Airpods has crackling issue

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Airpods has crackling issue

Dear Apple Customer Service,

I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with your after-sales service for the first generation of AirPods with a crackling sound issue. I bought these AirPods in April 2020 and have been using them without any problems for more than three years. Although I heard that this first generation of products had a crackling sound issue that could be repaired for free, I never encountered this problem and did not think of sending them back for repair. However, last week, my AirPods started to make crackling sounds and I took them to the Apple authorized service center. They confirmed that both ears of my AirPods met the criteria for the previous crackling sound issue, but they said that they could not repair them for free because they had passed the three-year warranty period. They asked me to pay NTD$2900 (about USD$100) per ear, which is a total of USD$200 for both ears.

I find this situation very unreasonable. When you announced the crackling sound issue, you said that only those who had problems should send them back for repair. Well, I did not have any problems with my AirPods and naturally did not think of sending them back. I did not expect that they would have problems after three years of purchase. Is that my fault?

If you were responsible, you should have recalled and checked all the products of that generation, regardless of their condition. You cannot say that if they have problems after the time limit you set, the users have to accept it. This problem was hidden in the first generation of products from the beginning.

As a loyal user of Apple products, I have been using your products from iPhone, iPods, AirPods, AirPods pro, AirTag to Mac computers, cloud storage services, etc. because I trust that you can provide good service quality. I did not expect that this problem would make me lose confidence in your after-sales service.

I hope that you can take this matter seriously and treat a loyal user fairly.

Sincerely,

WenHan

[Edited by Moderator]

Posted on Aug 31, 2023 06:06 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

TheLittles

Level 10

201,503 points

Aug 31, 2023 10:39 PM in response to wenhan272

wenhan272 Said:

"Airpods has crackling issue: [...]As a loyal user of Apple products, I have been using your products from iPhone, iPods, AirPods, AirPods pro, AirTag to Mac computers, cloud storage services, etc. because I trust that you can provide good service quality. I did not expect that this problem would make me lose confidence in your after-sales service.[...]"

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Troubleshooting AirPods Service:

A. Troubleshoot the Static AirPods:

Interference: This is likely an error with interference. So, start here: If your AirPods Pro Make Crackling or Static sounds - Apple Support
If Used in a Closed Space: Does it sound muffled? If you are using these in a closed room, then echos can come about.

B. About these Forums:

These are user-to-user forums. We are not Apple; just everyday users like yourself. So, no one here is going to make the fix --only Apple can. Apple rarely reads these posts on their own timed will. So, provide them feedback to get the word out, hopefully leading to a fixed

C. IMPORTANT NOTE:

Keep Personal Info off of these Forums:

These forums are here for everyone out there to view. So, just be certain to keep personal information(Case ID) off of these forums and other forums too. Anyone out there can read this info. For your Security & Privacy: I have asked the host to rid of the images you've provided. :)

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Answer 2

Dec 23, 2023 07:54 AM in response to wenhan272

I had this and SOLVED IT in 5 minutes. Read how…. I had the problem develop yesterday on my AirPods second generation, and after reading a few forums and posts I solved it myself as follows.

First of all, the cracking started after I cleaned the AirPods with a cotton bud (q-tip) and some isopropyl alcohol.

After that I noticed the crackling with each step when I walked, and also when just touching the AirPod lightly with my finger. This was on one AirPod only.

After reading some other forums, I realise that it only happens in transparency mode, or noise cancelling mode, and so I reasoned that this is something to do with the microphone (since it did not happen when noise cancelling or transparency mode were off).

So I figured that maybe when cleaning the AirPods a small fibre had dislodged from the cotton bud and was poking through the tiny holes in the metal grill over the microphone and touching the microphone diaphragm, such that when I moved or touched the AirPods, it was causing the fibre to directly move against the microphone diaphragm, and that causing the noise cancelling or transparency mode to think that there was an external noise, and so reacting by trying to cancel it out.

I used the Magnifier app on my iPhone to look very closely at the black metal grill on the AirPod in question, and I thought I could see a small spec of something lodged in one of the holes in the grill, so I use some Blu-Tack which I warmed up in my finger and then pressed lightly and repeatedly onto the metal grill.

after the first few dabs of the blue tag, the problem was significantly better, so I did about 10 more dabs with the blue tack. This time pressing a bit bit more thoroughly into the grill with it.

After that, the problem was completely solved, and it has not come back since in the last 24 hours.

So the problem is solved for me, and I believe it is a ‘mechanical’ issue, but not a problem with the hardware so much, but with foreign debris getting inside the microphone grill and agitating the microphone when it is moved.

Anyway, this is solved for me, and I hope this helps someone else.

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