[HN Gopher] AirPods Pro Service Program for Sound Issues
___________________________________________________________________
AirPods Pro Service Program for Sound Issues
Author : drclau
Score : 92 points
Date : 2022-09-09 11:16 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (support.apple.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (support.apple.com)
| yabqk wrote:
| I've had my AirPods Pro for two years now and I've had to have
| both (left and right) replaced twice because of this.
| Unfortunately they are now out of warranty. I hope 2nd gen
| doesn't suffer from something like this.
| quenix wrote:
| I believe this repair can be done out-of-warranty for free.
| rrdharan wrote:
| Yep, mine were totally out of warranty, I noticed some
| clicking mostly only when running, and they replaced them in-
| store for free.
|
| I was worried they would blame my third-party tips
| (https://www.complyfoam.com/collections/comply-foam-tips-
| comp...) but as mentioned by the other poster, they remove
| the tips before testing.
| nsbk wrote:
| This is in line with my experience, I got both AirPods Pro
| replaced out of warranty a couple weeks ago, even if only one
| of them was presenting issues. Apparently, the machine they
| use to check said both were affected.
|
| I got them replaced in Spain while the original purchase took
| place in Germany.
| Starmina wrote:
| Got them replaced both for free in an Apple store, I thought
| only one was bugging out but their test machine said both were
| "broke". It was out of warranty since well over a year.
| gog wrote:
| You can still replace them, even if they are out of warranty.
| cleemens wrote:
| I have done this succesfully as well, even in another country
| than which I bought them in initialy. Nearly 2 years out of
| warranty at the time of replacement, replacement itself was not
| a problem.
| _fzslm wrote:
| i bet the rolling out of this program so close to the 2nd gen
| release is a subtle acknowledgment from apple that this issue
| is endemic to the 1st gen, and it's fixed now.
| phlyingpenguin wrote:
| "Information as of 2021-10-01" - this isn't a new program
| _fzslm wrote:
| whoops! thx for the correction :)
| mmastrac wrote:
| As someone who sits on video calls often, please, please do not
| use your AirPods for conference microphones. I cannot understand
| about 25% of what people are saying, especially those people
| w/deep voices.
| remir wrote:
| I'm on my third pair now.
|
| IMO the Airpods Pro are poorly designed. You really gotta be
| careful when you handle them as the little "air vents" that
| prevent ear pressure can easily "clogs" and this create a rattle
| sound when ANC is active.
| Renaud wrote:
| I have the distinct feeling that the current generation of AirPod
| Pros suffer from a lot of reliability issues. I had to replace
| them 3 times in a year. I don't use them for sports, I'm careful
| not to wet them, keep them clean, and they developed noise
| cancellation issues on one side, or noise.
|
| My guess is that there is a non negligible portion that gets
| returned.
|
| I sincerely hope the new version is more robust, the return
| experience was not great, I have doubts about the capacity of
| their automated tests to detect some of the actual issues that
| users experience.
| MobiusHorizons wrote:
| I'm surprised to hear all the complaints of early failures,
| since my experience has basically been the opposite. I bought
| used AirPods Pro on backmarket and accidentally sent them
| through the wash a few months in. But they still work
| flawlessly over a year later, and I even use them for running.
| wodenokoto wrote:
| > Information as of 2021-10-01
|
| Needs a (2021) in the title.
| drclau wrote:
| I am at the 5th and 4th replacements (left and right, or might be
| the reverse). I do hope these issues were fixed in 2nd gen.
|
| At one time, I have found a YouTube video describing how to fix
| the noise cancelling issue by literally sucking on the external
| microphone grille of the malfunctioning AirPod. Oddly enough, it
| did fix the problem temporarily. I think there may be a valve
| that is used to equalize the pressure between the sealed ear and
| the outside, and if that gets stuck opened or closed the noise
| cancelling fails. In my case, low frequency sounds were passing
| through. Very annoying.
|
| Worth noting, I had the clicking noise issue with Sony
| WH-1000XM3, too. The behavior was exactly the same as with the
| AirPods Pro. Whenever a change in pressure occurred (door/window
| closed or opened), and during walks or even just moving the head
| in certain ways, the clicking noise started. This only happened
| when ANC was active, both for AirPods Pro and for the Sonys.
