AirPods Pro firmware 2B588 reduce the noise cancelling capability

I have an update for everyone.

Many on here keep talking a lot about 2B588 vs 2C54 and how the latter is pulled.

Yes, I concur that 2B588 is better than 2C54 and that's why the latter was pulled.

The reason why the hardware version will always be 1.0.0 is because this is the first version of the AirPods Pro. If an AirPods Pro 2 comes out (which it will eventually), then it would have the hardware number of 2.0.0 or if Apple does something strange, then maybe 1.2.0 or something like that.

However, I also noticed QA changes in the hardware throughout the three swapped out pairs I had. Honestly, I preferred my original ones the most though because they had the working ANC on 2B584 which it looks like we aren't getting back unless Apple implements an ANC control-slider in iOS and iPadOS/MacOS, etc...

But my newest AirPods which came with 2B588 and were manufactured January of 2020 just seem to work better and don't have as many weird flukes. The previous sets had a battery issue where the Right AirPod would always be 10-11% LOWER than the Left and I would end up charging just the Right AirPod for a few minutes which was annoying. This pair gives the low battery warning sound at the SAME time in both ears and tells me to charge them. Battery life also seems improved but it may be due to 2B588 vs the pulled 2C54 firmware.

Bottom line: No new firmware exists and Apple has not publicly discussed nor acknowledged our issue. Internally, it's been discussed globally and I can attest to this. However, they have now dropped the ball on me and since my pair was swapped out, my rep was changed to a new person and this person has ignored all emails I have sent to him. I am going to call one (final?) time now just to see why they haven't replied and again refer Apple to this thread which now has risen to 32 pages, 27,844 views, 467 replies, and at least 2,014 people with the same problem.

If anyone has any updates as well, please let us know. Thanks.

TomGasGuzzler wrote:

This article is a slap in the face for all AirPod pro customers:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2020/02/11/airpods-pro-update-may-not-have-affected-noise-canceling-after-all/

It is indeed a slap in the face.

In the first version of the article, the writer originally stated that that ANC in was indeed reduced by the firmware. Then he posted the current "update" where he states the exact opposite.

The headline on the original story was "AirPods Pro Update Improves Sound Accuracy, Affects Noise-Canceling"

I suspect one of his sources in Silicon Valley persuaded him to back down.

Yeah and what's even worse is that we have objective audio testing from the RTINGS review that proves the change - whatever he and his and "increasing readers" think is irrelevant. He's also ignoring or not aware of the fact that the ANC change happened in 2B588, not 2C54.

I'm getting pretty sick of waiting for this to be fixed or addressed and starting to suspect Apple thinks we're just going to go away if they don't say anything.

Sorry but I don't think that's right. Apple is not going to intentionally make its product worse (ANC) to make another product look better. Especially the AirPods Pro are in-ear headphones and the new headphones, which are scheduled for release in March, are over-ear. This means they appeal to a completely different target group. The AirPods Pro are selling too well, as Apple is intentionally making them worse. In my opinion, the fact that a software has been withdrawn also speaks against this. This shows that the software was not sufficiently tested before. Currently, Apple simply allows itself far too many software bugs. Not only with the AirPods but also with IOS. So I think this is the problem. But I am not optimistic that a quick solution will be found.

Greetings from Germany.

My son bought a pair back in the Fall and let me use them at the gym and I was blown away with the ANC and how effective it was. I was not able to order a pair until the last of February and waiting on them to ship. In the meantime I discovered this thread about the firmware update killing the ANC. Not sure what I am going to do but thinking about waiting until they arrive and just keep swapping them out with apple every week until the problem is fixed or just request a refund. I keep reading very recent comments on amazon by people who love the ANC and highly recommend but no mention about the degradation. Could it be that they do not know any better. Today I was at the gym and saw a guy with a set. I asked him how he liked them and he was extremely happy and loved the ANC. He just received them from Apple 2 weeks ago. I mentioned the ANC degradation and he looked shocked. Not sure what to think but I believe they are very happy because they do not know how great it was last year. Just thinking out loud. BTW, talked with my son and he verifies degradation in his and will be sending back for replacement.

They were amazing when they first came out, then they ruined them comparatively. I think people now, just don't know any better because they sorta work, especially when they are turned up the whole way, but try and listen at anything beside max volume and they really disappoint. People who didn't hear them when they actually worked like they did, just don't know any better and Apple is counting on that. They won't ever admit they changed it, nor will they fix it. If they haven't by now, they won't. I did notice a difference from the replacement set I got, but they aren't "amazing" like they were. I can hear people talking 20 feet away on the other side of cubicles like they are standing next to me, until I crank the volume, which works, but that's just drowning out, instead of cancelling, but i've given up on trying to get hat was originally shipped. I'm sure it had to do with it being a danger to people who used them and couldn't hear stuff, so they compromised and made them as worse as they could while still offering some ANC.

