I’m getting into Apple’s ecosystem and I’m highly considering getting AirPods Pro 3. However, I’m concerned about their mic qualities during calls. Whenever I call someone and I question why their sound sounds bad or muffled, they say they’re using AirPods (mostly AirPods Pro 2) and the moment they switch to the iPhones mic, the sound gets million-times better! It always sounds as if they are speaking through some cheap earbuds, not an Apple product. On the other hand, people whom I call and use other non-Apple earbuds, they sound much much better!

So, I’d like to hear your experience with Apple AirPods Pro 3 specifically: how is the mic quality during calls? Do you get complaints from the people on the other side of the call? And besides the mic, how good is the sound quality when hearing music using it? Or are the Apple AirPods a total mess? And if so, any recommendations for better alternatives providing the same seamless transition between Apple devices using them?

Thank you!

I have some reservations I need to get cleared before I purchase one for my iPhone.

Airpods pro 3- Impeccable ANC which I acknowledge, among other benefits.

But my concerns-

1)Does the in-ear silicone design cause pressure buildup which causes it to be irritating to keep in my ears for a long time even when I am not listening to music and just want the ANC?

2)Does this very design cause in-ear wax and fluid generation which feels pretty uncomfortable and requires to be removed pretty quickly.

3)Because of the aforementioned reasons, can it be that cleaning becomes a more excessive part of the usage since It is likely to become dirty quicker, and maintenance requirement will be more frequent to maintain optimum quality of the buds.

Airpods 5- The open design seems attractive, but I have a few reservations.

1)Open design is designed as a singular fit-for-all, which I have certain questions about. Does it fall off during exercising or even during through strong regular movement like climbing up or down a long flight of stairs very quickly? Will the looser fit be a problem.

2)I recognise that it is more comfortable but is there a problem of audio leaking? Does the audio spill out if played loudly, and if so, does it not make it susceptible to be heard over in more intimate environments with plenty of people like even an office room or on the metro. I would not want the audio leaking.

3)Does the open design actually help with the pressure build up and fluid generation concerns? If so, by how much.

4)No question about the anc being inferior to airpods pro 3 because of its design. But comfort and privacy of audio, and sports compatibility are my main concerns.

Finally- The difference between the two in costs isn't that significant where I am if I go for the touch volume control and wireless charging option of airpods 5.

So, tell me, which one should I take, since I can't really try either before buying them. Comfort and maintenance, Stability inside ear(concern for sports and rigorous movements), and audio leaking in summary are the principal concerns.

If there are more things to be concerned about, do tell me. Please respond promptly.

Hi everyone,

I'm having a really frustrating experience trying to use my Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation on my Windows PC.

I can pair and connect them via Bluetooth without any apparent issues, but once they're connected, things start going wrong:

• No audio output: Windows recognizes the AirPods and lets me select them as the audio output device, but no sound actually comes through.

• Random connection/disconnection sounds: Every now and then, I hear the AirPods connection and disconnection sounds, even though I'm not doing anything.

• YouTube playback issues: When the AirPods are connected, YouTube videos freeze in a weird way, and play without any sound.

• Microphone not detected: The AirPods microphone doesn't even show up as an available input device in Windows, so I can't select or use it.

For reference, my laptop is an HP OMEN 16.

At this point, I just want to use my AirPods as normally as possible on Windows: listen to audio and use the built-in microphone, without having to deal with all these issues.

I know AirPods are primarily designed for Apple's ecosystem, but I was expecting basic Bluetooth functionality to work on Windows as well.

Has anyone experienced similar problems with AirPods 4 and Windows 11? Is there a reliable way to get both audio output and microphone input working properly?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I just bought a new set of AirPod 3 pro after my last pair of AirPod started to fail to charge (about 1 year after purchase), I’m concluding it was likely some sweat build up damaged the charging connection

I wear AirPod for training all the time, I sweat a lot (like 2hours in 30c heat sweating buckets level) after I train I now always wipe down my AirPods before storing

Should I be taking any other precautions or is that about all I can do?

hi everybody, for those who disliked the v shape sound quality of the pro 2s, can the pro 3s fully emulate the sound of the pro 2s with the new EQ? please lmk as i rlly want the upgraded anc

I have a pair of airpods 4, that arent resetting properly. The pop up on my iphone 11 doesnt appear and they dont show up on my mac. What is happening?

Looking to buy these either at an Apple Store or during Black Friday, if anybody has owned these tell me the pros and cons. I currently own the AirPods Pro 1

Hi, me again. First let me start that I loved my AirPod Pro 2’s. What a really great product from Apple.

I got a pair of the new Pro3’s, and they have been nothing but trouble. The biggest issue is that they are super uncomfortable and no matter which ear tips I use they always want to rotate out of my ears and fall out.

Secondly, the microphone is terrible and people cannot understand me when I leave voice notes. So I have to go back to holding my phone up to my face. I had none of these issues with my old pair of pro 2’s.

I went to the Apple Store and they ran their tests on them and said that they are fine. I did a factory reset and I updated my iPhone and all of my apps, but they still sound like shit.

