airpods 4 poor audio quality in calls

I’m using the airpods 4 with an iphone 11. Both are on the latest software/firmware (as of Sept 21 2024). I upgraded from the 2s and compared to them I noticed constant audio dropouts and distortions (metallic sounds) when on calls. It doesn’t matter if they are made on landline, FT, Whatsapp, Teams. I don’t notice this when listening to music or podcasts. Any advice?