AirPods Pro firmware 2B588 reduce the noise cancelling capability

A guy on macrumors reported that the noise cancelling on his AirPods that were on 2B588 failed and so he had them exchanged for a new set that were also on 2B588 and those were perfect.. So he doesn’t think it is firmware and he thinks it’s hardware.

Other users on macrumors have said that the noise cancelling issue can be illuminated by sucking on the grills. Apparently if you suck on the grills, it cleanses them and the vents behind the grills can then start to operate properly.

That doesn’t sound like firmware issues to me

Hi,

When you talk about newer pods and say it works better, please specify which hw version.

E.g. those I bought a couple of months ago.

model A2084, hw version 1.0.0

firmware 2C54 right now.

That might be a way to figure out if the problem is hw, firmware or both.

E.g. some firmware might work better with some hw.

Maybe it's just the update process itself which broke anc.

I have 2B588 on my new APP I got 3 days ago, and I can't compare it, as that's everything I heard. But basically when driving with 160 KM/h, I wouldn't hear anything when it's switched on, except of around 20% of the high pitched wind/rain noise. Or when colleagues are talking from 2 meters away, I can still understand what they say if I don't hear any music and concentrate on it, with music I basically just hear some "s" and "t" sounds, everything in the higher frequency range.

So in the middle and lower frequency spectrum, it basically filters out almost everything, in the higher frequency spectrum it does not. Was it different with previous firmwares?

I ordered some Symbio W eartips now for the modification, I'm already excited about how much additional noise cancelling it will provide. Are the wind tunnels always open on the side or are they closed when anc is on?

JoelW777 wrote:

Maybe it's just the update process itself which broke anc.

I have 2B588 on my new APP I got 3 days ago, and I can't compare it, as that's everything I heard. But basically when driving with 160 KM/h, I wouldn't hear anything when it's switched on, except of around 20% of the high pitched wind/rain noise. Or when colleagues are talking from 2 meters away, I can still understand what they say if I don't hear any music and concentrate on it, with music I basically just hear some "s" and "t" sounds, everything in the higher frequency range.

So in the middle and lower frequency spectrum, it basically filters out almost everything, in the higher frequency spectrum it does not. Was it different with previous firmwares?

I ordered some Symbio W eartips now for the modification, I'm already excited about how much additional noise cancelling it will provide. Are the wind tunnels always open on the side or are they closed when anc is on?

Same for me.

Bought on novembre, 20.

FW: 2C54

Never failed seal test.

With the Symbio mod they works GREAT. It would be awesome if they'd would like that without the mod.

memories_of_green wrote:

So maybe 1.0.0 is still the latest?

No change in hw?

Then I would conclude that is all about the firmware.

Especially that the NC in my APP worked great a couple a months ago, now it is really bad.

The hardware have never changed, even in the new stocks.

Can you please describe better the "now is really bad"?

There is only one hardware version at the moment and that’s 1.0.0. All new shipments currently are 1.0.0 unless anyone knows differently.

If people are reporting loss of noise cancelling which Is restored when receiving new hardware that is using the same version of firmware then it has to be hardware that is the issue

We are getting a brand new back ordered pair coming in Monday so we will update on hardware and firmware out of box... and this is coming from Best Buy. Hopefully, orig firmware and same hardware so the wife and I can both test them and see where they update to and give a real word 2 person opinion from start to finish on ANC degradation within a hour or however long it takes to update to current broken firmware/hardware failure = )

Unfortunately new versions are shipping with the 88 firmware as I just pick one up yesterday for direct comparison and the ANC is exactly the same as my original airpods currently on the December firmware. I’m totally convinced it is a a firmware issue and again people either don’t realize the reduction because they never had the initial firmware or the current ANC is still good enough for them.

So are you saying the anc contained in the initial firmware even filtered out the higher frequencies so you could not understand what people where talking about 2 meters away from you, not listening to music?

My refund from Apple is through and my online replacements aren’t due until the 3rd of Feb. Stocks are filtering through to retail stores in seemingly individual units rather than batches so as soon as a pair arrive at my local retail Apple store, I shall reserve them and check the H/W number, Model number and Firmware version

I would not be able to understand people in close proximity but also I would have total silence while driving my car. Where as now I can pick up the engine rumble as well as other ambient noise. That’s how I could directly tell the ANC was weakened on the 88 firmware revision.

Since I have not heard back from my adviser and I'm still in the return window, I requested a replacement pair via Amazon that arrive next week. I'll be curious to see what FW is installed and if there is any difference.

Yes, Joel. That’s preciously what we are trying to say. When I bought the AirPods, if you had ANC on, any voice was a muffle. Like being underwater and hearing a voice. Unless the person was screaming or something crazy.

This issue is such a simple matter of a code change related to the ANC in 2B588 which was carried over to 2C54. This is what I believe and what the evidence shows.

Anyone who never experienced the Pros on 2B584 or prior cannot give any fair comparison as only the early adopters with the stock firmware experienced how the device functioned under that firmware. I’m not understanding why this thread is getting so big yet Apple has remained silent even with me. They have told me they are waiting for the “data” they collected from me to be looked over by another team — whoever that may be.

I really don’t understand what’s going on with Apple, why some people think that this is a hardware problem and why some of you are getting answers that this is a perception issue only.

Today I contact the Brazilian support for the second time and I got the same answer about Apple knowing this issue and that I can be sure that they’re analyzing it to get a correction as soon as possible. The guy who supported me clearly told that the recommendation is to wait for a correction and then update the APP when it’s available. Translating his words, he told me “Soon it’ll be like magic and you’ll wake up with your AirPods pro updated and your problem fixed.”

They never asked me to send my APP back and probably ‘cause they know that this isn’t a hardware issue.

I wish whoever this guy is and wherever he got this info from could communicate with the US Apple team and the rest of the countries where people are reporting this problem... (which would likely be just about anywhere it's sold)...