AirPods Pro Rattling Noise

This is an ongoing problem. I had the same problem. Got a replacement from Apple after some very long support calls. Now the replacement bud is having the same problem. I won’t buy new pods every second month and Apple support is extremely slow and time consuming. Might just find a better brand of pods.

I am very confident that this issue is caused by an endemic design flaw. I had both my AirPods replaced previously (requiring two separate trips down to the Applestore) and I am now facing the issue with my left earbud so it will be the 3rd one to fail so far.....

I believe the cause of this defect symptom is physical damage on the diaphragm. This mode of failure is nothing new. It has historically been a problem with traditional “wired” earphones because manufacturers have no control over users; who quite often drive the volume of their amplifiers beyond the amplitude limit which the earphones are designed for. In the case of Apple AirPods however, such type of damage can never be caused by user-error. The earphones have built in amplifiers which should be self-regulating. What I suspect might be causing the damage being reported by so many AirPod users is the effect of unintended “feedback” which may occur if the user places their head on a pillow in either “transparency” or “noise-cancelling” modes. As a long term solution, Apple need to come up with a design solution to prevent users from damaging their product. In the meantime, they need to research the new issue and then be transparent enough to admit to the limitation and offer users practical advice on how to avoid damaging their AirPods. The unfortunate reality however, is that Apple will be very guarded about this and probably won’t admit there’s a design problem because they will be more fearful of potential harm to their reputation as well as a possible flurry of warranty claims.

My advice to Anyone facing this issue is that you MUST make a claim on your warranty now, to get your damaged AirPod replaced. Apple won’t entertain you once your warranty has expired and you will be left with a damaged product.

I’ve now changed 3 earbuds already, all with the same rattling sound issue. Just noticed the 4th one has the same issue.

The problem not occurring when anc/transparency is switched off actually makes a lot of sense. I think the problem is the microphone. After a short while the adhesive let’s go or something. I notices light tilts to sides gives a different experience. One result with no problem, other like you a resting a microphone trembling sheet or something.

i’ve expressed my concerns towards Apple, especially if you’re out of warranty. They didn’t want to go in to detail about hypothetical problems which could occur. Most problems could be solved with a firmware update. I’ve told the Apple employee firmware doesn’t solve hardware issues. But he clearly wanted to end the discussion, which is a bit rude in my opinion.

I contacted apple support and they had me "forget" them in bluetooth settings and re-set them up. This made the static noise go away. This seems to suggest some kind of software issue rather than hardware. I have only just applied the solution we will. have to see if the sound comes back.

That’s a different kind of issue, it’s not a static noise. It’s a rattling sound. Triggered when you move you head, walk or talk. Like something is physically hitting the inside of the earbud. Anywho, thanks for your Advice, this might help others with static noise issues.

I was so excited to purchase my Airpod Pro's today!!! I've not read anything online about them and seriously just wanted them because the 'regular' shape hurts my ears. Anyway, I noticed the rattling straight away as I put them in fresh out of the case and went on a maiden voyage (a walk). Then I google it and A LOT comes up under this exact topic.

I had this issue, and resolved it after resetting and re-pairing didn't work.

It's pretty grotesque, but the cause I found was ear wax buildup on the mesh of the tip.

If I was to guess I'd say that the attenuation of the sound caused by the wax resulted in the anti-noise generated by ANC forming a feedback loop.

Fix was easy, take the tips off, pop them in a teacup with a small amount of dish soap, add boiling water, leave and let cool.

Drain, and douse one last time in boiling water. Dry thoroughly ( I left mine on a paper towel overnight).

Job done.

To test this is the case, try the APP with different (fresh) set of tips and see.

Hope it helps.

sometimes the simplest of solutions can be the best. So I just replaced the top with a brand new one. Didn’t help, also didn’t think it would.

The rattling noise is activated when you move or if there are vibrations (talking, walking or coughing).

thanks tho

Considering the number of people who have posted that they’re facing the same experience (across many different Forums) there is definitely an endemic design issue with the AirPod Pro.

The issue is that Apple are absolutely silent on the issue and our voices are simply too fragmented to expect something to change. What’s really needed is some statistics on the returns rate for this defect symptom. Then we’d be able to see the naked truth in context. The only problem is that there will be a significant number of customers out there who don’t act on it and choose to just “live with” a defective product.