|
| With Apple, I never had any problems getting a replacement, and
| it was in two countries that do not have official Apple Stores.
| However, with the Sony it was a completely different story. I had
| them fixed in warranty, just to find out they were not actually
| fixed. They replaced the headband that had really nothing to do
| with the problem. Eventually, after lots of emails and calls, the
| store I bought them from just gave me back my money.
| ricardobayes wrote:
| I'm thinking my WH-1000XM3's were faulty, the ANC didn't work
| very well unless music or brown noise was played at relatively
| high volume. Also the sound quality was really 'muddy', very
| muffled and very bass-dominant. I returned them. Neither of
| these issues were present on a no-name chinese 60 euro ANC
| headphone.
| robertlagrant wrote:
| I just love how Shakespearian "Airpods Pro" is. Hubble bubble.
| criddell wrote:
| My AirPods Pro are great except the left one drains it's battery
| about twice as fast as the right one. Has anybody here
| experienced something similar? Will Apple do anything about it?
| dewey wrote:
| Are you using it a lot in calls? I think it could depend on
| which microphone is actively used.
| criddell wrote:
| I don't think I've ever used it in a call. I also rarely use
| noise cancelling or transparency modes. I do use "hey siri"
| sometimes though.
|
| Right now, my left ear bud is good for 2 hours of music at
| the most and the right one is good for about 4 hours.
| varjag wrote:
| Probably it wouldn't. It could well have sustained an
| unfortunate fall, left in the sun to overheat etc. Batteries
| are somewhat delicate and there's often no way to tell the
| cause.
| astrange wrote:
| That's expected, the left side does more work than the right in
| normal usage.
| jjuel wrote:
| I am glad I came across this post. I was thinking I was going to
| need to buy some new ones. My right one has a static issue and
| the left one has a weird clicking.
| dewey wrote:
| I have used this program a few times now (Documented it here:
| https://annoying.technology/posts/abea6876cf4f2e13/) and they
| were always very friendly about it and exchanged them without any
| issues.
|
| I hope the new generation is more durable, as it really does feel
| like a giant waste of resources. The sad part is that they are
| really good when they work so I keep getting them.
| t0mas88 wrote:
| I've used it twice now, while they claimed it only affected
| airpods produced before a certain date. What's also annoying is
| that you have to wait two weeks each time until the new ones
| arrive, because they want to diagnose the problem first.
|
| I think there is a limit on how long after you bought the
| airpods they fall under this program. Which basically means I'm
| going to buy the new ones after these break. Doesn't feel like
| the right way of voting with my wallet :-) but I use them
| literally every day.
| [deleted]
| [deleted]
| paultopia wrote:
| the most annoying thing about the airpods pro for me is that a
| good percentage of the time (maybe 15%, give or take), only one
| of the actual airpods will connect when I stick them in my ears.
| I got a buzzing a few months ago and swapped them out under the
| service program, hoping it would also fix the only-one-airpod-
| connecting issue, but, well, it didn't. (A large percentage of
| the time I realize that this is because something went wrong on
| the case side and the one that won't connect never got charged
| even though the other one did.)
|
| Despite that, I'm still upgrading to round 2 this morning. Hoping
| the new version of the chip plus the new case makes this
| connection/charging issue go away. Sigh. Apple does manage to
| always get my money, doesn't it. Though, I guess, to be fair,
| apart from those issues my first gen's have served me well for
| like 3 years and they're the only headphones I actually use 90%
| of the time. (Also, even more noise cancelling on the already
| good noise cancelling sounds good...maybe these can become my
| long-plane-trip headphones and let me retire the big sonys.)
| gizmo wrote:
| I used the "how to connect a replacement airpod" steps (on
| both) to fix the issue where only one airpod would connect.
| elondaits wrote:
| I had the issue where sometimes only one was charged. I noticed
| that sometimes the LED didn't blink when inserting one of
| them... and fidgeting with it, helped, but sometimes switching
| the position of the case from vertical to horizontal would make
| it disconnect (as reported by the charge widget on my iPhone).
