Live data from Hacker News

The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

basicappleguy.com

61–70 of 284 posts

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#62
I have this happen outside of flights. Cupping your finger over the ANC mic is enough to trigger it.

The new tips (that’s my guess, at least) also transmit vibrations into your ears much more than the old tips or third party memory foam tips. This results in a popping noise when walking or moving around, and a horrible thumping sound when running with them in. I think the latter is partially caused by the “reduce loud noises” feature incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel strikes as loud noise.

I’m glad I’m apparently not the only one experiencing these issues. I hope they’re software fixable. I filed a bug report, but radio silence on that, of course. I would sing the praises of the second gen AirPods Pro to anyone who would listen, but the 3rd gen have been a huge disappointment. I had to buy a different set of headphones for running, whereas the second gen were my daily drivers. And I’ve been through three pair of the third gen, so it’s not a one-off issue.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#63
Something happened today as I was closing my car door, where I had the Airpods (Pro 3 as well) make this low but extremely loud rumble-like sound. Something related to pressure and seal, perhaps?

I could replicate it immediately at will. ANC on, nothing playing, sat on the driver seat and closed my door with a little bit of force.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#64

Interesting. I have roughly 50,000 flight miles on the new AirPods Pro 3, and while I do prefer them to the 2s, I too have some annoyances with the left AirPod. In my case it never feels like it fits my ear canal quite right, to the point that I thought I might want different size tips - after trying all the tips, that's not it. The seal is in fact good, but the different feel is noticeable. The noise cancellation al…

Weirdly, I have fit issues in my left ear, too, like others. Very odd.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#65
post #39

Interesting. I have roughly 50,000 flight miles on the new AirPods Pro 3, and while I do prefer them to the 2s, I too have some annoyances with the left AirPod. In my case it never feels like it fits my ear canal quite right, to the point that I thought I might want different size tips - after trying all the tips, that's not it. The seal is in fact good, but the different feel is noticeable. The noise cancellation al…

None of the Apple tips work for me, they all leak outside noise and slip out of my ears. I've tried nearly every 3rd party tip on the market, the AZLA ones are the best but with caveats. The Xelastic tips [0] provide the best comfort, noise cancellation and stay in your ears perfectly, but they wear out and become too soft quickly - like every two to three months. The Max tips [1] are durable, stay in properly, and a…

The only thing that works for me is DIY tips.

I buy Comply 600 Core Series (size medium), tear the comply foam off the plastic tube, then place the foam around the Apple silicone tips (size large).

None of the Apple tips on their own seal correctly, nor do any of the numerous third-party tips that I've tried, including hybrid silicone/foam tips.

I get about 6 months out of the foam and they fit in the charging case modified like this.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#66
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are locked in your mind only ...

I have 1tb of data on icloud, including all my photos. Moving to a different platform is literally not an option (I was a happy Dropbox paid user until they decided to shut down the photos app, and Google Photos is a huge no no for multiple reason). The only alternative I can think of is self-hosting, which on itself is a nightmare, or a home NAS (not an option for me specifically). The lock-in is real.

Dropbox recently broke (accidentally or intentionally) hosted images/thumbnails from their Paper docs product (which they're quietly but noncommittally killing off) and that was a good wakeup for me to stop trusting hosted storage. And I'm saying this as a former Dropbox engineer of ~6 years who has plenty of free Dropbox storage for life. The brain drain and profitability crunch is real.

Recently bought a 14TB HDD and downloaded my entire Dropbox, Google Photos, and Lightroom photos. Planning to set up an off-site copy as well, and will probably build out a proper NAS within a few years.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#67

Use foam, problem solved.

Use normal ass headphones that cost $5, problem solved even better. I think wireless earbuds are the dumbest product ever made. They are worse than normal headphones in every way.

Not every way. For one thing, I've never had a pair of wireless headphones get ripped out of my ears because the cord got snagged.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#68
post #40

I've been on ~4-5 flights since upgrading to the Airpods Pro 3 from the 2 and haven't experienced this, though I had occasionally experienced a similar whine on my Pro 2 that seemed to have been resolved in a software update sometime back. I am surprised by the general negative sentiment for the 3s in this thread. They've felt like a straight and clear upgrade to me. Better fit, better ANC, and much improved battery…

Same. I've been on a number of long haul flights since getting my 3's and they have been great. They do fit very different than the 2's, and took me a few hours to get used to them.

I understand though that not everyone wins the ear hole lottery. For some the 2s may fit better than the 3's and vice versa. It's interesting to me that Apple made such a large fit change without considering 2's are simply better for some people fit wise.

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#69
post #9

I've flown twice with my new AirPods Pro 3, and both times I had this exact experience; high pitched and loud feedback. They were properly cleaned, and had a "good seal" according to the settings wizard. Glad to see I'm not the only one at least, and hopefully this will be possible to fix as a software update, rather than having to replace the AirPods.

In which ear(s)?

Re: The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

#70
Anecdotal, one of my colleagues was sounding surprisingly clear on one of the calls, and I had to ask him what is he using. Turns out whose were AirPods Pro 3, so my first impression with their microphone is quite amazing. Comparable to "studio mics from MBP" from a generation or two ago. He shared noise cancellation is also great.
Post reply on HN