the most annoying thing about the airpods pro for me is that a good percentage of the time (maybe 15%, give or take), only one of the actual airpods will connect when I stick them in my ears. I got a buzzing a few months ago and swapped them out under the service program, hoping it would also fix the only-one-airpod-connecting issue, but, well, it didn't. (A large percentage of the time I realize that this is because something went wrong on the case side and the one that won't connect never got charged even though the other one did.)<p>Despite that, I'm still upgrading to round 2 this morning. Hoping the new version of the chip plus the new case makes this connection/charging issue go away. Sigh. Apple does manage to always get my money, doesn't it. Though, I guess, to be fair, apart from those issues my first gen's have served me well for like 3 years and they're the only headphones I actually use 90% of the time. (Also, even more noise cancelling on the already good noise cancelling sounds good...maybe these can become my long-plane-trip headphones and let me retire the big sonys.)
I have used this program a few times now (Documented it here: <a href="https://annoying.technology/posts/abea6876cf4f2e13/" rel="nofollow">https://annoying.technology/posts/abea6876cf4f2e13/</a>) and they were always very friendly about it and exchanged them without any issues.<p>I hope the new generation is more durable, as it really does feel like a giant waste of resources. The sad part is that they are really good when they work so I keep getting them.
My experience with Airpods Pro has been excellent for what I originally bought them for, listening to music. However, I later (after the warranty period, naturally) started trying to use them for calls, and noticed something I’m not sure is covered by this program: Occasional, random “blips” where there’s some kind of discontinuity in the sound for ~200ms, with a ~100ms offset between the left and right channels. It’s annoying enough that I take them out before a call or meeting.<p>I had a tough enough time describing it just now (it’s the sort of problem that is inherently un-Googleable), but has anyone else experienced this, and have you had any luck with the service program?
I had my air pods pro replaced under warranty about 2 weeks before my warranty expired. I was so relieved.<p>It has been two months and the new ones are already experiencing major issues. One doesn’t charge sometimes, even if the case seems to indicate that it’s connected. I thought it was the case, but the same thing happens in another case. The weird shifting noise cancellation the first ones did where both ears cancel noise differently has started happening. The pop, pop, pop, squelch as I walk has started happening.<p>I was sure I was breaking them somehow until I found out this experience is not that uncommon.<p>It’s such a shame because when they work well, they really are game changers. I’m hesitant to upgrade, though. These were expensive and only lasted two years (with replacements). Apart from the money, I also find the waste upsetting. I was optimistic to get more liken 5 years out of them.
Can any other runners comment on the new airpods for durability.<p>I've killed 3 pairs due to sweat from running seemingly shorting them out and then they never seem to recover.<p>the sound is great but I can't really tell much a difference between them and the $50 pair I tend to buy from amazon. That could be due to my 40 year old ears though.<p>They do connect really well and allow me to connect to both my phone and laptop which I love but durability seems to be a big problem for them.
My experience of the Service Program has been very poor.<p>One of my AirPods Pro has an annoying tick. It's like a metronome (regular) and orthogonal to the music I'm listening to.<p>I've taken it to the Apple Store, but instead of the service rep putting it in their ear to confirm the issue, they use some machine that checks and, in my case, "computer says no!" to my complaint. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_Ty_72Qds" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_Ty_72Qds</a><p>The rubber around the ear insert is changeable, so it wouldn't be unhygienic for them to listen directly.<p>Their refusal at an exchange has caused me to eschew trusting them for the new AirPods, and instead I've moved on to another brand.
