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APP 2 Constant Whooshing/wind/white noise on Firmware beta 9A347A

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AnolinMcGinnis

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I've noticed here in the past day or so that my APP 2 are playing a constant white noise when I put them in my ears. It sounds like being in a car going down the highway at high speeds with the window just barely cracked. Just a constant "whoosh" that doesn't vary in any way. When I play music or listen to a YouTube video on my phone or MacBook they sound fine. But when there's nothing playing, and I'm in a quiet room, I can clearly hear the "white noise" coming from them. This includes all 3 listening modes: Transparency, Adaptive, and Noise Cancellation - except when I turn them all off. When I turn all listening modes to off, they sound like they are supposed to - completely quiet.

I've tried cleaning them, resetting them per Apple's instructions, but nothing I do changes it. Just to rule out some weird setting on my iPhone or MacBook, I've also reset the network settings. One thing I do find odd when resetting them to factory defaults, is that when I go to pair them back with my iPhone, my name still comes up when it prompts me to connect them (I custom name my AirPods so that they are easily identifiable in Find My.) That doesn't sound like a "factory reset" to me if it still shows the name I created for my AirPods. Anyways...

So, other than thinking it's a weird bug with the beta firmware (I've submitted feedback), is there anything else I can try?

Thanks in advance!
 
The name comes back after a reset because the iPhone stores the name paired to the serial number. It will always remember the previous name.

I use the beta firmware on my Pro 2's and have no such issue. Since it worked just fine for you until a day ago I'd assume it's got nothing to do with the beta firmware and is most likely a hardware issue. A non-beta firmware will drop in 2 weeks as iOS 27 releases so you can wait for that and see in order to rule out the beta firmware.

There is a bit of white noise as that's coming from the electronics and microphones themselves. The ANC has this noise and in transparency there is still a bit left from the mics. It's always audible yet very quiet. This sound disappears on the off mode as these electronics and mics are no longer active in that mode. Since you haven't heard it until a day ago it's probably louder than that and considered an abnormal noise.

It's unlikely that both Airpods fail at the same time so it would be helpful to check if it happens on both or just one side. If it's one side it's most likely a defective Airpod.

If the new firmware with the iOS 27 release does not fix it and you have the identical issue on both Airpods I would consider that a very odd issue and I'd be wondering if maybe something about your hearing changed. An increased sensitivity might indicate that you were exposed to loud noise for too long and even though that does cause hearing loss it can also cause sensitivity to all sorts of noises.

What you can also do is put your right Airpod in the left ear and vice versa. If the issue is more pronounced on one side you can see if it moves with the Airpod or if it stays in the same ear. That indicates whether that issue is with that particular Airpod or if it's related to that ear.

Understand that it's impossible for us to know what you're hearing and whether that's your own hearing playing tricks on you or if the Airpods are really defective or affected by a bug. A firmware bug would be a reasonable explanation but then it should have occured directly after a firmware upgrade or at least gone away temporarily after resetting the Airpods.
 
Thanks for the response! As a test, I have tried just one AirPod at a time in each ear. I put my right AirPod in my right ear, then my left ear, and heard the same white noise while ANC was active. As another test, I put both of my AirPods in my ears "backwards" where the left AirPod was in my right ear and vice versa, and it's exactly the same. Only when I turn off any of the listening modes does the white noise go away.

This is a weird one for sure... And who knows, it could be my hearing. I'm 49 years old now and hear loss runs in my family. I guess the only thing I can do since these are out of warranty is to wait for the next firmware update to see if that makes any difference at all. It would be helpful if I had a friend who had a pair of Airpod Pro 2's to compare with just to see if it is my ears, or something truly going on with my AirPods.

Finally, thank you for explaining the name thing during resetting them. I have never had to factory reset my AirPods before, so when my name came up when it was time to pair them to my iPhone, I was like...uh.... that doesn't sound like a "factory" reset simply because they weren't that way when they came out of the box brand new.

So in the end: It happens with both AirPods, either one at a time, together, or wearing them "backwards".
 
Unfortunate that I don’t have a clue what’s going on. This is definitely not known or common behavior. Let us know if the new firmware fixes it. I recommend turning beta updates off and waiting for the next stable firmware on the day iOS 27 releases or shortly after.
 
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Just wait for the next update.
First I thought my APP 3 are broken, but after I got the same issue with my APP 2 I was sure it’s the beta.
 
I think it just happen if connected to my iphone. With AppldTV no issue.

My solution is simple, I have a lot of different headphones and use some other until it is fixed, but this didn’t help someone else.

Deactivate ANC may help, I got the issue just with ANC.
 
Does the noise follow the AirPods between devices, or is it only when they're paired to the iPhone? Since Apple TV is clean for you, I'd try forgetting them on the iPhone and pairing fresh with ANC off, then toggle ANC once to see if it comes back.
 
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