I don’t think that they have reduce it because of „stupid people“! You can read from some people which did not have that problems and love the ANC. There must be a problem with the firmware.

as i said before the support told me that they are running for a solution!

There is no fix for this issue, and asking Apple to do something, doesn't work. It would surprise me if Apple actually reads this forum. You have about 3 options

• Ignore the situation
• Leave the AirPods and wait for a new firmware
• Buy another brand (I took this option)

Good luck!

Organised with Support for a replacement single AirPod Pro today because there’s a rattle / squeak every time my head moves and when on Transparency or Noise Cancellation throughout the troubleshooting process the Rep asked whether I’ve experienced “degradation of the Noise Cancellation” — yes I have. Running 2B588.

So I've just had a support chat with Apple and they offered to send out replacements, I return my old ones stuck on 2C54. I will be able to do a back to back test to confirm to myself that they are indeed much worse than when I bought them in November. I hope anyway! Depends on what firmware these ones come to me with.

I did say to the excellent support person that I know there are more important things going on in the world right now but it is disappointing and I just want to log the issue and hope that it helps bring attention to the problem me and many others are experiencing in this degraded ANC performance.

Did you compare with other devices? I mean, is the ANC working better only with the updated iPod and still worst with others devices? ‘Cause then the problem with the ANC could be an incompatibility problem between firmwares.

They still say 2C54, but when I spoke with Apple Support this morning, I was informed that BOTH 2B588 and 2C54 are the current official firmware versions (even though 2C54 was removed). Although I cannot find (yet) anything written stating that iOS 13.4.1 changed anything regarding AirPods Pro, the support person told me that it did! But the ANC seems to be as good as when I bought the buds early November 19. Let me know if you try this and what you think!

2B588 is still bad you’d probably still be able to hear your footsteps. For me it’s so bad that off and anc are basically the same thing and there’s no difference. 2B584/ the update before that is the one that’s good. Idk if that’s that’s the correct one but I said it off memory

Post discussing what happened over 6 months and how 2D15 has not fixed any of our ANC issues (or the other major clicking-sound issue) as well as mentioning censorship was removed for the reason of "being speculative".

There is no speculation. This is my first hand account of the update that was released yesterday. Thus, it will be posted again with any "future" tense and possible "speculation" removed.

OP (edited):

Agreed. I've been following this for all 6 months and numerous APP issues (this being the biggest) along with the clicking noise issue has not only not been addressed, but we have been talked down to, told we have "psychological" issues, or need to wait for an update.

2D15 has not fixed these two issues -- confirmed and corroborated by multiple users across three different forums incl. myself.

On top of that, many of the valid posts here that do not violate the ToS are getting censored.

I've checked the Terms of Service about 3 times in-depth and posts that discuss our updates, frustrations, and personal experiences do not violate the ToS.

However, there is a clause in the ToS that says they can remove ANY post for ANY reason that they deem proper... Thus, it's censorship. But the whole tech industry has its eyes here and all of the portal sites are keeping record of this.

[Mods: This is discourse about ongoing issues. 2D15 does not fix the problem that 2B588 created and 2C54 continued. Other issues are present still too. This is the single largest thread in the entire AirPods/Accessories category. Not speculative as you said when you removed it the first time. Edited to ensure that is true.]

UPDATE: I noticed some bizarre quirks since the 2D15 update... I left it overnight charging (so it would update) and the case charged to 100% but as soon as I put them in my ears this afternoon, I immediately heard the "low battery" sound... odd. I checked the percentage and they were both at 25% (strange as they were charging overnight and usually 25% does not trigger that sound -- 10% or lower does). Seemed like an arbitrary number (glitch).

So, I decided to unpair from my PC and iPhone and do a full factory reset on the new 2D15 firmware (not the flashing white light reset but the full reset that forces the flashing red light)... Then I let them charge for a bit after re-pairing with my devices...

I still have the clicking issue (and it is more prominent and I can hear it when I am talking with the Pros in my ears, like when I'm on a call/FaceTime) but I cannot confirm yet if this may have changed something with ANC.

I do notice that I cannot hear the bathroom fan as loudly anymore (which was how I noticed the ANC issue in November). I do feel a bit more pressure in my ears as well. But this did NOT happen until after I just factory reset it AFTER the 2D15 update.

The results for me are still inconclusive as I will need to field test these outside more about ANC but I think it may be a good idea to factory reset all of the AirPods Pros after a successful update to 2D15 and then see if anyone notices any change to ANC and post it here.