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A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds.

airpods-pro-spring-blue.jpg

A few months after the AirPods Pro came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, popping, and static-like noises affecting the AirPods Pro. The sound seemed to show up when something caused an earbud to move or vibrate, such as walking or running.

Apple tried to fix the problem with software updates, but the company ultimately launched an AirPods Pro repair program in October 2020. Customers with affected AirPods Pro were able to bring them to Apple for a fix or a replacement, but unfortunately, many customers found that their replacement AirPods Pro also suffered from the same issue.

As a result, Apple is now facing a class action lawsuit, with the plaintiffs requesting "relief" due to the defective nature of the AirPods Pro. The complaint says that customers would not have purchased the AirPods Pro or would have paid less had Apple made the flaw clear.

Apple is also being accused of false advertising for highlighting features like "superior sound quality" and "pure, incredibly clear sound" when knowing there was an issue with crackling and static.

The court will need to decide if the arguments made here hold up, and whether the case deserves class action certification.

Article Link: Apple Customers Sue Over Unfixed AirPods Pro Crackling Issue
Count me in on this. Mine started recently after owning them for a couple years. Battery life is still great and they would have another couple years of life left in them if it wasn’t for this issue. No amount of cleaning has helped. Can’t use them on Transparency or Noise cancelling anymore. I think the proper thing for them to do is to replace the flawed headphones with new models. I don’t want a $7 check for my inconvenience.
As a shareholder I would like to see Apple do the right thing.
 
The problem with the Airpods is the reason I ditched apple as they told me I could get them fixed went all the way to a store only to be told by some snotty assistant that they were not covered, shocking what apple get away with. Hope it goes all the way good on them👍
 
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I referenced this article and class action with an Apple Support Chat and they are sending me a box to send them in to Apple.

They made it sound like they will just send me a replacement pair, but I have my doubts. Fingers crossed…
 
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A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds.

AirPods-Crackling-Feature.jpg

A few months after the AirPods Pro came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, popping, and static-like noises affecting the AirPods Pro. The sound seemed to show up when something caused an earbud to move or vibrate, such as walking or running.

Apple tried to fix the problem with software updates, but the company ultimately launched an AirPods Pro repair program in October 2020. Customers with affected AirPods Pro were able to bring them to Apple for a fix or a replacement, but unfortunately, many customers found that their replacement AirPods Pro also suffered from the same issue.

As a result, Apple is now facing a class action lawsuit, with the plaintiffs requesting "relief" due to the defective nature of the AirPods Pro. The complaint says that customers would not have purchased the AirPods Pro or would have paid less had Apple made the flaw clear.

Apple is also being accused of false advertising for highlighting features like "superior sound quality" and "pure, incredibly clear sound" when knowing there was an issue with crackling and static.

The court will need to decide if the arguments made here hold up, and whether the case deserves class action certification.

Article Link: Apple Customers Sue Over Unfixed AirPods Pro Crackling Issue
Welp, I’ll be joining that. Replaced my AirPods multiple times due to sound issues- and losing them- but they eventually gave out around the time apple began ramping up testing in the next set of AirPod pros. Threw em away
 
They replaced my faulty AirPods with a set of these crackling disasters. The first Prichard was a long time ago. The replacement is inside 3 years - any chance they honour the replacement?
 
I have this exact problem and went into the Apple Store in Bluewater and they told me its £80 to replace one AirPods and even though I mentioned the symptoms being identical to the old program they say it isn't covered.
 
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My Airpods Pro also developed crackling before they were a year old.
started being a minor annoyance, though maybe it was a software issue & did not have time to go to get a replacement under warranty.

Once I saw the repair program related to the crackling issue I went to the Apple Store, but they said my serial number was not affected... 🤔

Don't buy Airpods Pro, they are not reliable / long lasting products.
Get something else that will cost 1/3 the price & will last longer.
 
AirPods have been a joke for many years for many reasons - I gave up on them ages ago . . .
Weird because that was my belief as well. It's why I avoided them and bought Pixel Buds Pro, Liberty Pros etc. Then on a whim I tried the AirPods 4 for my iPhone 13 and I must say, I really like the sound especially spatial audio. They are really nice earbuds and I have never been a fan of open earbuds but I really like the AirPods 4. That said i'm expecting and looking forward to my Galaxy Buds3 Pro's which I bought from Samsung during their early BF deal for $73 with a trade in of Galaxy Buds2 they gave me for free during another BF deal.
 