I am at the 5th and 4th replacements (left and right, or might be the reverse). I do hope these issues were fixed in 2nd gen.<p>At one time, I have found a YouTube video describing how to fix the noise cancelling issue by literally sucking on the external microphone grille of the malfunctioning AirPod. Oddly enough, it did fix the problem temporarily. I think there may be a valve that is used to equalize the pressure between the sealed ear and the outside, and if that gets stuck opened or closed the noise cancelling fails. In my case, low frequency sounds were passing through. Very annoying.<p>Worth noting, I had the clicking noise issue with Sony WH-1000XM3, too. The behavior was exactly the same as with the AirPods Pro. Whenever a change in pressure occurred (door/window closed or opened), and during walks or even just moving the head in certain ways, the clicking noise started. This only happened when ANC was active, both for AirPods Pro and for the Sonys.<p>With Apple, I never had any problems getting a replacement, and it was in two countries that do not have official Apple Stores. However, with the Sony it was a completely different story. I had them fixed in warranty, just to find out they were not actually fixed. They replaced the headband that had really nothing to do with the problem. Eventually, after lots of emails and calls, the store I bought them from just gave me back my money.
I’ve had my AirPods Pro for two years now and I’ve had to have both (left and right) replaced twice because of this. Unfortunately they are now out of warranty. I hope 2nd gen doesn’t suffer from something like this.
I've had this exact problem and I've had to replace one or both airpods not once, not twice, but thrice. But, to Apple's credit, they have handled it gracefully each time. The first time it did take a bit of convincing as there weren't many documented cases on the subject. Now, it's rote.<p>The root cause, as I understand it, is that the microphones that act for transparency mode or for noise-cancelling mode can be blocked by particulate matter. A quick test to see if this has happened is to disable both transparency and noise cancellation to see if the audio artifacts disappear - it is not always enough to inspect them under a microscope; this has been the case for me each time but I confess my environment is extremely dusty at times and I wear these airpods for extended periods in all manner of adverse conditions and they have always performed admirably.
Buying AirPods Pro when I lost my original AirPods was probably one of the worst purchases I've made recently. They keep falling out no matter what I do, until I got these silicon "shark tip" covers that mimic the kind of eartips a lot of sports headphones have. It's so annoying.
What happens when the battery no longer holds a charge? Are they able to replace them or do you have to toss them in the trash?<p>I’ve been avoiding these because they seem like wasteful fast fashion. I imagine having to throw them out in ~2-3 years, where as my over ear Beyers will likely last the rest of my life.
I'm on my third pair now.<p>IMO the Airpods Pro are poorly designed. You really gotta be careful when you handle them as the little "air vents" that prevent ear pressure can easily "clogs" and this create a rattle sound when ANC is active.
I have the distinct feeling that the current generation of AirPod Pros suffer from a lot of reliability issues. I had to replace them 3 times in a year. I don’t use them for sports, I’m careful not to wet them, keep them clean, and they developed noise cancellation issues on one side, or noise.<p>My guess is that there is a non negligible portion that gets returned.<p>I sincerely hope the new version is more robust, the return experience was not great, I have doubts about the capacity of their automated tests to detect some of the actual issues that users experience.
I am glad I came across this post. I was thinking I was going to need to buy some new ones. My right one has a static issue and the left one has a weird clicking.
I used it to replace one of mine. I told them it was staticy when I put it in my ear. They said so sorry and they would process a replacement. The process took minutes over Apple Support chat and I had a new one in 3 days with a postage free box to return mine.<p>If you have problems get it replaced. What's the drama?
Had four or five pairs replaced due to this issue. The most recent repair seems to have fixed the issue, but the noise cancellation is noticably worse than the launch set. On the bright side, it was nice getting a pair with refreshed batteries back each time.
I had this happen, and Apple replaced my AirPods free of charge.<p>Now my replacement pair is doing a similar, although different sounding issue. I need to take those in.<p>Annoying. But clearly a First World Problem that I'm glad Apple is taking steps to fix.
Here is a 50 dollar alternative with isolation that lets you enjoy your music on the plane just fine - Marshall Mode. Once you realize you dont have to have BT audio you can get pro in-ears for the price of AirPods.
As someone who sits on video calls often, please, please do not use your AirPods for conference microphones. I cannot understand about 25% of what people are saying, especially those people w/deep voices.
My AirPods Pro are great except the left one drains it's battery about twice as fast as the right one. Has anybody here experienced something similar? Will Apple do anything about it?
Isn't it odd that it's always the high end models that seem to have all sorts of issues? I got a cheap $25 pair of earbuds from Amazon a year ago and they work flawlessly.