AirPods Pro 3 - not a good fit

The 2s work great the 3s are a terrible product

I’d return them and find a highly discounted pair of Pro 2 if I were you.

I’ve had the Pro 1, Pro 2, and Pro 3, and the 3 are the worst of the bunch for me.

I’ve never had a fantastic seal on any (even though the test says it’s good), and the noise cancellation works better for others than it does for me (because the L tip isn’t quite big enough), but the Pro 2 were better than the Pro 1.

the Pro 3 just doesn’t fit me at all, and I can clearly hear someone speaking with noise cancellation on. I could hear them with the Pro 2, but they were muffled and understandable.

I wish apple would release an XL tip already, and I’ve just submitted feedback for that.

I’m returning the Pro 3 and sticking with my Pro 2.

I was hoping the Pro 3 would solve the issue I had with Pro 2 feeling like they were going to fall out of my ears when I’m jogging (they never have, only felt like they were). The medium ear tips always fit perfect. Now with the redesigned 3 where they took the shapes of millions of ears (apparently none like mine???) and made a “better fitting” earphone, I find myself disappointed. As I’m talking or the muscles in my scalp move my ears, the stems of the buds start to flare out and look silly. I’ve tried twisting them, resetting them in my ears, I’ve tried the Large, Medium, and Small tips so far, each of which claim to have a good acoustic seal. The large flew out of my ear while I was talking to someone. The small and medium flare out the longer I wear them. Medium will fall out of my ear if I don’t fix it when it’s flaring. And Small I had to twist so the stems point straight down to feel secure. Still testing the small, but this is ridiculous. The stem is sitting right against my earrings. I can’t jog with the stem sitting against my earrings or the clanking is all I’ll hear. Jumping in place I hear it. Never had this problem with fit on Pro 2 or Pro 1.

mshep02 wrote:

I was hoping the Pro 3 would solve the issue I had with Pro 2 feeling like they were going to fall out of my ears when I’m jogging (they never have, only felt like they were). The medium ear tips always fit perfect. Now with the redesigned 3 where they took the shapes of millions of ears (apparently none like mine???) and made a “better fitting” earphone, I find myself disappointed. As I’m talking or the muscles in my scalp move my ears, the stems of the buds start to flare out and look silly. I’ve tried twisting them, resetting them in my ears, I’ve tried the Large, Medium, and Small tips so far, each of which claim to have a good acoustic seal. The large flew out of my ear while I was talking to someone. The small and medium flare out the longer I wear them. Medium will fall out of my ear if I don’t fix it when it’s flaring. And Small I had to twist so the stems point straight down to feel secure. Still testing the small, but this is ridiculous. The stem is sitting right against my earrings. I can’t jog with the stem sitting against my earrings or the clanking is all I’ll hear. Jumping in place I hear it. Never had this problem with fit on Pro 2 or Pro 1.

Return them (if you're still in the window). Give Apple feedback here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I've had problems with AirPods from the first ones. I've bought over-the-ear loops and third-party tips. The AirPod Pro 3 is the first one that, out of the box, fits.

I’ve been using AirPods Pro 2 for years — easily the best-fitting earbuds I’ve owned. Recently upgraded to the AirPods Pro 3, and as many others have mentioned, they just don’t fit right. They sit slightly away from the ear (about a millimeter gap) and tend to fall out with even small head movements.

Several people, including Apple Support, suggest twisting the stem toward your mouth for a tighter fit. It does help, but it also causes discomfort after a while.

I suspect the speaker design is the issue — on the older version, the speaker sits recessed within the earbud head, whereas on the new Pro 3, it protrudes outward, pushing the entire earbud slightly away from the ear.

First let me say I appreciate & applaud Apple’s return policy as it was flawless and FAST. I was so disappointed I had to send them back.

I went with a different mfg of EarPods which a colleague had and recommended. It has a rounded end where it enters the ear canal. The AitPod 3’s” have an oblong end that the tips snap onto, and that was my problem with fit and subsequent ear canal pain. I don’t know what the ends of the 2’s look like without the tips. The new buds I purchased are comfortable, excellent fitting, no pain, fully noise cancelling if programmed to be or transparent or normal and don’t fall out or feel like they want to or could. The EarPod doesn’t have that long piece coming down and the whole unit fits into the ear. They are part of the Anker line called Soundcore Space A40.

Leewos wrote:

First let me say I appreciate & applaud Apple’s return policy as it was flawless and FAST. I was so disappointed I had to send them back.

I went with a different mfg of EarPods which a colleague had and recommended. It has a rounded end where it enters the ear canal. The AitPod 3’s” have an oblong end that the tips snap onto, and that was my problem with fit and subsequent ear canal pain. I don’t know what the ends of the 2’s look like without the tips. The new buds I purchased are comfortable, excellent fitting, no pain, fully noise cancelling if programmed to be or transparent or normal and don’t fall out or feel like they want to or could. The EarPod doesn’t have that long piece coming down and the whole unit fits into the ear. They are part of the Anker line called Soundcore Space A40.

"EarPod" is the name of Apple's wired headphones.

