AirPods Pro 2nd sound distortion issue with iOS 18

[suburban-male]

Apple has released the public firmware update 7E93 for AirPods Pro 2, aligning with the launch of iOS 18.4. Please let me know if this update brings any noticeable improvements or changes to your experience.

Updated my devices and and no improvement. Still getting the metallic audio when using chrome on my macbook.

Also, whenever I try to use the airpods for calls / meetings constantly told my voice isnt audible / sounds like I'm far away.

Back to using an old set of USB C Earpods again.

****ing joke Apple. Almost a year of normal use, then IOS18/MacOS15 drop and unusable, despite being replaced multiple times.

 

[ZebraDude]

Yep, I just came here looking as this is an issue with me as well. The distortion happens when I go walking with my AirPod Pro's 2 or my Air Pod 4 ANC's (wondering if this is an iOS 18 H2 issue?

 

[Lk52461]

How the f****k they still haven’t fixed such a widespread issue that's been affecting so many users since the release of iOS 18? I never experienced anything like this on iOS 17. Craig Federighi really needs to get things under control or maybe it’s time for someone else to step up and lead the software teams. I have a bad feeling iOS 19 could end up being a disaster, especially if they go ahead with a full redesign for both macOS and iOS at the same time. That kind of overhaul won’t give developers enough time to properly iron out major bugs like this one.

 

[suburban-male]

Dont want to jinx things but I've been using my AirPods Pro2 for the last few days without issue.

 

[ZebraDude]

Dont want to jinx things but I've been using my AirPods Pro2 for the last few days without issue.

me too!

 

[suburban-male]

me too!

Fingers crossed. Not sure what has changed, there hasnt been any fw or sw updates.

Literally the only thing I have done is remove the comply foam tips I had and replaced them with the original silicon tips from Apple.

 

[ZebraDude]

Fingers crossed. Not sure what has changed, there hasnt been any fw or sw updates.

Literally the only thing I have done is remove the comply foam tips I had and replaced them with the original silicon tips from Apple.

mine still have my comply tips....hmmm..

 

[sparksd]

mine still have my comply tips....hmmm..

I'm using the APP2's with Comply tips and no distortion issues (iOS & iPadOS 18.4).

 

[suburban-male]

And we're back to robotic distortion again watching youtube via chrome.

And back to taking 4-5 attempts to get these pieces of **** to connect to my phone.

 

[suburban-male]

Dont want to jinx things but Ive been able to use my airpods 2 pro without issues for the last week. Doing all the things that were causing issues.

 

[nebulo]

Hello. I have faced the same issues for the past few months on my macbook especially. sudo killall coreaudiod used to fix it for a while but i repeatedly hear distortions every 30-60 seconds when playing any audio. I haven't faced this issue on my iphone.

 

[nebulo]

I guess I spoke too soon. Just experienced the issue using Safari on MacOS to watch youtube.

It's especially recurrent on macos. I've had these things replaced and checked out for service and there was still no change or fix.

 

[suburban-male]

It's especially recurrent on macos. I've had these things replaced and checked out for service and there was still no change or fix.

Yeah, i havent had any significant problem with audio playback since my last post thankfully. i had mine replaced multiple times.

Apple support were even less than useless. they were actually right c***s to deal with too.

Every single case manager tells you "Dont worry, I'm going to take care of this and own it to the end" and then you call back and get someone new who tells you the exact same thing with not a hint of self awareness. I would have had 5 or 6 case managers by the time I gave up.

After a couple of decades of being an apple user and mostly positive experiences with their support I f***ing hate it now. Their call centre staff really are terrible. Poorly trained script readers with no knowledge or understanding of what they are doing.

Rant over...

I still have issues maybe 50% of the time when I use them to make phone calls or for zoom/google/teams meetings.

The mics not working. Definitely software related though.

 

[nebulo]

It's stopped for quite a while now. But I do notice distortion especially when I have apple music playing in the background and twitter open on safari.

 

[timmerica]

My AirPod Pro 2 has been experiencing the same issue when connected to my iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 18.5, and it only occurs when I am on a call. It sounds like the bitrate is deteriorating, making the other voice sound robotic. The AirPod firmware is 7E93. It does it multiple times on a call and corrects itself after about 5-8 seconds. Then they work as normal for a couple of minutes and do it all over again. Only when I'm making cell phone calls. It happens when I'm at home or when I'm in a field with nothing else that could interfere with the Bluetooth. Apple sent me the replacement AirPods only, no case, but they still do it. I've reset the AirPods and have done all their requested steps, but to no avail. I have resorted to never using them when I have to make a phone call.