Last month, Apple released the long-awaited AirPods Pro 3. While the earbuds still use the company’s H2 chip, Apple redesigned them to deliver improved audio quality, with clearer highs and mids and deeper bass. With new foam ear tips, the company was also able to make Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) four times better than on the original AirPods Pro, and twice as powerful as the previous generation.
However, the new earbuds aren’t without their own sets of issues. Beyond the discomfort some users have reported when trying the new foams for the first few days, which some have dubbed “bloodgate” already, it seems the AirPods Pro 3 behave weirdly on flights. As pointed out by Basic Apple Guy, he started noticing a high-pitched whine coming from his left AirPod.
He wrote: “The issue was that the AirPod’s ear seal kept loosening, leading to a noise-cancellation feedback loop and a painfully loud piercing screech from the AirPod. Attempts to readjust worsened the feedback, especially if I accidentally covered the external microphone with my finger. This happened multiple times, making the experience so unpleasant that I eventually switched to my spare EarPods for the remainder of the flight.”
A firmware update might not be enough
Basic Apple Guy also found some other users reporting the same issue on flights. While most reports talk about the left earbud making weird noises, other users have found that it happens with the right bud as well. In a Reddit thread, over 40 comments also suggest users are experiencing the same issue. The original poster of the thread writes: “Testing ANC mode on a flight, it’s very apparent that the new ones have a noticeable wind ‘whooshing’ noise; occasionally it gets worse and becomes an intermittent, high-pitched ‘whistle’ noise.”
So far, it’s unclear if the issue can be fixed via firmware or why it only happens during flights. BGR staff hasn’t experienced the issue so far, but we were able to reproduce the issue when pressing the foam of the earbuds in one hand. However, it’s different from what users have reported. Apple is currently testing a new firmware update for AirPods Pro 3, and it could possibly solve the issue. We’ll let you know once we learn more about it.