|
| (I tried resetting them, re-pairing, etc. and it didn't help)
|
| I took it to the Apple store, showed the guy the issue, and he
| claimed it was most likely a firmware issue and not the case.
| He said the Airpod disappearing from the charge widget was the
| firmware misreporting, and not a bad/loosy connection. I had my
| doubts and was sure that it was a physical issue with the
| case... but he replaced the single airpod (he updated the new
| one's firmware first) and the issues went away.
| samatman wrote:
| This is a problem I've fixed with a Q-tip more than once.
| that contact is finicky and it doesn't take much lint to
| break it.
|
| Airpods have also just needed rebooting from time to time, in
| my experience. Not daily, weekly perhaps. Not my favorite
| thing about them.
| saganus wrote:
| Never heard about being able to reboot the airpods. How do
| you do that?
| samatman wrote:
| There's a button on the case, flip the case open and
| press it for a long time (ten seconds I think).
| mcintyre1994 wrote:
| I get this a lot with my Powerbeats Pro which have the H1 chip
| too, so it could be an issue with that chip?
| FabHK wrote:
| Indeed. Both of my original AirPods Pro developed the
| buzzing/crackling issue, had them both exchanged under the
| program, and now one of them is creaking again.
|
| Also found the 1st gen noise cancellation not quite as good as
| with Bose (in ear as well as over ear).
|
| And now I'm here pressing reload in the browser so I can buy
| the 2nd gen...
| paultopia wrote:
| Hah, glad I'm not alone in this. Proud of myself for not
| immediately buying the new ginormous watch tho
| disantlor wrote:
| i believe this happens when a stray hair gets into the
| driver
| klinquist wrote:
| I wish I could be proud of myself.
|
| So glad they finally make a watch for my mountaineering &
| diving lifestyle.
|
| Narrator: "He has never been diving our mountaineering."
| paultopia wrote:
| (LOL, also, you can have them put a memoji on the case.)
| wombat-man wrote:
| Why wouldn't you try a different brand first?? I haven't used
| airpods yet because I tried a samsung pair first and they still
| work. I had an android phone when I got them. Now I have an
| iPhone. They work on whatever!
| j2bax wrote:
| For me the AirPods Pro are one of my most loved and used
| pieces of tech in recent memory. Assume OP uses iPhone and
| there are a handful of unique features AirPods offer when
| paired with iPhone that I assume Samsung pods would not.
| Things like syncing across devices via iCloud account...
| spatial audio... IOS integrated noise canceling control. And
| for me the fit and sound is fantastic.
| mrits wrote:
| I disable all the touch functionality of the pods. Over the
| past years of owning them I've had to re-disable dozens of
| times. That is my only gripe.
| crossroadsguy wrote:
| Because it might feel like a betrayal if they'd use some
| other brand. For fruit company lifers it's a lifelong fan
| association, it's not merely a consumer-manufacturer
| relationship like mere mortals who (also) use other brands.
| scarface74 wrote:
| Because a "different brand" don't automatically pair to every
| device connected to my AppleID (7), don't have an interface
| on every device to adjust settings, don't show the battery
| percentages on every device individually for each side and
| the battery case and don't automatically switch.
|
| BTW, AirPods "work everywhere" as standard Bluetooth headsets
| wombat-man wrote:
| Well OP is talking about how his airpods weren't working,
| yet they they're getting another pair which seems sorta
| odd.
|
| The battery percentage thing does seem appealing, idk I
| guess I just charge mine often enough it hasn't really been
| an issue.
|
| Auto switching does sound good though, maybe someday I'll
| try airpods.
| samatman wrote:
| It really isn't.
|
| AirPods are a case where I broke my rule of thumb with
| Apple, not to buy in to a new product line until the
| fourth iteration. And sure enough, they've been a little
| flaky, my first-gen not-Pros developed a terrible crackle
| and had to be replaced.
|
| But fixing flakiness with Apple stuff by buying a new one
| works more than you might think. They do actually iterate
| on reliability (not you macOS).
