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AirPods Max Active Noise Cancelation Confirmed to Be Less Effective After Latest Firmware Update

iPhoneFan5349 said:
They won’t. Nobody is going to put pressure on them
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I respectfully have to disagree with you on this. The first gen APP’s degraded ANC was widely known. Pretty sure Apple took notice of that.

The whole announcement of the APP2 was build around the “2 times better ANC” message. They made sure we got that message. And for what it’s worth, they did deliver. The ANC on the APP2 is rock solid! Or at least, for now. Lol.
 
Plain old AirPods Pro here, but personally I cant stand the ANC pressure/hiss that I feel when it is turned on.

This change is not really a downgrade, just fine tuning the application of ANC probably due to complaints. After the backlash, I would hope to see the level of ANC as a user applied setting in the future.
 
It’s very disappointing. Impressed by APP2, but reluctant to buy them because of such issues. When they made noise cancelling in my APP1 worse I was not concerned too much because it’s a first gen product and it’s normal to have issues. Also sound quality increased with that update. But now, after 3 years of making ANC headphones it’s not acceptable anymore. Apple should be more transparent about their updates. If ANC is made weaker because some people feel uncomfortable there should be a way to set max ANC level. If there are other issues which led Apple to reduce ANC those should be explicitly stated.
 
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iPhoneFan5349 said:
On the contrary. Apple did the same with the first AirPods Pro. The noise cancelation was great but then they pushed an update like this one and now it’s subpar and they never fixed it.
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Came here to say, "here we go again."

People will swear up and down that Apple never nuked the original AirPods Pro ANC. I had them from launch day and noticed the difference right away. Had them replaced under AppleCare+ after the neutered firmware was pre-installed and even the replacements were neutered, too.

www.macrumors.com

AirPods Pro 2C54 Firmware: Worse Noise Canceling, Improved Frequency Response and Bass Accuracy

On December 16th, Apple released a new firmware update for the AirPods Pro bumping the firmware from 2B588 to 2C54. After the updates, there were...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
Now there's proof -- twice -- that it happened. Wonder if all the denialists will come out of the woodwork again.
 
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Unami said:
if they get called out by scientific measurements and the them following media attention, they are more likely to change it back.
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remember Apple disabling force touch in apple watch models that previously had it and making an advertised hardware feature completely useless with no possibility of going back? that's Apple
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
I respectfully have to disagree with you on this. The first gen APP’s degraded ANC was widely known. Pretty sure Apple took notice of that.

The whole announcement of the APP2 was build around the “2 times better ANC” message. They made sure we got that message. And for what it’s worth, they did deliver. The ANC on the APP2 is rock solid! Or at least, for now. Lol.
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They didn't take notice of it, publicly. They didn't even acknowledge the actual issue.

They opened up a voluntary service program where they put your AirPods Pro in their blackbox testing machine, gave them a pass/fail based on criteria nobody knows, then issue a replacement with the same defective firmware that your old ones had.

So even if they agree to replace them, your replacements have just as broken ANC as your old ones.
 
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Apple had to downgrade the ANC on the AirPods Max to make room for the AirPods Ultra with improved ANC 🤣
 
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I have noticed this on mine and it’s really frustrating that they won’t allow us to choose either older firmware or more aggressive ANC settings if we want them (in APM settings area)
 
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xpxp2002 said:
They didn't take notice of it, publicly. They didn't even acknowledge the actual issue.

They opened up a voluntary service program where they put your AirPods Pro in their blackbox testing machine, gave them a pass/fail based on criteria nobody knows, then issue a replacement with the same defective firmware that your old ones had.

So even if they agree to replace them, your replacements have just as broken ANC as your old ones.
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Your statement regarding Apple not publicly admitting their awareness of the problem doesn’t signify they didn’t take notice.
 
It's almost as if Apple is making you wish for the obviously upcoming Airpods Max 2.
 
Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
Your statement regarding Apple not publicly admitting their awareness of the problem doesn’t signify they didn’t take notice.
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I specifically said that they did not acknowledge it publicly. I'm sure they were aware of the reports internally, and even knew that they were responsible for it. But everybody knows the #1 rule of in-house counsel: anything can be a liability, so you don't admit anything.
 
xpxp2002 said:
I specifically said that they did not acknowledge it publicly. I'm sure they were aware of the reports internally, and even knew that they were responsible for it. But everybody knows the #1 rule of in-house counsel: anything can be a liability, so you don't admit anything.
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These are all first world problems imo. Apple did create a service program for the APP1, so they kinda did acknowledge it.

A lot of people become so spoiled and angry nowadays. Lmfao. Downvote me as much as you want. I couldn’t care less. Anyways I’m gonna leave it here. I sincerely wish you a nice day!
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
These are all first world problems imo. Apple did created a service program for the APP1, so they kinda did acknowledge it.

A lot of people become so spoiled and angry nowadays. Lmfao. Downvote me as much as you want. I couldn’t care less. Anyways I’m gonna leave it here. I sincerely wish you a nice day!
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People spent $249 of their hard-earned money on a product that worked great out of the box on day 1. Then, after the return period lapsed, Apple pushed a mandatory, silent update that reduced the quality of the product's core feature.

The service program did nothing to resolve the actual issue. It was smoke-and-mirrors, at best. Then, they turn around and release a new version for another $249 that claims to have improved ANC. I have both models now, and I can tell you that the original AirPods Pro ANC on day 1 was empirically better than even the AirPods Pro 2 on day 1.

It's not a first world problem. It's planned and forced obsolescence.
 
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Eldaerenth Faexidor said:
These are all first world problems imo. Apple did create a service program for the APP1, so they kinda did acknowledge it.

A lot of people become so spoiled and angry nowadays. Lmfao. Downvote me as much as you want. I couldn’t care less. Anyways I’m gonna leave it here. I sincerely wish you a nice day!
Click to expand...
You’re just wrong man. You clearly can’t comprehend what the issue is.
 
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Mine have reduced effectiveness. I only listen to mine while playing on my gaming pc. It is a loud pc with lots of fans. When I first got the Max’s, it blocked out my pc sound completely. Loved it. Now I hear it in the background :/
 
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would be great if there was a little lightning-to-usb-c dongle that would be permanently sitting in the headphone. Anybody an idea?
 
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