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Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Max

Better fix the Accessibility > Tone Volume bug resetting to 100% constantly, LOUD as all get out when you are accustomed to Silence. I'll edit this post if it is fixed.

Update: Somehow, this setting is app specific... Sorta fixed, sorta what???

macOS — Change the tone to 15% in the Finder.app, but when you change to Quicktime.app/Music.app/IINA.app or any other "Media" app the tone is now at 100%. Change to the Notes.app, or Safari.app, the tone is back to 15%.

iOS/iPad OS same thing — if you change from iPad Music.app, to the Notes.app, now the tone is at 15%, but if you go back to Music.app, the tone is at 100%. This is... useless, I want to be able to have the tone at 15% regardless of what app I am in. This is very distracting 🙄 I wonder if they think because it is a Movie, that you need to BLAST your eardrums with a ANC/Transparency tone change.

Still feels like a bug, I use media apps a lot, and have no need to have a 100% tone. At least now I know.

Update 2: The "fade-in" to ANC appears slower, noticeably, but the amount of ANC is similar, maybe a slight improvement, I now hear a very very noticeable (wine) sound if in a loud coffee shop which is unheard before.. Maybe it is a level of white noise AMP is now making at 54db ambient (26db with ANC).

Update 3: I have two pair, and was able to test back to back, the 6A324 to 6A325, the "heater blower" I had used to warm up the AirPods Max metal, I was unable to hear with 6A325, when I put on the pair of 6A324, I could clearly hear the heater blower. Using the same dry clean ear-pads swapping between the two.

TL;dr: The new firmware did fix things, and has better ANC. -- with a little "wine" noise now introduced, but I'm fine with it so far.
 
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Born Again said:
Such a miss by Apple. This became a niche product. All of us had higher hopes and it never got there.

Honestly based on AVP owners reviews the Vision Pro is in similar danger of being relegated to a uber niche product.

I certainly hope i'm wrong.
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I disagree. I see them all the time on the streets and in my workplace. The popularity has exploded here lately, which is funny knowing they are due for an update..
 
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shawnforever said:
You have to send it in to Apple.

In my experience, the Apple Store associates have no training for how to deal with battery issues. I literally asked them the criteria for a battery replacement and they didn't know. What happens is that the headphones stop working, nobody knows why the headphones stop working, and so only thing they'll recommend is the $300+ repair fee. You have to insist on a battery replacement to get one; they will not recommend it for you otherwise.

My headphones stopped working one day around the two-year mark. I had been having connection issues for a few weeks, and then they just stopped working completely. I was fairly adamant that it was a battery issue: I had never worn mine outside, never worn them to the gym, never had condensation issues, never dropped them. But I did use them for hours and hours a day, every day, for two years. It made sense to me that it was the battery that was causing all of these issues.

Mine were sent in for a battery replacement, and lo and behold, they've worked flawlessly for the last 6 months.
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This same thing happened to me.

I had planned to do this but they insisted I’d be charged the $300 general service fee.

I’d not realized I could renew the Apple care I had on them—or that the band elastic going slack would have qualified them for replacement when I still had it.

Despite the complaints, when working this is a good product. Expensive, sure, but not at all given the utility.

Anyhow, I replaced them with another pair.

I’d read some reports Apple had been more forgiving of covering this type of failure you’re describing that I also had happen. If you look for it on the subreddit it seems to happen quite a bit.
 
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Fuzzball84 said:
Its when you compare side by side that you notice.

I remember a while back comparing CDs to some of my streaming and albums on iTunes...

I understand the convenience... but wow the difference... we certainly went back a few steps on quality.
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Blind testing.
Blind testing, blind testing, blind testing.
It is impossible not to be biased when you know what you’re listening to and what "should" be better.
Perception of sound is subjective, and always affected by the minds processing.
Doing good blind testing of headphones is hard, you strap them to your head after all. But sources can be easily tested, at least if you have a patient friend. 😊
 
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citysnaps said:
How does a battery replacement work? Only done by Apple, or can the user do the replacement (assuming the battery is available)?
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Certified retailers ship them to Apple for a replacement, my repair notes said “replaced band, L & R AirPods”
 
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whiteashsaturday said:
Better fix the Accessibility > Tone Volume bug resetting to 100% constantly, LOUD as all get out when you are accustomed to Silence. I'll edit this post if it is fixed.
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So that is what it is! Thank you for mentioning it.

I would often wear them just for noise cancelling, only having silence. And then BAM! here you go, have a jump scare. Like literally make you jump it is so loud, just like a horror movie. So disconcerting that I took to never letting the battery get low enough to trigger the low battery noise, which when played at 100% from silence is awful.