|
| Man, finding them in the cushions might be worth the cash
| all by itself. The ones I have do the one-ear thing like
| one in ten (?) times, and I swear quietly and stick them
| back in the case. Reboot them a few times a month.
|
| So, fine really, could be better. If they were a bit
| worse I'd run out and get the new ones.
| random42_ wrote:
| > they've been a little flaky, my first-gen not-Pros
| developed a terrible crackle and had to be replaced.
|
| Can confirm. Here the 3 of us have 2nd generation
| AirPods. In one of them the mic is no longer working, on
| another one of the AirPods won't connect 90% of the time,
| and the last one has a combination of these two issues.
| Another family member is on their second pair already.
|
| AirPods are great, while they are working.
|
| Edit: forgot to mention that 3 of those pairs were
| replaced while under warranty.
| wombat-man wrote:
| Hmm, I haven't had issues with my Galaxy live buds. But
| you might be a heavier user?
|
| The main annoyance is just that I have to re pair them to
| switch devices. But so far so good otherwise. I'm
| interested to see if they ever make a new version.
| scarface74 wrote:
| Repairing to switch devices is more than a little
| annoying when you have a phone, watch, computer, tablet,
| and two set top devices.
| suction wrote:
| mortenjorck wrote:
| My experience with Airpods Pro has been excellent for what I
| originally bought them for, listening to music. However, I later
| (after the warranty period, naturally) started trying to use them
| for calls, and noticed something I'm not sure is covered by this
| program: Occasional, random "blips" where there's some kind of
| discontinuity in the sound for ~200ms, with a ~100ms offset
| between the left and right channels. It's annoying enough that I
| take them out before a call or meeting.
|
| I had a tough enough time describing it just now (it's the sort
| of problem that is inherently un-Googleable), but has anyone else
| experienced this, and have you had any luck with the service
| program?
| dewey wrote:
| This does sound a lot like Bluetooth issues which are of course
| almost impossible to debug.
|
| At this point the only Bluetooth device I use is my mouse and
| AirPods. The rest I switched back to wires because of how
| unreliable it is especially in a residential building with lots
| of wifi access points.
| dylan604 wrote:
| Is there a known correlation of interference between WiFi and
| Bluetooth?
| dewey wrote:
| Yes: https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/466798
| /does-...
| dylan604 wrote:
| makes sense. i rarely use bluetooth devices, so I had
| just never looked into this.
| mattmaroon wrote:
| Take it to the Apple Store. They'll very likely replace them.
|
| Back in late 2020 I took mine in for an issue in one Airpod.
| They ran them through their little testing device and
| determined they had other problems too and just gave me
| another. Worse they can do is tell you no, but they're pretty
| liberal about just replacing them.
| samatman wrote:
| I had that, offset maybe more like 50ms but that's just
| quibbling. Showed up in a firmware update, disappeared again a
| month later. Not often, but often enough that I started calling
| it skew. Disorienting!
| jabo wrote:
| Yes! I have this exact same problem on my AirPods Pro, and only
| during phone calls and meetings as well.
|
| I've also had a tough time describing it, so couldn't Google
| for it. I've also held off on taking it to the apple store to
| get it looked at, just because I didn't know how to describe it
| well. May be I'll just use your description now.
|
| Just yesterday two people told me that they hear echos when I
| use my AirPods on two different meetings, so I had to switch to
| using wired headphones. Adding that to my list of problems. I
| wish I could just return the product now.
| acqbu wrote:
| Isn't it odd that it's always the high end models that seem to
| have all sorts of issues? I got a cheap $25 pair of earbuds from
| Amazon a year ago and they work flawlessly.
| LetsGetTechnicl wrote:
| Buying AirPods Pro when I lost my original AirPods was probably
| one of the worst purchases I've made recently. They keep falling
| out no matter what I do, until I got these silicon "shark tip"
| covers that mimic the kind of eartips a lot of sports headphones
| have. It's so annoying.
| suction wrote:
| Bluecobra wrote:
| What brand/model tip did you end buying? My favorite ear tips
| for the longest time have been the triple flange ones from
| Etymotic but they are a little behind the curve and still only
| sell wired earphones.
