AirPod Pro Microphone Call Quality

I mentioned a response regarding this a couple weeks ago.

The issue is that the air pods pro noise canceling feature is for the sounds “you” hear. The noise canceling feature doesn’t do anything for the microphone itself.

Now more recently, I did see that the air pods pro 2 model tries to address this issue by adjusting the microphone to focus more on the users voice and less on ambient noise.

I want to reinforce, however, that the noise canceling feature on either model does not address this specific issue to any capacity.

@bbanic23, that is not the issue. No one is saying that the ANC should help with the microphone. The issue is that the mic design is horrible, and there is something amplifying background noises. Please read the following if you want to better understand what this issue is about https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/airpods-pro-microphone-scandal-edit-proof.2282717/

Oh I understand just fine. My reply is sufficient for the issue. Please go back and read through the 45 pages of comments and you will see that some people are misguided on the ANC for phone calls.

I can give you a more technical answer but it won’t change anything.

Apple attempted to correct the mic issue described in this thread through a firmware update. It doesn’t help much bc it is stretching the limits of the passive frequency filter tech inside the headphones. Basically what is happening is the mic is allowing too many frequencies to pass through the filter and so it sounds like certain noise is enhanced. Technically this is the way it’s supposed to work. Technically.

Now, apple has tried to address this issue with the version 2 air pods by upgrading its processor and enhancing the passive frequency filter to better cancel out unwanted background noise and focus more on the users voice.

The point I wanted to reinforce yet again so that others know, is that the ANC feature is in fact a separate feature, unrelated to the microphone quality.

-Regards

Airpods Pro 2 user here and I can confirm the issue is still there. They are basically useless for outside calls. The person at the other end will not hear you at all. I will return them back today for the full refund and move on.

I have the same issue. I thougt that it was a weakness of the airpods pro and never have thought that it was a technical problem. Because I have the issue since the first day I started to use the product. After I saw this post here, yesterday I went to Apple store in Munich. They said, its been more than one year and I should have go there earlier. They only recommended me to send it to Amazon to request a repair. I am really disappointed.

Got my daughter the Airpods Pro 1 for her university before the 2nd gen came out. Had a call from her yesterday while she was walking around her campus. I could hear EVERYTHING around her, the traffic, and people talking around her, while her voice kept getting interrupted. Got to a point I asked her to use the cheap wired Apple headphones instead. Reminded her NOT to use that for conference/zoom calls if she's ever outdoors, only in a quiet indoor environment. What a waste of money and a huge disappointment.

I'm also encountering this issue only when I'm taking the call in my iPhone 8. BUT, when I do use my airpods pro 1 during my calls/meetings at my work with 14-inch macbook pro, It's so clear and having no issues unlike with using an iPhone.

Try calling a friend and have the AirPod case open and pods in your ear’s . Go to AirPod settings ( via Bluetooth) . Switch of automatic microphone setting and switch from left only to right only wile asking friend if they hear you . You will find which one of your pods mic is actually working. Then just keep it set on that pod . It worked for me .

APPLE, ARE YOU FIXING THE AIRPODS PROD CALL QUALITY ISSUE OR NOT?? OTHERWISE I WILL BUY SOMEOTHER EARPHONES. THE CALL QUALITY ON AIRPODS PRO IS WORST, OPPOSITE PERSON CAN HEAR ALL THE NOISE AROUND ME EXCPET MY VOICE. ITS USELESS FOR CALLS, I AM REMOVING THE AIRPODS AND ATTENDING CALLS ON HANDSET DIRECTLY, WHAT IS THE USE OF THIS AIPODS PROD THEN?? ATLEAET TELL US IF YOU ARE FIXING THE ISSUE OR NOT?? I AM A FAN OF APPLE AND USE ALL APPLE PRODUCTS, BUT THIS PRODUCT IS THE WORST.

I have airpod pro, airpod pro2 and AirPod max. Over $1,000 of apple headphones. All are useless when taking on voice calls. To think I upgraded from cheap Bose headphones for this is ridiculous. What makes it so frustrating is the fact is amplifies the background noises when you are on the phone

For important phone calls in my Job or Personal issues i never use my AirPods Pro anymore as I can’t rely on them. So when I’m outside listening to music and get an incoming call first I have to disconnect the headset. Really annoying.

I have had exactly the same problem with the new Airpod Pros. The regular AirPods were perfect. I was forced into upgrading into the $379 AirPods Pros, after a few weeks I noticed every response from others was that I sounded 'muffled'. I have cleaned the microphone, and I have rest and also paired again.

It seems that the sound of my voice is muffled while the sound of the surrounding noise is exaggerated, so that others only hear the surrounding sounds and not my voice.

So it is an algorithm issue, not a dirty microphone issue.

Everyone seems to have this same problem;em, and Apple are not addressing it.

I’ve been having the same issue recently as well! On the calls people say it sounds like I’m far away or very distant. Some even say it sounds like there’s an echo or something. My voice sounds muffled to them and once I switch to phone or speaker, they can hear me clearly. Listening to audio, no issues. But the microphone ? Magically not working as well to say the least

I fixed it. I followed someone's advice which is to (a) "Forget the Device", then (b) link it all up again following the Apple instructions and prompts. It then worked clearly for the listener too. All good.

also can someone suggest a good pair of earphones which can actually let me take calls when i am on the move or in a public place? whole purpose of having a wireless earphone is defeated if one has to use them in a private space without any ambient noise.

I will just think this is money down the drain and buy a model and brand which fulfils my need.