AirPods Pro firmware 2B588 reduce the noise cancelling capability

Mine also stopped working. There is more silence in the “off” mode than noise cancellation. Yesterday I decided to do an ear tip test and it came back yellow warning to try another tip size or adjustment.

I’ve always used medium and it was also green — a good seal.

I tried all other tip sizes and still got yellow.

I haven't had that issue but the firmware is just not good quality. There is no changelog which is a shame because if there was, maybe we could explicitly see what they changed (even if it was vague) but these firmwares don't have that.

I still have a good fit (green) with the large tips. I got a good fit on the medium as well but the large just are more comfortable and more stable in my ears so I use those.

But the ANC is still horrible. I can hear myself typing this on my very quiet notebook keyboard with ANC on right now... Not how it was before 2B588.

I imagine Apple is working on this by now... If not, then.. they need to fix this now.

Merry Christmas Apple, please fix this problem as a gift.............

It's best to submit both feedback AND contact AppleCare and make a case.

My AppleCare rep has cited this forum and contacted me on numerous occasions to gather both data from my iPhone (and the Airpods) as well as just hear my symptoms described by myself.

I just did the same for both, having the same issues and thought it was just me- until I googled. Submitted Chat and Bug entry. If they don’t fix mine are going back as well soon. ANC is about 25-30% worse or ineffective.

I was contacted by Apple Support and they sent me replacement pair as they wanted to "capture" the pair with the issue. Unfortunately, replacement pair is on newest firmware and there is no noise cancelling improvement. I am so frustrated with the severe degradation of the ANC - I have to listen to them at 80% and above to drown out normal conversational voices. I am shocked that they are not able to offer a fix yet.

Just spoke to the wife hers are doing the same thing, she thought it was just her ears : ( went ahead and chatted to Apple and told them hers too. If they don’t have a update or fix soon- ours will be going back for the Sony’s.

What’s sad is you know their technical engineers knew that there was a degradation of ANC when they adjusted something else. I can’t believe this would have ever made it past change management etc.; especially right near the holidays. It’s a good way to see a lot of returns and brand loyalty loss for sure.

Senfinger1, yes I agree that it's about 25-30% (if even that high) of what it was before. It's really sad. These were SO amazing to me and usually I don't have that kind of reaction to new tech... But then they literally killed it.

I know if Apple sees mass-returns, it would send a message... but with something that is certainly fixable with a firmware fix (not speculation Moderators because the firmware is what made this change in the first place so please don't delete my posts!).

Anyway, I just want Apple to fix it already.

steph, I agree. AppleCare also discussed taking my pair and I told them it would be fine but these (and the ones I had before which were swapped for another reason) both were FINE with ANC before the update and that I (and everyone else on this forum) are well aware already that it's a simple firmware issue and not a hardware issue or defect...

If there was a public changelog, we could literally just cite that and Apple could just undo whatever stupid thing they did...

So ridiculous! The only thing I would hope would happen if they swap them out again is that the new ones are on the older firmware (yours weren't so I doubt most of the new pairs are anymore)... and I would try to keep it from updating someway or another... Airplane mode or bluetooth off or something crazy.

Apple keeps removing my posts because they are a "feedback or a feature request that was not constructive". I'm pretty sure all of us sharing our issues and concurring on what is happening is both constructive and not a feature request. We are helping each other out.

Right now, as posted above, we can only really submit feedback to Apple directly and/or contact AppleCare and open a case. A lot of us have done so and carrying on the discussion on discussions.apple.com seems to be constructive. Please don't censor us when we are already frustrated with a firmware issue that we are trying to constructively come together to find a solution about.

Sharing experiences with AppleCare will allow others to see what can or will happen when they contact AppleCare and what current solutions are available.

Thanks. Happy Holidays Apple!

There is an issue. Rtings.com who can measure noise isolation using a dummy head setup have reported there's likely an issue. Soon we'll have objective measurements to send to Apple.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/discussions/wViZzszsIKnys1e6/firmware-updates-causing-poor-anc-performance#comment-28382

I'm using my Airpods with Windows/Android but as a precaution I've unpaired them from my iPhone so that the firmware doesn't auto update.

Hello there, I also have this problem. After Airpods updated to 2C54 noise canceling is next to none. I can even hear my colleague from 5 meters away talking on the phone while I listen to music on low volume.

This is great. I'm glad they will be re-testing the Airpods Pro w/ the new(er) firmwares to see how it compares. I'm sure it will clearly be different and then there will be actual statistics for Apple to look at -- although I'm sure they can simply do this in-house without the need of a third party.

Same issues here. I have noticed severe degradation in ANC since the recent firmwares to the point now on 2C54 its just about non existent, I have been through multiple resets and DFU restores of my devices also reported an issue with breaking up audio on the iPhone 11 series. My case is open to see the Genius Bar in the new year and try a swap out and try to get this fixed otherwise a full refund will be required. 😔

Apple just needs to come out and acknowledge this issue, and undo whatever tweaks they did to the ANC in 2B588 which remained in 2C54. I know these firmware numbers by heart now from typing them so much talking about how to fix this and advising others on how to report to AppleCare (best choice) and also how to submit feedback (also something that should be done). I think most of us want to keep our AirPods... we just want them back to the way they were like 3 weeks ago...

Has anyone heard any updates from AppleCare on their particular case with this? It's been a while for me.

Reporting same issues, I noticed the weaker ANC while is was on vacations in Amsterdam, got to the local store and talked to the staff, they don't have any reports of it, but they did have heard about the dizziness while using the airpods.

Its understandable that Apple want to the address the health problems around it but killing the ANC is not the solution!

Just give us a slider or something to turn it up to a desired level.