Airpods Pro 2 noise cancellation worse after firmware update 7A294

Yep, I'm glad it's not just me that has found the ANC on my AirPods Pro 2 to be noticeably worse since the clusterf* of iOS18 began infecting our devices.

At this point I'm beginning to wonder if Apple is purposefully using iOS18 to ruin our devices so when the next gen is released with a new iOS they take the bugs back out so we all think it's amazing and rush out to buy new hardware...

@Mfittko, you have no idea what *you* are talking about, so I hold little hope that you understand what *we* are talking about.

Noise cancellation and the 'hearing aid' function (not available in all areas) are not the same feature.

Hearing aid functions are not the issue here and are not being discussed here.

The entirely separate function of ANC, used in isolation of hearing aid functionality, is what is being discussed.

Rather than trying to act the 'Big I Am' with your foolish '1+1' comments, maybe spend a bit more time properly considering what you impulsively reply to on the internet...

That's interesting... Is it just Airpod Pros that you say are insufficient for hearing protection or ANC in general? I used to shoot shotguns a lot and most colleagues used ANC ear protectors, the same as me, and they worked exceptionally well at muffling the sudden and very loud sounds of a shotgun at close proximity. There was certainly no damage being done and quite a lot of protection...?

Since the update to ios 18, this is not the case. It defaults back to "off" when you remove one airpod. However, I have discovered the solution is in accessibility settings, of all places. There is a switch there to allow noice cancellation with only one airpod in at a time. Finding that settings has done the trick.

This is NOT the product I bought, Apple! After the latest update, there is no audible difference between Transparency and ANC. I needed to double-check what settings were on my recent plane flight as it was sooo noisy. I used to listen to music on the motorcycle without a problem, it also helped with the wind noise. But now it's terrible, it is like wearing no or any cheap earphones you buy for 5Eur on the market near the vegetable kiosk.

Maybe it belongs to their deeper marketing strategy? Cutting the ANC, so customers need to listen lo music much louder than before (to overlay traffic or gym noise i need to turn up the volume at least to 90 % now). And this Max Loudness leads straight into the hearing aid feature and the need to buy some new airpods than :D :D

I thought my AirPods were getting old so bought new ones. Seems it’s software issue I work in a nightclub and before my set i would relax and listen a podcast without problems, now I can not hear one word they say the noise cancellation is totally gone. Seems it’s been months without a fix do I really have to go to another brand?

Tja, I keep my fingers crossed for you, thats yours remain in this good anc condition.

but honestly I am sure that there are either a lot of people out there who do not notice any difference because they use their AirPods differently (louder music where the lag of high frequencies is not that obvious, or they listen in quieter environments) or the "roll out" of the ANC reduction happens incrementally.

so, the chances are high, that you already have it and dont pay attention to it or u ll be the next one.;)

I've got Airpods Pro 2 and have this same issue as everyone else. I have however noticed how it might have been changed to work differently.

When I start using my Airpods, like everyone, I can still hear everything around me with ANC turned on with all the settings optimised for minimum surrounding noise.

If I listen to music for around 5-10 minutes, the ANC does reach a point where it is as good as it was with older firmware. This only happens with music, and not at all if I'm listening to voice e.g. a podcast.

It looks to me like ANC is also doing some adaptive ANC when you use them.

Tip: if you want normal ANC, listen to music for 10 minutes.

I think this is an awful user experience however. I commute on the train in the morning and like to listen to podcasts. If I don't want to hear the train and people talking I have to listen to music for 10 minutes then switch back to my podcast.

Apple, please please please, let us turn on ANC when we want to. Leave noise adaptation to the adaptive noise setting only.

I’m looking at switching to Sony. My AirPods are also giving weird feedback noises suddenly. And these are brand new as Apple replaced my other ones due to the noise cancellation issue. No change with the brand new pair.

Tested the new AirPods 4 with ANC. There was no differences in the ANC. So, somehow it seems, like the AirPods Pro 2 has been downgraded in ANC to the level of the AirPods 4. No, twice as good, as the marketing page says.

Exactly similar.

@Apple I work in an open space environment I and purposely purchased the Apple Earpods Pro 2 to be isolated completely when working. Before I never had noise spills and I could focus even without music on. Now, ANC on and I can clearly catch convos happening 2 rows away from me. I need to focus on my tasks.

Kindly revert to ANC settings we had before.

It's super annoying. For some time I didn't know if I'm getting mad or the ANC is really worse. I hate auto updates even more now.

I wouldn't be surprised if Apple did it on purpose to make us buy Airpods pro 3 this year.

It's outrageous that 700 people have the same problem and no one from Apple addressed this issue. But they often answer silly simple questions.

It was the main reason I bought these headphones :(

BTW, I'm on iOS 16 so it DEFINITELY isn't related to iOS 18, but to the ****** auto updates

I just ordered a pair of Bose quiet comfort ultra earbuds. They are on sale right now, so if you’re thinking about making the switch, now’s the time. I did a lot of research and Bose checked off every box for me. I’ll update and let you all know how the noise cancellation works!

Firmware just got updated to 7E93 and same results :(

Basically, they now feel deprecated.

I guess the Sony WF-1000XM5 are now the way to go while the Airpods Pro 3 are released (if you are still aiming for a seamless apple ecosystem integration)