AirPods Pros making crackling static noises

The reset and repair didn’t fix the buzzing in my right AirPod Pro, the the fun-tak solution totally worked. Cleaned both outside and inside mic ports with a detailing tak I had and the issue disappeared. Transparency and noise cancelling both work great without popping and buzzing.

Cleaning the AirPods with canned air only helped a few users - and I would argue that it is, at best, a temporary fix. This is a hardware issue that requires a replacement. Contact 1-800-My-Apple. You will need a credit card which will be temporarily charged $99USD in case you do not return the damaged AirPod to Apple. I received my replacement in the US via FedEx in less than 24 hours. Excellent service!

This is a hardware issue that requires a replacement. Contact 1-800-My-Apple. You will need a credit card which will be temporarily charged $99USD in case you do not return the damaged AirPod to Apple. I received my replacement in the US via FedEx in less than 24 hours. Excellent service!

In addition to popping and crackling, I hear buzzing that makes these airpods unusable. Clearly this product was released prematurely based on the tremendous number of complaints. I suspect that this is occurring on all airpods, but only a few percent of the users are reporting it. By the nature of the problem, the issue is with the circuitry not software. I'm not sure if Apple has an "over the air update" capability with the BLE chip that they chose. I presume that if they did and could fix this with software, they would have pushed out a new firmware version. No doubt this will be fixed in the next version of the product - so much for that $250.

It should be unless they think you’ve deliberately caused the damage...

I used the Support App and arranged a replacement... they put a pending transaction on your credit card to cover the cost of the replacement item... if you return the faulty part in 10 days the credit card transaction is cancelled (so it doesn’t cost anything).

Postage is all prepaid by Apple, I was even able to arrange for the courier (UPS) to come to my house and take the faulty one.

I did the same. My left was fine and so I asked for replacement right. The next day the left started doing it so then Had to call again to get a replacement left.

I have a theory about this. By all accounts the original noice cancelling in the original firmware had a stronger effect. This was made weaker (let more noise in) with firmware updates. I think that with the original firmware the stronger NC caused a failure in hardware. I noticed that with NC on when I pushed the AirPod pro in pushing on the grille section that it squealed LOUD. I think this caused the failure.

thoughts?

I am having the same issue.

I have just been in contact with Support and they asked a very interesting question that actually hadn’t occurred to me...

They asked if it happens with any other device that I have paired them with.

I use them with my iPhone 11 Pro, iPad Pro and my MacBook Pro.

The issue only happens with my iPhone...

I have not read all 14 pages of this thread so apologies if this has been covered before, but has anyone found this is only happening with their iPhone?

May 13, 2020 I found a solution to the AirPod Pros, it’s as simple as the first generation AirPods. (Even though it’s nasty it works) You have to try and pull out gunk in the AirPod with your mouth, by sucking it out, nasty but it’s efficient.

This is clearly a design problem, there's no way to really switch off the feed onto the driver (mini speaker) so it is always producing input, no matter which mode is selected, therefore, when you're talking while wearing your AirPods Pro (mostly doing phone calls), the sound you produce, is re-feed onto the AirPods Pro creating more pressure than the driver is capable to bare and consequently breaking it.

Any AirPods Pro can be broken in 1 phone call.

The way to replicate this is: 1. Put your AirPods Pro on transparency mode 2. Max volume and make a phone call on an empty room 3. Speak loudly = AirPods Pro dead...

BTW, I'm not a heater by any means, I've got plenty good products from Apple, these however, are not!

Same exact issue. I can verify by humming. When I hummed it appears that certain frequencies (of my humming) cause the buzzing in both noise canceling and transparent modes but when in “off” mode absolutely no buzzing. Seems software related.

I called Apple support last Thursday and told them about my issues with the AirPod Pros I bought back in Feb. My replacements came in the mail this morning, haven’t had a chance to use them yet lol, hoping they work like they’re suppose to. Apple puts a temporary hold on your credit card until they receive the defective pair back in the mail. These AirPod Pros are truly the biggest pile of crap product they’ve ever released. They need to stop selling them, and recall them. Release the next generation of them when they’ve worked out all the bugs and issues. These things are $360 here in Canada after tax, I expect them to be absolutely flawless for that price. I’m done with Bluetooth/noise cancelling earbuds/headphones, they’re not worth the $$. A good ole pair of $30 wired Sony earbuds is good enough for me lol.

Same issue here. It wasn't happening a few days ago and suddenly I'm hearing this subtle crackling sound and sometimes slight feedback noise when I speak. No issue when transparency and noise cancellation are off though, so it seems like there might be an issue with the microphone.

Piling on, I've had mine since Feb '20 and they have been GREAT! Starting a couple of weeks ago, I began to notice "crackling" in the left Airpod with any movement or touch. It has gotten progressively worse. Speaking (flexing my jaw) or touching them creates the noise. Turning off transparency or noise cancellation stops the noise, which to me implies it is something with the pickup mic.

Finally hopped on the support page, opened a chat, explained the issue with the agent. He had me unpair and re-pair the airpods, which had no effect. Apple is now sending me a replacement left Airpod (after leaving a deposit). That whole experience was quick and easy, and if you have NOT done that, I recommend it. Now, fingers crossed that the problem is permanently resolved.

This fixed it for me. I wasn't hearing crackling but people I spoke with said I sound robotic and so I concluded it was an issue with my mic. I would typically jump from using my pods on my mac and then my phone and didn't realize that multiple pairing could have caused the issue.

That’s what I see when I take them out of the case.