AirPods Pro 3 - not a good fit

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.

Denielle123 wrote:

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

You're certainly entitled to your opinion. I like both the 2s and the 3s. You should let Apple know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I’m having exactly the same experience! I’ve been trying different tip sizes every few days but one of them keep slipping out. It’s super frustrating because they do feel very comfortable for a while. Then suddenly it’s popped out or is just about to. I was hoping the tips would be a bit spongy and adapt somewhat to my ear canals. Alas, no. It’s WORSE. I have less than a week, but I’ll probably return. I suspect this may be start of my de-APPLEization moment. The iPhone 17 pro has been quite underwhelming…

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.

Which ones did you get that worked

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

Did you find a solution to this? The pro 3 sound awful and the moving of the mouth and head issue is driving me insane. I’m going to return them if not and buy another set of pro 2s

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.

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.

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?

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.