AirPods Pro: Rattlegate

[ninecows]

So now it “finally” happened for my AirPods as well. I stand here to be counted with the rest of you. After 20 months of use the right one started clicking. My little pods have just been picked up by UPS and are on their way from Denmark to the Netherlands for service and back again within 5-7 business days.

Makes me wonder at what point it would be cheaper for apple just to send me a new pair.

 

[andyw715]

So now it “finally” happened for my AirPods as well. I stand here to be counted with the rest of you. After 20 months of use the right one started clicking. My little pods have just been picked up by UPS and are on their way from Denmark to the Netherlands for service and back again within 5-7 business days.

Makes me wonder at what point it would be cheaper for apple just to send me a new pair.

I always request a new pair. It's worth the temporary hold on your card to get "new" replacements.

 

[ninecows]

I always request a new pair. It's worth the temporary hold on your card to get "new" replacements.

I was not given the option to do that. Might be different rules here ind Denmark.

Normal warranty in EU (strictly speaking not warranty but “right to complain”) is 2 years here no matter what you buy. The dealer can choose to repair or replace or refund as they see fit. After several attempts to repair they would normally replace/refund.

 

[addamas]

Had my replaced after 4 Days - new pair is night and day in talk, music playing and Noice Cancelling compared to old (has left bud buzzing from time to time when in ANC or Contact mode).
Nice done. Thanks for the thread.

 

[mrmister]

My little pods have just been picked up by UPS and are on their way from Denmark to the Netherlands for service and back again within 5-7 business days.

Just to be clear—it's been made super clear to me by, well, everybody that the only way to fix the APP problem is to replace the APP.

Do they...send the same ones back to you? Are you sure they are the same? I don't see how they could have fixed the issue.

 

[ninecows]

Just to be clear—it's been made super clear to me by, well, everybody that the only way to fix the APP problem is to replace the APP.

Do they...send the same ones back to you? Are you sure they are the same? I don't see how they could have fixed the issue.

I have no idea… and in a way I don’t care. It’s Apples problem.

But a 2x UPS at my door pickup/delivery plus whatever handling they have in another country 500 miles away… that’s eating up a lot of the potential profit on these pods. Plus some people have gone through this many times on just one purchase.

I know they just can’t replace them without getting the faulty ones returned. If nothing else just for the principle and avoiding misuse of the repair program.

Just saying it would probably be cheaper for apple to have that UPS guy dump them just around the corner and send me a brand new pair. We’re not talking a 2000$ iMac here.

I would assume that they take the faulty ones in and do a full autopsy on them while sending me a new pair… but they did tell me not to return the silicone ear tips. So they’re gonna open a brand new package and remove the ear tips before shipping them to me? Doesn’t make sense.

 

[risenphoenixkai]

My AirPods Pro, which I purchased in October 2020, have developed a rattling/popping noise in the left AirPod any time I move my head. It becomes even more pronounced when I walk or work out. Since I got these primarily for walking and working out, that makes them all but useless. I initially thought it was just the earbud tip being loose in my ear canal and moving back and forth that was causing the noise, but it's present with every size of tip I use, including no tip at all, so it's definitely an issue with the AirPod itself.

I've opened a job with Apple Support, and they're sending a pre-addressed package to my place to get the AirPods shipped off to wherever. Because I live in the absolute end of nowhere in rural New Zealand, I expect this whole process to take a couple weeks from end to end. I didn't get the option to have a replacement set sent here and get temporarily charged to my account (which is what they did recently for a replacement AirTag) — presumably because the AirPods are out of warranty and only covered under the extended replacement deal.

I just hope the replacements get here before I head up to Auckland later this month… I don't relish the idea of a two-hour flight without AirPods.

 

[AppleHaterLover]

My AirPods Pro, which I purchased in October 2020, have developed a rattling/popping noise in the left AirPod any time I move my head. It becomes even more pronounced when I walk or work out. Since I got these primarily for walking and working out, that makes them all but useless. I initially thought it was just the earbud tip being loose in my ear canal and moving back and forth that was causing the noise, but it's present with every size of tip I use, including no tip at all, so it's definitely an issue with the AirPod itself.

I've opened a job with Apple Support, and they're sending a pre-addressed package to my place to get the AirPods shipped off to wherever. Because I live in the absolute end of nowhere in rural New Zealand, I expect this whole process to take a couple weeks from end to end. I didn't get the option to have a replacement set sent here and get temporarily charged to my account (which is what they did recently for a replacement AirTag) — presumably because the AirPods are out of warranty and only covered under the extended replacement deal.

I just hope the replacements get here before I head up to Auckland later this month… I don't relish the idea of a two-hour flight without AirPods.

