The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem

Posted by andrem 10/28/2025

The AirPods Pro 3 flight problem(basicappleguy.com)

513 points | 274 commentspage 3

LetMeLogin 10/29/2025|

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)

treetalker 10/28/2025||

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.

delBarrio 10/28/2025||

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.

gwbas1c 10/28/2025||

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.

moogly 10/28/2025||

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...

Kirby64 10/28/2025||

Other other brands dynamically do this, so you don't need to do any recalibration manually. Bose Ultra headphones, for instance, seem to do this dynamically all the time. You can tell this happens since the ANC slowly ramps up as you get a better seal on your ears.

wahnfrieden 10/28/2025||

thenobsta 10/28/2025||

:( 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.

falkensmaize 10/28/2025||

This is not an ad, just personal experience, but I went through two pairs of AirPod Pro 2s in the last couple of years and both developed problems outside of warranty. I bought a pair of Earfuns from Amazon and they’re honestly pretty great. 95% of the sound quality and functionality of AirPod pros for about 25% of the price.

thenobsta 10/28/2025|||

Thanks for the report! This iteration of earphones will be the Honda civic of ears phones, not the BMW.

austhrow743 10/29/2025|||

>and functionality of AirPod pros

Is the automatic connection and switching between devices equivalent?

falkensmaize 10/29/2025||

Yes actually. That was one of my biggest annoyances with non-Apple earbuds in the past, but these actually do seamlessly connect to all my Apple devices and switch quickly and reliably to the active device.

austhrow743 10/29/2025|||

Thanks and same, the ones I'd tried previously were very annoying to get and stay connected when I wanted them to and not when I didn't want them to.

I actually ordered the airpod pro 3s the day before seeing this thread. If they don't blow me away I'll be returning them and getting these.

Although I don't know how I'm going to test the flight problem. I don't have any coming up in the next couple weeks. Might have to return even if they do blow me away :/

thenthenthen 10/29/2025||

So this is a tactic? My iphone and macbook recently just started acting up with bt connections to my Bose QC45. Used all of these for about 3 years with no problems, two weeks or so ago, i need to re-pair the headphones every time i want to use them (they connect fine but the audio gets send to… /dev/null?). Not upgraded anything in the past Months. Weird

austhrow743 10/29/2025|||

Which model did you get btw?

falkensmaize 11/2/2025||

EarFun Air Pro 4

lilyball 10/28/2025|||

If you don't use ANC, then why is an ANC issue that only appears on flights a reason for you to not buy a product? If someone said they have weird ears and the AirPods Pro 3 simply doesn't fit their ears, would that be a reason for you to not buy it even though it fits yours?

Traubenfuchs 10/28/2025||

- 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.

Ostrogoth 10/29/2025||

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).

remix2000 10/28/2025||

> 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.

lamontcg 10/28/2025|

I replaced the silicone tips with memory foam, which fixed this problem for me.

conductr 10/29/2025|

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?

jojobas 10/29/2025||

Can you imagine a post on HN where someone says "when Bose announced QuiteComfort Ultra Earbuds 2nd Gen I was so excited!".

Apple has a serious reality distortion field about it. For normal products this would have been a return. See recent "Apple allows icon opacity adjustment".

locusofself 10/29/2025||

are you comparing bose over-ear headphones to airpods or bose earbuds?

osamagirl69 10/29/2025|||

Not OP but I have had a set of the bose noise canceling earbuds that I have worn 5 days a a week for over 5 years now and absolutely love them. Noise canceling is excellent, comparable to the over-the-ear-style.

My main complaint is the onboarding process really pushes you to install their app. It is entirely unnecessary (can configure them by various tap codes) but still annoying they don't tell you that until you install the app...

conductr 10/29/2025|||

I have both. Over the ear is better but the earbuds that are 10+ years old are also better than recent APP2. I’ve not tried 3 and probably won’t.

The form factor is ridiculous by APP2 standards. There’s a corded stick that I assume has all the components in it as back then they wouldn’t fit in earbuds themselves. That’s apples main innovation. But, honestly, when I’m on a flight I will take a 10% performance boost over a slicker design or smaller form factor. My guess is they’re at least 50% better and only slightly inferior to over the ear ones.

All said, I usually just take my over the ear bose on a flight. I got the APP2 specifically for that purpose but they are awful in my opinion. About once a year I make the mistake of trying them out again and immediately regret it before the plane even starts taxiing.

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