Follow up to my earlier post from last fall, my Airpods 3 now have 0 coil whine, even when not playing anything. Seems like a firmware update fixed it, in my case. Great!!
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AirPods 3 hissing and coil whine
- Thread starter Sykorajakku
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After sending mine back because of "hissing" in the right AirPod, I'm getting my 2nd pair tomorrow. Finally-
But reading how many pairs some of you have been through, I'm starting to wonder if I should return them altogether and get something else instead.
Like, it's a 2/3 chance of getting a "lemon" or something like that?
But reading how many pairs some of you have been through, I'm starting to wonder if I should return them altogether and get something else instead.
Like, it's a 2/3 chance of getting a "lemon" or something like that?
Update:
I opened them today and they are hiss and noise-free, thank God!
Also, they fit my ears and sound really great with that overtly neutral sound that I have only experienced from AirPods and love.
However, the low end is significantly punchier but without the slightly muffled, boomy bass that most (all?) in-ear headphones give me.
And the highs are so sharp and clear and “open”.
So happy I opened these before returning them. Great buy!
I opened them today and they are hiss and noise-free, thank God!
Also, they fit my ears and sound really great with that overtly neutral sound that I have only experienced from AirPods and love.
However, the low end is significantly punchier but without the slightly muffled, boomy bass that most (all?) in-ear headphones give me.
And the highs are so sharp and clear and “open”.
So happy I opened these before returning them. Great buy!
Return policies in my country aren't the same as in the U.S.: I can send them back if they are broken. But the store will investigate the product to see if the damage is caused by my usage or not. Doesn't matter what brand the product is.
There usually isn't an issue with this as most stores are fair in my experience. But the process can be lengthy taking weeks before I'm sent a replacement pair.
*There are no Apple Stores or equivalents where I live, so there's no walking into the store and getting an instant replacement or calling up Apple and having them send me a return box(or whatever it is that they do in the U.S., idk).
I think I could get faster service if I get AppleCare+. But I am certainly not getting insurance for a product that's faulty before I even open the box.
Just made an account to chip in with my experience since I've been watching this thread a while. I got mine for Christmas and have since had the right AirPods replaced for the issue everyone's describing twice. After that I returned them since I'm far from any Apple store so it was a hassle to go in, and have rebought and returned them about four times. Every pair I've had has exhibited the variations on the same problem but to different extents.
Some pairs have an irregular buzzing but are silent when playing media and the background sounds quick-fix took care of it, but it was still a chore to do that every time I put them in my ears. Other pairs have had a persistent higher-pitch whine that's slightly quieter but doesn't stop when playing media, meaning if I don't drown it out with what I'm listening to it's just more irritating than not listening at all.
Hearing about people getting their buzzing fixed has given me hope, but it's got to the point where I'm worried Apple are gonna flag my account for refund fraud so I'm stopping for now. The annoying thing is that the AirPods 3 represent a unique ideal for me where they don't have silicone tips but maintain the water resistance and better sound quality of the Pros. I can't conscience buying the 2nd Gens when I know I'm gonna be sweating into them, but I'm at the point where I might just get the Pros and try to get used to the silicone. Obviously this whole experience is way below the standard I expect of Apple.
Some pairs have an irregular buzzing but are silent when playing media and the background sounds quick-fix took care of it, but it was still a chore to do that every time I put them in my ears. Other pairs have had a persistent higher-pitch whine that's slightly quieter but doesn't stop when playing media, meaning if I don't drown it out with what I'm listening to it's just more irritating than not listening at all.
Hearing about people getting their buzzing fixed has given me hope, but it's got to the point where I'm worried Apple are gonna flag my account for refund fraud so I'm stopping for now. The annoying thing is that the AirPods 3 represent a unique ideal for me where they don't have silicone tips but maintain the water resistance and better sound quality of the Pros. I can't conscience buying the 2nd Gens when I know I'm gonna be sweating into them, but I'm at the point where I might just get the Pros and try to get used to the silicone. Obviously this whole experience is way below the standard I expect of Apple.
I don’t think you need to worry. I returned mine three times, so I’m on my fourth pair and it’s finally good. Either the hardware was different or the new firmware fixed it. Nothing in my Apple account indicates it’s been flagged of any sort.
I noticed something odd: My second pair of AirPods 3rd Gen, the ones that are hiss-free, came out of the box with the AC165 firmware.
AC170 came out in January, so there should be no way for me to get AC165 now in March.
But this second pair, the "replacement" pair, came with AC165 and wouldn't update to AC170 until I charged them overnight. So AC165 was on them from the factory it seems.
The first pair, the faulty pair, I got had the earlier firmware version 4B61(or 4B66?) out of the box and they had the hiss/static sound. I got them mid February and updating them to AC170 didn't fix anything.
I don't know if this is how to tell whether you got a "lemon" or not. But it certainly seems to be an indication that some AirPods 3rd Gen might have been slightly tweaked?
Wild speculation, I know. But I thought it be interesting to others with the hiss/static issue for the 3rd Gens.
BTW: Still very happy my 3 Gens -The new sound driver is amazing for music with the best bass I ever heard in headphones this size. All without the boominess and muffle that I always get from in-ear headphones (AirPods Pro also have a tiny bit of boominess)
For those that love how neutral AirPods 2nd/1st Gen sounded but felt bass was lacking -these are the ones that finally do bass just right!
Spatial Audio is incredible for movies and video in general, and I really love the feeling of virtual speakers. It's no good for music though and I have yet to hear a single song on AM that was better in Spatial Audio over regular stereo.
Sometimes it even seems as if Spatial Audio cuts out certain instruments or lowers the volume for them in a weird way so it messes up the original stereo mix.
Fit is also great and they don't fall out at all. And the profile is weirdly flat for me to a point where I can actually lay on my side and it's not uncomfortable.
For those that love how neutral AirPods 2nd/1st Gen sounded but felt bass was lacking -these are the ones that finally do bass just right!
Spatial Audio is incredible for movies and video in general, and I really love the feeling of virtual speakers. It's no good for music though and I have yet to hear a single song on AM that was better in Spatial Audio over regular stereo.
Sometimes it even seems as if Spatial Audio cuts out certain instruments or lowers the volume for them in a weird way so it messes up the original stereo mix.
Fit is also great and they don't fall out at all. And the profile is weirdly flat for me to a point where I can actually lay on my side and it's not uncomfortable.
That's an interesting theory, so you're saying that having a later firmware as standard might indicate a revision in manufacturing? I can't say for certain whether any of the dud pairs I got came with 4C165 preinstalled, but I definitely remember a few having 4B61 (I made a point of updating them after verifying they were faulty just in case an update fixed it). In that case, maybe I'll wait a while before my next pair and hope I get one of the apparent revisions.