I have this happen outside of flights. Cupping your finger over the ANC mic is enough to trigger it.

The new tips (that’s my guess, at least) also transmit vibrations into your ears much more than the old tips or third party memory foam tips. This results in a popping noise when walking or moving around, and a horrible thumping sound when running with them in. I think the latter is partially caused by the “reduce loud noises” feature incorrectly identifying vibrations from heel strikes as loud noise.

I’m glad I’m apparently not the only one experiencing these issues. I hope they’re software fixable. I filed a bug report, but radio silence on that, of course. I would sing the praises of the second gen AirPods Pro to anyone who would listen, but the 3rd gen have been a huge disappointment. I had to buy a different set of headphones for running, whereas the second gen were my daily drivers. And I’ve been through three pair of the third gen, so it’s not a one-off issue.

I frequently use my AirPods Pro when working in my shop. Previously the APP2 did a great job of reducing loud tool noise and I could mostly still listen to music or podcasts at reasonable levels.

With the APP3, they are largely the same except with the louder tools (circular saw, cordless grinder) they produce a horrific feedback instead of canceling the noise. So much so that I switched back to my APP2 (which do not have this issue in back-to-back testing).

This REALLY irks me, as the APP3 are what forced the upgrade to iOS 26 (which is terribly misguided and under-baked), so I'm stuck with all of Apple's foibles and none of their wins.

Feel like I got punched in the gut and my lunch money stolen. Not a good feeling Apple.

Interesting. I have roughly 50,000 flight miles on the new AirPods Pro 3, and while I do prefer them to the 2s, I too have some annoyances with the left AirPod. In my case it never feels like it fits my ear canal quite right, to the point that I thought I might want different size tips - after trying all the tips, that's not it. The seal is in fact good, but the different feel is noticeable.

The noise cancellation also feels a bit more variable - when it's good it's significantly better, but sometimes I get cycles or loops where the algo doesn't seem to be working right.

I was mulling over getting custom tips, but it's a good reminder it might just be easier to downgrade.

A wild guess as to what is happening. I haven’t actually tested this hypothesis so I could be completely wrong.

In feedback systems, the gain is a function of frequency, and typically decreases when going from low frequency to high frequency. This is often accompanied by a phase delay.

So if the overall gain of the system is high enough, there will be some high frequency where the gain is 1, and the phase is 180 degrees. This would result in positive feedback, amplifying noise at that frequency.

Maybe that’s what’s happening in the latest AirPods? If Apple is aggressive cranking up the gain of the noise cancellation system, there’s some high frequency where the noise gets amplified rather than suppressed.

The solution would be to either reduce the gain (which reduces the noise cancellation), or to add some differential gain in the system which pushes out the unity gain frequency to higher frequencies.

I had to return my AirPods Pro 3. I upgraded from AirPods 4 with ANC and they were worse in every department I could see. I assume battery life is better, but I've never ran out of battery anyway.

I've never much got on with in-ear rubber tips, and these were no different to any I've tried, despite reviews stating they were super comfortable.

My left ear is also worse to get it fitting right than my right ear. I have tried every size provided, none seem right. A grimace in the gym is enough to unseat even the most secure fit/seal, in either ear.

My main gripes specifically with AirPods Pro 3, which I've not seen in any other review;

- Because the rubber tips vary in size, the case has to accommodate the largest. This means if you're using small tips, there's a lot of spare room, which means the AirPods can easily be mis-seated, breaking the charge connection.

- The case is substantially bigger than AirPods 4 with ANC. I would say ~40%.

- The volume swipe on the stalk action is very tricky to trigger.

- Any stalk action is a bad idea when it's so easy to unseat them. I skip songs with a double press regularly, and nearly every time I had to push in and rotate after.

