Let’s start this review with a bit of a back story. I have decided to switch to iOS in favour of stability in 2019 after the whole scandal with Huawei as at that time I was daily driving a Huawei P20 which during a holiday received an update that was not approved by Google meaning all the Google Services were gone.
So while I was silently switching to iOS by firstly getting the iPhone XR, I started looking into the other Apple products one of them being the AirPods Pro. I remember Apple announcing them and how everyone was so excited about the noise cancellation feature which made me buy them in February 2020 after seeing some reviews.
At first, everything was great! The sound was exactly how I wanted it to be meaning it was not flat nor too exaggerated and the noise cancellation and transparency modes were amazing as the noise cancellation mode was not too aggressive yet it was great for bus, train or even aeroplane rides and transparency mode was my way of listening to music while also being aware of my surroundings on the streets.
However, this is where the fun ends. After approximately 6 months, I realised the fact that the sound quality that I got from them was very noticeably worse. The base was gone and the right AirPod even started sounding like the whole speaker got blown out which over time expanded to the left one while also they started failing the Ear Tip Test.
I started looking into the issue as I never dropped them, never wore them in rain or while exercising (which is also recommended by Apple), I usually cleaned them and, the pretty obvious one, my ears.
At first, I found a video of someone reporting that what I was experiencing was from a bad firmware update so I waited for a new update to come in and hopefully fix the issue but guess what. The update came and it did not fix the issue, in fact, now even the sensation that the speakers were blown out became more accentuated.
Being defeated, I called Apple Support and I told them about my issue that the headphones started sounding like the speakers were blown out inside. After some questions, they decided to replace both of them after I paid a security deposit.
So for me, the issue got fixed there at that point, right? Wrong.
The new pair came in after a few weeks. Everything was great again. The sound quality was the one I expected from them and the noise cancellation and transparency modes were working great again.
However, after 6 months, I would hear a very “interesting” crackling noise whenever my head would move whilst also activating the noise cancellation or transparency mode. As I started digging again for answers as now I was convinced there was something wrong with the mic array inside them, I stumbled upon a forum post called “AirPods Pro: Rattlegate“. This forum post was full of people reporting the same crackling noise I was experiencing too so now I was even more convinced that there is something with the AirPods not with the way I daily drive and clean them.
I got back to Apple Support saying “I have this weird and persistent crackling noise”. This time, the representative informed me of a design flaw the AirPods Pro produced before October 2020 are having. At first, I was quite happy because it meant that I could just replace my AirPods just like I did the first time. However, after getting the second pair of AirPods Pros replaced I started thinking “how can I be sure the issue does not happen again?” because it seemed like no one even knew about the Apple blog post announcing this design flaw.
And just as expected, after 4 months since I got the second replacement, a new issue with the noise cancellation was revealed. Now the issue is the noise cancellation mode not working properly in the right AirPod again. The noise-cancelling started letting loud noises in such as the engine of the train or even voices sometimes which were not as obvious before. They also give this sensation that the sound from outside goes through the stem into your ear, not through the actual speakers making it even weirder. I started playing around with the different size tips but no result as the right AirPod even keeps failing the Ear Tip Test again.
Now I am looking at getting a replacement again just after 4 months of use. I honestly think this is one of the worst purchases I have ever done. This is why I think the AirPods Pro are a nightmare and why people should stay away from them.
If you liked the review or rather me sharing my experience, give some love to the article by sharing it and write down what you think in the comments section! Peace 🙂
That’s super weird and very annoying. A family member’s AirPods started sounding staticky (maybe that crackling issue) so they were replaced and they’ve been fine since. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Well, I hope my situation is not one people will usually encounter and I also hope that after this replacement every issue will be gone forever. The whole experience is still disappointing and frustrating for me at least hence I wrote about it.
Btw, thank you so much for commenting! It means a lot to me. I really hope your family member won’t have the same issues I had with them 🙂