AirPods Pro issues

By Justin Harris, 13 August, 2021

Forum
Apple Hardware and Compatible Accessories

Hi everyone,
So, last month, my AirPods pros unfortunately went through the washer. They still kinda work, but with some major issues. For example, I can hear people on phone calls, but they can't hear me. Transparency mode doesn't work at all. When I put the AirPods back in the case, audio does not transfer back to the phone like it should. I have to turn off Bluetooth in control center before removing them if I want the phone to start speaking again. And finally, the case shows the battery at 60% no matter what. It still takes a charge, but no way to know where the battery is really at. Also, the right AirPod seems to be in worse shape, as the bottom magnetic piece started separating from the rest of the body. I pushed it back in place, but have been having the problems described above. They still technically work, at least as plain old headphones with no mics or other features, but this month I decided it was time to do something. So, I ordered both a used case and replacement airpod on eBay. Turns out that the first replacement pod got lost in the mail, and didn't arrive until today, but several days ago, I contacted the seller and let him know that it had not arrived, and he sent another right side airpod as well as a left side which I went ahead and ordered. Those two come in tomorrow, but I at least had hopes of syncing the new right AirPods with the existing left one which was in decent shape. I tried syncing with my old case and with the new one, and in both cases, I was unsuccessful. Not sure if the old case is just too damaged, or if the new one is also a dud or a fake. On Ebay just about anything can happen. Also, even though I can't get the new right side airpod to sync with a case or pair, it apparently did have enough battery to still activate anc or transparency. The clicky sound on each is different, which makes me wonder also if I have been using really good fakes all along, or if that is somewhat normal. What I can say is that with the new one, transparency sounded way better and more natural than it ever did with my old ones. It will be interesting tomorrow when the other airpod replacements come in, whether or not I can get these to sync with either case. I really need at least one working pair, as I hate using speaker on phone calls, but can barely hear the person on the other end.
So, having said all this, first off, please be careful and don't let your AirPods go through the washer! Also, have any of you ever had to replace an airpod, case, etc? How hard was it for you to sync them up again? Also, have any of you ever run in to fake AirPods Pro? Any idea on how to spot the fake vs the real thing? This has been a real mess. If none of the replacement pods sync with the replacement case, I would imagine that something is definitely up with the case. Any tips or tricks for getting these to sync up would be much appreciated.

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Comments

By Mabbs92 on Saturday, August 14, 2021 - 15:54

Hi there! Sorry to hear you're having so much trouble--I just got my first pair of Airpod Pros recently and don't know what I'd do without them, lol. Just wanted to give you a heads up that there has been a high precedence of counterfit airpod pros recently, and the scary thing is that the scammers have managed to make them look and act scarily close to the legit ones. Here is an article on some ways that you can use to figure out if the ones you are getting are real:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/07/16/how-to-check-airpods-are-genuine

Article on high numbers of fakes being found:
https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/07/16/us-customs-seizing-record-numbers-of-fake-airpods
Anyway, I wish you the best of luck in getting this problem resolved. Is your pair covered by Apple Care? If so, replacing them via the Apple Store would be the most reliable. :)

By Holger Fiallo on Saturday, August 14, 2021 - 15:54

I got my from amazon and when I connected no issues. When I check in setting it shows. I would had thought that by checking the firm it will let you know if it was real?

By Justin Harris on Saturday, August 14, 2021 - 15:54

I now have a working pair.
So, regarding the old ones, they were purchased on eBay refurbished back in December. They worked well, and for the longest time, I had no reason to suspect anything. They pair like regular AirPods, they had all the functions, even had a serial number. In settings, they seemed normal, though one interesting thing is the firmware never updated in all the time I had them, so they never got spatial audio, never synced right between multiple devices. Transparency always sounded a bit robotic or fake, but since I had no other experience or frame of reference, I had no idea. I'm not 100% ready to claim that the others were fakes, but it's either that or they weren't well refurbished and then the washer really did a number on them. It's really hard to say for sure, but I'm leaning toward them being fakes. The new ones just feel more polished, especially the magnets in the bottom, and transparency is scarily insanely good. Also, I have been able to finally switch between devices, such as my phone, Mac, and Apple TV, with no hiccups.
I am so happy to have a working pair of AirPods again. Thanks for the replies. We may never know about the old ones for sure, but at least everything paired as expected with new AirPods and new case.