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Quu

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 2, 2007
3,441
6,874
I recently purchased a new pair of AirPods Pro after my original pair (purchased at launch in 2019) started to make an audible clicking noise in the right bud when noise cancelling or transparency mode was activated.

To my surprise the new pair has much stronger noise cancelling than my old pair. Very similar in-fact to when I initially received my original pair of AirPods Pro.

And I have in-fact a brand new set of silicone tips so I know for sure it's the hardware of the bud and not a dirty or damaged tip that is the cause of this.

I suspect the clicking noise on my right bud combined with the failing of the tip-seal test on the iPhone are all related to a hardware fault that manifests over time due to a component starting to fail.

For instance with the clicking I mentioned above it doesn't happen immediately upon insertion to your ears. The clicking both becomes louder the longer you wear them and the initiator of the clicking (a sound the AirPod hears externally triggers the clicks) becomes much more sensitive the more they're worn.

As an example after 10 minutes you can only hear the clicking when you move your head quickly or touch the AirPod externally but after 30 minutes the clicks coincide even with your heartbeat which the AirPod is able to pickup with its microphone. It's almost like a component in the AirPod is building up a charge or is losing its resistance and is unable to determine what the noise floor of your surroundings should be etc

If I had to gauge the difference between my new and old set of AirPods I would say the new pair has 2x to 3x stronger noise cancelling than my two year old pair does now. And it definitely feels as strong as when I first got my original pair. For sure the noise cancelling weakens over time and I don't think Apple intended for that, I think there is hardware failure/aging to blame.

Hope this helps someone :)

p.s. The new Magsafe case included is pretty cool.
 
Last edited:

JBGoode

macrumors 65816
Jun 16, 2018
1,360
1,922
It was never good to begin with. The ANC on the pros is weak out of the box compared to ANC on a good pair of over the head cans.
 

Quu

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 2, 2007
3,441
6,874
It was never good to begin with.
This is quite subjective. I think the AirPods Pro have really good ANC for being in-ear buds. Certainly able to cut out a lot of noise. I'd say the difference between them being in noise cancelling mode and not is very stark.
The ANC on the pros is weak out of the box compared to ANC on a good pair of over the head cans.
The speed of my legs is so much worse than a bicycle, motorbike, car, train or plane why even walk anywhere?
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,707
7,278
I recently purchased a new pair of AirPods Pro after my original pair (purchased at launch in 2019) started to make an audible clicking noise in the right bud when noise cancelling or transparency mode was activated.

To my surprise the new pair has much stronger noise cancelling than my old pair. Very similar in-fact to when I initially received my original pair of AirPods Pro.

And I have in-fact a brand new set of silicone tips so I know for sure it's the hardware of the bud and not a dirty or damaged tip that is the cause of this.

I suspect the clicking noise on my right bud combined with the failing of the tip-seal test on the iPhone are all related to a hardware fault that manifests over time due to a component starting to fail.
Apple will repair or replace your original set for these problems for 3 years from the date of purchase. https://support.apple.com/airpods-pro-service-program-sound-issues
 
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