Airpods Pro 2 noise cancellation worse after firmware update 7A294

Guys! Sorry to hear this but i think nothing will be fixed anytime soon! Apple doesnt recognize this as an issue so…!

Dont wait for something anytime soon!

Yes. Same issue here. It’s like ANC isn’t filter out some frequency of sound, but boosting it

Same for me and for another friend of mine. Noise cancelling on Airpods Pro 2 almost inexistent.

Same here, ever since updating to iOS 18 the noise cancelling option on my Airpods pro 2 has become terrible. Half the time I can’t tell if it’s switched on or not anymore.

Upgraded to 7B21 Same issue remains. Background noise seems to reduced but still can hear people talking clearly

Me too, so disappointed now.

They were great when flying, which I did a lot.

Pretty useless now.

SAME ISSUE

I did factory reset by opening the case and holding the button for 15 sec. After I pair it back looks like ANC started to work again. At least loud TV became hardly heard. I will test it more next few days.

I experienced the same issues that others have posted here. I’m on version 7B19 and was still experiencing poor noise cancellation. The fit test often failing one or the other ear and after fiddling with it I could correct it. I am using the large tips. I then bought some memory foam tips, took the foam off its plastic tip and added it to the apple tips such that the original AirPod tip outer sleeve rolled back over the foam. The AirPods now fit in my ears firmly without any fear of them falling out and the noise cancellation is excellent. I can only summize that my AirPods did not fit right even when the fit test passed.

Do not use noice cancelling headphones as hearing protection! Because of the physics of the whole thing I suspect you can possibly cause more damage with noice cancelling headphones than no protection. Use plugs designed for hearing protection.

Same problem for months, it's tiring.

Apple has changed headphones several times, instead of acknowledging purely software changes (APP1 and APP2).

I love Apple's products (IPhone and AirPods Pro) but this culture of secrets is getting tiresome.

The new pair to come won't be AirPods Pro.

ANC is becoming essential in today's society. Without it, no matter how good the sound, headphones are worthless.

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!

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 🥲