Something interesting occurs to me. Many of the anecdotes about the squealing on flights says the noise goes away when yawning. Yawning lifts the soft palate and equalizes ambient pressure behind the eardrum in the sinuses. Air pressure is lower in a pressurized airplane cabin than on the ground and is usually more dynamic as well. I wonder if an air pressure gradient forms in the ear canal when in the air that exacerbates the ANC feedback issues that users (myself included) are experiencing on the ground. I feel like there must be some interaction between the multiple microphones due to vibration transmitted through the body of the Airpods.

Since it seems to be an ANC issue it should be fixable in software.

I've flown twice with my new AirPods Pro 3, and both times I had this exact experience; high pitched and loud feedback. They were properly cleaned, and had a "good seal" according to the settings wizard.

Glad to see I'm not the only one at least, and hopefully this will be possible to fix as a software update, rather than having to replace the AirPods.

I've been on ~4-5 flights since upgrading to the Airpods Pro 3 from the 2 and haven't experienced this, though I had occasionally experienced a similar whine on my Pro 2 that seemed to have been resolved in a software update sometime back.

I am surprised by the general negative sentiment for the 3s in this thread. They've felt like a straight and clear upgrade to me. Better fit, better ANC, and much improved battery life. I typically wear mine almost all day so comfort is hugely important to me.

I used to be first to try out new Apple products. Now I wait for OS upgrades and will let others try new Apple products or major software updates. Too many times Cupertino has let users down with poorly tested software. This problem with the Airpods- it should have been caught if this many people are experiencing the same problem.

Apple doesn't deserve the share price it enjoys.

I bought the airpod pro 3 and returned it after a couple of days. It would make a loud crunching sound every time I move my mouth, probably due to the memory foam moving inside my ear canal. Never experienced anything similar on pro 1 or pro 2.

This entire cycle of Apple releases is riddled with puzzling defects - the super scratchable iPhone Pros, the condensation issues on the Air lenses, the Airpod fit and weird noise cancelling issues. I don't recall this level of weird basic defects since the first unibody macs or the butterfly keyboard debacle. Wonder what caused it...

Is it the noise cancellation making a feedback sound, or is it the pressure differential in the ear canal pulling the ear drum back to produce a white noise?

He said that it goes away when he yawns, so I'm thinking it might be the pressure differential.

Anecdotal, one of my colleagues was sounding surprisingly clear on one of the calls, and I had to ask him what is he using. Turns out whose were AirPods Pro 3, so my first impression with their microphone is quite amazing. Comparable to "studio mics from MBP" from a generation or two ago. He shared noise cancellation is also great.

I can reproduce this by covering one of the exterior mics used for ANC when there is a decent amount of background noise in the environment. It results in feedback that causes a high pitch ringing.

The AirPods Pro 2 don’t have this same issue. I can’t reproduce the same behavior regardless of how I cover the exterior on the pro 2s.

I suspect this is fixable in firmware. What I heard on a long haul flight was the faint sound of the plane's engines traveling back and forth down a paper towel tube; a hollow, cavernous sound. It must be so tricky to nail these algorithms, but with the data of millions, it should be easier to triangulate and address.

Completely off topic, but when did people start calling earphones “headphones”?

Headphones are the cans that cup your ears and strap around or over the head. Hence their name.

Whereas earphones go inside your ear.

Something happened today as I was closing my car door, where I had the Airpods (Pro 3 as well) make this low but extremely loud rumble-like sound. Something related to pressure and seal, perhaps?

I could replicate it immediately at will. ANC on, nothing playing, sat on the driver seat and closed my door with a little bit of force.

I was temped to upgrade from my 2nd gen AirPodPros which I use since they launched. Still use the same set. But I wanted to wait for some real world reviews. I also have the Max and love them. But sound quality and ANC is not as great as in the In-Ears which is rather funny. I have no real need to switch yet. But I actually thought to give them a try at around Christmas. But I planned to use mine for running and air travel as well…

I've not noticed them feeding back while listening but it happens whenever I put them in the case together for a split second. I also get a drop-out every time I walk past certain spots in my apartment building hallway because of what I'm guessing are ultrasonic sensors on fragrance dispensers or light fixtures. Definitely buggier than the previous version but the improvements in sonic accuracy and noise cancellation are well worth the inconvenience IMO.

