Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Decoded the serials myself. One is Week 1 October 2020 and therefore should be the new one, as the repair program states: BEFORE October 2020.

The other one is Week 4 September 2020. So very close. Depending how accurate their October 2020 time stamp is, could go either way.

I took them out, paired them. Still hardware version 1.0.0, shipping firmware was 2D27, updated within minutes to the newest (the spatial audio one).

The swap before wasn’t even 3 weeks ago, developed the usual ANC issues. Those were August And July 2020. I compared both under a microscope.

The July and August APPs had a flush inner vent with the white plastic surface. The ones I received today both seem to be every so slightly but cosistently recessed into the APP housing. IF it means something, then it’s probably to avoid direct vent contact with the skin of the inner ear.
Thanks to your very astute observations, I can concur.

My serial numbers decoded to week 37 (D) and 40 (H) - BUT! - Apple actually printed the date on my replacement boxes.

Under Assembled in Vietnam on each box label are 2038 and 2041 - my decoded weeks were off by one.

So I also have one in September (R) and one in October (L).

I also notice the difference in the inner vent recess with the new ones. Very nice catch!
 
Bought them day 1, October 2019. Swapped them 3-4 times since. Last swap arrived today, specifically under the repair program. Before I broke the seal, I started a chat and called them to see if they could tell me if it’s the new revision before unnecessarily opening them up. They can not.

Decoded the serials myself. One is Week 1 October 2020 and therefore should be the new one, as the repair program states: BEFORE October 2020.

The other one is Week 4 September 2020. So very close. Depending how accurate their October 2020 time stamp is, could go either way.

I took them out, paired them. Still hardware version 1.0.0, shipping firmware was 2D27, updated within minutes to the newest (the spatial audio one).

The swap before wasn’t even 3 weeks ago, developed the usual ANC issues. Those were August And July 2020. I compared both under a microscope.

The July and August APPs had a flush inner vent with the white plastic surface. The ones I received today both seem to be every so slightly but cosistently recessed into the APP housing. IF it means something, then it’s probably to avoid direct vent contact with the skin of the inner ear.

It’s crazy how good the fresh pair sounds in contrast to one that was barely 14 days in use. The previous pair was cleaned properly, all according to Apple’s guidelines and very carefully as well.

I think we will know more in the coming days or weeks. Has anybody yet seen a hardware revision newer than 1.0.0?

I specifically asked Apple if the replacement pair would be the new, fixed version. They said yes, so well, let’s see. If not, it’s only a matter of time until another swap becomes necessary.

Are you talking about the circled area? If so, even mine with the "G" serials have it recessed now. I still have a faulty pair at home and will be comparing them once I'm back from work. Well this gives me some hope that even mine, with the "G" serials, are a revised version. And they were made in the China facility, mind you.
 

Attachments

  • aaaaa.jpg
    aaaaa.jpg
    49.5 KB · Views: 480
I do not get how to read this.

My 4th character is D and 5th is also a D
On my right one its D and C

my 5th character isn't a number
4th D would be 2nd half of the year.
5th D would be week 37 (or in my example a few posts up, the box was printed with 38).
 
Anyone mind taking pictures of the new recessed vent mesh?
A62C66B2-267F-4913-963A-C26E861624AB.jpeg


I swapped 3-4 pairs, so it’s still a fairly small sample size, but it is what I instantly noticed. Is why I put “IF” in caps in my previous posts.

The ones I only replaced 14 days ago had flush vents, so did the ones from October 2019 and others.
Both, left and right replacements show the same “gap”, so I don’t think it’s a misaligned vent grid.

Week 4, September 2020, Week 1 October 2020.

Btw, picture is showing an unworn set of AirPods Pro, straight out of the box. So those particles, probably some glue residue or dust particles, were there before 😉
 
Who would have ever thought that a mesh flush with the body would be the ideal collector for ear gunk mmm... ?
Sometimes I wonder why some design aspects of Apple's products are given the green light.
Next step for Apple : design the black part surrounding the mesh with a smoother transition towards the mesh area to avoid the sharp edge grating against the ear's skin.
BTW I just received a new pair but mine was manufactured weeks ago and features a flush mesh. No big deal, I'm quite confident that I'll have to exchange them at some point in the coming months for some random reason so...
 
I’m not convinced that this is a change from October 2020 forward. My AirPods are from the first half of 2020 and they appear to have the same recessed vent.
3B2DD703-A61F-4545-AE21-A6183FB2C1E5.png
 
Got my replacement AirPods Pro two days ago. They sound much better, and the annoying crackling is gone.
 
do you mean SERIAL NUMBER? i was taking a close look of those details, and noticed the SN under (i) in the APP bluetooth settings is the one from the wireless charger. my guess: after we get the replacement units and do the set up, since we're keeping the wireless charger, that SN won't change.

You're right about the serial number, but I did not mean that: there is also another entry that is called exactly "Hardware version". I think it's still 1.0.0 on the newer revised ones tho.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chepeloni
Is there a way to verify when the replacement AirPods were manufactured? The new ones I received had firmware 2D27 so not sure.
I just got mine replaced today at the Apple store and mine have the same firmware... Still waiting for it to update to the new one. But I have no idea how to see the serial number on these as I didn't get the box.
 
Mine were also replaced yesterday, also at my local Apple Store, without question. I do not notice any evidence of the crackling with these AirPod Pros. Firmware is currently shown as 2D27 so they have not yet updated to the latest version, which I believe is 3A283?
 
Yes, I agree. I'll give it a day or two and see if the firmware updates. Don't know that it would be noticeable anyway, I don't know of any sources that offer the spatial audio to give me a change to see how that sounds, once I do have the latest firmware.
 
Mine took a day and a half before they would finally update FW.

With the newest FW you can check individual AirPod serial number in Bluetooth settings.

Anything on AppleTV+ (any free episode) will likely have support for spatial audio.
 
Just got my replacement in store. Can confirm the recessed grill (I would say about half a milimeter) will test it out once it’s synchronized and paired. But I put a lot of confidence into that hardware change
 
So I got the replacement for only left unit of AirPods Pro a few days ago (because of crackling) and instantly noticed a huge difference in the noise cancelling between the two units, the new one had a weaker (or different?) noise cancelling. After telling that to Apple Support, they wanted to ship me another new single left unit, I told them about the physical change and the grill difference with pictures and they offered in the end to send me two new units (left and right). So I'll receive that next week and test that out. Is it possible that the grill and hardware changes caused noise cancelling to be physically weaker?

1604685367489.png
 
Last edited:
Thanks for this updated thread! I contacted Apple support yesterday due to crackling and popping in both ear pods during calls for quite some time, until now I just accepted it. They replaced both L and R and the replacements are perfect sounding with no crackle or other noise during calls. Bass seems to be better too. Chatted with support yesterday late morning and replacements arrived this morning. That's great customer service.

They still have the old firmware so I can't look at serial numbers of each yet.

Question- they sent replacement ear tips as well, it is nice to have spares. Do I need to send my ear tips back or can I just keep mine and the replacements?
 
Mine were also replaced yesterday, also at my local Apple Store, without question. I do not notice any evidence of the crackling with these AirPod Pros. Firmware is currently shown as 2D27 so they have not yet updated to the latest version, which I believe is 3A283?
Checked firmware and now updated to 3A283, after about a day or so.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.