| LetsGetTechnicl wrote:
| I bought these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08QCF2729
|
| They're like silicon sleeves for the AirPod Pros that give
| them shark tips that make them more secure in the ear.
| LUmBULtERA wrote:
| My airpod pros had this issue and were manufactured mid October
| 2020 and two months out of warranty. Apple refused to replace
| them.
| rumblestrut wrote:
| I had this happen, and Apple replaced my AirPods free of charge.
|
| Now my replacement pair is doing a similar, although different
| sounding issue. I need to take those in.
|
| Annoying. But clearly a First World Problem that I'm glad Apple
| is taking steps to fix.
| chollida1 wrote:
| Can any other runners comment on the new airpods for durability.
|
| I've killed 3 pairs due to sweat from running seemingly shorting
| them out and then they never seem to recover.
|
| the sound is great but I can't really tell much a difference
| between them and the $50 pair I tend to buy from amazon. That
| could be due to my 40 year old ears though.
|
| They do connect really well and allow me to connect to both my
| phone and laptop which I love but durability seems to be a big
| problem for them.
| wombat-man wrote:
| if you can afford having a separate thing for running, I'm a
| big fan of Aftershokz. They use bone induction and are
| basically sweat proof. It's also helpful to be able to hear out
| my ears while running while still listening to music.
| zelos wrote:
| Agreed, I would go with separate running headphones. Even if
| the sweat doesn't destroy them, I've lost several pairs of
| quasi-waterproof headphones to sudden heavy rain etc.
| vdnkh wrote:
| I completed a 500 mile hike wearing AirPod pros and they're
| still kicking
| eludwig wrote:
| Just anecdata, but I have been running with non-pro AirPods for
| years with no problems like one you describe. I tend to sweat a
| lot, so by the end of the run they are pretty wet. No shorting
| or other electrical issues.
|
| The only problem I've had was ear wax buildup (yeah, gross, I
| know) with the first/second AirPods generation (the ones with
| the long stem). I was able to use alcohol & hydrogen peroxide
| to clean them up a bit, but eventually the sound is muffled
| pretty bad.
|
| I have recently switched to a pair of the latest version,
| AirPods 3 (with the shorter stems) and they seem to be made
| better in general. No sound problems and they seem to stay
| cleaner with minimal regular cleaning. I use a toothpick to
| gently remove any buildup as needed. The fit of the 3s is
| significantly different that the older version and did require
| some getting used to. They are a bit larger in the ear.
| currency wrote:
| >>The only problem I've had was ear wax buildup
|
| I purchased a hearing aid cleaning kit[0], and the little
| wire loop tool is excellent at removing wax.
|
| [0]https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B089QMMSWW/
| reaperducer wrote:
| _The only problem I 've had was ear wax buildup_
|
| Fun-tac is your friend.
| eludwig wrote:
| This is a good idea! I will look into it.
| GordonS wrote:
| What's "fun-tac"?
| [deleted]
| wmeredith wrote:
| I googled it for you:
| https://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/fix/general-
| purp...
|
| It's mounting putty or sticky putty. You moosh it into
| your airpods and it grabs all the little debris that may
| be stuck to them.
|
| There's also keyboard cleaning gels made specifically for
| this purpose: https://nerdtechy.com/best-keyboard-
| cleaning-gel
| GordonS wrote:
| Huh, thanks, that does sound quite useful!
| samatman wrote:
| I had to get somewhat elaborate to keep the long-stem AirPods
| clean, with the Pros, it's really just getting the goo off
| them and the case. They seem impervious.
| eej71 wrote:
| I have not had this problem despite the fact that I believe I
| sweat a lot especially during peak summer running. I also
| happen to use ear-hooks to help my airpods stay in place
| otherwise they would fall out. Its kind of like ... uh... a
| condom for the airpod. I wonder if that has provided some
| protection.
| mcintyre1994 wrote:
| I run with Powerbeats Pro and they seem to have great
| durability. The main reason for me is the ear hooks though
| which are great for running. They use the H1 chip too.
| matt-attack wrote:
| I've put my first-get AirPods pros through the washing machine.