I have this issue intermittently just when walking around, at sea level! I can make them start screaming just by holding them even - The Airpods 2 do not have the same issue.

"The issue would go away for me as soon as I yawn…"

So perhaps sealing your ears does not allow your ears to "pop" from the cabin pressure changes?

I have experienced this as well. However, I wasn't sure where I should report it. Warranty? Bug?

I'm fairly new to the Apple ecosystem, so it's quite confusing. I've tried raising an issue with warranty, but I could absolutely not find a place to do it(I had a few tries, installed some app, but I wasn't able to create anything that wouldn't be visited in the shop, just a support request)

I am surprised that Apple did not test in a way that revealed these problems (testing around a variety of loud noises, and especially testing on airplanes, where the product is used a lot).

And I am surprised that, if they did do the testing, they shipped anyway.

But I am becoming less and less surprised via-à-vis Apple problems, because they seem to be occurring with increasing frequency.

Apple, take note.

Same exact experience here and also with the left AirPod. Everything goes well until the AirPods get just a little bit wet or greasy (say, in the rain, after a run, or a few hours into wearing them) — then the seal loosens and I get a painful high-pitched hum when trying to put it back in it is place. I wonder how safe that sound is bc its pretty uncomfortable.

The seal also changes with any significant jaw movement (which I also do a lot in-flight normally) — noticeable degradation of noise cancellation, which then goes away (not sure if its the foam or anc adjusting).

Tried to use my AirPods Pro 2 earhooks, which partially solved it - although at the cost of that crispy sound. Found best to just wipe the AirPods dry/gently blow around the grills before adjusting (which makes them unusable for running unless you’re willing to stop all the time).

Such a shame every APP iteration has some noticeable flaw. And especially when they solved a similar problem between the first and the second gen.

This just sounds like the fallacy of ignoring corner / minority use cases.

A minority of users might encounter a flaw in a corner case, but if that's an important corner case, it's a defect: IE, Airpods might only be used on flights 1% of the time, but for the people who use them on flights, it's a very important (and hyper-critical) use case.

Other brands let you recalibrate the ANC on an airplane. It's a thing. Do Apple not let you do this?

https://helpguide.sony.net/mdr/wh1000xm4/v1/en/contents/TP00...

:( I recently lost my APP1 and was going to buy new airpods this week. I guess I'm going to look elsewhere until Apple improves their quality. I'm one of the few that are bothered by ANC, so I don't use it. But I also don't want to buy/support a subpar product release.

- I can't jog with the APP3: the new tips transmit too much of the impact vibration into my ear, creating a painful noise sensation that can not be healthy. Same for walking sometimes! It makes me walk carefully and weirdly.

- Certain type of noise, like strongly vibrating idioit cars and idiot motorbikes also create some very painful feedback noise that makes me take them out when I need them most.

- I too experienced this horrible screeching, but I wasn't doing anything specialy. Cupping them made it worse, taking the out and in again did not help. I put them back in the case and a few hours later this issue disappeared.

To me, the APP3 feel half broken and dangerous, I regret buying them, I wish I would have bought just another set of APP2.

It was one of the most anticipated Apple upgrades of all times and they dropped the ball.

I’ve experiencing this same issue on every flight now using APP3, and considering returning. Tried multiple different ear tip sizes. Reset and re-paired. It’s not just pressure changes, as it occurs at steady altitude in addition to ascending and descending. I’m very surprised Apple didn’t catch this issue by testing the ANC on aircraft more extensively during product testing, since that is an extremely common use case for ANC headphones. They also generate weird popping/thumping noises while running, or tinny echoes sometimes while scratching my head. Hopefully there is a software fix. AP1 ANC worked just fine (until case failed to charge left earbud).

