AirPods sound quality issue

The AirPods are amazing in every way, this issue is the only thing that makes me go 'meh'. When gaming or using my Mac while video/chatting, I have to get my wired EarPods which I really hate by now ;-)

I'm hoping Apple is seeing this and working on a fix, this is the last piece of the puzzle for me.

Btw I think the AirPods are already super-successful when you look at the numbers 😝

Today I got an official reply from Apple:

In case of the MacBook Pro (2014), it is a hardware limitation. However, "newer Macs" do not have this limitation.

Sadly, they did not provide me with a list of Macs without this issue.

i'm having an issue with phone call quality as well. Music playback is very good, except for the occasional glitch here and there. However, incoming calls sound awful. There is so much random background noise I almost can't use them for phone calls. There is also a weird handoff that occurs where the audio is panning from left to right (hard to explain, but it doesn't sound good). The thing is, the background noise stops when there is no output from the person I'm speaking with. It's just when there is background noise or speaking on their end.

The unfortunate part is I've exchanged the AirPods once and the replacement do the same thing. So either this is how they are (which really stinks) or there is a widespread issue. I'm almost thinking this is more of a software issue though. I've compared the call quality to other bluetooth headphones (Bose Soundsport and Bose Quiet Comfort) and both sound very good, with no background noise at all. I've tested these AirPods on my Mac (phone call through OSX) and they do they same thing... really sad because I love everything else about them.

I have same problem with iMac Late2013

Since I've found this page I thought this problem is only with me because I have changed my iMac's Bluetooth chip from original to Mac book pro 2014's chip.

I wish this problem solves asap....

Have you or anyone had any luck at the Apple Store with a resolution. I just received mine and have the same issue. Music sounds great, but when speaking to someone on the phone it is very crackly. Let me know if you get a resolution to this as I am interested if there is improvement.

Apple updated AirPods to 3.5.1 version!

The AirPods automatically update to the latest software when the earbuds are charging in the AirPods Case and close to a paired device. The new firmware does not appear to contain any new front-facing features.

There is no onscreen alert or notification that an update has taken place. You can however verify if your AirPods are up-to-date by checking the AirPods firmware version number in Settings on an iPhone.

With your AirPods paired, open the Settings app on the connected iPhone or iPad. Go to the General -> About menu and scroll down. There will be a row labelled AirPods that shows up dynamically if the earbuds are connected. Tap into this to see the hardware details including the firmware version and other device metadata such as the unique serial number.

If you check your AirPods and find they have not yet updated to the latest 3.5.1 version, there is not much to do apart from putting the AirPods in their case to charge and wait. That being said, the update does not appear to include any major changes so there’s not really a need to rush.

From 9toMac

An Apple engineer called me, said this software update might fix some connectivity issues some were experiencing. This issue in this thread is very probably software-related, a fix is coming and they are collecting additional information right now by (for example) calling people with this issue (like me).

jojost1 - they also called me today (from Austin) and collected some information. The Apple guy also confirmed that this seems to be a software issue and coded-related, but they still have to investigate. I rly hope this will be fixed soon. I like - sorry, I love - the product but getting upset every time somebody calls me!

<<With your AirPods paired, open the Settings app on the connected iPhone or iPad. Go to the General -> About menu and scroll down. There will be a row labelled AirPods that shows up dynamically if the earbuds are connected. Tap into this to see the hardware details including the firmware version and other device metadata such as the unique serial number.>>

Well I'm stumped. WiFi is on, my AirPods are in their case with the lid open, green light on, paired to my iPhone , both are plugged in to electricity, sitting side-by-side within a few inches of each other. Bluetooth on the iPhone says the AirPods are connected. However on the iPhone when I tap on Settings > General > About and scroll down to the bottom, there is no row labelled AirPods, so I can't check the firmware status or any other details about them.

Am I missing a step or ????

Glenys

iPhone 7, AirPods (only had a few days)

The AirPods section in Settings > General > About seems to be a little glitchy. It's supposed to dynamically show up when the AirPods are connected and disappear when they're not. But it didn't work the first time for me either. Try to put the AirPods into their case and close the case. Now go into Settings > General > About and scroll down. Open the AirPods case and wait a few seconds. Make sure the AirPods connect to your iPhone and not some other device near it that is also logged into iCloud (Mac, iPad). If it doesn't work the first time, close the case and repeat...

Oh, and the AirPods battery graphic that comes up on screen after you open the case will cover the entry you're looking for - so tap somewhere in the upper part of the screen to get rid of the battery graphic and you should see the AirPods entry. Tapping it will show the firmware revision.

Thank you so much Tim! I followed your instructions and sure enough, it all worked and I was able to see that my AirPods had been updated. For future reference I took a screen capture of the settings. I really appreciate your response.

Update, airpods are completely useless on my Mac now. The audio from youtube bunches up and garbles right away. All other applications are closed. Tried Chrome and Safari. Both using the HTML5 player.

I have exactly the same problem. The music sound quality is good but the background noise on incoming/outgoing calls is terrible and makes it impossible to use the AirPods for calls. I intended to use the AirPods in my work as I have a lot of teleconference calls during the day, but the background noise is so disturbing that I cannot use them. Very disappointing and unacceptable for this price.

I have exactly the same issue. The music sounds good, but calls are really bad. I purchased them to listen to my teleconference calls at work, but at this point they are more distracting than helpful.

In addition to the back ground noise, almost sounds as if they are trying to sync the voices, there are periodic dropouts of all sound. At first I thought it was the presenter muting, but I soon realized it was not.

For the price, they should not behave in this manner.

Greatly Disappointed!