Turns out I had less need for noise cancelling than initially so I started using other headphones more and didn't research to understand what was happening with the APM. But now I know, thanks again!
 
citysnaps said:
How does a battery replacement work? Only done by Apple, or can the user do the replacement (assuming the battery is available)?
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Take it in. It's like $80. I had mine done and they just swapped out the entire right ear cup and, as a bonus, the headband as well. I guess I got lucky, but ended up with basically a full refurbishment for $80. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

skier8689 said:
I disagree. I see them all the time on the streets and in my workplace. The popularity has exploded here lately, which is funny knowing they are due for an update..
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It's certainly this way in NYC. I see a couple dozen pairs or more "in the wild" over the course of a day whenever I go into Manhattan. They're extremely popular here. Not as popular as AirPods Pro (which it seems like 50% of people on the subway are wearing at any given point), but they're definitely around. I've even seen knockoffs!

As far as being due for an update, I agree (would love Adaptive Audio, for one thing). But I also think they're great to use and apparently people out there seem to agree -- that is, outside little tech bubbles like this forum where people sort of make a hobby out of complaining. Been using mine since launch, at work for meetings, at home for watching Apple TV, commuting, travelling. I must have had them on my head a few thousand hours at this point.
 
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whiteashsaturday said:
Better fix the Accessibility > Tone Volume bug resetting to 100% constantly, LOUD as all get out when you are accustomed to Silence. I'll edit this post if it is fixed.
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I think this is part of a general iOS bug where settings are forgotten. My AirPods Pro routinely lose the shortcut to click through to Adaptive Audio as part of the shortcut cycle. It reverts back to ANC and Transparency. Super irritating.
 
This thing is overdue for an update. I have my fair share of audiophile headphones, which puts the APMs on the bottom of the list in terms of audio quality, but the ANC (was) amazing on the APMs. Now with the ANC nerfs, it's kind of losing its purpose for me since I have the APP2 as well.
 
Fuzzball84 said:
Amazing how many firmware updates have been released for these and other AirPods devices 🤔

Sure they address security bugs , efficiency and maybe sound quality enhancements... but still
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I'm presuming several are likely for battery management purposes as further charge/drain cycle detail is known? If battery is x years old with y cycles, then adjust battery charge as follows...
 
ignatius345 said:
Take it in. It's like $80. I had mine done and they just swapped out the entire right ear cup and, as a bonus, the headband as well. I guess I got lucky, but ended up with basically a full refurbishment for $80. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Curious: what issues were you having that you got your battery replaced? I haven't talked to a whole lot of people who actually had it done besides me.
 
shawnforever said:
Curious: what issues were you having that you got your battery replaced? I haven't talked to a whole lot of people who actually had it done besides me.
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Battery life was down to maybe 8 hours on a charge. That was after 2 years of heavy use so I wasn’t bothered. I just wore the battery out and it was time for a new one.
 
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ignatius345 said:
I think this is part of a general iOS bug where settings are forgotten. My AirPods Pro routinely lose the shortcut to click through to Adaptive Audio as part of the shortcut cycle. It reverts back to ANC and Transparency. Super irritating.
Click to expand...
I'll update my post, but here is what I found out.
Somehow, this setting is app specific...

Change the tone to 15% in the Finder.app, but when you change to Quicktime.app the tone is now at 100%. I wonder if they think because it is a Movie, that you need to BLAST your eardrums with a ANC/Transparency tone change.

iOS same thing, if you change from iPad Music.app, to the Notes.app, now the tone is at 15%, but if you go back to Music.app, the tone is at 100%. This is... useless, I want to be able to have the tone at 15% regardless of what app I am in. This is very distracting 🙄
 
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My APM have been sat idle for months. Succumbed to what I thought was the condensation issue, resulting in the right ear cup making loud continuous squelching sounds whenever ANC was on. Trying to get a repair through Amazon proved fruitless, so I've been using my Bose 700s instead for the past few months.

Updated the firmware on the APM on the off chance it might fix the squelching ANC noise, previous firmware updates hadn't. Colour me surprised when the latest firmware has indeed fixed the issue! There is still a barely audible rumble int he right hand cup with ANC on and no music or audio playing. Play something though, however quietly, and all is good and as it was. Overjoyed to have the APMs back, I was saving and waiting for the next version rather than spending on another pair of the current model and hoping for the best.

If the firmware only holds the issue at bay until the next iteration of APM, I'll be happy.
 
My AirPods Max — dumb name, it’s not an Pod at all — had been upgraded to 300. There was no word on how to get that upgrade to 6A300. Did not know how it got there. I went to Apple support. This is what he gave me:

  • 1 Make sure that you have Wi-Fi connection and that the AirPods Max are within Bluetooth range of their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
  • 2 With your AirPods Max on, Please listen to music or other audio content for at least 30 seconds.
  • 3 Put the AirPods Max in the Smart Case.
  • 4 Plug the Lightning cable into the bottom-right earphone. Then plug the other end of the cable into a USB charger or port. Wait 30 minutes for the firmware to update.
  • 5 After 30 minutes, reconnect the AirPods Max to the iOS, iPadOS, or macOS devic
 
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