I’ve never understood the hype around AirPods noise cancellation. It’s been noticeably worse than Bose from the beginning and I just keep going back to Bose. I don’t know how others may rank, but it’s just that I was using Bose noise cancellation headphones since before Apple got into headphones and as much as I like the form factor of AirPods every time I use them on a flight or something I feel like I’m punishing myself for not using the Bose ones. Have always been curious if I’m alone in this as so many people sing praises for AirPod Pros, anyone else relate?

> stupidity-shaped left ears

Now I wonder, what could "cleverness-shaped ears" possibly look like? Also funny: my ears can't hold earphones, they just eject them every time I change my facial expression or talk or what-not.

Anecdotal, but recently gave up on AirPods and moved over to Beats Fit Pro to get similar feature parity with my iPhone. Thus far, the Beats fit way better than either my AirPod 2 or AirPod Pro 1's ever did. ANC and the lack of an extra mic are ever so slightly worse, but the battery life and fit are so much better. My $250 AirPod Pros had to be exchanged for a battery defect within 3 months and were regularly falling out during runs... I don't think I will be buying AirPods again, but anyone struggling with them should scope the Beats line.

I along with many others, have been facing a low frequency noise leak when ANC is fully on and music is playing. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/256148548?sortBy=rank

Without playing any music the ANC is stellar, but this bug means the buds are basically unusable as they require reseating in the ear, or toggling to transparency and back to ANC, after a few seconds of listening (if in an environment which has any sort of constant low freq noise)

God I have a similar problem with APP3 on flights only. They seem to allow in this deep rumble vibration that my APP2 did not :( Otherwise the APP3 are much better in office, home, etc.

In my case (although I have not yet flown with APP3) the ANC works great, however, transparency mode (and adaptive mode) have issue with a noise. In a silent room I hear quiet noise in transparency mode (not present in ANC nor in "Off") which wasn't present in APP1. I tried different tips

Also, transparency mode felt more "natural" in APP1 in comparison to APP3. Currently it feels like a downgrade from APP1 (unfortunately my pair of APP1 broke recently), because I used transparency a lot and it feels worse

I recently went into an Apple store to try the new 3’s with my 2’s ready for a side-by-side comparison. I had heard mixed reviews about sound quality, fit, and the ANC. I was prepared to hear at best an incremental improvement, but boy was I surprised. To my ears, the sound stage is so much wider and the ANC is noticeably better. The fit is definitely different though and it took a bit of trial and error to get the correct size tips.

Glad to hear it's not just me. Happened repeatedly on my flights I took last week. I have had all 3 generations of the Pros, this is the first time experiencing this. Also left AirPod only.

This high pitched noise issue happened to me last week using noise cancellation on a flight, but I was using Airpods 4 (not Pro). I think this problem isn't only limited to the Pro models

I’ve also had this sound on my 3s, but only when handling them before putting them in my ears. I’d say it’s happened at least 10-15 times, and every time I’ve thought it’s so loud it’d do damage if it was in my ears.

Anecdotally I’ve done four 11+ hour flights with them so far and they’ve been super solid on the plane - no issues there.

Edit: here’s what I mean - https://youtube.com/shorts/VvEjetlYwa8

I became fed up with my airpods (and bluetooth earbuds in general) and switched to some great (albeit definitely not new and definitely not high end) IEMs and couldn't be happier. I was worried about losing the noise canceling but it turns out to not matter in the slightest with IEMs with proper tips on them, the isolation is unbelievable. Not dealing with battery life and charging issues anymore is worth it alone. The absurd price difference is a great bonus too.

I had something similar happen after sleeping a few times with my first-gen airpods pro. I think something must have gotten filled with earwax or something, because the noise cancelling got more and more broken and had more sudden sharp sounds until they were unusable

But since then I've had two pairs of airpods pro 2 and bought the 3s on the first day, and I've had no such issues with any of them, including sleeping, and flying twice with the 3's so far. YMMV

I use these at night, sleeping with them on. I experienced this screeching intermittently for like a week, and then it went away almost completely. Now, it only happens if I lay down in a very specific way. It's probably related to the strength of the seal in my case, and maybe at higher altitudes and different pressures the seal is affected in a similar way.