My AirPods Pro 3 arrived 2 days ago (from Apple Au online store) and wearing them more than 15-20 min both ears feel an unusual, upsetting warmth, something that doesn’t happen with my AirPods Pro 2. In addition, the noise cancellation is not as seamless as the AirPods Pro 2. I’m trying for a few days more, but how can you explain that if I wear Air pods pro 2 for 3-4 hours only then my ears get warm while with Air pods pro 3 it takes less than 20 min to get a warmth/redness with both my ears?

georgetteS21 wrote:

I’m trying for a few days more, but how can you explain that if I wear Air pods pro 2 for 3-4 hours only then my ears get warm while with Air pods pro 3 it takes less than 20 min to get a warmth/redness with both my ears?

No one here is a doctor, and no one here can see your ears. But, at a guess, the Pro 3s don't fit your ears as well and are irritating them. Or you're allergic to the material in the tips.

Right now I have both the AirPods Pro 2 and the Pro 3. After a week of using them side by side, I can say that although I immediately noticed the much better ANC on the Pro 3, the main issue remains the fit: they constantly feel like they’re about to fall out, especially when I smile or move my jaw while eating. Also, when I walk I hear an annoying “tap tap,” as if the earbud isn’t sealing properly in the ear canal and is bouncing around inside (or maybe mine are defective, I’m not sure). I think I’ll go to the Apple Store where I bought them to request a return (I’m still within the 14-day window). I’m really disappointed because the ANC is noticeably better than the previous generation. I’m posting here because I’m hoping there’s still something I can try before returning them. I’ve tested all the ear tip sizes without any improvement in stability or comfort.

I bought the Pro 3 and I’m wearing my older Pro 2. Indeed Apple returns policy is very good. But I just wanted to get used with Pro 3 and it’s simply impossible to use them on the move, bike riding and running. They are supposed to fit better in anyone’s ears than Pro 2 and they are worse. The noise cancellation compared with Pro 2 is worse. Listening to music, when audio detail matters, that is indeed the greatest disappointment and so I’m wearing the Pro 2. I’ve been an Apple person for the last 15 yrs, I bought a month ago and iPad Air and six ago a MacBook Air. Again the quality is disappointing: charging each of them it’s super good; but display and brightness is under expectations. Speed is ok but very slow if you are running Adobe, Zoom and LMS/University. It makes me questioning my eyesights, my hearing and it’s unpleasant because older Apple models worked, I think the quality standards control is done by people with less attention to detail. There is a price we all pay do that Apple products respond to the high quality and functionality. I’m sorry but the high quality and functionally has not been demonstrated for the last 4-5 years.

marcella1975 wrote:

The Pro 3 was the biggest disappointment I’ve ever had with an Apple product… the Pro 2s fit me perfectly, I can sleep even on my side wearing them. With the 3s, as soon as I put my head on the pillow, they were digging in and I just couldn’t wear them anymore… hopefully they tweak it a little so it fits everyone better.

The Pro 2s fell out of my ears if I breathed. I had to get third-party eartips to make them work for me. The Pro 3s are perfect. My point here is that everyone's ears are different. It is simply impossible for Apple to make something that will fit everyone.

I have used Pro 1 (in the past) and Pro 2 (still), and in both cases the right AirPod was relatively easily falling out of the ear, even after just a 30-minutes use. I am convinced that if there was an XL eartip, the AirPod would not come off. Instead, with Pro 3 Apple decided to add an extra size at the lower end (XXS) rather than at the higher. Since there is no return option for a used (even open box) Apple device in my country, and also since there is no option to try the AirPods (for hygiene reasons) at a retail store, I'm not taking the risk to buy the Pro 3. I really don't understand why Apple doesn't release an XL size as an optional accessory (or even include one in the initial package). Yes, not all ear canals are the same, but there are quite many people with larger ear canals and Apple should have added an XL eartip instead of adding 2 smaller ones throughout the time. (As you can remember, the AirPods Pro 1 only had S-M-L eartips).

Dead_Poet wrote:

I have used Pro 1 (in the past) and Pro 2 (still), and in both cases the right AirPod was relatively easily falling out of the ear, even after just a 30-minutes use. I am convinced that if there was an XL eartip, the AirPod would not come off. Instead, with Pro 3 Apple decided to add an extra size at the lower end (XXS) rather than at the higher. Since there is no return option for a used (even open box) Apple device in my country, and also since there is no option to try the AirPods (for hygiene reasons) at a retail store, I'm not taking the risk to buy the Pro 3. I really don't understand why Apple doesn't release an XL size as an optional accessory (or even include one in the initial package). Yes, not all ear canals are the same, but there are quite many people with larger ear canals and Apple should have added an XL eartip instead of adding 2 smaller ones throughout the time. (As you can remember, the AirPods Pro 1 only had S-M-L eartips).

There are third-party eartips available places like Amazon. Be careful when ordering, as there are a lot more options for the AirPod Pro 1 and 2s.

AirPods Pro 2 didn’t quite fit my ears.

Bought some comply foam tips, worked great.

Got AirPods Pro 3, they fit me a lot better but I still got comply foam tips when they became available.

I have earbuds from Apple, Samsung and Sony.

All of them have foam tips because the included standard tips don’t fit me quite right.

Someone mentioned XL tips, it’s not going to happen. You have to be able to close the case with the tips attached. Bigger tips would cause issues.