AirPods 3 High Pitched noise.

Your description sounds rather like audio feedback, so it could be as simple as making sure the AirPod is correctly positioned in your ear, and the volume setting is not too high.

Follow Apple's advice in How to reset your AirPods and AirPods Pro - Apple Support to reset and reconnect your AirPods. If that doesn't solve the problem you might have a defective AirPod, contact Apple Support.

Update: I just received my 3rd pair of AirPods 3 and I am happy to report that my 3rd pair does not have the high pitched noise!

The latest pair was shipped from Amazon on March 4, 2022 so it's possible they have gotten through the initial batch which had some defects? Or just dumb luck but they were received with a previous fw version (sadly I don't remember the exact fw version but it was NOT 4C170). They did not have any noise out of the box. They were then updated automatically to the latest 4C170 fw and I did not notice any difference...still no noise.

So it is absolutely a hardware issue, so I would try again maybe now the latest batches have the hardware issue sorted.

Last update: I contacted Apple Support and I fixed the problem with them.

They told me to bring my airpods to Apple Premium Reseller. However, there were not able to identify the problem. They run some tests but they told me that everything was ok. It was not!!

So Apple Support told me to ship airpods to Apple Care (not Premium Reseller). I received my airpods back in 2 days. now they work perfectly. No more noise.

I think they totally replaced them (airpods cannot be repaired right?)

Found a temporary fix: Go to settings, accessibility, AirPods, Audio Accessibility Settings, Background Sounds and play the Rain sound set to 0 volume for both background and media. Should work well til Apple comes out with a software update to fix this, which is the most likely solution.

Same issue here, high-pitched whine when no music is playing. Hacky "background noise at 0% volume" fix does indeed work, but I don't like that it's necessary.

I reached out to Apple and am getting the issue escalated, since I'm guessing this is a software bug they missed because most people aren't bothered by / can't hear high pitched sounds. I've been encouraged to share this link so anyone with the same issue can report it too and have it addressed sooner! https://www.apple.com/feedback/airpods/

(Also is anyone else experiencing a permanent subtle pass-through or "transparency mode" at all times? Doesn't seem like there's a way to turn it off, or it even being acknowledged anywhere.)

Had this same problem, continuously noises from the right Airpod, contacted with apple support and they offer to service, and also offered to reset an Airpods, and after reset noises are gone or it is very quiet. Try to reset an Airpods or wait for software update, in my opinion it should be solved by firmware.

for anyone who hasn’t heard yet, enabling “background noises” at 0% volume stops the high pitch buzzing. After enabling in accessibility settings, it should show up in your command center as a quicker way to do it (it will always revert to your last volume setting, which would be 0% if you want).

I tried to create an automation that turns on background sounds whenever my AirPods 3 connect, and in theory it should work but the automation wouldn’t play on its own. However, creating a shortcut that does this and then an automation that runs the shortcut when connecting to AirPods 3 seems to work without fail. Tested it about 20 times now, and have had no issues with the buzzing because of this.

I know it’s not a solution, but maybe it will help some of you.

Not sure how that is related to this thread.

But I would first try the standard stuff. On your phone go to bluetooth settings and unpair the airpods. Make sure airpods case is charged or plug into charger. Place both airpods in the case and close the lid. Then hold button on case for 15 seconds and then re-pair with your phone.

Glad you got yours sorted! I can say it is not entirely firmware related. My 2nd pair had the latest FW installed and had the noise. My 3rd pair with the same FW the issue was fixed so I believe it is hardware related to the initial batch of them that were produced.

I've see a lady on youtube do an airpods3 review and she had the same. She did end up taking them back and getting replacements. The replacements didnt have the feeedback as the first ones.

4C170 update fixed my issue with the high pitched noise with any apple or non apple device for now.

Or at least it made it very quiet, I cannot distinguish any parasite noise right now.

Totally agreed, only doing the return and if you want report it to apple, they will take care, otherwise hope can be risky if you pass the return period, then is not going to be so easy.

The issue have been fixed with the new firmware update for the airpods 3 . The latest firmware number is 4C170.

+1. Like a jittery whine from both pods, feels like I’m getting a headache after a few minutes. Can confirm that going to settings > accessibility > AirPods > audio accessibility settings > background sounds > rain @ 0% volume stops the noise, however I don’t really see this as an acceptable solution. Likely be contacting apple in the coming days, hopefully can be fixed/replaced/firmware updated because I’m very happy with them otherwise.

It’s tough to tell, but the issue looks fairly prevalent. Anecdotally most others who posted on Reddit and MacRumors have gotten replacements to have the same issue. Very few on such posts say they have no problems, however not everyone can hear high pitched noises so there’s that. For the record, I returned mine because I have AirPods Pro already and they just work, on top of the noise cancelling. I believe Apple engineering likely knows about this and is probably starting work on a software update. Previous versions of AirPods have had similar problems, so I think it’s just a waiting game, so decide on whether you want to wait or not. I did think AirPods 3 had the best sound profile yet though!