I have bought the airpods pro 2 in late 2022 but i've never had this issue while walking or running. The only time when i have this static noise issue is when i lay down on my pillow with my airpods in. The only issue that i have rn is that the noise cancelation of these airpods don't work properly anymore but that might be because i haven't cleaned the sensors yet.
 
I am having the same fault with my AirPods Pro and been refused a free repair. Being told to pay £79 to replace the one bud. I am unhappy with that as I am concerned the fault will appear in the other bud soon enough.

I'd be better off buy full replacement but won't be doing that. I was considering buying a Mac mini for Christmas and upgrading 3 x Apple TV 4K boxes if new ones launched soon but have decided to put all Apple purchased on hold.

This should not be how you handle known manufacturing defects. Consumers deserve better, especially from a premium brand.
 
I have two pairs with this issue just sitting there. Both were replaced twice. The second replacement had terrible battery life. Hopefully the class suit means they are forced to replace them or refund
 
I had them replaced entirely twice due to this (both earbuds) and the third time the right one did it and it was replaced a couple of days before the 3 year period closed. I’m hoping the 4th pair (about 8 months in now) don’t develop this problem too.

I really like the product but I’ve never had to have something replaced so much before. People just buying the AirPods Pro 2s are rewarding them, even if it is fixed in those. It’s pretty unacceptable and should’ve been fixed, this isn’t the usual Apple experience.
 
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I have the AirPods Pro 1 and I wish I had known about the issue earlier...I have what I would call a LOUD STATIC in my left Pod whenever I use Transparency or Noise Cancellation. it is annoying since the point of buy the APP was to have noise cancelling. it wasn't always an issue but for the past 6 months it has been an ongoing thing each time I try to use NC or T...I guess now I just have Air Pods expensive edition :(
 
My gen 1 left side developed this issue. My gen2 has been working fine with no issues so far. Are people reporting this issue on gen 2 as well?
 
As far as I was able to determine, the issues with gen1 pods was primarily due to the position of the mic grille on the inner portion that rests in your ear. Any amount of oil/wax on that grille, and it would cause the noise reduction to reduce in effectiveness. It would also cause the Fit Test to fail, because of the blockage. If you cleaned it out early enough (with BlueTak putty) you could restore functionality. However, over a long enough timespan, I think the wax/oils penetrated further into the pods and then got on the surface of the inner MEMS microphone itself, which can cause failure of the mic and cracking sounds.

The Gen2 relocated that to the top of the AirPods so that they don’t get gummed up anymore…
 
As far as I was able to determine, the issues with gen1 pods was primarily due to the position of the mic grille on the inner portion that rests in your ear. Any amount of oil/wax on that grille, and it would cause the noise reduction to reduce in effectiveness. It would also cause the Fit Test to fail, because of the blockage. If you cleaned it out early enough (with BlueTak putty) you could restore functionality. However, over a long enough timespan, I think the wax/oils penetrated further into the pods and then got on the surface of the inner MEMS microphone itself, which can cause failure of the mic and cracking sounds.

The Gen2 relocated that to the top of the AirPods so that they don’t get gummed up anymore…
I was under the impression that the anc mics would loosen and rattle. That would explain why they would only rattle when I would run with anc turned on. Eventually, however, the earbud would make a loud screeching sound no matter what mode. Went through 3 returns before Apple refused to replace them.
 
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I was under the impression that the anc mics would loosen and rattle. That would explain why they would only rattle when I would run with anc turned on. Eventually, however, the earbud would make a loud screeching sound no matter what mode. Went through 3 returns before Apple refused to replace them.
The AirPods Pro use a pressure vent as part of the ANC system (which just so happens to also use the grille I mentioned), which adjusts to very minor changes in pressure (if you push them father into your ear or slightly loosen them, you can hear it adjusting for a brief moment). It also uses them for the transparency mode as well. It's possible that it's not the mics being loose, but the vent being plugged and unable to adapt to pressure changes, which affects the sound you hear
https://www.slashgear.com/1165765/t...-have-a-vent-and-why-you-shouldnt-block-them/
 
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