Level 1

149 points

Airpods Pro 2 noise cancellation worse after firmware update 7A294

The active noise cancellation on (at least) the AirPods Pro 2 is much worse after firmware update 7A294, including 7A302. The noise cancellation effect seems noticeably weaker now, roughly 50-70% as effective. Qualitatively, the effect is now closer to a slightly quieter adaptive mode. Essentially, I can now practically hear everything at a reduced volume, and my Sony 1000XM5 headphones now perform much better than my AirPods Pro 2, and this wasn't the case until the firmware/iOS 18 update.

Troubleshooting steps I've tried:

Cleaning the AirPods and tips (gentle surfactant/alcohol wipes, Blu-Tack), although they were already clean
Replacing the tips (they were already pristine)
Changing tips and ensuring proper fit
Resetting the AirPods
Toggling all settings on and off (Off, Transparency, Adaptive, Noise Cancellation)
Ensuring I hadn't accidentally selected something other than the noise cancellation mode
Having the AirPods replaced at the Apple Store

None of the above remedied the issue.

Some examples and context:

I can now fully make out conversations on the train in Tokyo, which I wasn't able to do that up until a day or two ago. To wit, train announcers are now less distant and audible. I can now hear people conversing on the other side of the carriage, and at one point, I was able to make out the music leaking out of someone else’s headphones...
I can now make out talking heads playing at low volume on a TV in another room.
I can now make out external sounds when ANC and Background Sounds (Dark Noise) are active at the same time, and up until the most recent update this combination was closer to being fully isolated.
Background music in convenience stores is now fully present, where as prior to the update I couldn't hear a thing.
I now no longer bother swapping to Transparency when my girlfriend is trying to talk to me across the room, because I can hear everything she has to say while noise cancellation mode is active. In the past, having to toggle between settings was a source of annoyance for us.

The situation is particularly disappointing, as I once adored these headphones, and the degradation of the noise cancellation effect makes the AirPods Pro 2 essentially more annoying than anything else.

iPhone 15 Pro

Posted on Sep 25, 2024 4:53 AM

Top-ranking reply

theonetheycallsamuel

Level 1

32 points

Posted on Nov 10, 2024 3:30 PM

If I’m not mistaken, I may have found a workaround for this. I believe I’ve identified a bug in the “adaptive audio” feature with the Generation 2 Pros. Although your adaptive audio feature may be disabled, go into settings and tap on your AirPod Pro 2 set. Then scroll down to audio and then select adaptive audio. After that, set it to “less noise” so that you’ve basically got nothing coming in. I don’t know if this is the exact sequence involved (I went through soooooooooo many different settings last night), but after I did that it completely drowned everything out (finally!!!!!) Even as I’m sitting here typing this, it would have already started letting more noise in at this point. There would be certain sounds that it would try to drown out (heat, fans, humidifiers), and while doing so, it sounded like I was on the freeway with my car window rolled down. Not anymore!!! Works well now 🤩

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214 replies

Aug 11, 2025 7:01 PM in response to Pheidl

Hey Guy..

im not sure if you read my reply I sent yesterday, but get this….

they removed it. They removed the comment talking about how they removed my post about the downgrade.

im gunna post another link about it separately.

its bullsheet

Aug 11, 2025 7:12 PM in response to Pheidl

My post have been getting removed and there is nothing in there other than the truth of what I dealt with. Amongst the screen dimming issue as well.

chatgpt helped me compose a post and we set up a link telling it.

apologize…. If this comes off as extreme. I’m just so fed up with the covering up of their degradation in quality. They have to be always struggling to catch up on technology. I say that because Samsungs next phone will have ChatGPT baked in. Apple??? Not for a couple years. And the rub??? Paying an extreme $ premium for the product.

(I spat as I type on the pos)

Aug 11, 2025 11:18 PM in response to Robert Harrington

Robert Harrington wrote:

My post have been getting removed and there is nothing in there other than the truth of what I dealt with. Amongst the screen dimming issue as well.

chatgpt helped me compose a post and we set up a link telling it.

apologize…. If this comes off as extreme. I’m just so fed up with the covering up of their degradation in quality. They have to be always struggling to catch up on technology. I say that because Samsungs next phone will have ChatGPT baked in. Apple??? Not for a couple years. And the rub??? Paying an extreme $ premium for the product.

(I spat as I type on the pos)

More than likely your post might get again deleted… This is not a complaining forum about Apple’s software issue’s.

Aug 24, 2025 9:30 PM in response to Pheidl

I’m running into the same problem. Biking with music has always been one of my favorite things, and the AirPods used to be perfect for it — the noise cancellation blocked out the wind so I could actually enjoy my music.

But ever since the last update, it’s been the complete opposite. The wind is louder with the AirPod in than without it, and I can barely hear the music anymore. It’s gotten so bad that I don’t even want to wear them.

Before the update I could do 5+ hour rides with no issues, but now I either take them out mid-ride or just don’t bother using them at all. It’s super frustrating that an update broke something that used to work so well. Hopefully Apple fixes this soon, because right now it feels like a downgrade instead of an improvement.

Sep 5, 2025 6:29 PM in response to Pheidl

My guess is that their research shows that full ANC causes hearing loss or cognitive issues, so they’ve hobbled it before someone takes them to task over it. The lack of effective noise cancellation on my AirPods has made my commute less bearable but I genuinely think they’re trying to head off a health backlash.

mrveidar

Level 1

32 points

Sep 29, 2024 8:07 AM in response to Pheidl

I am experiencing the same issue - it is a bit like ANC isn’t on at all. It is much weaker than before updating to iOS 18. I really hope this is not planned obsolescence.

Oct 2, 2024 4:46 AM in response to Pheidl

Same here. I want my old good noise cancellation back!

Pheidl Author

Level 1

149 points

Oct 4, 2024 3:37 PM in response to mohanad995

I feel the same way 😩

Oct 9, 2024 10:57 PM in response to Pheidl

exactly the same for me. 3 months old AirPods Pro 2 cleaned regularly suddenly went from good ANC to not enough.

mfittko

Level 1

20 points

Oct 11, 2024 7:27 AM in response to Pheidl

Same thing, was repeatedly checking if ANC is on or not lately. Also my right side Airpod 2 pro started giving a very bad high pitch feedback noise. No idea if related.

AzSR

Level 1

14 points

Oct 13, 2024 8:29 PM in response to Pheidl

Same for me. I repeatedly mistaken ANC for transparency!

Bond25

Level 1

8 points

Oct 16, 2024 3:52 PM in response to Pheidl

I am in exactly the same situation. No difference between transparence and ANC for a long time. Really disappointed :(!

Oct 22, 2024 9:28 AM in response to Pheidl

I have same issue after ios18 update

Oct 23, 2024 5:03 AM in response to Pheidl

I strongly agree that this is done on propose to force people onto buying new phones. I have an 11 pro max and my old AirPods work fine with it. AirPod pro2 work on my Samsung . Such BS I feel like

Gallyga

Level 1

48 points

Oct 23, 2024 8:43 PM in response to Scootertheshooter

This is happening using iPhone 16 phones as well. I have a iPhone 16 Pro Max and have this issue.

whatever the issue is it’s not the phone. It’s something they have done with iOS 18.

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Airpods Pro 2 noise cancellation worse after firmware update 7A294