGene]

Hmm, I will give it a try. I’m not sure we have Blu Tack here in Europe but I’ve seen my wife sticking some paper with something similar, a white putty I need to check, but might be the Faber-Castell analog. How do you use it? Just press against the microphone grills and remove?

 

[RumorConsumer]

S

I’m happy that this has helped some of you but, my APP’s still never pass the fit test on the right ear bud no matter how many times I try the suck method I’m sure there are many more here for whom this doesn’t work. So while sucking on the grill may help some there is still an underlying hardware issue that Apple needs to address. Even though my right ear bud fails every time my APP’s sound and ANC work flawlessly.

same w flawless operation and consistent right side failure

 

[CyberGene]

Wow, I can confirm the Blu Tack solution (or in my case Faber-Castell's Tack-It which is the same) did the charm! I took one small block of it and rolled it between my fingers to a ball, then repeatedly pushed it against the two external microphone grills, pulled it slowly, then rolled the ball and again and again for at least 20 times each grill until they look like brand new and the test passed the very first time! It's a consistent solution and I'm glad I read about it Thanks, vinegarshots!

 

[Wackery]

Gorilla tape also helps at getting The gunk out

 

[michaelant]

I'm going to throw this out to those who've had success with blu tack:

So, you may need to keep applying it even past the point where the mesh looks clear, huh?

I got mine early November, and the ANC was amazing, along with sound quality. I was SO happy with them. After four weeks or so the ANC suddenly was much worse - along with same symptoms as many here, hearing my inner ear noises like footsteps etc. I saw that new firmware had been released and assumed that was the problem. Very disappointed.

Only much later, like a week ago, did I come around to trying the blu tack. The mesh on mine actually looked good, until I looked very closely (my eyesight isn't great). I always wipe them before putting them back in the case, so there wasn't anything on the surface of the mesh, but there actually was gunk down in there. I blu-tacked them and cleared up the mesh until I couldn't see any more stuck in there. No improvement - Fit Test still fails and ANC still bad.

So now they look clear, to me, but I probably only applied the tack ten times or so.

I'm guessing - hoping - that someone else has had success by tacking even past the point where it looked to be clear...? I think my problem is I've had them since Nov 6 but only recently tried to clean the mesh. And actually, they were SO good at first, that I am completely fine with needing to tack it a bit once a week or so, if I could have that AirPods Pro launch quality back. And IF I can get them back to their initial state. I'll update after trying some more.

Update:

Just tried pressing the tack on there, firmly, FIFTY times, each pod, testing after each ten. Now one AirPod never passes the fit test, and the other does maybe a third of the time. But the strange thing is the one that sometimes passes now, is the one that I still have some rattling with. I think these may be a lost cause for me now. I'm going to get new ones, and keep them maintained, now that I know. Initially, in November, the fit test passed every time, and I must have done it twenty times over the first week. It was easy to get a good seal, and in fact I had to intentionally put one in half way to not get a good seal and test.

 

[vinegarshots]

I'm going to throw this out to those who've had success with blu tack:

So, you may need to keep applying it even past the point where the mesh looks clear, huh?

I got mine early November, and the ANC was amazing, along with sound quality. I was SO happy with them. After four weeks or so the ANC suddenly was much worse - along with same symptoms as many here, hearing my inner ear noises like footsteps etc. I saw that new firmware had been released and assumed that was the problem. Very disappointed.

Only much later, like a week ago, did I come around to trying the blu tack. The mesh on mine actually looked good, until I looked very closely (my eyesight isn't great). I always wipe them before putting them back in the case, so there wasn't anything on the surface of the mesh, but there actually was gunk down in there. I blu-tacked them and cleared up the mesh until I couldn't see any more stuck in there. No improvement - Fit Test still fails and ANC still bad.

So now they look clear, to me, but I probably only applied the tack ten times or so.

I'm guessing - hoping - that someone else has had success by tacking even past the point where it looked to be clear...? I think my problem is I've had them since Nov 6 but only recently tried to clean the mesh. And actually, they were SO good at first, that I am completely fine with needing to tack it a bit once a week or so, if I could have that AirPods Pro launch quality back. And IF I can get them back to their initial state. I'll update after trying some more.

Update:

Just tried pressing the tack on there, firmly, FIFTY times, each pod, testing after each ten. Now one AirPod never passes the fit test, and the other does maybe a third of the time. But the strange thing is the one that sometimes passes now, is the one that I still have some rattling with. I think these may be a lost cause for me now. I'm going to get new ones, and keep them maintained, now that I know. Initially, in November, the fit test passed every time, and I must have done it twenty times over the first week. It was easy to get a good seal, and in fact I had to intentionally put one in half way to not get a good seal and test.

Typically a “rattle” sound is a symptom of bigger problems that aren’t going to be fixable. Probably a faulty internal mic or blown speaker driver (but more likely faulty mic)

 

[michaelant]

Typically a “rattle” sound is a symptom of bigger problems that aren’t going to be fixable. Probably a faulty internal mic or blown speaker driver (but more likely faulty mic)

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I'd certainly think a rattle would be hardware, but it's odd that it only rattles when I'm on ANC or Transparency - i.e. when the software is doing its thing. I can't get it to rattle on "Off".

