AirPods Pro firmware 2B588 reduce the noise cancelling capability

WilliamFromEarth, thanks. Any updates are helpful for us all. I might email my Apple rep to see if anything has occurred. I'll also mention again for them to take a look at this discussion (again) since it has grown like double in size since they were looking at it.

Hi Eggroll,

I don't think it was pulled. But I also had extreme difficulty in getting my AirPods to update... It took a few days before they finally stubbornly decided to update. But either way 2B588 and 2C54 are both... worthless to me. I just want the old firmware back.

Going through the Genius Bar is pointless. They’re only solution would be to replace a perfectly working pair of AirPods with another perfectly working pair of AirPods that will present the same problem as soon as they’ll update to the latest firmware. Those poor guys working in the stores are doing their best to cover up Apple’s engineers mistakes, they’re treated really badly by the angry customers when they have nothing to do with those issues.

Yeah Apple needs to get on this NOW. I mean a little ANC is better than zero ANC but... I mean these things were near-PERFECT when I got them! I've never seen something like this before and I really hope it was not an intentional change. Or if it was, they see the backlash and revert to what it was before. They had a rocking product here... ready to bring even more market-share for the wireless headset market... and now we have this issue.

I asked my rep for an update and nothing yet he said.

Has anyone else heard from AppleCare on their end? Nothing happening yet... It's a shame there is no change logs in the firmware either.

Also they will lose so much $ if people are returning them... I mean it would be a wakeup call but I'd rather them just fix it before they lose money... It's been over a month now :( I still like the product but I loved them before.

It's true. The only thing you could really hope for is that the new pair had the old firmware and you would have to really try to jerry-rig them to try to prevent them from updating... like unpairing them from the iPhone everytime you want to charge or something. Really sad... And yes, it's the engineering dept or dev team that should know about it by now and I hope would be working on a new firmware... If they don't... it's really going to cost them dearly. They have a great product here... one that I was willing to drop a few hundred for... and now I'm kind of sitting here just hoping it gets back to the way it was on day one... I wouldn't be angry to the staff there... it's not their fault and this is clearly a firmware issue... So... it's a catch-22 since we can only report to AppleCare/Support and also send feedback (whether or not this gets read or not is beyond me) but the AppleCare reports are def being looked at.

Also I updated my rep about this thread (which he knew about) and said they are looking at it. So I think it's best we keep each other updated here as they are monitoring this thread too

Then we may have to reach all that people with a link to this thread trough reddit, technology news sites, apple/tech YouTube channels, etc to let them know that anc was stronger on the first day they were out.

Yeah that's true! I didn't even think about that! They probably just think this is how they are and wouldn't even know that it used to be like 10x stronger... I first used the ANC inside the Apple Store itself (I had to open them and set them up as soon as I got them lol). And the effect was really amazing. Now it doesn't even block out the quiet sound of a small bathroom fan I have the next room over... It's just... sad.

Well, at least 1,500 people have marked that they have this problem too on this forum alone. And on Reddit there's also a few active threads about it.

A lot of the YouTube channels that reviewed them did so before this glitch... And most of them rated the ANC compared to others (the Sonys with that long crazy name) and some other Beats headphones. One site said they would re-do the testings with the new firmware which would probably help out Apple but I really wish they'd just fix this. If there was a way to downgrade, I would have done that 3 weeks ago. Oh well...

Yep that’s what the wife and I are worried about- we loved them up until the last two updates and we returned both sets because of this. I just hope they are still shipping with original firmware so people know how good it could have been and take them back until they recognize the issue and fix it- either by adding a slider which imho is the best solution- or allow people to revert back manually. They also need to start including firmware notes as well- this was super dirty on what they did and imho they could be held liable by selling a product and ”dumming” it down after purchase and expectations of product.

Yeah you and your wife did the smart thing... Just I'm too late to return and I don't want to anyway as I really do like these... and am really hoping it just goes back. With so much backlash, I imagine they will fix this. And yeah a slider would be the simple ultimate way to fix this. But honestly the ANC was so good before (imo) that I'm not sure why it would even need to be touched like it was... Frustrating. It has to be a mistake because I've never really seen Apple do something like this intentionally.

And yeah, the firmwares need a changelog... The fact that there wasn't one shocked me a bit too...

Yep - I’m gonna try to return mine now I think. (Purchased on day 1) I flew for the first time since these firmware updates last week and they are now completely blown away for ANC by the Sonys, it’s not even close. Before I thought they compared very favorably.

I’m left wondering too if there’s an element here where Apple realized the ANC was “too good” compared to their own competing Beats products, both current and unreleased and did this in part out of a desire to not have the Pros cannibalize sales of those for people where ANC level is paramount. I hope that’s not the case, but I’m not sure I put it past them.

Oh I really hope they aren't doing that with what you said with the Beats. That would be... so dirty. But usually the Beats are marketed differently from the AirPods. When Apple bought Beats, I assumed they would integrate the two brands together but they've specifically kept them apart... Beats are marketed with a larger emphasis on workouts and stuff like that (not all but a good amount) and just a different marketing "style" overall...

If they did it on purpose, it will really become a huge issue. This forum alone has nearly 10,000 views now and almost 1,500 that said they have the same problem... and the support team is actively watching this from what the rep told me.

Lower level support may not know but Apple engineers sure do. This was absolutely intentional but the motivation will never be known. My personal belief is that the initial ANC caused too many reports of dizziness and headaches.

Both times, “low level” support took 5-6 mins breaks to check engineers feedback. Upon direct question, they reported that Apple is not aware of any issues with firmware update. It’s an hardware problem.

Also, if that was the case, with millions and millions units sold, this topic would have skyrocketed already.