Custom Transparency Mode Keeps Turning Off

I'm experiencing exactly the same problem - It makes the Airpods Pro 2 pretty useless as hearing aids!

I've tried everything. I'm on iOS 17.4 and this update didn't fix it, in fact it seems to have made this issue more frequent.

So it's not just me, then. Yes, very, very irritating!

Worth noting too: it's controlled from iOS. If you get the AirPods configured the way you want, then switch to Mac, you will find that this does not happen; your configuration remains as programmed. Something, somewhere, deep in the bowels of iOS, is spontaneously switching this off, for some reason.

I do notice that this tends to happen more often when I move for some reason, especially when I go to the bathroom and the ambience changes noticeably. Of course, from there, it's irritatingly hard to change it back, because you need to do this from the phone directly and not the pods, so if you're fully occupied and it switches off, you're stuck, temporarily.

I also couldn't help noticing that sometimes the controls showed custom transparency as being on and the amplification set correctly, even though it clearly wasn't actually amplifying, but moving the slider even very slightly would instantly restore the correct behaviour. In other words the state of the pods wasn't actually reflected properly in the UI. Sigh.

Absent contacting Apple Feedback (which you should do), or the Apple Accessibility team directly, anyone have other solutions? Could a Siri shortcut do it?

Why has this issue NOT been resolved yet. I just purchased a new pair of Air Pod Pro (2) and the same thing is happening with these as my previous set of Air pods. Transparency mode just turns off and goes to "Noise Cancellation" automatically and the only way to get it back on Transparency Mode (that I know of) is to go to settings, Accessibility, Audio & Visual, Click on "Headphone Accommodations" scroll to the bottom and turn back on "Transparency Mode" under "Apply With" . . . WTH?? This is very frustrating and for the money I've spent on these headphones they should work as their designed to work. I'm running iOS V. 17.3.1, which is the latest version that I know of.

Regarding transparency mode not working, for me this is a life safety issue.

They are not hearing aids however transparency mode has to be active if you want to be aware of your surroundings. I’m at a disadvantage because I now have moderate hearing loss. When I remove my hearing aids to wear AirPods, I need transparency mode. In fact, they need to add another 6db of headroom, the full transparency level is not enough. They also need to integrate an active feedback filter. Their accessibility settings for assistive transparency along with shutting off issue is currently terrible. Should we reach out to the ADA if Apple is not listening?

[Edited by Moderator]

Transparency just shut off for the 5th time this afternoon, and my wife is ****** that I can’t hear her as I’m trying to watch the game. I’m ****** at Apple at this point, reported this two weeks ago. Just as bad as Siri now being totally useless. After having some 20 Apple products over the years, iOS 17 has been a disaster for me, other issues also.

@sgucuglu, everything you mentione din your post is hapenning to me. It started after an Update to iOS17.2 There were 2-3 versions before the last one, was working perfectly. In fact, the transparency mode was working even with iPhone 14 Pro max was off. I was so happy that I purchased a second pair. Like you mentioned the volume of Transparency mode is very low, even if it shows a check mark on the iPhone. Turning on and off goes back to normal.

I expected many more posts about this issue, but apperently not too many people are using the transparency mode as I am. Its a such a great feature, when I am shopping with my wife, I can hear her asking something and the music at the same time. I know some people are even using this mode when they are in the car. They say its much safer than to use the car radio. Because with this mode they can hear much better an upcoming emergency vehicle.

Calling tech support to find the solution did not help. And Senior advisor, did noteven have Airpods Pro himself to experiance an issue we are having.

So,lets hope that the new update will solve this problem.

@Onager, you do not have to go through 7 steps to turn the transparency back on. You can use 3 steps, go to the control center, click the ear symbol, uncheck the transparency mode, and check again.

What is amazing is that the transparency mode drops even though there is a checkmark next to it.

@ Macitech, As far as a new Airpods Pro, I am on the sixth pair, the last two are still under warranty. Apple replaced them and no help. :o(

If you,Apple want to get people excited about new tech (AirPods as hearing enhancers) fix the current transparency problem and get increased battery life into the AirPod product. Like others we have been loyal to your brand for a long, long time and deserve better.

It is now February ‘24 and the problem has not been fixed. Transparency mode just turns off randomly. I have found no reason.

Yes indeed, I also have two pairs acting as de facto hearing aids. Not, of course, actual hearing aids--those are much better at consistent amplification, are much more powerful and are tuned to me. But they're on the NHS, and don't have Bluetooth capability for my phone. AirPods Pro are terrific for use indoors, I find, and by swapping between pairs, I have continuous hearing augmentation. Truly great. So let's hope this nonsense gets fixed and we can get what we paid for. So far I see a smattering of posts on Reddit, but not much else, so this doesn't seem to be a big issue for most. Perhaps they should try it, but the controls are quite well hidden unfortunately.

I think I found what caused the transparency mode to turn itself off. If you want to use the transparency mode as a hearing aid and not have this issue, disconnect it in the Bluetooth section of your iPhone, by selecting "Forget this device".

The cause of it is that the iPhone sends a signal, to your Airpods Pro that randomly disconnects the custom transparency mode. This has to be fixed.

In this case, you must connect it back to your iPhone if you want to use them to make calls or listen to music. Or get yourself a second pair, like I did.

I called the Apple senior advisor and asked them for a solution, they had no answer but suggested I report it to the Apple suggestion box, which I did a few days ago. Let's see if my findings would help the developers eliminate the sending signals that affect the Transparency Mode to AirpodsPro!

Mine is still turning off by itself, any solution yet? In mind, this all started going bad when they added the adaptive option. Since the adaptive option was added, we’ve had nothing but problems with noise, cancellation, and transparency.

My 2 pair AirPods Pro 2nd generation were losing transparency for months and to my surprise, at the beginning of May, it stopped. June 8th it started dropping again, more than a dozen times per day. Both pairs.

I hope one day it will be fixed for a longer period than one month. Very frustrating... :o(