crack noise is coming from left airpod in noise cancellation and transparency mode. Only airpod manufactured before Oct 2020 are under the program as per apple. Has anyone got there airpods replaced if they are manufactured after Oct 2020?
mine are Aug 2021 and i want to know wether they can be replaced under the program?
AirPods Pro
That is an absurd analogy. Apple hasn't said what the specific underlying cause was, or how exactly it was rectified in October of 2020. They just said very quietly (the program's page is buried) that they had a problem and arbitrarily drew a dateline in the sand to minimize the cost of making it right. Since there's no way for you to know the manufacturing date without just taking Apple's word for it, we're just at the mercy of a company that would be more than happy to have us say "oh well" and throw another $250 at a high margin, short-life product. Gross.
I took my defective Airpods in today and had the worst experience I've ever had with Apple. They took them in the back, tested them and agreed that yes, these are defective for all the reasons covered in the program, but they were "manufactured in November of 2020", one month to the day before they were purchased. So I was basically told that the only remedy was to double down and pay $180 for replacement buds which would immediately be out of warranty since the serial number is tied to the case, not the buds. Absolutely ridiculous. There is however a second remedy, which is to never buy Airpods again.
This company has changed. I've easily spent well over $20k on Apple products over the years and never had an issue getting help for issues with much more expensive and lower margin products, especially when the company had acknowledged manufacturing defects. I was more than happy to pay a premium for these products because the value of the customer service and support that had historically been unmatched. Apple is sadly just a money vacuum now.
Now they have done it again with poor quality of iphone 15 series. Overheating and very fragile back glass, this definitely proves that apple has lost all credibility. I have used all iPhones since iPhone 2g but now i will not buy another apple product ever and recommend the same to everyone.
I had this problem and was fortune enough to have Apple replace them for free as I had purchased them before their deadline. But GUESS WHAT. Less than a year later, the replacements are now crackling as well.
I suspect this has something to do with ear wax as I feel I have slightly more than average ear wax, and I never bothered cleaning the buds or case.
I had EXACTLY the same experience. Same "magical" November 2020 mystery manufacturing date (where they got it from is unknown). $250 for a device that lasted all of 1.5 years of light use, which was bought to replace a $150 device that lasted 2 years. It's honestly embarrassing that I keep buying products from this company...
@spybart My wife and one of my kids have the 2nd gen (bought before my 1st gen had the ANC issue) and they haven't experienced this. On the 2nd gen Apple has moved an ANC microphone which I believe is the cause of the problem on the 1st gen. This leads me to believe that it is a design fault, that Apple is fully aware of it and that is not limited to the batch they refer to but all 1st gen AirPods Pro.
Yes! Mine were replaced under the program in May 2023, but now the new ones are having the same problem. They clearly didn’t resolve the issue. And the warranty on the replacements is only 90 days so I am out of luck. Why would they replace a product with a product that hasn’t fixed the issue? Unacceptable. Does anyone have favorites from another brand? I’m done.
Same thing happened to me. The static, crackling sound started so I went to the diagnostic center. They identified and confirmed the static through their ‘test’, but they said it is not eligible for replacement for apple has a list of serial numbers and mine was not in it even though i purchased before October 2020. They offered for a replacement which costs like a brand new one. Based on many people’s experience here, it sounds like they have a script prepared for this kind of issue. I tried cleaning the airpods but the static issue did not go away. Wasted 250$ for this defective product.
Have had this exact problem on THREE pair. The first pair were covered under apple care. After you jump through hoops; software correct, right app….. I had the problem on three devices; IPAD, Mac Book and Apple TV. Replacement pair suffered the same fate and now my wife's AirPods are doing the same thing. Life expectancy appears to be 12 to 24 months. Be sure they will expire after the warranty and the November 2020 date is arbitrary. The second pair were made a month past the manufacturing date covered under the apple program. No discount credit or anything on replacement.
Does anyone know if this issue is fixed in the 2nd generation AirPods Pro? I couldn't find a clear answer online.
Crackling noise on Airpods pro gen 1