| I've been successfully using them for years now. Still work
| great. I concluded that their waterproof rating was,
| practically speaking, far above whatever they stated.
| TurboHaskal wrote:
| Well that's because they literally sound like $50 ones.
|
| When it comes to sweat I believe balanced armature drivers tend
| to last much longer than dynamic drivers.
| gizmo wrote:
| I also ruined a pair of Airpod pros that way. Got them replaced
| on warranty, but I'm still annoyed because Apple has ads where
| people run with Airpods but if you do they'll break.
| s__s wrote:
| What happens when the battery no longer holds a charge? Are they
| able to replace them or do you have to toss them in the trash?
|
| I've been avoiding these because they seem like wasteful fast
| fashion. I imagine having to throw them out in ~2-3 years, where
| as my over ear Beyers will likely last the rest of my life.
| Wingman4l7 wrote:
| The plastic halves of the earbud casings are ultrasonically
| sealed together; you have to break them apart to get at the
| guts (and IIRC the battery is also soldered in). Just look up
| the iFixit teardown; they're completely unrepairable.
|
| Their lifespan is, at best, the lifespan of the battery (in
| terms of useful recharge cycles). This is the dirty secret of
| the vast majority of wireless earbuds on the market, regardless
| of their cost.
| oreilles wrote:
| Airpods Pro battery can be replaced by Apple for $49:
| https://support.apple.com/airpods/repair
| Wingman4l7 wrote:
| As I've said before, it's very highly likely they are not
| actually repairing the unit by replacing the battery -- IMO
| that's false advertising to make them look "green".
|
| The plastic halves of the earbud casings are ultrasonically
| sealed together; you have to break them apart to get at the
| guts (and IIRC the battery is also soldered in). Just look up
| the iFixit teardown; they're completely unrepairable. My bet
| is, they are just swapping them out with refurbs or new units
| and writing off the loss against their AppleCare earnings.
| CharlesW wrote:
| > _As I 've said before, it's very highly likely they are
| not actually repairing the unit by replacing the battery --
| IMO that's false advertising to make them look "green"._
|
| I'm sure you're right about the first bit, and that calling
| it "battery replacement" is a sin of omission and/or over-
| simplification. As an engineer you're offended, but for
| average consumers, the result is what matters.
|
| It's a stretch to call it greenwashing, though. Apple has
| supported AirPods recycling since its introduction. In the
| case of AirPods specifically, Apple pays recyclers for the
| manual labor required to recover materials, even though it
| significantly exceeds the value of the materials being
| recovered.
| pessimizer wrote:
| > It's a stretch to call it greenwashing, though.
|
| It's not a stretch to call it greenwashing when a
| replacement is marketed as a repair, no matter what else
| they do. Especially since a full replacement for battery
| drain inevitably leads into their recycling process - if
| they think that their recycling process is even better
| than replacing the battery, why lie?
|
| > Apple pays recyclers for the manual labor required to
| recover materials, even though it significantly exceeds
| the value of the materials being recovered.
|
| The criterion for recycling isn't whether it's profitable
| or not. Why would you get any recognition for profitably
| recycling?
| Joeri wrote:
| It all depends on what requires more energy: breaking
| apart the airpods to replace the battery, or recycling
| and delivering a new pair. If the factory line is
| efficient enough it may be greener to replace instead of
| repair.
|
| Of course it can be argued that if apple had designed
| them for easy battery replacement repair would be so easy
| as to always be greener.
| vrutberg wrote:
| I contacted Apple about this issue with my 1st gen AirPods
| (non-pro) in mind. They were basically unusable since the
| batteries would only hold a charge lasting a few minutes. I was
| offered to send them in for a battery replacement IIRC, but
| that would've set me back as much as the cost of a new pair, so
| I ended up just buying a new pair instead. I agree, it does
| feel quite wasteful.
| Joeri wrote:
| At 5.3 g per airpod and 60 million pairs sold per year that is
| 636 metric ton of trashed airpods per year.
| samatman wrote:
| At one hour of enjoyment a day (low estimate) that's 21
| billion, 9 hundred million hours of joy. Or roughly 34
| million hours of fun per metric ton.
