Airpods Pro 2 noise cancellation worse after firmware update 7A294

what are your words based on? any facts? from what I’ve heard anc frequencies are harmless for the ear

You’re right. The reversed polarity (in relation to natural sounds) signal of noise cancelling systems doesn’t do harm.

But the ear has muscles and they react to the environment to protect ones hearing. When you are exposed to loud sounds the muscles in your ear contracts to function as natural hearing protection. That’s why it’s more harmful to remove plugs from your ears in the middle of a loud concert than not wearing them in the first place. While wearing plugs, your ears ”thinks” this is the amplitude they are exposed to. And when you remove the plugs the sudden change in amplitude happens faster than your ears can adapt, leaving them more vulnerable to loud sounds.

Noise cancelling is a digital process and therefore it is impossible for it to react to sound instantly.

At a band rehersal setting there is always going to be transient material slipping through the noise cancellation. A transient from say a loudly hit snare drum at close proximity has great amplitude. Why I’m afraid this might be harmful is that since the tonal material you are hearing is significantly more quiet then its natural unfiltered version, your ear might adjust its natural protection to this level, still being exposed to almost full level transients.

Hope this helps!

This issue is still occurring with version 7B21. Will this be fixed, or should we start considering another device to manage turning Noise Cancelling on and off? I have Auditory Processing Disorder (I’m on the autism spectrum), and ANC is an essential part of my daily routine

Oh my God! At last! I've been searching for so long & "finally" found fellow sufferers. I thought my hearing was broken because Apple support staff said the problem wasn't known & some on Reddit also said I was imagining it. (But many others didn't either.) So I'm all the more pleased that you (unfortunately) feel the same way.

Here's my story. It started for me after 7B19. I was always very fond of the ANC on my APP2 and my APM. For example, I remember the first time I tried on the APM in the Apple Store & everything around me got so quiet - including and especially voices/high-pitched sounds! (I say that because some smart alecks think it's never been like that because ANC isn't designed for it).

What I also remember well is stepping outside the door when I go to work, sticking the APP2 in my ear & everything around getting wonderfully quiet. Sound or audiobook at 60% volume & everything faded out. On the Vespa I could comfortably listen to Audiobook & can't hear the engine (I know, not so much allowed.) In the tram/train I could block everything out. No announcements, no conversation, no noise.

And then. The shock overnight. I'm sitting on the train with the APP2 & wonder what's so loud. I take a look. ANC on?

What? I clean the APP2 in the evening with Neutrogena micellar water. (Everything 1:1 as recommended by Apple). Nothing. I call Apple support. Replacement device, but same effect. None at all.

Desperate, I take my APM & hope it's better there. But here, too, I can clearly hear announcements and conversations. I could cry with sadness and anger. Honestly. This noise I perceive now makes me so aggressive because I was just used to how well the ANC worked on both and used to an effect kicking in then not coming. I can only listen to audiobooks at 90-100%. Audiobooks in other languages, like Obama's biography in English, are not possible because it's not my native language.

I have to listen to music loudly to block out my surroundings, which I also don't like because loud music is not my thing.

Please fix that. For me, the devices are not only worthless, they even increase my frustration! I've never posted on reddit or anything, but because the feature is so important, I'm really desperate!

Little addition: Someone posted a workaround with adaptive audio, which i have tried too. Shortly I think there has been a minor but not sustainable effect. But maybe somebody can make a fix out of it.

Another thing, what i realized: In pure desperate I made the audio aid test. Once I started this: The 'Compression' in my ear started again as I was used to it. There it was. For a brief moment ANC was in beast mode again. Sadly no sustainable effect. Anybody else can reproduce this?

I may have worded it incorrectly, so I’m sorry for that. But what I meant was to keep the ANC active. Yes, I do realize that adaptive means canceling out less noise, but there was a passive setting within the adaptive settings I was referring to that would somehow fix the issue that most of us are experiencing with ANC currently. However, I have since returned them because the fix didn’t last for very long, so I’m not even sure where to find the setting that I was referring to anymore. Best of luck though. I’m truly hoping they get it fixed, because I would love an updated pair! Went back to my first gen pros for now 🥲

I completely agree with you. Unfortunately, my suggested “fix” did not last long. It was not long after that I again experienced the same degradation that you and so many others are currently experiencing with ANC. I have since returned them and went back to my original pros. I may have to charge them more frequently, but at least they work…

so you bring up and interesting idea that anc does harm to the ear because even though anc cancels out the noise, the ear is still exposed to loud sound thus the ear muscles mummify while anc is on? and so that’s why apple silently lowered anc effectiveness.

on the other hand we agree that anc frequencies are harmless to the ear.

and on the other side the risk comes from listening to content at high volumes for prolonged periods, not the noise cancellation itself.

but with these last updates, people now have to listen to their content with at least +50% volume, which damages their ears. so which is worse? 

Oh, I think I see the original confusion here. The Apple forum is quite bad at showing when someone replies to another comment here. My post about not using APP2s for protectioin was an answer to this post:

"Same here. It's so frustrating because I am a guitarist of a rock band, and I use my AirPods Pro as ear protection in loud shows. It used to have the perfect amount of noise reduction in adaptive mode. Now, even in noise reduction mode, I can hear much more noise than in adaptive mode. I was so happy to have found the perfect protection for my ears, and now Apple took this out of me."

Since noise cancellation is a digital process it cannot be instantaneous. There is an AD and DA conversion before the out of polarity (cancelling) signal hits your ear. An AD/DA conversion always takes time. At least a millisecond or two. With miniature consumer grade converters, probably a lot longer. That's why there is extremely loud transient material, like the attack of drums, that is not being cancelled.

My comment about using APPs for protection was not a comment on the OPs post about the development or worsening of the software. It was simply to warn the person using them as protection, so that they will not damage their hearing.

there’s no confusion at all) you brought up the idea that ANC does harm people’s ears in a way that the ear muscles mummify while ANC is on. Is that correct?

and this is another point, addressed to @all: 

but with these last updates, people now have to listen to their content with at least +50% volume, which damages their ears. so which is worse? 

I used to be able to wear these to block out my cat from meowing downstairs when it's much too early to feed him. Now, plain as if he's right in the room next to me. PLEASE, Apple, FIX THIS!

The original post on this was 3 months ago and NOTHING has changed. Apple's whole "It just works" thing is long gone.

I already replied much earlier in this thread that I have same issue (still do) but now my wife updated her phone to iOS18 having held back since I told her of my Airpod issues and having gone to work on the tram yesterday she said the ANC is almost completely ineffective.

While she was on iOS 17 they remained effective. I'm presuming the Airpod firmware version available is linked to the version of iOS on the connected device?

I sent Apple a tweet with a link to this thread, but as always they remain totally aloof to our issues.

Maybe its a good idea to link this thread with some tech journalists?

Yeah.. we have to! Does anyone know how we can link this with a journalist?

I noticed this morning that I have to put in both to activate the noise cancelling. I usually put one in at work to have my background noise and still hear when people approach me.

Now it says I have to put both in.

when just wearing the one the background noise is just too much. Very annoying, and amplified.

This stinks!