AirPod Pro Microphone Call Quality

I have never commented on one of these threads before. This issue however, is so frustrating, and the failure of the the air pods pro to achieve the most basic of functions (transmit audible sound during a call), is so glaring, that I must speak up. I bought a pair of these air pod pros for a friend for Christmas 2020. For the last 3-4 months we have been trying to figure out why her voice is inaudible during calls and why back ground noise is often times offensively loud. The answer is simple, this is a product fail. Further, the fact that over 7,000 persons have raised this issue and Apple have not had the decency or courtesy to respond, leads me to believe that there simply is no fix. I have not exclusively purchased Apple products but I have supported some of the things which they make (IPods and IPads specifically). That said, this experience leads me to believe that this company is failing its customers. By the way, my Bose QC earbuds are amazing at noise cancelling and have a great mic which is capable of filtering out background noise and keeping my voice level loud. See Apple? Its possible.

For those with continuing difficulty, I went to an Apple store and asked for a replacement. They said they needed to "test" the airpods first. Turns out, the test was only for the speakers and not the microphone! Who thinks it is appropriate to test the speakers when the stated issue is the microphone?? Anyway, they did replace the airpods and the new pair seems to work. I would recommend going to an Apple store to replace your product, if convenient. It is clear that Apple has no intention of responding to this forum.

Thank you for that, I will genuinely consider this. That said, I have read many posts on this thread which state that even with a replacement pair, the issue ultimately returned. I hope that does not turn out to be your experience.

Apple, get your your s&$t together, I have bought these for daughter and for $400 AUD this is pitiful. She has to use Zoom and phone calls constantly for hyper work and silly me thought I was helping her out buying the so-called-best of the best. Pathetic. What are you going to do about this. You should be recalling these.

Completely agree with karinds, I absolutely regret Apple products. I don’t even think they care about our feedback. Had so many issues from my macbook pro (UI/UX) - they can’t even get simple things right and oh - they’d hate that if people don’t do it THEIR WAY! Absolute rubbish!!! Airpods pro mic quality is inferior to sony pods or other less-expensive items in the market! Not worth the price at all. People should not be buying Apple products. It’s a sham. I even wonder why i’m writing/ranting here when APPLE DOESN’T CARE ONE BIT!

Indoor is fine. Outdoors (with wind especially), the ****** device would try and cut off ambient noise but is so stupid, it cannot differentiate your own voice to that of the outside noise. So it doesn’t solve crap.

Well they wil be hearing from me pretty soon as they can refund these. Inferior product at premium price is against all consumer laws, regardless of what country we are in. It’s literally daylight robbery.

I’ve had several callers complain about the AirPods sound quality, informing me that they can barely hear me and sound muffled or distorted.

I the possible fix that might work. Carefully clean microphones using a very fine brush (NO WATER). Please note; before I cleaned my pods I tried re-pairing, deselecting noise cancellation in ‘Accessibility’ etc.. use the Voice Memos app each time to confirm the fix.

If this doesn’t work remove both silicone tips, record yourself using Voice Memos. If the sound quality doesn’t improve then you have a problem with the microphones.

Erm no cleaning them won’t help. If you are taking them out of a sealed box from apple they are still flawed! They are broken not fit for purpose. ( to make calls anyway ) music, video = great!

7500 people are not wrong this is not a clean it issue. Research 🔬

Nope, that won’t work one bit! The pods are flawed from the get-go. Apple is oblivious to this and there’s no solution. We basically have an overpriced set of earpieces which are essentially useless for calls (THE MOST BASIC FUNCTION APPLE HAS SCR*WD UP!!!) Sony earpieces are better. ****, windows products are better. I’d trade my apple ecosystem any day for a system of equivalent specs.

I have/ had the same issue only a month after purchasing the Airpods, so I contacted Apple CS via phone, which was actually helpful.

TL;DR: It was only one of the Airpods that produced the issue, we figured out which one it was, changed the mic setting to the other as an ad-hoc solution and I will have them repaired/ exchanged as a long term solution.

If your Airpods are connected, go to settings-->bluetooth and click in the little (i) next to them. Under "microphone" you have the options "Automatically Switch Airpods" or to have the mic always on the left or the right one.

Go on a phone call with someone as a test call and go out to a noisy environment (train station, busy street, kindergarten...). Speak with them as e.g. cars pass and let them give you feedback on how well they could hear you and the ambient noise while you go through the different options (especially left and right).

For me, this lead to me knowing that only my right airpod produced the issue. I will bring it in to a certified retailer of Apple, they will conduct a "sound check" on it to confirm the issue and then repair or replace them.

For now, I have switched to always have the mic on the left Airpod and I haven't had any complaints.

Hope it works for you!

I am glad you feel that the issue has been settled and appreciate your passed on information. Apple will love you for that!

Unfortunately your wrong and so is apple support! I suggest you and apple support read and digest all 7800 comments on this issue before you state that it is solved you haven’t read them.

You see this is a flawed product and as long as people like yourself mis inform the masses we will be in a endless loop of mess. They won’t fix this now. They will bring out a new product and I guarantee 100% you will not be happy with the product I unlike apple am that confident. You sadly will begin the endless circle of not having EarPods while they get permanently changed out.

Now I ask are you happy with the cost. Sorry for the hard hit but it’s driving me bonkers that this issue has been a problem since the get go.

I have had 3 sets all the same issue! People can’t here you on the phone!

let me iterate the irony People can’t here you on the AirPods Pro that are connected to the IPhone. The IPHONE so is the product fit for purpose. Let me answer that again!! NO!

Do not mislead people. It does not solve jack sh*t. Apple has been horrendous with its products recently and yet people are oblivious to their errors and pass it off as something they can live with. I don’t understand why this is so or why they have this blind faith in Apple. I’ve been an android user for most of my life and recently switched my ecosystem to try it out and am full or regrets. It’s simple: Android cares way more about user experience and the little things than Apple does. It’s that simple. There, i’ve said it.

I had my airpods pro replaced for a different problem - one of them was disharging noticeably faster than the other .. and not charging back up as fast or sometimes not at all.

The replacement airpods pro ear pieces also have the poor audio quality problem that my faulty-charging pieces had roo. Handwaving this shouldn't be legal any more as we paid premium price for a functionality that is certainly not being met.

Please help, Apple! No one can hear me on calls where there is any competing sound in the room or outside. This is a major flaw in the design of the product and must be addressed. If it cannot be fixed, then we should receive whatever improved version replaces it in the future for free. Thank you.