Provided they get to you in time for your trip, you should be fine. My AirPods were replaced in December 2021 and never rattled again. In fact, they got so old the left one dies before the right one - another issue entirely!

 

[Bazooka-joe]

My latest AirPods Pro are so much better than the initial launch day product. I get full noise cancellation every time and no reliability issues

 

[Lmd700]

Good morning
New to the community, I just purchased airpod pros in December because the 3s kept falling out. Reading this thread is a little scary, since I purchased these this past December are they ok? Or will they develop these issues over time? I use them daily and love them! Thank you

 

[mrmister]

"My latest AirPods Pro are so much better than the initial launch day product. I get full noise cancellation every time and no reliability issues"

I feel confident that Apple has no idea why some die, or whether all of them die, or how to prevent them from having it happen.

"Or will they develop these issues over time?"

It is impossible to say, but my experience is yes—they will develop issues in time.

 

[teh_hunterer]

Had to have mine replaced 3 times. I went to the Apple Store yesterday because my left AirPod was doing the crackling again, but intermittently. They took the AirPods for an hour to do some testing, and said if it failed the diagnostics they'd replace it. I spent the whole hour imagining how they were going to tell me it passed the diagnostics and couldn't be replaced. Needless, because when I came back, they said both had failed the test and were being replaced.

The first thing I noticed when I put the replacements in was how good the noise cancelling was! Or should I say, how bad my previous pair's noise cancelling had gotten! It was a night and day difference. I had kind of noticed that it wasn't as great as I remembered (they barely filtered out any plane noise on a recent trip) but I didn't consciously realise how bad it was.

The second thing I realised was just how great the sound quality and bass was on this new pair. Or should I say, how bad it was on the previous pair. Looking at the service program, it looks like the crackling noise is often accompanied with a drop in sound quality, particularly bass.

I can't quite believe I spent the last year or so walking around with such poor sound quality and poor noise cancellation. I'm kind of worried that these replacements will also slowly drop in quality as well.

I think I will get the AirPods Pro 2 when they come out just so I can get away from this design, as I don't want to be stressed out trying to figure out if this new pair is slowly degrading. I just want to enjoy the product, and I just don't trust this design at all.

 

[Ralfi]

My launch AirPods Pro developed a rattle in the last few weeks/months (so in just over two years) in the left bud.

Apple store tested them & confirmed it. They also found a audio frequency deficiency issue in the right AirPod, so both were replaced at no charge.

Fantastic customer service.

 

[AppleMango]

Hi All,

my June 2020 APP developed a slight dullness on the right side, especially on transparency mode and the left one was sometimes “clicky“, but I’ve always thought it to be my longer hair scraping over the AirPod.

Decided to present them at an Apple Store and both sides failed their audio quality test. Both sides were replaced and I just tested them out and feel like it’s much better sound overall. I might be biased, but it will be interesting to observe.

Service was well handled and I’m glad I could use it - I just hope the newer models won’t develop that :S.

cheers!

 

[andyw715]

For those that have visited an Apple Store. Do you set up an appointment or just drop in. I was on chat about getting a replacement but they said it would take 5-7 days....I really don't want to go w/o for that long. The nearest Apple Store is a couple hours away but I will be in the area next weekend so I thought I'd stop by.

 

[Bazooka-joe]

For those that have visited an Apple Store. Do you set up an appointment or just drop in. I was on chat about getting a replacement but they said it would take 5-7 days....I really don't want to go w/o for that long. The nearest Apple Store is a couple hours away but I will be in the area next weekend so I thought I'd stop by.

I don’t know if they can do diagnostic checks on AirPods but when I had a problem with my iPad I’ve booked a genius appointment with an Apple Store, they did a diagnosis within 15 minutes, found an issue and replaced the iPad immediately.

 

[Tagbert]

For those that have visited an Apple Store. Do you set up an appointment or just drop in. I was on chat about getting a replacement but they said it would take 5-7 days....I really don't want to go w/o for that long. The nearest Apple Store is a couple hours away but I will be in the area next weekend so I thought I'd stop by.

It's usually better to schedule a Genius Bar appt. If you drop in, they may be busy and they may not engage with you without an appointment.

 

[AppleMango]

I made an appointment and it took half an hour in total.

 

[kajukenbo]

Was there ever a consensus on the AirPods Pro made in Vietnam versus in China? I've seen retail packages for both countries. I assume they all eventually fail it is is a design issue?

 

[Ralfi]

For those that have visited an Apple Store. Do you set up an appointment or just drop in. I was on chat about getting a replacement but they said it would take 5-7 days....I really don't want to go w/o for that long. The nearest Apple Store is a couple hours away but I will be in the area next weekend so I thought I'd stop by.