I can also confirm, in case anyone read that epic post, that my tacking past the point I could see anything in the mesh, -did- help. My ANC improved more than I had realized, when I had a chance to use them in different environments. It's still not back to 'week one' of the awesome AirPods Pro sound, though. There's still more outside noise coming in than there was, and still more "body noise" footsteps and etc. If Apple Stores had been open, I'd have already gotten replacements by now.

 

[vinegarshots]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I'd certainly think a rattle would be hardware, but it's odd that it only rattles when I'm on ANC or Transparency - i.e. when the software is doing its thing. I can't get it to rattle on "Off".

It’s not odd at all, actually. ANC and Transparency modes both use the external mics. When you shut both off, you’re not using the external mics anymore.

 

[Ralfi]

If they sound good & don’t fall out, then don’t worry about the fit test failing.

The recent update resulted in failures for me (I never had failures in prior firmwares), but they sound better than ever, so I’m not concerned about the fit test.

 

[vinegarshots]

If they sound good & don’t fall out, then don’t worry about the fit test failing.

The recent update resulted in failures for me (I never had failures in prior firmwares), but they sound better than ever, so I’m not concerned about the fit test.

But Did you run the fit test right before the firmware update? Very unlikely the firmware update had anything to do with it. And also highly likely that any perceived improvement in sound quality is placebo effect .

 

[Ralfi]

But Did you run the fit test right before the firmware update? Very unlikely the firmware update had anything to do with it. And also highly likely that any perceived improvement in sound quality is placebo effect .

Not right before, but I ran them heaps when I first got them (with all tip sizes) & also a few times since then, when swapping tips until I was happy with the Mediums. I’d never returned an Orange fit test result with any size tip until testing under this firmware, yet the Mediums sounded/sealed as they did (maybe better) prior to the firmware.

Although, on my latest two tests, I got Good fit test results....so I think this firmware’s changed the algorithm a bit & results in inconsistent results?

 

[Duncan68]

Just wanted to post that the blu-tak method really does work. I originally tried it a number of weeks ago and still couldn't pass the fit test. I recently tried again, doing it very comprehensively with a lot of work, and I've managed to do it twice now where my APP were not passing the fit test, but after using the blu-tak it works.

I wish the people first sharing this method had spelled out that it IS a lot of work, and for myself I find that I have to use a technique using a rolling motion to remove the tak from the grill in order to get results.

(Obviously unsaid is how ridiculous it is in the first place to have to do this for $250 earphones.)

The engineers that developed this product had to have known how prone to filling with debris the grills were and went ahead anyway and let them release it. Shame on them and shame on Apple!

 

[zhenya]

Just wanted to post that the blu-tak method really does work. I originally tried it a number of weeks ago and still couldn't pass the fit test. I recently tried again, doing it very comprehensively with a lot of work, and I've managed to do it twice now where my APP were not passing the fit test, but after using the blu-tak it works.

I wish the people first sharing this method had spelled out that it IS a lot of work, and for myself I find that I have to use a technique using a rolling motion to remove the tak from the grill in order to get results.

(Obviously unsaid is how ridiculous it is in the first place to have to do this for $250 earphones.)

The engineers that developed this product had to have known how prone to filling with debris the grills were and went ahead anyway and let them release it. Shame on them and shame on Apple!

I’m glad it is working for you now. I will say for me it is not a lot of work. I spend less than 10 seconds on each one. I just keep a bit of blu-tack stuck inside my desk drawer and end up doing it while idly browsing during a break. I’d suspect if you do it more regularly at this point (I do it every week or two) it should keep the build-up down and take less time going forward.

 

[Ralfi]

I find that I have to use a technique using a rolling motion to remove the tak from the grill in order to get results.

The Blu-Tack packets here actually have instructions that state something along the lines of “Press to apply, roll to remove”, so you’ve mastered it ?

 

[michaelant]

It’s not odd at all, actually. ANC and Transparency modes both use the external mics. When you shut both off, you’re not using the external mics anymore.

You are right. I was forgetting what was (likely) rattling. It's the microphone, not the speaker pointing into my ear canal.

Unfortunately for me, after I got halfway results after blu tacking the pods firmly fifty times, those improvements lasted about 3 hours over two days. Bummer.

I think the lesson for me is if you use generation 1 AirPods Pro for six months 6-8 hours a week and never appropriately clean the microphone mesh, it'll be nearly impossible to regain their initial fantastic ANC and full bass sound.

I'm actually going to see if I can find a cheap microscope or loupe first, before I replace these AirPods Pro, so that I can see what I'm doing with the blu tack. I have high hopes I can keep a pair maintained because, damn, they were good the first four weeks or so.

