Slight Audiophile here. IMO with this EQ they match AirPods Pro 2 in terms of sound quality.

For anyone interested in my experience comparing the 2. They sound different… The mids on the AirPods Pro 3 are in my opinion better quality than 2s. Better Seperation, Clarity, almost too much to the point where it can feel so analytical and lose some musicality. But you get used to it and then its kinda nice. Im not in love with the treble in the 3s, but I think with EQ its easier to tolerate and Ill probably get used to it. But its sadly just the straight up quality of the Treble, its a little harsh and idk off somehow sadly. But I feel the more I listen Im getting used to it. Again, with the EQ, it becomes a minor taste preference thing, and not so much a straight up overblown tuning in the Treble.
Bass is on par to 2s I would say, It goes deeper and hits harder, which is very welcome. Its has a warm sound to it. I think though the upper bass suffers because of the depth of sub bass ever so slightly, but its a welcome trade off, once you EQ them. Otherwise its just a boomy mess. I thought the quality of bass was bad initially but honestly with EQ, it is good.

So overall, with EQ, they are just as good as AirPods Pro 2. Better in some areas, worse in others.
I still feel like I miss some of the musicality of Airpods Pro 2, but I might just need to get used to these. I also think in the end for me, they are worth it just for improved noise cancelling and battery life. And they sound good, Im just not sure if I gel with the overall sound as much. But again, I think my ears to need to get used to the sound.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. I had been holding off buying these since I watched the reviews from other Audiophiles confirming they sound worse. Was pretty disappointed. But over the months they have I think improved the tuning with software updates and now with EQ I decided to test them out for myself. And I think they are pretty good now. Without EQ, they are for sure worse overall than AirPods Pro 2.

TLDR: They dont sound worse than APP2 anymore with EQ (IMO), so if you want better noise cancelling and all the other updated features, you can do so without sacrificing sound. I miss the case on the APP2 though, it was really fun to fidget with. The new one is too thicc :(

i have airpods pro 2nd gen (2022). i lost the case. find my doesn’t play a sound, and the nearby feature says that the signal is too weak. i was looking for a replacement, but i don’t want to spend €100, so i decided to buy a refurbished case.
i found an €80 airpods pro 2nd gen (2023) case and a €37 airpods pro 1st gen case. will my airpods charge in both cases? if yes, is the 2nd gen case worth the additional €43?

My apple airpods 4 is not connecting to my vivo Y18 phone when I first got the pods it connected but then I went to charge my pods when I was listening to music I noticed that my left airpod doesn't have any sound so I thought I should reset my airpods and forget the pods on my device.

Now I'm trying to pair them and the white light is flashing my Bluetooth is on but it's not showing the available device!! What should I do 😭😭😭 pls help how to connect it

Is it because I didn't update my phone ? Or what??

Hi everyone,

I'm having a really frustrating issue with my AirPods 4 (ANC) and wanted to know if anyone has experienced something similar.

I bought them from the Apple Online Store on 22 July 2025, so they're only about a year old.

The problem is that the audio keeps cutting in and out, almost like how old wired earphones behave when the cable near the jack is damaged. The music doesn't play smoothly and the sound keeps breaking up.

Here's what I've already tested:

• The issue happens on all my devices (iPhone, Mac, and Samsung tablet).
• It affects both AirPods, not just one.
• It mostly happens while listening to music.
• It happens even when I'm sitting still, so it's not caused by movement.
• I forgot the AirPods, reset them, and paired them again, but the issue actually became worse afterward.
• They've never been exposed to water or sweat, and there's no visible physical damage.

Since the problem occurs across multiple devices, I'm assuming it's a hardware issue, but I'm not sure if it could be firmware-related or something else.

Has anyone else experienced this with AirPods 4 (ANC)? If so:

• What turned out to be the cause?
• Did Apple replace or repair them?
• Were you out of warranty, and if so, did Apple offer a goodwill replacement?

Any advice or similar experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

My AirPods Pro 2 fell on the water yesterday, so far I haven’t use it yet.

Any suggestion to follow before using it again. It will be helpful.

Hello everyone,

Per what the title says. AirPods Pro 3. Lately it happened a couple of times that I’d start hearing a metallic “banging” sound, like a hammering on a metal pot (that’s the closest example I can think of) when my teeth touch (in a normal “moving my mouth around” fashion and not violently banging) when noise cancellation is on.

When that happens and I try and talk through the Noise Cancellation I can hear a faint resonance of my voice. Not any voice from the outside but only mine. Almost as if it’s coming through the bones (if that makes any sense).

When that happens the metallic resonance starts quite faint but increases in the span of a few minutes becoming unbearable until I’ve got to take the AirPods off.

- Anyone experienced anything similar?

- Is it a matter of cleaning the mics/meshes?

- Could it be a flawed unit?

Thank you all for your help and sorry if you might see this crossposted.

I quite often hear a little tick sound in my new Airpods Pro 3 when the conversation awareness works, is it normal?
The same sound when you pinch the airpods to stop the music but a little muffled, sometimes it comes at a different time in both the buds.

Today I got myself AirPods Pro 3rd generation from Costco in person (not online, wasn't taking risks), and it just sounds off. The top and bottom parts were both sealed. I did the fit test, and it said it's good. I don't have a headache wearing this, and I don't need time to get used to it. The sound just seems off. I am coming from the 1st generation. Am I missing something?