Definitely book an appointment. You don't want to travel 2 hours only to be told to come back another day.

Best thing is to call up Apple Support, tell them about the issue, go through their recommended troubleshooting (if any) & then they'll suggest you go into a store. Get the case number of phone support & show them in store, as it shows you've tried to contact Apple already.

Just make sure it's an official Apple Store you go to, as the third party repair centres may not have stock & could ask you to leave your AirPods with them for days...that's what happened to me, so I just took my business elsewhere (to an actual Apple Store) & one hour later, testing proved both my buds were faulty & were replaced.

Oh, also ask if you can take your rubber tips from your broken buds back with you as spares...I forgot to do this which irked me...

 

[mnsportsgeek]

I just started a repair ticket for my launch day Airpods Pros. Hopefully they have a quick turnaround.

 

[risenphoenixkai]

Oh the endless joy of owning Apple products in New Zealand… it's been two weeks since I originally requested service for my AirPods Pro, and so far as I can tell they haven't even made it back to Apple yet.

For context, I live rurally, at least a 90-minute drive away from the nearest Apple-authorised service provider, and there are still zero Apple stores in New Zealand. I figured the easiest way to get this sorted was for Apple to send me a prepaid courier package, which I would send to them, and then they'd do whatever they need to do on their end, and I'd get new/refurbished AirPods Pro after a couple weeks in total.

Except apparently it takes over a week to get the prepaid courier package to me from Australia, and probably another week to go back the other way, and then who knows how long it will sit around before they get to looking at it, and then at least another week for them to ship it back.

It's probably going to be a month in total from my first raising the support ticket until I have the AirPods Pro back. Those of you with actual Apple Stores and Genius Bars just don't know how good you have it, heh.

 

[AppleMango]

I’m sorry to hear that @risenphoenixkai, I wasn’t aware of those troubles in NZ, just remembered going to an Apple Store in Australia and expected NZ had them too.

 

[BriceApp]

So here is my story (sorry it is long, hoping it is helpful):

I noticed the my mid 2020 APP had a crackling sound from the microphones whenever there was a loud sound in noise cancelling and transparency modes. I also noticed the bass starting to be lacking and always failing the fit test. My APP look brand new, I wipe them off with my shirt after using and use blue tack to clean the grills occasionally.

I called apple support and since I have AppleCare+ I was able to get express replacement. The revised buds showed up today. The left (0C6K, FW: 4A400) and the right (0C6J, FW: 4C165). Both are rather new, with the left assembled in January 2022 and the right in February 2022. The inner on both new ones are much more recessed and they actually catch the fabric on my shirt when wiping them.

With the firmware mismatching I was having trouble getting the left to update since the right on is already up to date. I tried pairing the left only to iOS, leaving in the case to see if it would update on its own. It didn’t. Then I found this link and I guess when doing these steps it made the right one update the left one. But it was quick and worked perfectly.

https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/fyv9ep
The new buds have much more bass and no more crackling. They also pass the fit test now. I will try noise cancelling with the leaf blower tomorrow, but I suspect it will be better too. If you can get your replaced with the revised version, I suggest it.

 

[0194839]

So here is my story (sorry it is long, hoping it is helpful):

I noticed the my mid 2020 APP had a crackling sound from the microphones whenever there was a loud sound in noise cancelling and transparency modes. I also noticed the bass starting to be lacking and always failing the fit test. My APP look brand new, I wipe them off with my shirt after using and use blue tack to clean the grills occasionally.

I called apple support and since I have AppleCare+ I was able to get express replacement. The revised buds showed up today. The left (0C6K, FW: 4A400) and the right (0C6J, FW: 4C165). Both are rather new, with the left assembled in January 2022 and the right in February 2022. The inner on both new ones are much more recessed and they actually catch the fabric on my shirt when wiping them.

With the firmware mismatching I was having trouble getting the left to update since the right on is already up to date. I tried pairing the left only to iOS, leaving in the case to see if it would update on its own. It didn’t. Then I found this link and I guess when doing these steps it made the right one update the left one. But it was quick and worked perfectly.

https://www.reddit.com/r/airpods/comments/fyv9ep
The new buds have much more bass and no more crackling. They also pass the fit test now. I will try noise cancelling with the leaf blower tomorrow, but I suspect it will be better too. If you can get your replaced with the revised version, I suggest it.

A lot of the revised versions also degrade in time. It’s just a matter of time. In the beginning the APP’s are awesome so enjoy them while you can. Hopefully they’ve fixed it with the second generation coming in September this year.