 

[jokerz126]

Unfortunately for Apple, because they have this Ear Fit Test available, it implicitly gives them some amount of responsibility for making sure the AirPods “pass”...it is frustrating....I had the AirPods 2 and upgraded to these for The features....I can’t get them to pass...tried all the tips....return to Costco?

 

[zhenya]

Unfortunately for Apple, because they have this Ear Fit Test available, it implicitly gives them some amount of responsibility for making sure the AirPods “pass”...it is frustrating....I had the AirPods 2 and upgraded to these for The features....I can’t get them to pass...tried all the tips....return to Costco?

To Apple’s credit they could easily just make the test pass at a much lower threshold which would likely quiet much of the complaining about these devices, and they haven’t done that.

 

[jokerz126]

To Apple’s credit they could easily just make the test pass at a much lower threshold which would likely quiet much of the complaining about these devices, and they haven’t done that.

I certainly wouldn't credit them for that....for me, it's a combination of not passing the test and not getting a seal...we can agree a good seal is needed for good noise cancellation right?---this is a key selling point of these---I'm a musician--I expect them to work...I would credit Apple if they considered ways to get a better seal...so far it seems foam tips may be the way...I'm not sure if my ears are just weird and the 3 tip sizes don't fit ME...but I tried every possible combo....I may get a good seal for a few seconds and then they shift and lose the seal...I have owned etymotics with foam tips and I can tell you those were seriously sealed!....I submitted for a replacement today to see if there's any difference....I've also placed an order for Dekoni foam tips....I do realize you're talking about millions of different ear sizes but, I don't think foam tips is difficult to do for Apple...

 

[michaelant]

Unfortunately for Apple, because they have this Ear Fit Test available, it implicitly gives them some amount of responsibility for making sure the AirPods “pass”...it is frustrating....I had the AirPods 2 and upgraded to these for The features....I can’t get them to pass...tried all the tips....return to Costco?

Did you get the Pros recently and you've never been able to get them to pass the fit test? Apple says with this design and the included three sizes of tips that they have something that will work for the large majority of ears. But, there will be some people it doesn't work for. And if it doesn't pass for you and you don't like the sound you get, then yeah you shouldn't have any problem returning them.

But for most of the people in this thread, everything was peachy from the start, and then later the sound degraded and the fit test started not passing. That points to a design flaw, or at least a weakness in design, depending on how many people it affects. Mine passed with flying colors, and I did the test a ton the first ten days or so. And then after about four weeks I noticed the ANC was bad, which happened to coincide with updated firmware, so I thought that was the problem. Rather than trying to clean them, because they did look clean.

I actually suspect this is happening for a lot of people. There have to be a lot of complaints before Apple will post support documents like they did, that suggest cleaning the Pros (though the method they suggest will accomplish nothing) in order to improve degraded ANC and bass response.

 

[jokerz126]

Did you get the Pros recently and you've never been able to get them to pass the fit test? Apple says with this design and the included three sizes of tips that they have something that will work for the large majority of ears. But, there will be some people it doesn't work for. And if it doesn't pass for you and you don't like the sound you get, then yeah you shouldn't have any problem returning them.

But for most of the people in this thread, everything was peachy from the start, and then later the sound degraded and the fit test started not passing. That points to a design flaw, or at least a weakness in design, depending on how many people it affects. Mine passed with flying colors, and I did the test a ton the first ten days or so. And then after about four weeks I noticed the ANC was bad, which happened to coincide with updated firmware, so I thought that was the problem. Rather than trying to clean them, because they did look clean.

I actually suspect this is happening for a lot of people. There have to be a lot of complaints before Apple will post support documents like they did, that suggest cleaning the Pros (though the method they suggest will accomplish nothing) in order to improve degraded ANC and bass response.

I'm in the second group...I bought them in November....they seemed to be great then---I settled on the medium tips and passed the fit test consistently......but I find now getting a good seal for the ANC is like a holy grail....I really think it's a design flaw personally...

 

[SaSaSushi]

I finally bought some Blu Tack yesterday and it worked perfectly to restore passing ear fit tests for both sides. This, in turn, seems to have noticeably improved ANC performance.

Particular thanks to @vinegarshots for the advice of pressing hard to roll on the Blu Tack and pulling it off quickly. This seems to work the best.

 

[JoelArt]

I've noticed that bone conduction has increased when I walk, every time I set down my fot when walking there is this "thud" that is so common with in-ears but wasn't when my Airpod Pro were new. Then I tried the ear tip test, it failed on both ears, first I thought it was the new 2D15 firmware screwing with things but after some googling and finding all these threads complaining about this issue, I decided to try cleaning the inner vent with Q-tips and isopropylalcohol, it didn't do much difference for the bone conduction issue but at least the test did pass on several occasions on the right pod this time. I finally tried some Blue Tack treatment, viola, both pods test PASSED and now there is much LESS audible bone conduction from my feet when walking.

This is an obvious design flaw with the Airpod Pro. I REALLY hope they'll fix this in future revisions as I now will have to carry around a small bit of tack tucked into the round holes in the case for occasional cleaning.