Has anybody made a YouTube video on this? I suspect that may gather more momentum and force some action (or at least a response) by Apple.

I had the same problem with the right AirPod rattling when they were about 2 months old. Apple replaced it, then the left one started rattling. Apple replaced it. Now the right one is beginning to make noise if i move my mouth, or touch it. I think more needs to be done than replace a defective part with another potentially defective part. I'm concerned about what happens when the warranty runs out.

Side note: I bought a pair of Beats Pro earphones which have so far performed flawlessly even though I've read they're essentially the same as the AirPod.

I figured I would give an update since I’ve started going in circles with Apple. After being replaced four times under warranty I was sent to a tier two support rep after the rattling and fit check issues persisted after going through all of the troubleshooting steps. The rep had me submit logs from my phone and said she would have an engineer look at them. Two days later I got a call back and I was told it wasn’t a hardware issue and I would have to go to the Apple Store for in person support. I inquired why this was and asked what would be different in the process since I had done this previously, and she remarked about it being replaced with a new pair if the problem couldn’t be remedied. I brought up that no stores were open near me due to COVID-19 and she seemed perfectly happy with me waiting for service.

Two weeks ago I went into the store with my AirPods and met with a genius for an hour. We talked about the history of the problem and the warranty service I have received. He was not able to locate any notes about my call with the tier 2 rep, which seemed odd since the phone rep insisted the next step had to be done in the store. I demonstrated the fit check failing on all ear tip sizes and describe my problem thoroughly emphasizing that replacement AirPods sound great and pass the fit check, but over time the rattling noise starts and from that point on they never pass the fit check again and the rattling persists.

We ended the visit with them escalating this to their head genius who subsequently was going to contact an engineer at corporate for guidance. As part of that discussion the genius asked about this discussion thread which he added a link to in the ticket. A week ago I received a call from the genius and he said this would be escalated to a tier 2 support rep and they would contact me on the phone. I explained that this was the process I just went through and that previous rep told me I had to resolve this at the store. He said he would look into it further and that is how the call ended. It has been another week and I have not heard anything. My guess is that they will recommend a refund for the device soon so they won’t have to deal with me anymore, but I would much rather have AirPods that work as intended especially after the latest updates to the Pros that were announced at WWDC. I also would like to help them solve this problem so that everyone else experiencing the issue can get it resolved as well. Hopefully my next update is more promising.

Thanks for your dedication Alex.

I’ve sat on the phone for hours about a month or two ago.

It was my 4th time replacing an AirPods Pro, so I tried escalating to a supervisor for refund. They refused a refund and just offered another replacement.

I wonder how long they’re going to hide this.

I have rattling noise with right airpod. The sound is pronounced when I talk or hum. When listening to music it is good. I have seen many have the same problem.

Context

The airpod was purchased from UNI store in Pune India. in November.

Hi Yogesh, to date I have had 5 different AirPod Pro buds replaced for this issue. My conclusion is that when a user has the defect symptom which you describe, they will need to get the offending AirPod bud replaced. However, one must remember that since evidence is gathering that this is an endemic design issue with this particular Apple product it probably means there’s a high change that then either one of your buds will just fail again at some point in the future. If that occurs after your warranty has lapsed then Apple probably won’t entertain you if you try to make a claim.

Your particular situation will be made even worse by the fact that you only have 3rd party resellers in India. They will always be far less sympathetic if you try to argue your case. I would be tempted to demand a refund now while you still can if I were you. You can use this forum as evidence of your claim that this issue is a latent failure. Hopefully Apple will solve it when they release the Gen2 version whenever that will be.

Recently I've noticed something odd with my 1st replacement pair of AirPods Pro.

When I first insert the right one in my ear after taking it out of the case and press to seal it in my ear canal, it emits a relatively loud "scratching/static" noise occasionally.

I haven't been able to correlate the mode the AirPod is in initially (NC, transparent, none) when this happens, but it doesn't happen every time.

Also, it is DEFINITELY not air pressure in my ear canal, the AirPod actively emits this noise from the speaker.