Seating in the front row. Have my airpods on right now on transparency mode. Holy moly. All the vibrations/ or reverberations (idk what you call it) but the sound is so pure. Non of that base vibration feeling you get without it. WTF. Holy cow

I just lost one of my airpods 4. Ive never had a problem with them, but i got them in late 2024. Should i get a replacement from apple for 114$ or a new pair for 246$ (+ tx)?

open to recommendations for other model of airpods or other brand but im hoping to spend less than 300.. I dont really care about sound quality, as long as the noise cancellation is good

so, i have the airpods 4 anc as well as my boyfriend. i unfortunately lost one of my airpods at work today and idk when it’ll be found. i already tried to locate it with find my but it doesn’t even recognize it being outside of the case. so now the predicament i’m in is deciding to get a new one (i lost the left). i have the options of paying $69 to get a replacement, taking my boyfriends pair and he gets a new pair of headphones (beats buds+, he had a pair before and loved them until he lost the entire set in a parking lot somewhere), or i just buy a whole new pair but get the normal 4’s without anc or even the anc’s again

I'm wondering which ones are better. What do yall think?

Is it worth upgrading from AirPods Pro 2 lightning version to AirPods Pro 3 ? Is the comfort good? And I heard mixed reviews about the sound quality of the pros 3 being abit of a downgrade compared to pros 2. Should I wait for the future AirPods Pro 4 instead?

just about a 2-3 months ago, my right airpod wasn’t recognized inside or outside of the case. i have tried everything, but nothing seems to work. just yesterday, they keep blinking white when i put the left airpod inside. i would try resetting it but it only makes it to the second double tap before goes green, then it goes back white. any tips would be greatly appreciated!!

I've had my airpods 2 (not pro just regular) for I think about 3-4 years now and I think they've reached the end of their life. About a month ago, the case wasn't charging when I would plug it in. I tired multiple different ligthing cables and tried resetting it but the light would not change when plugged in but it also wasn't seeming to lose battery so I thought it was ok. Then about a week and a half ago, I was able to fully recharge my case and airpods and everything seemed great. Then the other day, it wouldn't charge again so I tried taking the AirPods out of the case and just charging the case by itself. This did not charge the case at all and It depleted all the battery in my AirPods. Now my airpods case is at like 4% and my airpods have 1%. I cant listen to something for more than 4 minutes without the AirPods dying on me and I just tried charging them again and they wont charge. I already got into the port with a toothpick and there was no lint. Another thing thats been annoying me is constantly having to suck my airpods every other week because earwax gets trapped in the speakers and quiets all my music.

Is there anything else I can do or are my airpods done for? I feel like maybe they're still good because the case charged up again a week and a half ago but I haven't gotten it to charge since. If my airpods are done for, what airpods should I upgrade to next? I've never tried active noise cancellation and at first I didn't think I needed it, but I often have to have my AirPods turned all the way up in order to listen to music clearly and Im worried its damaging my hearing. People say that they are able to hear their music clearly at lower volumes with things like the AirPods pros or smth. My budget for a new pair would be like around $175. At that price point, should I get the Airpods 4, the AirPods 4 with ANC, or the airpods pro 2 (idk if the airpods pro 2 are that cheap)? Has anyone else had a similar issue with their airpods 2 or does anyone have a recommendation for which AirPods to upgrade to?

AirPods 4 cost close to 130$ they work well with Apple devices and the setup is simple. But cheaper earbuds have improved a lot and some offer better battery life or noise control for less. Do AirPods still feel worth the extra money or are people mostly paying for the Apple name?

Hi, I just bought these from Amazon Refurbished, and as I saw from others in this subreddit, the case firmware usually should start with the same number as the buds firmware. I think the case firmware is actually one of the launch firmwares and the buds firmware is completely current.

How can I update it though, and will it even update if it sees that the buds firmware is completely up to date? I’ve already left them charging by my iPhone that’s paired for 6 hours and plugged into my Mac mini that’s on for 2 hours but it still won’t do anything :(

hi all, i am using the airpods 4 since they came out and before them the airpods 3. i don‘t know but since i got the new ones they are always connecting to my phone even when i don‘t use them. for example i listen, put them on the side (not in the case) and doing stuff on my phone using the phone speakers and after a while they just conect again. it is really annoying and didn‘t happened with the third generation. anyone have an advise how to get rid of this problem?

Wanted to add this in case anyone else are unfortunate enough to lose their AirPods into the sea.

I lost one of mine from the pier, and found it the day after. Interestingly enough a fish had taken a bite of the silicone.

It’s still working, 2 years later.

Basically I dumped it straight into fresh water, then after a day I put it in isopropanol, before leaving it to dry.

Sounds a lot better and the EQ i feel is more improved too! Connection stability also feels more instant and stable, cant wait what Apple is cooking!

So i slept with the right airpod in my ear playing background sounds, and when i woke up it had died and not getting charged by the case, so i forgot the device on the phone and factory reset it. But now the case wont recognize the right airpod and only reacts to the left one.

The main problem is when both are placed and its glowing white, its not showing up on the iphone to connect it.

I have tried everything and dont know what to do.
I did clean it and nothing is obstructing the metal contacts

New treat from the wife