|
| If one metric ton's worth of AirPod fun were to be had,
| ending right now, the fun would have started in 1858 BC.
|
| I'd say it's worth it.
| themensch wrote:
| I've had this exact problem and I've had to replace one or both
| airpods not once, not twice, but thrice. But, to Apple's credit,
| they have handled it gracefully each time. The first time it did
| take a bit of convincing as there weren't many documented cases
| on the subject. Now, it's rote.
|
| The root cause, as I understand it, is that the microphones that
| act for transparency mode or for noise-cancelling mode can be
| blocked by particulate matter. A quick test to see if this has
| happened is to disable both transparency and noise cancellation
| to see if the audio artifacts disappear - it is not always enough
| to inspect them under a microscope; this has been the case for me
| each time but I confess my environment is extremely dusty at
| times and I wear these airpods for extended periods in all manner
| of adverse conditions and they have always performed admirably.
| spaghettiToy wrote:
| >I've had to replace one or both airpods not once, not twice,
| but thrice. But, to Apple's credit, they have handled it
| gracefully each time. The first time it did take a bit of
| convincing as there weren't many documented cases on the
| subject.
|
| Wow that sounds awful.
|
| How did they "handle it gracefully"? You don't seem upset, but
| I got second hand customer service frustration reading this.
|
| The closest thing I had to this was an xbox360 red ring of
| death 3 times. I excused it because I wanted to play Xbox games
| and that was the cost of playing.
| themensch wrote:
| An excellent question, let me elaborate.
|
| - On the first instance I contacted apple via their customer
| support chat. It took about 30 minutes to get replacements
| shipped to me.
|
| - On the second instance, the problem was well-established,
| so they just shipped me new ones.
|
| - On the third instance, they asked me to go in to a local
| Apple Store, and that did take a bit longer.
|
| In fact, I'm due for round 4 here soon. There's no stopping
| the dusty environment.
|
| I'm pretty demanding of headphones - 2 pairs of jaybirds died
| horribly under the same circumstances and the company would
| only replace the first set. A cheap set of Aukey buds fared
| considerably better and they still have life left in them.
|
| The tight integration of the airpods with my other apple
| devices and the perks, plus the overall sound quality and
| excellent noise cancellation around loud equipment more than
| make up for the hassle of a free replacement rigamarole every
| year. I've been pleased with them since I received them as a
| gift in December of 2019, and I'm absolutely not upset in the
| slightest that there have been problems. Fortune has smiled
| upon me with regard to my experiences with Apple products.
| spaghettiToy wrote:
| I'm still fuming at your story. But I'm happy that you
| perceive this as a good experience.
|
| I wish whatever tricks Apple used, they could implement at
| the Post Office and Car Dealerships. I don't even care if I
| have to undergo exploitive psychology, I just don't want to
| be miserable with things outside my control.
| themensch wrote:
| Well, I don't consider it a _bad_ experience; I
| understand that my usage has contributed significantly to
| the problem. If Apple were to give me the runaround here,
| my story would likely be very different. I may have
| abundant patience but it is finite.
|
| I wouldn't dare prescribe my regimen for how I deal with
| things beyond my control, but for interested parties I
| would say daily meditation and exercise have helped me
| turn down the volume on such things.
|
| I do appreciate your ire, as I share it.
| steve_adams_86 wrote:
| I had my air pods pro replaced under warranty about 2 weeks
| before my warranty expired. I was so relieved.
|
| It has been two months and the new ones are already experiencing
| major issues. One doesn't charge sometimes, even if the case
| seems to indicate that it's connected. I thought it was the case,
| but the same thing happens in another case. The weird shifting
| noise cancellation the first ones did where both ears cancel
| noise differently has started happening. The pop, pop, pop,
| squelch as I walk has started happening.
|
| I was sure I was breaking them somehow until I found out this
| experience is not that uncommon.
|
| It's such a shame because when they work well, they really are
| game changers. I'm hesitant to upgrade, though. These were
| expensive and only lasted two years (with replacements). Apart
| from the money, I also find the waste upsetting. I was optimistic
| to get more liken 5 years out of them.