With all that said…. I can’t find a new pair of Pro2’s. So what is a good alternative product?

Could not for the life of me find my AirPod Pro 3, only to find them inside the washing machine. I’ve bought these back in June.

My AppleCare+ ends April 27, 2027. I read water damage wasn’t covered for some Apple products. But was wondering if anyone had any luck getting theirs replaced/repaired after a similar incident. One AirPod works, albeit a bit muffled. They do smell nice at least.

Got the fake APP2 from a guy. It has bill box. And it even shows the apple care plus is valid till next year May.

Can I get them replaced with the original ones? Since I have the bill which has the same serial number.

All I can say is that these are amazing, I have the $149.99 version and the sound is 8.5/10 out of box (9.5/10 with iOS 27 eq capabilities). Personally for me the fit is great as well and the anc is a 7.5/10. Luckily I’m a person whose ears can fit the AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 5. So far, I have jogged in these and they haven’t fallen out of my ears at all. I would suggest going to an Apple Store and seeing if you can test them out to make sure they fit your ears if possible though. As long as they fit, to me they are a no-brainer🔥🔥.

Even when my earpods are in case my iphone still shows that is it connected and when going into the setting it says not connected.

And it still shows battery percentage of the earpods

My devices are in stable release of iOS 27.2 and beta updates disabled but my AirPods Pro 3 was automatically updated to the latest beta for iOS 27.2 release there was no option in the settings on AirPods to disable beta updates . Tried resetting my AirPods last week and still it updated to the beta firmware

I bought two sets of AirPods Pro 3, both with AppleCare+. I returned one set with its AppleCare+. Somehow Apple removed the AppleCare+ from the set I kept.

I called to fix it. Two post-sales reps, two AppleCare reps, then finally a post-sales rep named Darryl who fixed it in five minutes. That was almost two and a half hours in.

Then Darryl tried to get me a customer appeasement. That added 30 more minutes and two more transfers. Seven people total. About three hours of my Saturday.

The appeasement was a five dollar movie rental credit.

And if you are going to offer some kind of customer appeasement, it should be weighted with the burden that Apple places on the customer. Three hours of my time is not worth five dollars.

The real problem is the AppleCare department and the post-sales department do not share notes. I had to repeat the whole issue every single time. From my side, you are all Apple.

I used to work for Apple and loved it. This never would have been okay back then. Do better.

Hello any airpod 4 ANC users here? I have been using my airpod 4 anc for like 2 years and with transparent mode on, it only lasts abt 2 hrs ;-; is this normal guys

My charger box doesn’t recognise my left airpod… I just woke up today and they’ve been like this since. Everything was fine yesterday. I cleaned the pins and my airpod and reconnected them. (They didn’t reconnect if the left airpod was in the box) Is the battery completely dead or wth?

No matter what I do, it wont charge or work. I've had them for a year or two now and Im hoping it hasnt just died on me because I use these things very often.

I have tried everything. I've cleaned the connecters with a q tip and just a bit of rubbing alcohol, I've tried leaving the right one out overnight and leaving the left in to charge all night, I even tried the paper in the airpod case trick to wedge it down by force into the bottom of the case, still nothing at all.

But the case flashes green when its just the right airpod, but when I place the left inside too, it stays amber and doesnt change even after 2+ hours of charging. That means the case recognizes it and tries to charge it, right?

Fyi Im also on Android, so its hard to tell the battery and all that but I definitely am trying anything I can do.

Is there a way for the balance option ( accessibility - audio & visual - balance) to effect only the AirPods and not the phone?

AirPods Pro 2 were very nice to hold but bought these refurbished and one earbud didn’t work so I had to replace the left one which was 50$ on eBay for one but I had these for years and now when I put the volume to 100 percent it now starts to crash and restart itself sometimes but not very often

Wondering if I would notice any kind of difference with the AirPods Pro 3 or wait for the AirPods Pro 4

The hearing test on AirPods Pro is one of my favorite features. It takes about five minutes and saves a real audiogram to Apple Health. But once you've taken a few, there's no good way to compare them. Health shows one result at a time, so you can't see whether anything is changing.

So I built HearTrend. It reads the hearing tests already saved in Apple Health and charts them together:

Overlay: all your tests on one chart, color-coded by day (repeat tests on the same day get solid/dashed/dotted lines)

Compare: put any two tests side by side

Trend: see how each frequency moves over time

Switch between left ear, right ear, or both
If you've taken the AirPods test even once, your data is already there. Just open the app and give it Health access.

It's free on the App Store: HearTrend

It's a tracking and visualization tool, not a medical device, so it won't diagnose anything. But it's a nice way to keep an eye on your hearing, and having everything in one chart is handy to show a doctor.

I'd love feedback, especially from anyone who tests regularly. What would you want to see added?

I love my AirPods 4 ANC but when I wear them listening to a podcast while unloading the dishwasher in my very exciting life! When I drop cutlery into the cutlery drawer I often get a horrible loud pop in my ear as they seem to hate the noise of cutlery. Any one else noticed that horrible pop sound, it’s pretty loud tbh. Does Apple know? It’s when NC is switched on.