The seal might have improved for me the more I used the same eartips

Interesting, by description seems fixable in software. I wonder if Apple will disclose the root cause, would be awesome to see a proper writeup.

Wonder if it's humidity related. Besides the lower pressure, commercial aircraft are usually single digit % humidity due to use of dry bleed air to pressurize the cabin. Besides the effect on sealing, I wonder if there's an effect on acoustics that the ANC has to contend with. It would possibly explain some of the other people facing the same issues at home.

I've had this exact same issue as described but only on longer runs where I've had them in my ears for longer than 3 or 4 hours. When I figured out I could just turn off the pass through or noise cancellations and it'd go away I was relieved but it doesn't seem reserved for pressurized plane cabins. Never had this issue on previous generations.

> This entry was written at 33,000 feet while flying over the Canadian Rockies.

Respect the commitment to the craft!

Also useful / timely knowledge for me, thank you. I have a big international trip with multiple longhaul flights coming up and was debating if I should upgrade my airpods or consider something else (e.g. overear headphones). Do folks have overear recommendations?

For what it’s worth I did not experience this issue on my most recent overseas flights, but I also only wore them at full altitude

I'm going back to the Airpods Pro 2.

Pro 3 is a step backwards, there are these ANC noise issues not only on flights but also during heal-strikes when running down a hill, a staticky thump rather than high-pitched.

I've also had other more rare feedback issues. The Pro2s basically never had feedback issues unless you actually rubbed the outside of them.

I've noticed a big problem with AirPods Pro 3 on the NYC subway. Maybe my fit isn't right, but Adaptive/Transparent mode is a lot less "transparent" with really loud background noise - I can tell I'm listening to a processed signal rather than the natural muted sound of the AirPods Pro 2.

Love my APP3, upgraded from APP2 and have only one regret... no Comply Foam tips available yet. Why does Apple not go all-in on memory foam, I dunno, but at least the APP2 version was so much better it's not even funny.

With the Apple XS tips, which otherwise fit well for me, any yawn means the APP3 fall out.

Just one data point, but I was on a flight this weekend and AirPods Pro 3 worked fine for me with ANC. No feedback or other noises, just a slight bit of wind noise when the overhead air duct was directed straight at my head (so I angled the duct slightly away from me).

The fact that it's mostly reported in the left AirPod is also oddly specific

I have the samsung buds pros and I've noticed a high pitched screech when I put the buds in and I figured it's related to how noise cancelling works. I bet basicappleguy wouldn't hear the noise if the ANC is turned off as a test.

The Airpods 2 have a whistle problem for me. Any time someone whistles or anything makes a loud noise I would feel a pressure on my ear that was quite unpleasant and stemming from the airpod. Haven’t tried the 3 but I wonder if it is related.

put the APP3 through a washing machine recently by accident and they had the high pitched feedback if NC was used until they were fully dry after a couple of days. Have also put APP2 through washing machine before but never had this

I completely gave up on APP; previous generation had crackling issues that (eventually) led to a recall. I’ve settled on Sony, which offers great sound quality and effective noise cancellation.

I tried AP Pro 3 but decided to return them in favor of my v2. The v2 felt more comfortable in my ear and were good enough. I was also disappointed the heartbeat monitor only works while exercising.

I'm curious for everyone who upgraded from a previous generation, what did you do with your old pair? AFAIK Apple doesn't do AirPods trade-in.

I get this same problem (whistling sound) coming from my AirPods Max headsets. I think it has something to do with partially obscuring the mic.

I've had the squeal with the first and second gen as well. But only after they fell into water when washing hands.

I have this exact problem, my colleague does not. I also noticed yawning helped. I gave my old AirPods to my ex :( I miss them.

Closed cell foam is used in the AirPods?

At the higher cabin altitude, the foam is going to expand slightly, messing up the fit?

