AirPods Pro firmware 2B588 reduce the noise cancelling capability

This article is entirely biased. But reading through it, the results they are showing seem to be BETWEEN 2B588 and 2C54. NOT BETWEEEN 2B584 (or prior) and 2C54... I didn't see the mention of any of the previous firmware numbers in the article (minus test copies of them or something).

None of us are crazy. It's ridiculous. 25,000 views on this thread. Almost 2,000 people saying they experienced the same thing.

I'm going to tweet at the publisher of that article. I don't speak French but I can say it in English. His handle is at the bottom of it. Maybe you can tweet him in French...

I have had the AirPods Pro since late November, and noticed the degraded ANC around late December. I would be able to hear my typing much louder and the "ear suck effect" had definitely disappeared. I also noticed that on the plane I was able to hear a weird low frequency sound in my left AirPod that was unbearable and I had to remove them for the rest of the flight. I checked the software and they were on 2C54. I had replacements ordered through Best Buy after filing an apple support claim. I just received the replacements today and they are on 2B588. I think they are better than 2C54 for sure and I notice more of the "ear suck effect." I still believe that when I first received them they were much better at ANC, however right now as I am typing this I can say that it is doing a better job at blocking my keyboard sounds. I think 2B588 definitely diminished the ANC, however, I think 2C54 is what really broke the ANC and made it useless.

They have recognized it as an issue to the ones like me who are being asked to surrender their AirPods and then give new ones. I mean they aren't going to have a press conference about it -- It's Apple.

I would hope that they have acknowledged it and are working on a firmware. Others have heard from the Genius Bar that their "answer" is to wait for a firmware.

I know but I can't really argue with them... I have to do it their way. If swapping my AirPods and getting a new pair and letting them "investigate" mine and find no issues w/ hardware and then I say the new pair running 2B588 (or whatever) have the same issue, then they have one more report that it is firmware so it should speed this up. I guess.

They are supposed to send me a new pair and collect this pair running 2C54. I assume the new one will run 2B588 and still have the ANC issue (but at least not have the bugs that 2C54 introduced). And then I can just say "hey yeah these still have the same issue just like the 2,500 people on this forum and 30,000 views on here"

Did you try different tip sizes when that used to happen? I think you might have already answered that earlier in the posts but I don't wanna read through 30 pages right now D:

Either way, Apple needs a changelog. And a really simple fix is to add a little slider to the AirPods Settings that Bose and Sony have so that if people have problems with a certain level of ANC, they can turn it down. If I want it at 100% or 90% or whatever, I can do that too. Simple.

I think the bass would be more likely. The AirPods create their noise cancellation from their series of outer and inner microphones and "anti-noise". 2C54 destroyed bass (and Apple seems to have in turn destroyed it) but ANC is still not the same in any AirPods model running 2B588 (compared to prior firmware 2B584 or earlier)

I mean ANC always inadvertently affects some of the playback's bass spectrum, it's unavoidable due to the nature of the cancelation, there's always going to be some interference. They've gotten super good at minimizing it but it's still there to some degree. I'm sure that aspect of the tuning is what got messed up in 2C54.

My problems with the Airpods Pro - I'm on firmware 2C54, and my APPs are hardware version 1.0.0:

1. I hate the high-frequency "warble" when moving/chewing etc, with ANC/transparency mode on! (ref. another big thread in here)
2. There's more bass with ANC/transparency mode ON than OFF. (that's nice, when I can't use ANC while walking/jogging etc because of the high-frequency warble)
3. ANC is worse than with 2B584 and even 2B588
4. When I got my Airpods Pro, I got "Good Seal" (in green) with every "Ear tip fit test" I took. With both medium and large tips. Now I have yellow on every test. Same tips, and same ears ;) I get "Good seal" if I gently push them in the ear canal while testing.

WTF Apple? $250 (more than $320 here in Norway) and you forked it up!! Fix it!!!

2B588 is overall better than 2C54 in terms of sound quality. I noticed that when I got my newest swap out.

I don't think ANC-gate is over. No new update has been released and 2C54 was pulled. Something is happening. We can't just let this thread die.

I'm here, hating 2C54, but not giving up! I need an updated firmware now!

• Treble "warble"
• Sub-par ANC (compared to 2B584)
• Ear fit tip test failing (worked on 2B584 and 2B588)
• Less bass with ANC/Transparent OFF

I'm past my return date, so I either need to keep them or lose money and sell them on the second hand market :(

Did I say it? I need a new and better firmware NOW!

My last interaction with support was she asked me to make sure I updated to 13.3.1 and to test again. I told her it was not the IOS version causing the issue, it's the firmware. She said engineering has it marked as awaiting new software or KB. I'm concerned they don't really know what the issue is and how to fix. I swapped a few weeks ago and using a pair with 2B588....Same ANC issue but slightly better than 2C54.

I am on my xx set of Pro‘s....too embarrassed to say how many but they have all failed with hardware and ANC issues. 

My latest pair of Pro's are now a week old and are performing perfectly. Obviously the ANC isn't as good as it was when we had 2B584 but it functions adequately and there is a very noticeable difference between ANC, Transparency and Off modes. 

Although the model number is still the same at 1.0.0, it may seem strange but they do seem to be better built than my previous sets.....somewhat studier but that may just be my imagination.

As for the seal test, well it hasn’t hasn’t let me down once so far which is a first.

Also both AirPods seem to drain at an even rate with good battery substantially - 1.5 hours of play time and both reading at 79%. Again this is a first.

So all good with this set and meeting expectations. 

Long may it continue

I agree. January production models do seem to work better. This is my 14th day with my replacement set and everything has been faultless. I honestly think that Apple has tweaked the internals or addressed a quality control issue.

I can’t believe it’s February 14th and there’s no firmware update. There are works in the apartment above with a constant rumbling and this should be ideal for ANC. Anc on, anc off, almost no difference, sometimes I hear a weird wind noise like it’s trying to counter that noise but it’s completely off time and with the wrong frequency..