| samatman wrote:
| I get the money argument better than the waste one. An AirPod
| is less embodied energy than one of those birthday cards with a
| built-in speaker that plays happy birthday. Is this really
| moving the needle? You could buy three pounds less of off-
| season fruit from another continent, if you really feel bad
| about it.
| steve_adams_86 wrote:
| It's not the single set of AirPods that bothers me so much as
| knowing that, on a larger scale, a lot of AirPods are
| breaking on a similar time scale and it's a greater trend
| that causes damage.
|
| I don't think there's much as an individual I can do to make
| a difference, it's just disheartening to see massive
| multinational companies dumping out electronics that become
| non-functional so quickly - even when they're a high enough
| quality otherwise that they wouldn't really become obsolete
| for a very long time.
| dayedh wrote:
| Had four or five pairs replaced due to this issue. The most
| recent repair seems to have fixed the issue, but the noise
| cancellation is noticably worse than the launch set. On the
| bright side, it was nice getting a pair with refreshed batteries
| back each time.
| andsoitis wrote:
| My experience of the Service Program has been very poor.
|
| One of my AirPods Pro has an annoying tick. It's like a metronome
| (regular) and orthogonal to the music I'm listening to.
|
| I've taken it to the Apple Store, but instead of the service rep
| putting it in their ear to confirm the issue, they use some
| machine that checks and, in my case, "computer says no!" to my
| complaint. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n_Ty_72Qds
|
| The rubber around the ear insert is changeable, so it wouldn't be
| unhygienic for them to listen directly.
|
| Their refusal at an exchange has caused me to eschew trusting
| them for the new AirPods, and instead I've moved on to another
| brand.
| low_key wrote:
| Mine too. I took a pair in that had symptoms exactly as
| described in the service program description. Both the left and
| right earbud failed in their test machine, but Apple said my
| Airpods did not qualify because they were not part of the
| program (manufactured a few months after the end date).
|
| I suspect the issues weren't actually resolved by the date they
| claim.
|
| Also, more annoyingly, they offered replacement refurbished
| left and right pods for $89 each. I can go to Costco and buy a
| new pair with a new charging case for only $2 more.
|
| Moral of the story: Airpods are unreliable, if you buy them
| then also buy the extended warranty from Apple.
| Deinos wrote:
| That was my experience verbatim. The employee even suggested
| going to Costco specifically, as he thought it was ridiculous
| that they weren't covering them.
| tinus_hn wrote:
| Without commenting on the rest of your story I do not fault the
| representative for refusing to put customers' AirPods in their
| ear.
| weberer wrote:
| Does the machine touch the silicone? That would still be pretty
| unhygenic.
| andsoitis wrote:
| I don't know because they take the headphones to a room in
| the back for the test.
| low_key wrote:
| No, they ask you to remove the silicon before giving them
| they airpods
| ascagnel_ wrote:
| > One of my AirPods Pro has an annoying tick. It's like a
| metronome (regular) and orthogonal to the music I'm listening
| to.
|
| I also have this issue. I have a hunch that the glue inside the
| stem that holds the microphone in place fails, and so the tick
| is the microphone striking the stem/housing. I find if I hold
| my head very, very still, that clicking noise will stop.
| andsoitis wrote:
| > I find if I hold my head very, very still, that clicking
| noise will stop.
|
| :-) my music makes my head bop.
| PascLeRasc wrote:
| The employee should not have to put it in their ear.
| olyjohn wrote:
| That's Apple's fault. If they want to fix them, they need to
| be able to listen to them. So Apple should have tools so a
| human being can hear them. Relying on some computer to tell
| you everything is fine, when it's obviously not, is bullshit.
|
| If they don't want to diagnose their hardware, then they
| should just exchange them with no questions asked. Getting
| denied on a repair "cuz the computer said so" is crap.
| username190 wrote:
| Contact them via phone or online chat; with no way to test
| remotely, they will offer to exchange the AirPods in most
| cases.
| dagmx wrote:
| For what it's worth, with AirPods you can just contact their
| online support and they're much quicker to send you a
| replacement after verifying just a few basics
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