I'm a little bougie I guess b/c I never use my AirPods Pro on planes.

I have Airpods Max for that. ;)

I have had this happen while on the ground before in a room with a specific frequency of noise

I also have the high pitch noise issue on my Samsung galaxy buds 2 Pro

These problems don't happen to the chads who don't even bother trying Apple's stupid ear-tip stuff and just use Airpods 4 with noise canceling.

You screwed up by trying so hard to make fundamentally anti-ear designs with the pros.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

AirPods Pro 2 was already perfect. I don't know why Apple chose to "upgrade" it whereas AirPods Max, AirTags, and the Studio Display are all over due for an upgrade.

I flew to NYC and back last week and never experienced anything like this with mine shrug

The 3s have been an improvement on the 2s for me, especially in fit and feel in ear.

Unrelated: Apple appears to be cursed with the left ear. 2nd gen has an issue as well. The left ear bud will stop charging randomly. There are a lot of really dumb suggestions for fixing this, however the real issue is a bent pin in the case. I had 2 v2 pros, and fixed another 5 on top of my second one (first one died in the washer) by taking a pair of tweezers and bending the pin in the case upwards. Every single website I read suggested dirty contacts, performing a factory reset, etc. NOPE! Unbend the pin. Gently, mind you. Since I did that, both of my pairs of pros (one belongs to my wife, however she doesn't like earbuds) have worked flawlessly.

The same issue happens to me at my house.

You can't buy different tips?

I get this in every day life, but it comes whenever I have to adjust the pods in my ears. But frankly I kinda expected these to pretty much suck until someone comes out with fully foam tips, at which point my problem will be completely solved as I no longer will have a need to adjust them

I've had this issue with AirPods 2

didnt happen to me so far

I'm also very disappointed with the Airpods Pro 3

I use them mainly for running, and after I accidentally put my Pro 2s through a washer/dryer cycle, I ordered the Pro 3s, but I've noticed they feel heavier in the ears and make this annoying loud thumping sound every time my foot hits the ground, making them almost unusable for my primary purpose

Also sometimes I fall asleep in bed with them while listening to a podcast, and have experienced the same painfully loud screeching as described by the article when the microphones brush against the pillow

Sidenote from an observer since I don't use AirPods (or any other Apple device, for that matter). I've been seeing more "Apple design problem" articles around the latest release cycle. It seems out of line for a company whose main advantage is attention to detail and UX (which you pay dearly for).

I'm always reminded of dystopian stories by Doctorow et al. when the frequency of brand name usage exceeds a certain threshold, and this article certainly did that.

I experienced the same thing first time I took them onboard a plane. The APP has so far been a disappointment for me. They do have much better NC, but at the cost of issues like this and worse sound quality

And another headline making me not regret my purchase of the AirPods Pro 2 from a couple months ago.

Hearing Aid wearer here. Welcome to the occasional whine because something doesn't quite sit right.

ewaste

I've run into similar interference issues when building real-time audio processing systems. The AirPods Pro's use of Bluetooth 5.3 in the 2.4GHz band makes them particularly susceptible to Wi-Fi interference, especially on planes where you have dozens of devices competing in a metal tube.

One mitigation strategy we found effective was implementing dynamic frequency hopping with adaptive channel selection. By monitoring RSSI levels and packet loss rates across different channels (typically seeing -85 to -95 dBm on crowded channels vs -65 to -75 dBm on clear ones), we could proactively switch to less congested frequencies. This reduced dropout rates by about 70% in high-interference environments.

The real challenge is balancing frequency agility with audio latency - each hop adds ~2-3ms of overhead. Has anyone experimented with using the 5GHz band for wireless audio? The higher frequency would mean more attenuation but potentially much less interference.

[dead]

Use foam, problem solved.

It’s been doing this since AirPods Pro 1, surprised it took author this long to realize it.

OT but Apple is getting worse and worse in all aspects. I hate the fact that I am locked into their monopoly.